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If it hadnt been for my own eyes and ears, I would have shrugged off this one as just another Bollywood masala story. But this one is for real! When Pooja Chauhan came to Delhi at twenty-one, it wasnt to enroll at some fancy college. She knew she had to make big, how, she kept that for later. A higher secondary pass-out from Indore, all she had was a few years of teaching experience at Aptech and confidence within. At Delhi station, with her luggage in the cloak room, she literally went knocking on doors for accommodation. She didnt take the job she came here for. Rather, took to experiment with things that came her way.

Chauhans confidence and merit later landed her in GlobalLogic (then IndusLogic) as a developer. For us, Pooja Chauhan is our White Tiger. She was an entrepreneur in the making from her days in GlobalLogic, where she grew to be chief software architect at its subsidiary, Pine Labs. Three years later she rolled out her own company, Anduril Technologies. GlobalLogic was the right platform that groomed me for entrepreneurship. Initially, I started the business with three colleagues, but gradually they shifted to other things and I took Anduril forward, says Chauhan. Today, Anduril is providing automation systems to micro-financing institutes.

It is this risk-taking ability that is driving the likes of Chauhan towards a new level of empowermentthat of decision-making. After gaining eight years of work experience in the Silicon Valley, Anupma Arya, decided to start her own business. Hence, she quit her job. I did not want to have any safety net to get back to. Hence, I had no choice but to succeed. As a result, Mobera was started in a small garage with six people in 2003 and has today turned into a global business with over hundred employees, informs Arya. Women entrepreneurs in the IT industry could have been an exception a decade ago. Not anymore. With changing mindset, better access to information, newer avenues for gaining capital, and better networking, more women are taking up entrepreneurship.

One of the biggest challenges that have kept women away from entrepreneurship is work-life balance. Entrepreneurship takes almost sixteen to eighteen hours daily, for at least the initial few years of business, which may not be affordable for many women, informs VN Saroja. An entrepreneur for almost two decades and one of the brains behind the Naukri.com boom of the 90s, Saroja has seen the industry very closely. Sudhi Agarwal, a mother of two daughters, who has been trying to strike a balance between business and personal life since she started Ariose Software, in 2006 agrees on this. Networking may also pose a problem for women as they cant move around and socialize as freely as men. It also involves a lot of travelling. These apart, there are other challenges of funding and information gathering that are applicable to both men and women. Once the business is set at a pace, taking it to the higher level calls for the same effort and focus as of a start-up, and this is another aspect to keep into consideration, points out Agarwal.

Although the number of women entrepreneurs is still low as compared to their male counterparts, things are changing. According to the 2009 annual report by Kauffman Foundation, women-owned IT companies comprised 2.1% of the US market as against 3.8% owned by men. The number could be even less in India. Nevertheless, what matters is the new outlook with which women are moving ahead.

Change has Come
Todays business women are taking the omnipresent gender bias in their stride. Most entrepreneurs feel that being a woman helps them in many ways as they can get away with situations smoothlyan advantage that men dont enjoy. The key lies in looking at the positives and turning them in our favor, suggests Rakhee Nagpal, director, Dynamic Verticals Software. Coming from a business family, Nagpal saw the gaps in the Indian IT market and also the opportunities that could be derived from them. Hence, she moved to India at twenty-three and set-up DVS after five years. It depends on us how we perceive the market to look at us, she says.

Societys perception towards women has also changed over the years. Saroja recalls that peoples attitude was very different in the early 90s. A fresh graduate from IIM-Ahmedabad then, Saroja had decided not to opt for a 9-5 job. Driven by the passion to do something on her own, she started taking up market studies for clients. It took her seven years to build contacts through these projects. The fact that a woman could be heading a company or be at the decision-making position, was hard to buy earlier. This has given way to acceptance now, probably because of the exposure to global practices, she says.

Besides, a number of forums have come up, providing women entrepreneurs a platform to unite and share their experiences. Some of these include Nasscoms Women in LeadershipIT, started in 2008 with a focus on mentoring and empowering women IT managers; and TiE Stri Shakti, an award winning initiative by TiE that has gradually turned into a pan-India movement with workshops being conducted for micro, small, and medium enterprises all across the country. However, these are recent initiatives and India needs to take a cue from the developed world, where a lot more is happening to promote entrepreneurship among women in IT. After having spent a sizeable period in the Silicon Valley, and being closely associated with many such forums in India and abroad, Arya informs, There is a lot of quality work happening in the developed countries to empower women entrepreneurs in the industry. There are forums such as Anita Borg Foundation that is working on collaboration of technology and women; Kauffman Foundation that is completely devoted to entrepreneurship; and Athena Foundation. Back home, there is Indian Angel Network, an association of entrepreneurs and like-minded people who are interested in investing in start-ups. This is an initiative that can be specifically helpful for IT entrepreneurs as funding is one of the biggest constraints for them, explains Arya.

Funding
Divya Deepika Bhasin realized the importance of funding in 2006, when she decided to switch her role from being an IT professional to a business woman. Having worked for twenty years since 1986, Bhasin had a clear idea about her start-up Zyebo in VAS services. However, even though the idea generated interest among investors and stakeholders in the beginning, nobody was willing to invest. Funding at the start-up stage is not a reality in India, says she. Luckily she got angel funding, from groups that believed in her idea, and at a later stage, found a strategic investor. Others, such as Agarwal and Nagpal had savings and family money as back-up.

Chauhan faced tougher problems though, Initially, we kept chasing venture capitalists blindly, which did not help. Even though we had a business plan, a prototype and a team ready, we kept waiting for funding, which didnt come in the beginning. But it wasnt venture capitalists fault either; they themselves are entrepreneurs and need some guarantee in terms of projects done by the start-up, or guarantee from the board of directors. And that is where relationships and contacts work out. For a start-up, an entrepreneur should invest enough time and effort in building relationships before taking up the business. Ideally, the business plan should not be dependant on VC, rather the growth of the business should be dependent on VCs, suggests Chauhan.

Besides these, Arya informs, Nowadays, even banks are helping IT professionals by granting loans at subsidized rates, or providing unsecured loans. Whatever business model one follows, it should map into the market. Hence, the ideal way should be to approach for funds with an open mind and the entrepreneur should have the flexibility to change the business model according to the market conditions. Also, one should do a thorough search on customers expectations. One should have the right access to network and market

Perfect Timing
Talking about the right age to take up entrepreneurship, Nagapl feels its an individuals call, and cant be generalized. What works for one may not work for the other at all. Hence, while many women decide to take up entrepreneurship at a later stage of life, after gaining much professional experience and a settled life, I decided to take it up early and set it at a pace before other things take my attention. Hence, while Saroja had the support of her family and friends throughout, Bhasin waited for her sons to grow up before taking up entrepreneurship. Although gender was never an issue with these women, Chauhan feels that getting married helped her business. As a young, unmarried woman, there is a lot of uncertainty associated with you. Business partners and clients always had this fear that I could close down my business or shift location once I get married. After my marriage a year ago, I have felt a change in the attitude of people. Probably, they are assured now, says Chauhan. As Agarwal puts it, There is no right age for business, but the right timing.

All said and done, the biggest challenge lies within. Entrepreneurship is all about aspiration, which is different for each individual. While some may derive satisfaction by building an empire, another may be content with simply initiating something, while someone else might be happy taking it to a certain level and sustaining it. Both Agarwal and Bhasin feel this is an area where women lag behind. That zeal to expand ones business is found rarely among women. But Saroja sees the positive side of it, Women in general do not believe in aggressively expanding their business. Rather, they prefer to start up something, take it to a level and then maintain the quality over a long period. I completely agree to this ideology. I would rather let my company be known for quality than quantity.

Chauhan is optimistic that the aggression will also come someday. Its too early to expect much. Women, especially from tier-2 and tier-3 cities have just started coming out of their shells and explore the world. Its been a few years that women are taking up jobs at large. The IT industry is still witnessing the growth of women professionals. Let them explore. After a few years, the sky will be the limit for women in IT.

Monalisa Das
monalisad@cybermedia.co.in

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