Young & Savvy Digital Entrepreneur
It takes many by surprise to know that 32-year-old Chirag Ranjan is a tech professional, digital entrepreneur, guest lecturer, and youth mentor! In 2022 itself, he has been awarded the ‘Indian Achievers Award’ for Business Excellence, while his organization V-Connect has been awarded the ‘Zee Business Achievers Award 2022’ for Emerging tech start-up in CPAAS & Cloud Infra.
With a life philosophy of ‘Put your entire energy into what you believe you can do and let Karma decide your fortune’, Chirag feels that he is solely responsible for what is happening in his life, and that only he can make it better. “That way, there shall never be any regrets of not trying, even if it fails. We have one gifted life with limited time, so why think twice for trying what you really want?” he wonders.
A self motivated super achiever, Chirag was born and brought up in Gaya (the land of enlightenment where Lord Buddha gained knowledge sitting under a Peepal’s tree), Bihar, and went on to do his PGDM in Finance & Marketing from EBS, Delhi. His family comprises his father Dhruv Prakash, mother Anjali Devi, two elder sisters Jyoti and Preeti, wife Swati Baranwal, and daughter Sachi Ranjan.
It was his wife’s support that eventually helped him take the first step towards entrepreneurship. Until then, Chirag worked in MNCs in the areas of solutions sales, cloud solutions, IT software solutions and sales (SAAS, PAAS, IAAS), product management, strategic business development and enterprise sales.
After working in global corporates for more than a decade, Chirag finally decided to follow his dream and turn entrepreneur with a start-up in the tech space, thus launching the CPAAS – business unit at V-Connect in 2021 along with three other partners. He is currently heading the enterprise business unit for IAAS & CPAAS, and is aiming for 60% profitable EBITDA for the organization.
“My vision is to make a profitable top line of 100 cr in five years in the technology space. And I plan to do this by following organic growth for the first three years to make a strong base, and not chasing third party investments until or unless absolutely required,” reveals Chirag.
Chirag also believes in strong networking with people who are ambitious, live with passion, and can help add value to his career. Simultaneously, he is a lecturer and mentor to students across campuses in the country himself. “I am in touch with multiple campuses and have been giving lectures to thousands of students, guiding them about adopting different domains and exploring entrepreneurship at least once in their lifetime. I am committed to guide 200+ students across India and push them towards their best selves,” he says. Incidentally, he was regularly awarded as one of the best speakers in group discussions during his college days.
Nevertheless, Chirag considers the ‘hunger to grow and make every year a better year for himself’ his greatest strength, and comparison, his biggest pitfall in the past. Speaking about how comparing himself with others a few years back led to increased stress, he opines with experience, “Chasing and following what your competitors are doing would only make you a copy. Compete with yourself instead, as you know yourself and your capability best.”
He also shares some advice on how to deal with unavoidable challenges. Telling us how his go-to word, and action, in difficult situations is ‘hustle’, Chirag says, “It is always beneficial to be mentally and physically fit and follow a strict daily routine. Entrepreneurship is not a 9 to 6 role, so take out that one day a week to spend time with family. Not only are they your biggest cheerleaders, but your journey with them would be longer than any job or business, so make the effort. For yourself, take out 1 hour each day.. to recuperate and energise for the next day. And if possible, take a solo trip once a year. Keep your phone and laptop aside to hear the voice of nature and feel it recharge your body and soul.”
Young, successful and dynamic, Chirag leaves us with his secret mantra for growth – “Your life is 100% your responsibility, and what you do shall determine a better fortune for you.”