In Lucknow, Oct. 24 – On Saturday, when Suhas Gopinath who is 23, went for Shaping for Young Minds Programme  (SYMP), there were not many to usher him to the scene. It was later than sometime that some of the organizers recognized him and ushered him inside the Sangeet Natak Academy auditorium where he was the main speaker for the gathering. And when the moderator introduced him, many gasped.
He was a boy who lived in Bangalore, like any other youth and children, but, at the age of 14 Suhas Gopinath turned out to be the youngest CEO in the world. He started his own company named Web-solutions Company; India Inc. today his company has his presence in 11 countries, with around 250 employees and a turn over of multi billion. A funny thing happened, during the World Bank meet, where the security stopped him, when he told them that he was the CEO and president of a company,” he reminisced talking to HT.

And he recalled instances when international firms refused business with his company simply because he didn’t have a proper moustache, he was (and still is) so young! He said, “Hailing from a conservative family, I knew there was no way I could give up on my studies. So, I took admission in an engineering college whose lecturer on coming to know that I owned a company, applied for a job with us!” Gopinath didn’t admit his teacher in his company. “We strictly go by merit and do not admit anyone on connections alone. In fact we do not even consider how many marks one has obtained. The emphasis is on skills,” he said.

Gopinath, who idolize Bill Gates said, “When the global condense happened, our company wasn’t impacted. In fact, at Davos, we issued an advisory for global firms on how to be a winner in recession hit times.” His message to the youths: “Being your own boss is far more fun. It was a visit to an Internet cafe as a kid that led me to think of launching a company offering web solutions.” The first employee he hired for his company was 30 years, half his age.

“I realized there was a issue if the employees had a boss half their age. To overcome this, we did two things, started hiring younger people and laid emphasis on doing away with hierarchy. Often, we would switch off lights and start playing with the employees. That helped me bond with the employees.” How much salary does he earn?

“Well so much is being said about CEO salaries these days. But let me tell you I draw a very meager salary, almost what my project manager gets. I utilize the rest of the amount for my company’s expansion.” By the time he was through, Suhas Gopinath had indeed shaped several young minds in the audience as most of them said they too would like to employ rather than get employed.