Technology is a means of survival in the competitive modern world with modern problems, said Suhas Gopinath in an interactive session at TechPark in Thimphu on July 15.

Suhas Gopinath,31, from Bangalore in India, is the world’s youngest CEO. He established his first IT company at the age of 14.

Sharing his life experience to a group of professionals and officials from related agencies in the country, Suhas Gopinath said effective use and enhanced technology would help solve problems in the world efficiently. “Pressure on depleting natural resource would be reduced even.”

Recalling his teenage days as a persistent and a determined young boy from a middle-income family in south India, he shared how he had trouble explaining positive impacts of internet to his family, who considered using internet a moral sin.

In school, after Suhas Gopinath was excluded from a club of computer users and, failing to persuade his father to buy one for him, he visited an internet café in the neighbourhood with whatever pocket money he had. “I first started using internet and learnt web design and programming in the café.”

Inspired by Bill Gates, he missed classes, failed in mathematics in high school, and hid his interest in technology from his worried mother. However, after his CV and application for opening new company was rejected in South Asia due to his age limit, the company was opened in the US and he was made the CEO.

“To survive in a competitive and hyper agile world, people should be shamelessly aggressive users of technology,” Subash Gopinath said. A shy and introverted young boy, he said he had to paint moustache and appear bold and matured every day. “But it is important we leave the comfort zone and never quit.”

Worth USD 500 million, his company, Globals Inc was recognised as the fastest growing technology company that focus on education. His team was involved in developing software to reduce corruption in fund usage in remote schools of India.

“In remote schools with free feeding facilities, the headmasters created ghost students and sold most of the products in the black market. The software helped to maintain accountability in the system,” he added.

With new innovations and perseverance, Suhas Gopinath expects to solve corruption in land inheritance and fake wills.

He encouraged Bhutanese IT professionals and young entrepreneurs to be determined in the face of myriad challenges. “Bhutan is surrounded by two fastest-growing economies in the world. She has challenges as well as opportunities.”

According to a participant, Thinley, the talk broadened her understanding of technology and expects to use what she learned effectively as an entrepreneur. “The talk was inspiring and was delivered with humour.”

The session was organised by Royal Institute for Governance and Strategic Studies (RIGGS) in collaboration with Thimphu TechPark.

Choki Wangmo