Sridhar Pinnapureddy: The Entrepreneur with the Burning Desire Date:   Sunday , October 05, 2014 CtrlS – Asia\'s largest Tier 4 datacenter – is a name to reckon within the datacenter industry and so is Sridhar Pinnapureddy, the Founder & CEO of CtrlS Datacenter Ltd. Who would believe that a kid who shied away from meeting people grew up to be a fervent speaker in many of the big technology forums and seminars whilst starting nine companies? This is the story of Sridhar Pinnapureddy who aspired to be an entrepreneur since childhood and is credited with founding– CtrlS Datacenters Ltd. Sridhar\'s childhood was embedded in an entrepreneurial milieu where he saw his father take his business to new heights each day with efforts and gratitude. Like any other guy, Sridhar too wanted to go to do his MS in US after completing his engineering. But he didn\'t join the bandwagon. This is where he brushed himself with the truth that he is not made to work under someone but to build an empire of his own. In the final year of his civil engineering, Sridhar had his Eureka moment while working on a summer project. He got fascinated with software technology and founded his first company Pioneer Software along with his friend. \"We developed different software packages. What today is called automated technology for automobile is something I developed way back in 1992 for my father\'s machines and used in his drilling business to automate fuel & auto-check maintenance. After which I developed several supporting and multi-lingual softwares and did networking projects which were still un-discovered those days,\" says Sridhar. This was his first tryst with success, post which he founded 8 more companies. Taking Charge of Mistakes There are few who take charge of their own mistakes. However, Sridhar not only took charge of his mistakes but made them the foundation of his empire. With an ardent urge to be ahead of the curve, Sridhar\'s every project was much in advance of its time just like automating technology. He incepted his first internet services company way back in 1998 and then moved on to start an ISP solutions company to develop products for ISPs and telecom companies which eventually became market leaders those days. Witnessing the success of ISP business, Sridhar eventually stepped to infuse life into another out-of-the-box idea and founded a datacenter in the Y2K year which failed drastically. It was quite difficult for people at that point in time to digest the fact that there exists something like datacenter. Cost was another concern that led the business to a halt. The service prices for datacenter in India were around 100 times more than what were in the U.S and UK. But five years later, he noticed the ripe market and the changed dynamics. It was the right time for him to strike back and rule the market with his new organization – CtrlS. \"My previous failed datacenter venture taught me that though I knew every aspect of datacenter, but the bandwidth game was what I was missing on. Eventually, I learned the ball game and entered the field once again,\" says Sridhar. Today, Sridhar is one of the early thought leaders in the space. However, he had his own catastrophic days where there was a draught of initial capital investment and over & above; he didn\'t have the guts to channelize the available resources. It was his father who put the oar in his hands by helping him get a loan of Rs.20 lakh from a bank and put his property as mortgage while presenting himself as a guarantor. \"My father is an idol I look forward to. I have always found him ready to face challenges. He used to say, \'Entrepreneur is the one who takes risk and helps other earn livelihood\'. Without my family\'s support, I wouldn\'t have been what I am today,\" recites a proud Sridhar. He has grown leaps and bounds over the years and has successfully put iron into the spine. Cut to the present, Sridhar has taken his companies to a position where they are not just profitable but doubles the net worth every year. Sridhar\'s commitment and resolution to provide industry\'s best and cutting-edge technology has made clients his fans. They blindly resides their trust on him. Banks too have raised their confidence parameters and are ready to invest in his ventures. Success speaks for itself. While getting a loan prior was a Herculean task for Sridhar, today it is all about a matter of few hours. The Success Potion This 41-year old entrepreneur has extracted his success potion and follows it vigorously. He spends his first two days as the CEO and the rest as an individual contributor to the organization. His work starts on Sunday evenings when he reads the entire report of the previous week and plans for the next week. Mondays and Tuesdays are time for company\'s review and department meetings, while Wednesday onwards is the time to meet clients, visit datacenters and project sites. Though work elates him, Sridhar easily gels into the hearts of his employees with his rhetoric ability. There is a secret sauce to his energy filled week. He works-out on a daily basis to be fit while he loves to cycle and swim twice a week and gym once. \"This keeps me active or else, my mind gets cluttered and I won\'t be able to do quality job,\" says Sridhar. However, for any Entrepreneur, the most difficult part is striking a balance between professional and personal life. But Sridhar has his own way to make things perfect. His busy schedule rarely spares him minutes with his family; Sridhar steals the time. He takes his kids for drive to have a chit chat and know what\'s going on in their lives and play with them their favorite game to be able to gel with them. On the other hand, he takes his wife on most of his official tour to be able to spend some quality time with her as well. \"I envision not just being a good Entrepreneur but also a great dad and a husband. I want to add value to whatever I can and build CtrlS as not only the de facto number one company in datacenter but in cloud services too. I see myself spending each year solving a new challenge to build up my organization and take it to greater height while imbibing the same culture into my next generation,\" adds Sridhar. Though success is kissing his feet, Sridhar believes in the philosophy that, \"I do not want to be a money making machine, but to do something for the overall development of the industry. I measure my success with that. At the end of the day, I have been proud of not just my financial success but the kind of work I have put in those days and creating a difference for people. This is my burning desire\".