This article features the inspiring journey of an MCA graduate who, with his friend, started a cyber-security company that now boasts a turnover of Rs 50 crore, despite beginning their careers with a meager Rs 1,000 salary.
An MCA (Masters in Computer Application) graduate from Odisha, Karmendra Kohli began his career in 2001 as a trainee internet and security consultant at a business in Hyderabad for a monthly wage of Rs 1,000. Five years later, he co-founded SecurEyes Techno Services Pvt. Ltd. with Seemanta Patnaik, an old friend and fellow MCA graduate from Utkal University.
The pair committed Rs 8 lakh of their own money to launch the business in Bengaluru in 2006. They have 200+ staff internationally, 700+ customers who are served globally, and 14000+ app security evaluations.
They work in three facets of cyber security: product creation, cyber security consultancy, and cyber security training. They serve clients in the financial services, banking, and aviation industries. They have clients in the aviation, banking, information technology, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), information technology-enabled services (ITES), retail, and healthcare industries from India, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. They have been the security consultant for the government of India’s ‘My Gov’ app for the previous seven years and are also affiliated with several other government ministries.
Karmendra comes from a middle-class family in Cuttack and is pursuing a B.Sc Geology (Honours) degree at Ravenshaw University. In 1998, he passed the CDS (Combined Defence Services) exam and then the interview, and he received employment offers from both the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. He earned his MCA from Utkal University in Bhubaneswar, where he finished in the top five. In 2005, he married Sangeeta, with whom he has two children, Arjun, 15, and Saatvika, 12. Karmendra advises aspiring entrepreneurs that if you plan something, there should be no second thoughts.
