Three words for entrepreneurs - Dr G. V. N. Appa Rao, IT Advisor

• Love for money, hard work, and identity – these are the three most important words for new entrepreneurs, says Dr G. V. N. Appa Rao, IT advisor, and former VP-Technology of Cognizant.Love for money – There are many business people who keep making money. And, in their life, they don’t use all that money. But they still make money; lots of billions, and billions, and after that. They love it a lot. Making money, they love it. It’s not that they don’t love spending the money.
• Hard work - Of course, when you are an entrepreneur you have to look in to number of aspects. Not just making, but also marketing, sales and administration. So, you have to put in lots and lots of hard work.
• Identity – You don’t want to be part of a small company. You want to be one of the known guys. Now when you start your own company you create your own identity. And the way you grow, you grow yourself, and you create a bigger identity.

Appa Rao

An M.Sc. in Physics (Electronics) from Andhra University (1975-1977), with a National Scholarship, Appa Rao did his Ph.D. in Computational Crystallography in the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (1977-1982); and, was a Post-Doctoral Computer Scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1983- 1985). His work experience began in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, where he was a programmer (1982-1986); then, for nine years he was a consultant in Tata Consultancy Services; and for 17 years, he served Cognizant Technology Solutions. Based at CTS Chennai, Appa Rao was responsible for building competency in leading edge technologies; and, as head of the Research and Development Group (Global Technology Office), he was actively involved in building technology skills, executing projects, providing consultancy, and creating awareness in emerging technologies. Currently, Appa Rao provides strategic IT and technology consulting to industry, in addition to devoting time for academic activities covering teaching and research.