Sri Soundarya Shanmugham joined the budding Entrepreneurs
in Amrita Campus through Skype from Texas to ignite the spark to build the
passion on business. More than 75 students and faculty members attended the
session at Amrita Coimbatore on February 24th evening.
Prof. Gangadharan Gangadharan, HOD, IT Department introduced
Soundarya to the students. In his words “ She contributed immensely to the Student association and
other technical and non technical events organized and conducted within the
Department and also at the school level. She is one of the top performing alumni
from Amrita Institute of Technology. She has obtained high performance awards
at both Infosys and AMD”
In her speech she stressed on How to identify the
passion, forming the core team, preparing the pitch, writing the business plan,
raising capital, launching the business, and exit strategy.
A brief
profile of Sri Soundarya:
Soundarya
Shanmugam graduated with B.Tech in Information technology from Amrita School of
Engineering in 2006. She consistently excelled in academics and
extra-curricular activities. Soundarya was an active member of the Nature club,
SPICMACAY and also played the role of Master of Ceremony at several events. She
feels ever blessed to have led the morning prayer for four consecutive years at
the ettimadai campus. She has also lectured at National Level Technical
Symposiums and her team was adjudged with the Best Project Award in her final
year at Amrita. Having secured dual-placement in Satyam Computers and Infosys
Technologies, Soundarya chose to start her professional career at Infosys where
she closely worked with an Australian Telecom company for a year. She then
moved to the US after being married to Sridharan Subramanian (Director of
Software and Platforms, Freescale) in 2007. Soundarya then joined Advanced
Micro Devices (AMD) to work with architects on next generation processor
benchmarks at the Performance Center of Excellence. As part of her business
interests, She started her MBA at the McCoy School of Business specializing in
Entrepreneurship & Strategy. Soundarya recently moved to International
Business Machines(IBM) as an Analyst quenching her thirst to working with
high-profile customers closely. She is also working with a core team of MBA
graduates on a budding start-up. Apart from this, Soundarya is an active member
and volunteer at "The Indus valley Entrepreneurs" and "TIE Young
Entrepreneurs".
From
the interview Amritians Web team had with Soundarya:
What ignited your mind
to choose the Entrepreneurial Field? Are you a born Entrepreneur or you mould
it yourself?
I did not make a conscious decision to be an
entrepreneur. To me, Work should be a lot of fun. I did not find that in my
stable 9 - 5 job, doing repetitive tasks in large companies, where it
takes decades to grow and make a difference. Being an entrepreneur would let me
do what I love. I believe in working for myself and I like
shouldering responsibilities. Success/Failure - I have no one to blame on
but ME and I am ready to take that! One true ignition to me would be
Mr. Narayana Murthy.
Who is the person whom you
admire as a role model in your career, and why?
I look up to a lot of people in the business field. But I have
people very close to my life as my Role Models. My personal role model is my
dad. He is my pillar of strength and Support. He is the true reason behind what
a confident and Self-assured person I am.
Professionally, my strong inspiration is my husband, Sri
Subramanian, without whom I wouldn't be where I am today. I admire him for what
a great leader he is and for what he has achieved at such a young
age. He is a man of sincerity, integrity & hard work and every day is
a lesson learnt.
Few lines about your
future projects?
I am working with a core team of MBA graduates on a small
initiative for the state of Texas. We are in the process of launching our
business. I will also be working with one of our B-School Professors on
doing an industry wide analysis of Entrepreneurship in India
Experience at McCoy
Business School
I am in my last semester of my MBA. This school has taught me to
view the world from a different perspective. The program is very
thought-provoking and challenging. We worked on several real-world examples and
I had an opportunity to meet some of the greatest entrepreneurs, Venture
Capitalists and business leaders. Overall, it is a complete learning experience
and I enjoyed being part of this school.
The role of Amrita in
your life
At Amrita, there are two kinds of education. One, it
teaches how to make a living and the other is how to live. As it
provides value based education, it has become a world brand in the field of
education and I am extremely lucky to have been the part of it. Professor
Gangadharan (Chair, IT dept) is a friend, philosopher, guide and a
man of humility whose concern for the student community needs special mention.
I take this opportunity to thank him & the entire team of faculties who
evince much interest in the welfare and realize the dreams of students.
Amrita University would not have been what it is today but for the dedication
and hard work of staff members & faculties here.
A short message to
Amritians
Take up one idea
Make that one idea your life
Think of it, Dream of it, Live on it
-Swami Vivekananda
If you have the zeal and passion for life with an invincible drive
towards your goal, nothing can stop you from achieving success in life and
career. Follow your dreams. Good Luck.
