INTERVIEW — VISH AKELLA, Chairman, Eduquity

‘It’s not body-count but quality that matters’

Vish Akella

Vish Akella, the US-based Indian serial entrepreneur is at it again. This time he is looking at the $300 million business of finding ‘right people for the right jobs’. On a private visit to Bangalore, Akella, spoke to KP Sethunath about the new venture-Eduquity. Distancing himself from the concept of a ‘head hunter and career guidance’, Mr Akella, chairman Eduquity, said the company was in the business of ‘picking the best of the best’ talent for corporates. “There is a tremendous opportunity out there—picking the right candidate for the right job, and I believe it is worth $300 million”. Eduquity was funded through Acclaim Ventures, a company founded Mr Akella. Akella has also been the chairman and CEO of Ample Communications, since its inception in August 2000. Mr Akella has been instrumental in launching several companies and products including, LSI Logic’s Networking Division, and Kalpana, which was acquired by Cisco. Excerpts:

What is Eduquity. How is it different from headhunting or career guidance?
It is a bouquet of things and is different from headhunting and career counselling. Perhaps it may have some elements of all these things. To put it in other words a headhunter basically operates as a reactive agency, while we are going to be a proactive agency. The biggest problem facing corporates nowdays is to get the right people for the right slot. Our approach will be based on a database with proven ability to evaluate talent and make the right placement.

What is the relevance of such a company when existing jobs are under threat?
This is the right time to launch such an enterprise, as companies are focussing more and more on quality than on numbers. The slowdown clearly shows that the Indian IT service model based on ‘higher the number of bodies greater the revenue and the valuation’, no more remains valid. Now it is clear that companies cannot afford to ramp up the number and hope that business will increase. So all of them are in the painful process of identifying the right candidates suited to their work culture and ethos. And it is not going to be an easy task to find the right guy through the conventional channels of job advertisement or headhunting. I see the scope for Eduquity in this space.

What is your revenue and business model and financial structure?
We are going to be fee-based company. At present we are funded by a VC and we may go for strategic investments or the VC route again, as and when the requirement arises. The business model is based on three baskets—first: a lot of change is happening in the Indian corporate world as more and more companies are transforming themselves into board-driven corporations from family owned enterprises. These companies require a lot of planning for successful transition.

The second basket revolves around the growth: A company moving up from Rs 25 to 100 crore requires a different skill set and we will be able to provide the expertise. Succession plan will be the third basket that I believe is closely linked to the first.

Have you initiated discussions with any Indian companies?
We are already doing business for nearly a dozen companies in the country and we expect that the number to go up rapidly in the coming days. We are also planning to enter the Middle East and US markets.

Despite well laid out strategies it was felt that nobody could predict the slowdown or at least give warning about the impending storm? So how effective are the tools, which you say could provide the correct solutions, going to be?
It is not strictly correct to say that nobody could warn about the coming storm. The signs were there and all those who had their nose on the ground could feel it and take measures to survive the onslaught.

They are going to survive the crisis with much less pain, compared to those who went on with a hell may care attitude.

I think a revival will first take place in the semiconductor sector, followed by systems and others. But I cannot give you any time-span. I think we can make a wild guess about how things will shape up, by March 2002.

What about the Indian IT industry?
Restructuring is inevitable for a large number of companies and some of them will have to take tough and painful decisions. Lets face the fact: While some of the companies can’t afford to have 100 people they have 500.

There is no way this can continue and the companies are going to take such decisions sooner rather than later.