Jyoti Bansal is surely a man with a clear vision. He knew he loved technology and took a clear call to be a part of the business community – but both on his own terms. Today, the company he launched in 2008 has been acquired by Cisco, an American multinational technology conglomerate for a whopping $3.7 billion translating into more than Rs 25,150 crore.
Even before he got his BS degree from the reputed IIT Delhi, he knew he did not want to remain limited to being an employee. He knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur ever since he began helping his father in Ajmer with his business of selling machinery to farmers.
After graduating in Computer Science,Jyoti left for US in 2000 and worked with start-ups. It was a long wait of seven years until he got employment authorization document which meant he could finally launch his own start-up.
He founded AppDynamics in 2008 with a vision of developing “Application Intelligence” which would help modern enterprises go through digital transformation. They develop softwarer to help companies monitor their mobile apps and websites for bugs and fix them before customers drop off.
The name and recognition that AppDynamics has earned hasn’t come easily. Jyoti faced tremendous difficulties in his initial days when he spent days searching for investors and would code through the nights. Bansal says he faced about 20 rejections from several venture capitalists before receiving his first funding round of $5 million. The route ahead became and they hired the right people who would understand the company and pitch aggressively for it. Their performance was promising and attracted more than $350 million in eight rounds of funding from investors in Silicon Valley.
If you embrace change and lead it, everyone else will as well – Jyoti Bansal
The company was performing extremely well and surprising people with its growth rate. In 2015, a Business Insider report wrote, “AppDynamics is growing insanely fast” when they became a start-up worth $1 billion and had 1,600 customers.
Coming from a middle-class background, Jyoti’s success is spectacular. In 2015, he appointed David Wadhwani the CEO of his company and donned on the hat of chairman to look after strategy’s and company’s vision. Reportedly, AppDynamics today employs over 1,200 people. While he was expanding operations and bringing in rounds of funding, he diluted his shares and now owns 14% stake in AppDynamics.
After Cisco announced the acquisition of AppDynamics for nearly double the market value at $3.7 billion, Jyoti will receive about $520 million (Rs 3,400 crore) for his stake in the company. After making such a big buzz, Bansal is nowhere near taking a break. “I’m not done creating companies. I want to keep creating companies and solving problems for the rest of my life.”
Rising from a small town like Ajmer, Jyoti is truly an inspiration for anyone who wants to chase their dreams and make a mark over the world. This was possible because of the firm attitude and vision that Bansal carries. “Technology shouldn’t be created just for the sake of it. We must focus on solving problems.
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