Sridhar: Exactly, so we decided ok if that is true then why are we looking at grades which actually proved that they too don’t corelate much then why don’t we just throw it out as a data piled down and then that led to the next radical thought that we started doing even as early as 1998-99 we would not really pay attention to academic record but then by 2004 we decided why are we paying attention to even the degree, the college degree at all. If it is academic so we decided do experimental recruit kids and we will run our own school effectively and our own college and we will put them to work and see what happens. It has been really successful so then we expanded it. So now actually about 20 per cent of our recruits, 15-20 per cent of our recruits come from our own program and we also take from colleges but you know we disregard the grades, we don’t really care. So it is again a different philosophy of its kind.
Kamla: What is your pay structure? Is it on par with the market pay that is there in India?
Sridhar: Yes absolutely. We have to obviously compete and our people are in high demand from any other big company so we have to pay at least on par or offer more than what the market there is and we have a good year, we have a profit sharing plan and all of that so we have had good years from the last 3-4 years and we hope to have good years in future so that is how our structure is.
Kamla: Here is a question that I often encounter from start up folks in India. They say that there is no big exit of an Indian start up in India so they are looking for role models and stories-successful stories. You have been very vehement against an exit strategy. You want to keep your company private. How would you answer this question if an entrepreneur from India came and asked you we don’t have good role models so we don’t have companies that have exited? How would you answer that question?
Sridhar: Well I don’t, each person has to decide for themselves what they want in this life and I am not interested in exit because I like working in this company and I like coming to work everyday why would I want to exit or would I want to sell and get out? I am not interested in it. So that is the reason it is not because I am philosophical opposed to it but I just personally don’t like to do it. Exit is something which is not in your control. Whether Google is going to acquire or yahoo is going to acquire or some Indian company is going to acquire that is not in the control of a person starting the company. So my advice would be to forget that as a plan, focus on serving the customer and making money. Then may be exit will happen or may not happen. In our case we are not interested in an exit so it is not part of our strategy at all. But even if you want an exit may be it is a better idea to just forget about it and build a real company, serving real customer and making money. In that case then the exit is a bonus if it happens and if its not its not. So that is what my advice would be.
Kamla: In your case there was an exit via acquisition. You were open to being acquired right?
Sridhar: No really we never actually.
Kamla: With Salesforce?
Sridhar: They asked us but we were not interested. I always made it clear that it is not our strategy. By having said that I say never say never because why make some statements like I will never be acquired as nobody knows what the future would be but I can say that that is not our plan, business plan is not getting acquired.
Kamla: OK. So in my introduction I said that you are fearless. It’s because of something that you face on a daily basis in your personal life. Can you share with us on how you developed an ability to see things differently? How do you remove your own blinders and are able to execute at your work place and also at your home?