Previous

Page - 7

When I spoke with them individually, the applications person agreed immediately. The technology person came back with thirty odd questions and my first long grilling took place. In my barely furnished apartment on Airport Road of Bangalore, the meeting with the potential Head Nerd lasted four hours.
At the end of those four grueling hours, I knew two things. One, he was probably on. Two, we did have a convincing story. He agreed to check with his wife and come back soon.

This was already November of 1998. By this time, we had agreed that the best way to make progress would be to take off from our regular work, get holed in to a hotel, far away from Bangalore and think through the Mission, Vision, and a first-cut business plan that could be given to potential Venture Capitalists. We thought the Christmas week would be the ideal time and we now needed to settle the venue. Bangalore was ruled out. So was Mysore. Taking a hotel in either place would lead to exposure. Half the IT world knew KK and the other half, I would like to believe, knows me. In the light of our soft arrogance, we thought, we needed a far away place where no one would know us.

Call of the Wild

At that time, I was also fascinated by the prospect of setting up the new venture on a sprawling campus, in a far away place. I had always dreamt of a hundred acre facility set up amidst lush green trees, overlooking sand dunes and waves that crashed on the beach and slided back in to an azure sea. Vizag! We agreed it was an excellent idea.

For starters, no one would know us there and we could also check out the feasibility of a location other than Bangalore! While all that was fine, we ran in to a logistical problem of sorts. How do we all travel together to Vizag without being recognized?

Next

Subroto Bagchi is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for MindTree Consulting (P) Ltd. The "Making of the MindTree" is told in the first person by Subroto Bagchi. In condensed form, it was published by Business World, filmed by InfiniTV, and aired on CNBC, IT Hour. Websites: www.mindtree.com & www.mindtree.com/subrotobagchi