From the sand dunes of Rajasthan to Silicon Valley of California was not a very smooth
journey for Vinay Bapna, the Product Marketing Manager of MetricStream.
Bapna, a cool and composed man, says "remain focused and go with the flow,
and things will work out just fine."
Bapna graduated from REC Trichy (NIT) in Tamilnadu in 1997, where he did his Mechanical
Engineering. He then went on to do his MBA in the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).
Shortly he was placed in Arvind Mills, as a Management Trainee for a period of 11 months.
By then Bapna had other plans. With a technical background and a management degree the best
move would be to work in the marketing area of a technical firm, he thought.
In 2000 Pramati Technologies Private Limited was a start up company offering end-to end
enterprise Java platform vendor with a product suite that includes application servers,
component development tools and an extensible web based management framework.
Bapna joined the team of hardworking professionals, all determined to take the company
to the next level. For nearly 5 years Bapna worked in the company as the Business Development
Manager. "The designation doesn’t really mean much in a start up company, the major requirement at time is to make sure that the company grows in the vertical direction. Personally I needed to learn about the technology and how it works, understand the market trends and also the enterprise application to function better in the company."
Pramati Technologies sent Bapna to the US in 2001. The company had planned to set up their
base in San Jose, California. This was one of the best opportunities for Pramati
to go global and also for Bapna to represent a company abroad and learn a lot about the
global trends in terms of technology.
Without much difficulty Bapna quickly adjusted to the work culture abroad and was totally
comfortable in the new country and his work place. "I got a lot of exposure and a lot
to learn about other exciting technologies that were buzzing in USA at that time," he says.
Bapna was helping Pramati make channel partners with US technology companies;
he had to interact with them and establish a market for the company.
"I personally feel that a person should begin his career in a start up company,
it helps him learn a lot about how a company works in detail and also a lot of opportunities
come his way, which he might not get in an established company."
In USA there were positive pressures, but most importantly Bapna learned a lot during his stay.
"A great team is always an asset, and I was lucky to have worked with a vibrant team."
But the feeling of being home was absent from his life. "I knew that a positive growth in my
career was happening because of America and also a lot of exposure that I was getting was
for the same reason. Apart from that there were the convenience factors which are high in the US,
and commuting too was smooth, but the question still remained, 'is this where I have to settle
down? The answer was crystal clear.'
A decision was taken, and immediately Bapna started looking for a job in India which could
match his profile. Bapna was aware of the growth of technology in India and whole lot
of opportunities that await him.
MetricStream offered Bapna a job and he was appointed as the Product Marketing Manager. MetricStream is one of those few US based companies who have their product marketing happening in India. He worked in their USA office for a couple of months where he got to experience and clearly understand the work culture of MetricStream and the technology they were dealing with.
Soon he was relocated to India where he has been working ever since.
Bapna comments, "What is most exciting is that I am in the same time zone as my family.
I am far, but not too far from my parents anymore."
Speaking about MetricStream, he says, "The work culture is almost the same as that in the US.
As a matter I feel people are more professional and dedicate to their work."
Bapna dotes about MetricStream, "It is a great place to work in, and new avenues of growth
and new concepts keep arising. Lot of opportunities are coming up, which help a
professional to go to the next level. My team works with great enthusiasm and commitment
and the energy remains high at the work place, which helps everyone to grow tremendously
and in turn helps the company to reach the next level."
A small suggestion from Bapna to all those to want to or are planning to come back to India
would be, "Well look for the right job, identify with the company well and try and find out
as much as possible about the team you are going to work with, an intelligent team always
helps in personal growth." Understand the market trends and also the enterprise application
to function better in the company. "Knowing the business vision is very essential and ultimately
job satisfaction is the most significant factor and rest all will fall into place."
