T. Jaganathan: A Technopreneur Defined by Outstanding Professionalism Date:   Wednesday , February 01, 2017 “A positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible,” stated Winston Churchill. And such positive aggression is what has kept T. Jaganathan (Managing Director, FutureCalls Technologies) at the top of the game in his entrepreneurial journey of more than a decade. For instance, last year when cyclone Vardah wreaked havoc in Chennai throwing normal life out of gear and bringing the entire city into a standstill, Jaganathan kept his calm and rather than whining over the impact it had on his business, he saw the opportunity to help his customers. He kept his call centers running throughout the disaster and endured the situation which eventually received sea of appreciations from the clients enriching the client-vendor relationship. For Jaganathan, taking up entrepreneurship was not an overnight decision; it was a long standing dream for which he trained himself by learning the trade and understanding the organisation functions in depth over his 25 years of corporate experience. Finally in 2001, when the right opportunity struck, he didn’t spend a second thought; leveraging his vast experience over IT/ITES solutions Jaganathan ventured FutureCalls in Chennai. But for him, it was not all cakewalk from then on. On the contrary, he believes that this part of his entrepreneurial journey tested his true mettle. Being the first generation IT enterprise in India, many domestic projects came with minimum revenue potential and the big brands were initially very hesitant to go for Indian startup for consultation. But Jaganathan’s sheer perseverance transcended the backbreaking hindrances; he started small and then slowly established his client base solely on references and word of mouth publicity endeavoured by his customers, “One of the very strong factors in the company progress is the customer reference. We have never being in to marketing,” elucidates Jaganathan. Under his leadership, the company has seized a massive double growth figures year-on-year and expanded business to four other major cities within a decade becoming one of the fastest growing IT/ITES solution providers with marketing technical support across India. Jaganathan attributes his success to the perseverance of his early employees who stood with him in the darkest phases and build a firm foundation of a milieu that fosters liberty and free thinking. For his outstanding accomplishments in the IT/ITES sector, Jaganathan received CIO100 award in 2008 and has even presented a paper on Information Security Culture in Interop-2009 held in Mumbai. Nurturing the Next Generation A veteran with experience of over two decades in IT consulting, Jaganathan is also one of the most sought after advisor to many MNCs, Corporates & BPOs which get benefited out of his unbiased technology consultancy in India and abroad. Along his journey as an entrepreneur, he has groomed many technopreneurs and technocrats in the industry. As an entrepreneur, he embraces new challenges and experiences every day. “Unlike regular salary job, now I can meet various kinds of people; it’s quite interesting to be with different kinds of customers, different partners with different psychology & mind sets. Managing the business is one of the favourite aspects of entrepreneurship,” adds Jaganathan. He advertises the tremendous support available in the startup ecosystem and encourages students to take up entrepreneurship rather than settling for safe job. Jaganathan guides budding entrepreneurs to develop not just relevant skills but a 360° personality. “Being an expert in a field doesn’t guarantee success; you also need to know how to present it, how to market it, how to sell it, and more. Develop your abilities in overall personality before you want to become an entrepreneur,” adds Jaganathan. He is a prolific speaker in various IT forums including that of DSCI, CiO Klub, ISACA & ICTACT and this University Gold Medalist has also been the President and is the present treasurer of the prestigious CIO Klub Chennai Chapter. Force behind the Success Though the business steals most of Jaganathan’s time, he manages to re-evaluate situations to spend time with his family. When he quit his job to pursue entrepreneurship, his wife who is also a government servant stood as his pillar of strength and supported the family acting as an alternative income provider. “She has been my biggest support. For quite a long period, I was focusing on the business and got less time to spend with the family. But the family put up with that and has been very supportive,” asserts Jaganathan. His son currently pursuing his under graduation has already started pronouncing his interests to take up the mantle but Jaganathan insists him to concentrate on the studies as now. “I am not pushing him, nor discouraging him. He should develop abilities and should have serious interest to take it up,” adds Jaganathan. He is avid fan of local cuisines and spends most of his time reading books and following good music. Jaganathan tries his best to take off once in six months to travel with his family, which helps him to start fresh with new ideas. He owns a farmhouse in the Nilgiris where he loves to spend his vacations exploring the wilderness with his family.