From Wall Street job becoming the MD of Nepal’s leading IT company, technology has always been at the forefront of business decisions of this entrepreneur. 

--BY AASHIYANA ADHIKARI

For Omesh Lal Shrestha, taking up his responsibilities in the family business has been an important moment in time to learn and transform himself for a new work environment. “It’s only after you’ve stepped outside of the comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform,” says Shrestha who is the managing director at Computer Aided Service (CAS) Total Solutions. CAS Total Solutions is a leading Nepali IT company which has been providing solutions in IT hardware, software, communications, support and business process outsourcing (BPO).

Born in 1984, Shrestha went to school at St. Xavier’s School, Jawalakhel. After finishing a Bachelors’ degree in Engineering from Bangalore, he joined New York University for his graduate studies. “After its completion, I started working on Wall Street for five years in the field of quantitative finance,”he said,adding, “But after working there for a while, I realised the opportunities in Nepal.”

Shrestha returned to Nepal in 2014 and joined his family business. According to him, it was very hard to adjust at first with the business environment and work culture in Nepal. “In the beginning, I was very reluctant to work here as the work environment is completely different from what I was used to in the US,”says Shrestha. “But with time, I gradually got hold of how work is done in Nepal and adjusted myself accordingly,” he adds. Leaving the US to join the family business was quite a tough decision for him. “I was very content with my life there, but a lot of things were also happening in Nepal and the tech industry was growing rapidly,”he mentions. 

A passionate football fan, Shrestha wanted to become an economist while growing up. However, his ardour turned towards technology. “I was very fascinated with data and statistics and thought of becoming an economist, but my family business of IT slowly dragged my attention towards the tech sector,” he shares. “When I think about myself now, working in technology has enabled me to work on pretty much anything,” he adds.

Omesh is a person with great deal of affection towards adventure sports. He loves reading medieval history books which also expands to non-fiction publications whenever he has free time. Shrestha loves travelling but finds himself working even when on a break. “Nowadays, even when I travel for leisure, work always comes my way. With the globalisation and technology leading the world, I cannot afford to have a day for myself without thinking about my work,” he says. 

Shrestha describes himself as an individual with a positive attitude and doesn’t believe in living his life with regrets. “By nature, I am a person who takes things in a positive light. I've great parents, wife and a job that I love that calls for a certain amount of emotional expression to realise a lot of my dreams and aspirations,” he expresses. 

According to Shrestha, carving out a distinct mark being a second generation entrepreneur is tough in Nepal. But slowly he has started to carve a niche of his own. He says that when his father started his business 26 years ago, the situation was very different and the company was more focused on selling products. “But gradually we moved towards software sales and providing total IT services and solutions to clients,” he mentions. 

As working in the IT solutions business is always a challenge, Shrestha says that the services the vendors offer at present might lose relevancy even a few months on. “Therefore, it is essential for anyone in this area of business to have a good understanding of new trends and a fast momentum to provide clients with new products and services,” opines Shrestha. “In recent years, Nepal has seen lot of players in the IT sector. So, providing better services and carving a niche in CAB has been a major challenge for the vendors at present,” he adds. 

Shrestha says he is never afraid of market competition. He believes in his focus in providing optimal level of services to clients. "We are the pioneer IT solutions company in Nepal. This is leverage for us to focus on delivering excellent services rather than doing what new players in the market are engaged in," he opines.

Shrestha has plans to expand the presence of CAS throughout Nepal not only focusing on providing IT services and solutions to big companies but also to small and emerging enterprises as well. CAS is also looking to explore beyond the existing business, according to Shrestha. “Along with the existing products and services, we also will be focusing on the area of big data in the next five years,” he informs.

Shrestha has been a member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) since January 2018 and has found EO as a great platform to diversify knowledge on various business sectors. “It is also a hub where you can make connections with likeminded individuals,” he says.

EO is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 12,000 influential business owners with 173 chapters in 54 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond. EO Nepal has 60 members as of April 2018. At its core, EO is a collection of like-minded entrepreneurs focused on business growth, personal development and community engagement.