"Energy, ambition, and desire; if you have these qualities, you can turn your dream into reality," says Sanchaita Datta, Chief Technology Officer, VP of Engineering and Co-founder, FatPipe Networks who believes in taking risks and having fun. Unsurprisingly she, along with her husband, is the inventor of the router clustering technology and the holder of seven patents that cover the core functionality of FatPipe’s technology.

Long ago, when Sanchaita was on a vacation with her husband Ragula Bhaskar, CEO and Co-founder, FatPipe, she had a discussion with him about the Internet boom. They realized that since everyone was putting their information on the Internet, the need of the hour was a reliable and speedy access to online information. The idea was converted into a product, and FatPipe was born.

It was while working with Megahertz, which was acquired by 3Com, that the entrepreneurial drive in her kicked off. She was appointed as the project leader of the remote access server group, where eventually she led the development of a complex remote access server. The founders of Megahertz were young entrepreneurs who gave Sanchaita enough opportunity to develop leadership skills, inspired her to believe in herself, and gave her the confidence to aim higher. The yearning to be an entrepreneur and the excitement of venturing into an uncharted terrain pushed Sanchaita to take the risk. The go-getter that she is, she quit her job to achieve the goal, despite not having a backup plan ready.

There were people who voiced their apprehensions at the decision. But, of course, lessons were learnt too. “When you start a company, you realize that you are no longer just an engineer. You are suddenly responsible for the people who are working for you, you have to talk to customers, and also deal with VCs. In other words, you have to wear multiple hats,” says Sanchaita. Thanks to her efforts in creating and developing the router-clustering concept, FatPipe has received several accolades in the IT industry and from the business community. Today, its line of products cover an array of features and benefits for companies that run mission critical Internet and WAN applications over any type of network infrastructure.

But, the journey does not end here. Developing new technology and evolving the products to add functionalities or features that the customers want are what motivate the technologist and engineer in Sanchaita. To see the company grow and watch your team enjoy the results is a reward in itself. However, it is equally important to keep motivating the workforce that drives your company, and that is when your skills as a leader are put to test.