When Age Is Just A Number & Not A Constraint To Startup - SSSPL
Rahul Gupta, unlike ordinary people started his entrepreneurial journey when most of them would plan their retirement. Smile Security and Surveillance Private Limited (SSSPL), a company founded by Rahul, who is in his early 50s, provides private network security, secure connectivity and surveillance through its two brands - AnexGATE and AnexSECURE respectively.The quinquagenarian’s journey and his motivation
Rahul turned entrepreneur after working for 30 years in the IT industry. After completing his engineering from Pune, he closely worked with the multinational companies like Epson, Seagate, Western Digital, and IBM in India and abroad. An ace salesman of his company, Rahul fondly remembers him being called “King of the Hard Disk Distribution Business”. Passionate about network security and electronic surveillance right from his graduation days, Rahul adopted entrepreneurship after serving ACER group at its helm in India for a brief period.
In the early part of the millennium, Rahul discovered that real business lies in selling solutions and not in hardware. After some research, Rahul started building indigenous product providing security and network solutions and consequently set up his venture in 2007 in Bangalore.
The Product Catalogue
AnexGATE is a brand under SSSPL that provides network security solutions through UTM/USG (Unified Threat Management/Unified Security Gateway) appliances. The product has all networking and security services within one appliance including firewall, VPN (Virtual Private Network), IPS, IDS, anti-virus & anti-spam, web & mail filtering, bandwidth management, multiple link management, centralized management, logging-reporting. AnexSECURE, the other brand sold by SSSPL offers electronic security and surveillance solutions. The solution range includes boom barrier / automatic parking systems, attendance recording systems, access control, CCTV, electric fencing, fire alarm system. It also offers customized surveillance solutions according to customer needs and specifications.
SSSPL has wide range of clients to boast with the bourses in Bengaluru, Pune, and Kochi that rely on his network and security system. “India, a few years back had very few world class products, that it could offer and export to the world. I made up my mind to change this perception and our travail at SSSPL to build world class technology appliances is a roof of that,” claims Rahul. The clientele of SSSPL includes big corporates such as Blue Dart, DTDC, Spencer Retail, Asian Fab Factory across different industry verticals.
The Next Frontier
SSSPL is a bootstrapped venture and comprises of a team of 30 – 35 people. SSSPL, says Rahul has managed to bag orders from companies in USA, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore and Europe. Rahul believes in the philosophy of quality being the sure shot way to marketing. Consequently, his team comprises mostly of technocrats and a lean sales team. SSSPL has managed to secure a berth in the market through the low cost solutions, upto 20% – 30% lower than what its rivals offer, says Rahul. A substantial amount of revenues is spent in R&D to maintain the quality of products, says Rahul.
SSSPL has broken even on its capital investment and is now looking to expand. Even though angel investment is on cards, Rahul is looking for young blood who can take care of the day-to-day responsibility of the firm. “I am looking for a strategic partner who can take over all the mundane course of business, so that I can concentrate on the products and solutions,” says Rahul. “With a market of $200 – $300 million in India, network security is growing leaps and bounds. SSSPL aims to tap the market and rein it.”
