Duggal: Making travel light

B D Narayankar
People get convinced when they are able to see and feel things. Without these attributes it's difficult to sell a dream to business partners and funders. This was exactly what Sachin Duggal underwent when he tried giving shape to his baby Nivio - the virtual computer desktop.

This young wizard is on a prowl, desiring to reach pinnacles as fast as a Cheetah could reach to kill a prey. Duggal has that thirst to do something good for himself and the society at large. What strikes you most about him is his passion, energy and vibrant personality. He has craze for excelling in whatever he does and has played all roles to perfection.

Normally, an entrepreneur achieves success in old age. But Duggal is built of different genes. He has been an environmental campaigner at 12, a youth representative who contributed to the Declaration of Youth Rights before entering college, and the founder of SMX Corporation at 15. And today he is the chief executive officer of Nivio.

Duggal, with the able support of his team, has ferried Nivio to great heights. Nivio became first company in the world to make Windows-based virtual desktop - a technology by which one can access files anywhere and anytime. There is no such need to either carry a laptop or copy data on a CD.

In a short span, Nivio has achieved a considerable number of milestones, successful alpha, successful beta, venture capital funding and a partnership with AMD. Without any doubt, Duggal has created a niche for Nivio in world market.

It's interesting to know how this wonderful idea sprung up. Believe it or not, it happened just in 20 minutes before he was to make a presentation of ideas collated by him. "All this happened when I was working for Duetsche Bank. I was then 17," Duggal said.

How could Duggal create magic fighting all odds and that too at a very tender age? "I derive strength from mother's support, which is behind me like a rock in all circumstances and eventualities. I would not have been able to get anywhere without her. Her courage, determination and persistence are something I admire. Her limitless love and limitless cushion to absorb all my catastrophic disasters is just unbelievable,” he said.

Duggal also is a terrific leader. He does not believe in individual performances, instead throws lot of weight behind team's performance. According to him, without teamwork, it's difficult to satisfy customers. He also believes that being the founder is nothing and Nivio would not have been where it is now without his team comprising people like Iqbal, Jon, Indrani, Manoj, Prabind and Saurabh.

Duggal was honored with the PricewaterhouseCoopers Leader of Tomorrow Award, the BBC Young Asian Achiever of the Year Award, and was nominated for the UNEP Global 500 Youth Award.

A self-confessed geek, Duggal makes it a point to take out time and indulge in some simulated fights at his Play Station. He also likes playing tennis and does jogging to stay fit. Austin (in Texas, US) and Sydney are his favorite travel destinations, and he can be spotted there at least thrice a year.