Starting up at the age of 50, this entrepreneur is defying all myths around any age bar to start a startup

For Khushru Farrokh Doctor, founder of Taasha, delivering IT solutions is akin to an artist creating a new painting. It is always a unique and stimulating experience.

Khushru was on the road to getting a PhD in Chemistry before the technology bug bit him in the ‘90s. Since then, he has been a technology person. He says, " Since childhood, I was a fiercely independent person. My father was a trade union leader in a bank. That gave me lessons in public speaking and leadership from a very young age. Running a business wasn’t easy for me, but I learnt on the job."

The groundwork began in September 2016 when he quit his job, but Taasha was launched in the middle of November 2016.

His experience while starting his own company at the age of 50

Khushru says, "Age is but a number. Many people told me that it was a bad age to take a risk and do something on my own. But with my background, I thought that it was the best age to do business. I had cultivated a great network. I had experience of working in all the areas of an IT services organisation. I am a regular guest faculty at some of the best colleges in India. I have also been delivering lectures at IIM-A."

Khushru has been in the field of IT for more than 20 years. Over time, he realised that the IT industry was creating an aura around itself, an overly complex, superior air. A lot of jargon got created, and the end user was made to feel that the issue was a lot more complex than it actually was. So one of his reasons behind starting Taasha was to simplify such things.

He further adds, " The name of the company was suggested by my wife, who is a language consultant. Taasha is a corrupted form of Nataasha, and it means birth."

Core product

The services offered by Tasha include the following:

• Software development and testing outsourcing.
• Software process consulting.
• Helping companies set up offshore development centres.
• Startup mentoring.

Market size

Khushru thinks that outsourcing and process consulting are large markets globally, each more than a few hundred billion dollars. For software outsourcing, India is a prime location.

The company plans to enter functional verticals like media and entertainment, healthcare, education, and machine learning and data analytics. It is also planning to work in technologies like open-source.

Taasha is a six-member team today and is currently bootstrapping. Once it bags some good projects, the company would consider that the ideal time to go out looking for external funds.