SMB Emerging Leader of the Year, 2023 - Kunjesh Negandhi

For someone who at max has looked for recognition of work in the contended smile of clients behind closed doors, its kinda awkward sharing in public the experience being awarded as SMB Leader of the Year that too by ET Lenovo IT4SMB , the pinnacle of industry, 联想 & The Economic Times . I have no words to express, but I am extremely happy

It was the night of 1 of March at Hotel Sahara Star , #Mumbai. Following the talks & conversations by the amazing new and established leaders of the industries - Sudha Natrajan of Times Group, Ajay Sehgal of Lenovo, Phalgun Kompalli of upGrad, Srikanth Velamakanni of Fractal Analytics, Tarun Katial of coto, Sujit of Times Group, Saiprasad Nabar of NPCI, Ranjeet Walunj of CleverTap and Yogesh Dhingra of Smartr Logistics. Honestly, I was so overwhelmed by the experience that I was completely out of words and couldn’t even thank them or acknowledge of how happy I was to be in the same space with them. Another person I should sincerely thank Ipsita B. of Economic Times and Rajesh Jain of BARC. Lastly, the Jury - Satyavrat Mishra of Godrej, Amit Saluja of Nasscom, Amit Saluja of Cisco / IMC and Abhay Bapna of Adani Wilmar to choose me as the Leader of the Year among small and medium businesses. I am sincerely pleasured even to have these names with my at the moment.?

In case if anyone is curious to know, I started working professionally with a dear friend of mine Pranavv Ashar Ashar. Must say Enlighten Film Company was a wonderful place to work, not just because it was into World Cinema, but because it connected me with top agencies and creative minds across the world. For the fans, it includes stars like Amitabh Bachchan or farhan Akhtar. Organising events & attending meetings & conferences, being among people way more older & experienced to me was a learning everyday. Trust me, folks who work with top level companies like 奥美 or 华特迪士尼公司 are a completely different league - their thoughts, perception & vision just go beyond. Most importantly, I was also exposed every aspect business and got to know a little about it all. I then continued to pursue tech, working with MNCs like Mahindra and Mahindra Limited [Automotive and Farm Equipment Business] , Areva and Baron Leather further expanded my horizon. What I did not leave was my curiosity and interest. I kept volunteering into other departments gaining both experience and knowledge, sometimes even contributing a little. I still remember the first time I had been into a conference - IETE - through my college - K. J. Somaiya Institute of Technology . I was so exited meeting and talking to the leaders of large companies, humble enough to have an open conversation with a little college kid. I have seen the same nature in all the leaders I have met or been under. I have always tried to adopt the same.

Things seemed sorted, but I was never settled. A cloudy dream kept me awake, haunting with a thought, you are not where you belong. In search of myself, I begun my voyage as an entrepreneur - the year was 2013, DIBC was born. I took off with a simple philosophy from my personal experience - It all starts with a Dream, strong enough that you can Imagine its presence; and if you truly Believe in it, no matter what, you shall rise above all challenges to Create it. By that time, Minal Sampat, BA, RDH , my cousin in US, was already on that road and helped me out a lot. Working a full shift in India and then working with her in US shift was fun, and of course tiring. We still laugh over me falling asleep on calls with her. More than anything, I was loving it, and that kept me fuelled up. Over the next 10 years, set up an office and had several employees, most of which flew off to US. I walked and ran, fell and stood up again, face endless challenges, but kept going. I thank a strong support of my family who always trusted me & set me free, specially my wife. I love you.?

I did make mistakes, a lot of them. But I didn’t fear or lose hope at any time. From the several projects we have done across the world, I take pride in being able to work with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre ( Barc ) . And here I am, looking at this recognition in front of my name, giving me an assurance that I am on some right track. I continue my voyage…

~ Kunjesh Negandhi , Founder, DIBC