Samantha's family is in the business of manufacturing machine tools. When asked why she didn't join them she explains, "I'd a short stint in my family business too, but always wanting to create a niche for myself, I decided to start my own business."

She proudly says, "I was the first person from my family to get into IT. This is a self-made business."

Talking about the various challenges she faced in her business, she says the first challenge was that the IT industry itself was apparently spiraling downhill. Narrates Samantha, "The moment we decided on venturing into IT, people around were very discouraging about it. We'd a lot of devil's advocates around us saying IT will fail."

"One look at the market and you would realize that from 2000 to 2004 when it just moved up, it was a downhill battle all the way. IT industry had a huge set back with problems like the 9/11, Enron, WorldCom, and the Iraq war. So, it was like beginning of a downturn and the market finally took it up," adds Samantha.

But, never losing zeal and faith in herself, Samantha says, "No entrepreneur can time the market. So, you need to just start."

She explains, "The best time to start is at the down turn because then you will really refine the processes and be able to face any kind of challenge."

Secondly, according to Samantha, getting skilled manpower was a big challenge. This was because at that time there were a lot of people with H1 visa moving to the USA.

Samantha strongly believes that for starting any new venture you need a lot of passion, commitment, and lot of persistence. "We'd our bad years too. The first couple of years weren't profitable," reminisces Samantha. But, the stumbling blocks weren't firm enough to deter them from their goal. Eventually, they were able to build their own intellectual properties, build products, client database, and referential.

Samantha sees immense opportunity in the Indian market. When asked about what differences she observes now, she retorts, "I feel there's a huge contrast between the Indian market then and now. India as a market has really matured. Initially, they'd to educate companies on why they need ERP solutions, but now things have changed considerably."

A commerce graduate with a BS degree from Louisiana Technology University, Samantha was the vice president (Commercial) of Ravileela Granites, a manufacturing concern in Hyderabad, before starting her own venture.

Her life took a big turn when she was diagnosed with Chronic Milliod Leukemia in 1995. But, thankfully with an early diagnosis, she was treated at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai and later in the USA.

"This was one of the most defining moments in my life because I felt that I'd conquered fear," says Samantha. She believes that if you're an entrepreneur, you've to be very brave and optimistic. "Being a cancer survivor, I've become that."

Her family has been her support system and has backed her at all times. "When I started with my business, my daughter was 7 years old. Being a part of a joint family, it's easy for me to travel when I need to. This wouldn't have been possible if I'd a nuclear family."

Samantha says that being a woman entrepreneur feels great as people remember you when you attend meetings. She aspires to take the company to great heights and wants it to be the first choice for comprehensive business solutions in all the regions.

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