In 1985, he sold sledge pumps on his motorbike. Later he joined a start-up only to quit within two months. But his moment of epiphany and transformation came when he shifted to the United States of America. What started as a humble beginning for Rajeev Chandrasekhar, then 26 years old, has now become a legend, a story of inspiration and entrepreneurial success.
By 2001, he emerged as the leader of India’s mobile telecom sector and is still considered as the original poster boy of the cellular revolution in the country, well before Sunil Mittal of Airtel arrived on the scene. But what makes him special is that he had no suffixes to his name like the Tatas, Birlas or the Ambanis. Absolutely had no drop of entrepreneurial blood in his veins — all that he had in him is the zeal and determination to not let go of any opportunity. His catchword even today is “seize the moment and never take your opportunities for granted or wait for it to come back”.
It may sound like a fairy tale but Rajeev Chandrashekhar, 48, chairman and CEO of Jupiter Capital and promoting new businesses in aviation, media, technology, entertainment among others, had no inclination to be an entrepreneur until he met former union minister late Rajesh Pilot in 1990 with his father. By then, he was happily married, settled in the US with a job at Intel as senior design engineer rubbing shoulders with the legendary Vinod Dham, considered as the father of the chip revolution and Intel’s co-founder Andrew Grove. More importantly, he was one of the 30-member team that developed the Intel 486 microprocessor chip in 1988.
In a freewheel talk with edex, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, now an MP (Rajya Sabha), speaks about his days at Illinois Institute of Technology, stint at Intel, his success as an entrepreneur and his brush with politics.
Early life
As the son of an Air Force Officer, Rajeev had the privilege to study in various schools across India. His first campus outside the cantonment was Manipal Institute of Technology in 1981 where he was studying BE (electrical). “It was the first time I was exposed to life outside the cantonment and to issues like ragging and violent college fights between Biharis and Malayalis, the locals and all of that,” he grins.
It was also here that he was first exposed to politics. “In the election soon after Indira Gandhi’s assassination, a group of friends in the final year campaigned for Oscar Fernandes (then AICC general secretary). It was here I witnessed the intricate functioning of Indian democracy — an experience I would never forget.”
After this, he went to Delhi with three of his friends to attend a function at Ashoka Hotel where they shook hands with Rajiv Gandhi after travelling for three days and nights in an unreserved compartment in the Janata Jayanti train from Mangalore to Delhi by perching on the upper berth.
“Funnily enough, I wasn’t a great student in the early years, but in the last year when I graduated, I came second in Manipal University,” he recalls. The engineering student also had his first glimpse of a computer — DCM Spectra — at MIT.
Junk Sangh and hard rock
Besides engineering, Rajeev was passionate about hard rock. “A group of us who loved music, used to take long rides on Rajdoot 175 cc and the Yezdi Classic bikes to Bangalore to listen to then little known foreign bands like Wishbone Ash and Uriah Heep. A group of friends formed their own band Junk Sangh — a derivation of Jan Sangh while studying engineering at MIT (1981-85),” says Rajeev. “We were rebellious, hired a small hut and had our own mess with a cook outside the campus.”
In those days, engineering students looked scary with long hairs. These rock star looks wasn’t very popular then so much so that Rajeev and gang were once denied a room at Barton Hotel in upmarket Bangalore.
Those were the times where the entire monthly allowance was just `350. “They were different days. There was very little money. It was really a rough life. At the end of it, I am pleased that we did well academically.”
Selling pumps
Soon after completing engineering he moved to Dehli and joined Western Crompton to sell sledge pumps in Uttar Pradesh in 1985 by riding on a bike every day from Delhi to Ghaziabad, Meeratu and Daurala.
Within two months he realised that is not what he wanted to do. He joined Softech, a start-up IT firm operating from a garage only to quit in two months to pursue higher education.
Rajeev’s role models
Rajeev strongly believes that different people rolled the dice for him at different times. First and foremost it was his father who allowed him to pursue engineering in Manipal, although he had obtained a seat at Lucknow Medical College to study MBBS and an economics honours course at the Hansraj College in Delhi. Then a meeting with former union minister Rajesh Pilot turned him into an entrepreneur. Craig McCaw, his original partner in BPL Mobile, Andrew Grove and Vinod Dham of Intel left an indelible mark on him with their professional approach and achievements despite having modest backgrounds.
Off to Chicago
After failing to get into IIT, Rajeev went to the US to study master’s in computer science in 1985, thanks to his father, who did not hesitate to empty his provident fund account. “There I looked like a classical Indian nerd with blue silk satin pant, blue Nike sneakers, a shirt and jacket. This was also my first air trip outside India,” he says.
On the first day itself, Rajeev was mugged. “I was walking with full swagger in the campus when two guys came and asked me if have a smoke. I said no and then they started chasing me. I immediately realised that it is not Manipal and started running. When I turned back, a bottle just went past me. That was my first experience in the US.’’
Intel
Though he had offers from Microsoft, Rajeev joined Intel — in those days it was more aggressive and a different company. “Everyone was encouraged to be creative and competitive. At a time when people talk about flexi-timings and working from home, the legendary Grove, then CEO of Intel, used to stand at the gate at 8.55am and close them sharp at 9am as he believed design requires rigour and discipline,” he says.
During his stint at Intel, Rajeev was a CPU architect, working on the next generation of chips. Every Intel 486 processor ever manufactured, contains his initials, along with those of the 30 other engineers who worked on the project.
Life-changing meeting
Two years after working at Intel, he came to India to get married in 1991. During that time, his father, Air Commodore (retd) Chandrasekhar introduced him to Rajesh Pilot who was in the Opposition Congress at the Centre at that time.
“He asked what I was doing in the US and urged me to return home. I was 26 years old and said OK, I will try. I had stock options at Intel and took a year’s leave. Being a youngster with an ability to take risk, I came back.”
In 1991 the Centre invited tenders for cellular operators. “I had no idea what cellular meant and had never used a mobile. Once I had to make a call to Delhi from Guruvayur, Kerala. I asked the hotel to book a trunk call. The receptionist said it would take two hours to get the line, so I asked him to book a lightening call, which was 10 times more expensive. Because it was the monsoon season, the lines were disrupted and I had to shout to make a conversation,” Rajeev recounts.
At that moment Rajeev decided the country needed telephones to achieve growth. It was a decision based on intuition and not research. “None of my decisions are based on any research. Most of the decisions were taken on intuition. But I wouldn’t say I was a genius — one needs luck. Someone up there was writing checks in my name,” he says modestly.
BPL mobile revolution
He started BPL Mobile after obtaining a Rs 100-crore loan from IDBI. With a modest beginning in 1994 in Mumbai, BPL Mobile positioned itself as the leader in the sector by becoming the largest operator by 2001.
However, Rajeev realised the only challenge in the telecom sector was lobbying for spectrum and got out of it by selling BPL for around $1.2 billion to Hutch (now Vodafone) in 2005. “I had neither the stomach nor the ability to lobby for spectrum and I quit. And that’s my psychology — I was there for a decade and was happy. The moment my interest waned, I decided to move on because I am not wedded to anything,” he says.
Jupiter Capital
Rajeev turned into a venture capitalist with Jupiter Capital in 2005. “I set up an investment company as I did not want to run any firm after running it for a decade. And in those years I had seen enough that a CEO of 40 years would not be able to. I have seen politics, corruption, corporate battles, family fights, bureaucrats and all of that. I have seen the challenges of building a business when none existed, dealing with governments etc. I have no role except that I put the capital, I am the mentor and strategic advisor,” he explains.
Politics
“For me politics is a national service. The models of A Raja and others in Tihar don’t work anymore. Anna Hazare has given a new hope to the youth. The wheels of change have been set in motion, it may take some time before reaching its destination,” says Rajeev, who is an independent MP of Rajya Sabha.
Seize the opportunity
So, what would Rajeev advise youngsters? “I seized every opportunity, and never let it go. I grabbed it with both hands. When I know I’ve got a lucky break, I never let it go. Make sure your career is well-planned. You are financially secure and strong. It gives the flexibility, confidence and the direction to do more than a normal citizen can. But it is important that there is clarity in the direction you want to go in terms of your career and education. Don’t spend your early years in a drift. But focus with a view that your creative energies are fulfilled and at the same time your economic future is also secure. Make sure that by the age of 25-27 you know very clearly that you will have X amount of money in your bank and you are able to provide for the family and therefore are able to pursue your dream”.
— rajashekhara@newindianexpress.com