By Gaurav Aryal

Trishakti Joshi, CEO of Elite Networks was raised at a time when sons in the family were pressed to be either a doctor or an engineer. Being a part of the family with a daughter and two sons, Joshi was set to be a doctor as his elder brother had chosen the path to engineering. But the life of his had something else in its details.

He was convinced and determined to be a doctor in his schooldays. So, he also took up Biology as one of the optional subjects in school. But as soon as he came out of his school passing his School Leaving Certificate (SLC), he watched lives of doctors from close. Then the fire in him that wanted to be a medical doctor extinguished. Joshi explains, “I was always a kind of person who wants and tries to do something new. I did not find that profession interesting. New experiments and trying out new things were missing out there. Though there is scope for research and development, it is not simply possible in the initial phase.”

The Chosen Dream

Deciding to quit the doctoral profession he thought of shifting to architectural engineering. But unfortunately, only Intermediate in Engineering was taught in Nepal. So, one had to go abroad to complete the further studies. So, he joined ISC in Patan Campus but entering the Physics faculty was not so easy for a boy who came through a biology background.  He managed through it and joined BSc in Trichandra College. Though he was keen to go to the US for further studies, he recalls his father, who had lived in the US for a long time, did not want Joshi to go there for his undergraduate studies.

In the meantime the wave of new technology and especially the computers had struck Nepal. Along with his studies, he also joined MIPS at Bagbazar and learned the ABCD of computers there. The curiosity for the technology and a strong background in Science made him land as a job holder in the Mercantile Office Systems. There he used to repair computers. He worked for five years for Mercantile. Having worked for a long time with machines, he then craved working with people.

With a dream to do something new and more satisfying he came up with an idea to offer computer networking services to offices. It was already an old thing in the international market but it was pretty new for Nepal. Then he established Elite Networks, partnering with a friend, the company which he is currently looking after.

Making Leaps

Joshi cashed in on the relationship he made in his previous job to find his clients. So, the networking responsibilities of the then Grindlays Bank or today’s Standard Chartered Bank were taken up by his company in its initial days. Joshi accredits the bank for the success of his company. As of now the entire IT of the bank is managed by Elite Networks. His company worked for the American Library, looked after IT aspects of Hillary Clinton’s Nepal visit and also sold computers.

In the due course, his company also work abroad too. Joshi’s company took up all the responsibilities of setting up networking for UNDP’s Bhutan Office. As of now, he has been introducing and maintaining the new initiatives his company makes. Around 1996 he also initiated the project to network two offices. And Joshi claims that his company was the first in Nepal to introduce wireless networking.

Joshi’s venture that began with networking business also tried out sms banking, and now concentrates more on providing complete IT solutions to its clients. It not only provides tools and technology but also provides the entire services related with it. Since 2009, he started selling Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and all the services associated with it such as installation and maintenance among others. Joshi claims that his company has over 50 per cent market share in the ATM sales and caters to around 65 banks and financial institutions. His company also installs and manages ATM lounges. Once, Joshi also provided consulting services for his clients about the IT. Apart from these, his company in partnership has established and operated a data centre at Thapathali targeting financial institutions and corporate houses.

Elite Networks that began with two people, has now reached to a team of 60. Moving away from selling hardware, he plans to concentrate more on the complete solution packages and also venture into software development. Joshi sees a huge market prospects not only in Nepal but also globally in apps development for smart-phones and tablet computing.

Had he not been in the current business, Joshi thinks he would have become either doctor or taking some job somewhere in the field of IT.

Joshi says, “For me trying and doing new things is like an addiction. I visit abroad to understand and find out emerging technologies and identify new technologies that can be useful in Nepal.” Joshi localises those technologies to best suit the need of the Nepali market before introducing to Nepal.

Working style

While making any decisions, Joshi goes after his instincts, local market knowledge and trend in the international market. Similarly, he says that he readies himself before the market readies itself while introducing any new products and services. Joshi is already ready on his part before the clearing houses are ready to be operational in Nepali market- his new target place to offer services and solutions. Joshi recalls such times when he has been ahead of time and market, and instances where he had to drop the entire idea. He exemplifies such a situation in sms banking, where other companies in the market are doing well currently.

Every day, Joshi gets up at around 5:30 in the morning. Then, he goes to the club for exercises and fitness for one and a half hour. At around 8:30, he leaves for office and reaches there within half an hour. As he has to keep in touch with companies in Singapore, he utilises the time before his employees arrive for corresponding with those companies. “When my team arrives at office by 9:30, I am ready for them and by 10, when banks open, I am ready for clients too,” he describes. He usually ends the day at 6 pm.

Management approach

Joshi looks after the management of his company Elite Networks while his partner Pramod Kunwar looks after all the technical aspects. He reveals that the entire accounting services have been outsourced to another company since day one.

Joshi believes, “As easy it is to establish a company, it is equally difficult to sustain it. It may look effortless to grow but it is equally tough to maintain that growth.”  Joshi’s company around six years ago thought of getting an ISO certificate but dropped the idea because of the lengthy documentation process. But, he slightly modified the procedures and applied all the quality measures on the functioning of the company.

When it comes to the human resource management, he has not left any stone unturned to keep his employees happy and motivated. He says that performance based incentives and regular motivational packages are offered to the human resources to keep their high spirits going higher.

Defining Success

For different people, success comes at different shapes and sizes. For Joshi, it comes in the form of satisfaction and joy. He recalls his initial days when he used to be filled with joy on closing a deal. “Everything does not remain the same forever. I am constantly in search of what next. If the newness is missing, pleasure diminishes,” he explains, “More than money, I enjoy the process of making money.”

Joshi suggests sincerity and dedication to the work is must for both satisfaction and achieving success. “You have to believe on what you do and you have to be passionate about it. When one enjoys work, money does not become the first priority and success will automatically follow. Money is its by-product,” says he.

The Personal Space

When it comes to bridging the professional and personal life, Joshi likes them to remain at a distance. He does not mix the two. He says that unless it is an emergency, he neither takes official work to home nor receives any work related phone calls from home. Saturdays are the days when he likes spending time with his family and giving chances to his hobbies and interests. When he gets free time, he adores going little adventurous. He loves hiking, trekking, cycling and roaming around in the nature. Joshi has also recently developed new hobbies – photography and golf. He plans to give more time to his interests and his desires that were sidelined on the process of pursuing bigger professional dreams.

It has been more than two decades since he first started working. So, he desires to give some extra time for himself reducing the working hours. “I have been thinking to minimise my working hours and give little extra time for my personal interests,” Joshi promises.

Similarly, at the back of his mind he has been slowly making rough sketch of retirement and succession planning. He wants to groom somebody capable so that he can handover his responsibilities. However, he does not plan to completely abandon his company and profession.