Bengaluru, 10 December(HS): Probably, had Ganesh G Sabhahit pondered over after completing his M Tech degree, he could have easily settled down in life by taking up some job in the government or public sector or a software company in the Indian Silicon city. However, he preferred to take his own arduous journey, with multiple risks and challenges, to climb the ladder of success in life through hard work and perseverance.

A humble and thorough gentleman, all along: Ganesh G Sabhahit has always been a soft-spoken, humble, and thorough gentleman all along, even from his school days in the Basel Mission High School at Dharwad. It was only at a later stage of schooling that his classmates came to know that his father, Justice G N Sabhahit, was the district Judge! He and his siblings walked the distance to the school and back home, unmindful of the top position their father held.

Engineering at BMS College in Bengaluru: Ganesh G Sabhahit, like most of his classmates, joined engineering. He studied at the BMS College in Bengaluru, as his family had also shifted to the state capital, following the elevation and transfer of his Dad as a Judge of the state High Court. Then, engineering was a five-year degree course, unlike the four-year one now.

First rank in engineering: Ganesh G Sabhahit reminisces, Initially, in the first year of the engineering course, I was a bit confused about the priorities to concentrate. Just like while in PUC, I was in a dilemma on whether to pursue a sports career by playing cricket or focus on my studies. However, a good sense prevailed during the third year, and I started focusing on my studies. In fact, I was also inspired by two of my siblings who were already toppers at the state level and university level. So I secured first rank in the final year of engineering. And I also focused on industrial engineering.

A family of rank holders: Ganesh G Sabhahit, topping the engineering course, was nothing surprising, as he hailed from a family of top rank holders. His elder sister bagged the Ninth rank in the state during PUC, while Vishnu, his eldest brother, stood first in the law degree course of Karnataka University, Dharwad. He also returned with flying colours in the Sanskrit elocution contests. Later, Vishnu rose to become a Judge of the state High Court, like his father. Unfortunately, like his father, Justice Vishnu G Sabhahit too became a victim of cardiac arrest in the court hall!

From IIT Kanpur to Software: After completing his engineering degree, Ganesh G Sabhahit tried and got qualified in the entrance exam of the IIT, and was selected to the IIT Kanpur, which incidentally also happened to be his first choice. Soon after his M Tech, he returned to Bengaluru, when the software industry had just started to bloom, and many of his batchmates joined the same, and he was no exception to the then-emerging trend.

Associated with AWATAR: Ganesh G. Sabhahit was initially involved with the ambitious Anywhere, Anytime, Advance Reservation (AWATAR) online ticket booking software project of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in 2006. According to a report in The Hindu, KSRTC's upgraded AWATAR platform recorded its highest-ever daily sales since its launch on October 30, 2024. According to V Anbukumar, Managing Director of KSRTC, the platform registered an impressive 67,033 tickets sold in a single day, fetching a substantial revenue of Rs 4.63 crore.

A stint with the software company and in the US: Then, it was a time when some big software companies were taking short-term offshore projects in the US. Ganesh G Sabhahit joined one of those companies and did some projects in the US. He used to go and come to the US to complete the projects, and this went on for a few years. However, at the back of his mind, he always had a dream of starting something of their own. The reason for such a thought was that, Ganesh G Sabhahit recalls, In fact, when we were kids, my brothers and cousins, we used to talk that we should start something of our own.

Visa becomes a perennial problem: By 1988, his cousin had already started his own firm, and so had his own brother. As if a coincidence, Ganesh G Sabhahit had the problem of getting a visa every time he tried to go to the US. Meanwhile, he got married to Ms Manorama in 1991 and also got a visa, but not Mrs Manorama. Left with no option, Ganesh G Sabhahit went alone and remained a forced bachelor for six months! Mrs Manorama proceeded to New Jersey, and the couple remained there for a year.

Frustration over visa shows a new path! Ganesh G Sabhahit was doing his 18th project and was compelled to visit India for his brother's marriage. He laments, Then I was audacious to come back with my wife after a year to attend my brother's marriage. And again, I got stuck because of the visa problem. So I was really frustrated. That was the time when I, my brother, our cousins, thought that we should start something on our own. We happened to come across the aquaculture project.

A tough life commuting on the bicycle: The Sabhahit brothers and cousins were impressed with the aquaculture project idea as it looked very highly profit-oriented on the face of it, and as it also had export potential. Says Ganesh G Sabhahit, So, we thought this was an ideal project, and we plunged into it by taking 150 acres of land on lease, and we constructed the ponds. I shifted to Kumta with my wife, and I spent most of my time in a remote village, Kodkani, near Kumta. I used to commute on a bicycle, and in comparison to my earlier life in the US, the new journey appeared to be a tough one.

Disaster in the pilot project: Although there was no lack of enthusiasm, the right initiatives, precautions, accompanied by hard efforts from the Sabhahit brothers and their cousins, the pilot project was doomed. Ganesh G. Sabhahit recalls the unfortunate and unexpected debacle, We ventured into the pilot project also, but that is when the disaster struck. We were struck by the natural calamity in the form of a viral disease. Yeah, and unfortunately, there was no medicine for that, and neither did these veterinarian scientists have any clue how to cure it. So within one and a half years, we lost a lot of money, huge money, and we had to put down the shutters. It was so hard.

One door closes, and another opens! Ganesh G Sabhahit peeps into the history and asserts, So, then we had no other option, and that is the time when my brother was expanding his business. He was looking for some partners. So a lot of guys and free advisors told me you'd better stop thinking about being an entrepreneur, you can go back to the US. But then you know, as we thought, success is not final.

Beginning of a new era! Narayan, my elder brother, was a partner of the newly set up Techser company. He was looking for some partners to expand their business. So I thought that it was ideal for me to join him. And then I moved to Mangalore with my family to start the Techser regional office in Mangalore. A private limited company: Later, Techser was converted into a private limited company, with the induction of two more directors, Ganapathi Sabhahit, cousin of Ganesh G Sabhahit, who boasted of a rich experience in marketing and Harish, with a technical background, were made directors.

A small five crore company: Ganesh G Sabhahit, recalling the new roadmap, says, So I used my experience in dealing with foreigners to have some tie-up in UPS technology, and our technical director developed some indigenous higher-capacity UPS. Because when we joined, ours was a very small company, it was only a five crore company with a domestic inverter and a small UPS for the desktop machines...

...Ganapathi Sabhahit takes Techser throughout the country! And Ganapathi Sabhahit, my cousin, started expanding our business pan-India with the help of my brother Narayan. So, within a few years, we were doing about 25 crores, and we returned all the loans which we had taken from the bank for the previous aquaculture company. And we had expanded our business to the west and north. By 2010, we started our factory in Mysore, and then we already had one in Bangalore. Then, by 2015, we crossed about 100 crores in business. So by that time we had already expanded to the west, started offices in strategically important city capitals in the west, north, including the office in Kolkata. I started a computer networking division, which is a vertical within Techser Power Solutions Private Limited, leveraging my experience in computers. We tried, at that time, a dial-up modem, which was in the year 94-95 dial-up modems were becoming common to connect to the internet, especially for banks and stockbrokers...

...consistently doing about 200 crores! By 2000, in 2015, we crossed 100 crores, and in 2020, we did about 150 crores. We have expanded into the solar business; we have started a solar division. We are system integrators and buy different panels from other people and integrate them with the solar inverters. So we are doing big projects for banks and all. Last two years, we have been consistently doing about 200 crores, signed off Ganesh G Sabhahit.

Second generation into entrepreneurship: Ganesh is blessed with two sons, Gautham and Aditya. Both are living in Bengaluru, and Gautham is trying to become an entrepreneur in the software industry. Aditya, the second son, is studying law at Christ College and gearing up to take up his grandfather's profession.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti