Flying start – my salary dropped to half that in previous job
He was with Dutch delivery firm TNT for 19 years. Never through most of those years did he think of becoming an entrepreneur. Until in 2009, when TNT wanted to merge all its subsidiaries. Sitting in India, Sujoy Guha and some others felt it was a strategic mistake. “The company was already running into losses in India and I decided that before the ship sank, I needed to go out and do something on my own,“ he says.
In 2013, Guha, along with his long-time colleague and friend Samirbaran Panda, started CriticaLog, a logistics start up engaged in supply chain management and critical logistics solutions. The company provides air express distribution services for domestic and international movement of time sensitive, highly valuable or highly perishable, hazardous and fragile cargo such as Swiss watches, antiques, jewellery, luxury goods, automotive and IT spares and pharmaceuticals.
Guha says the logistics sector in the country is highly unorganized and to start from scratch was tough. “But I was confident. My strength is in relationship-building with clients, and armed with the knowledge of an MNC culture, I knew I would be able to pull it off,“ he says.
Leaving TNT from the position of an operations director naturally brought along its share of criticism.“My family called me names and was disappointed that I left a cushy job at a mature age. Only my father backed me as I have done similar things even in the past. I had quit my job at ONGC, something very few do, at the start of my career,“ he laughs.
His salary dropped to half of what he earned at TNT. Almost 80% of his savings were put into the new venture.“But it is fun to see your own company grow,“ he says.
CriticaLog is today present across 54 locations across the country and delivers consignments only above Rs 10,000. By choosing to transport selective items, they can charge higher. The company has some 160 clients including Bosch, Mitsubishi, Shell, Nikon, HCL and Wipro. It has received funding of Rs 5 crore from Switzerland-based private equity firm Logon Investments.
Guha says his experience with TNT has been the bedrock of CriticaLog. “TNT took seven months to release me as they did not want me to leave. I did not even go to my farewell; it was too emotional for me to leave a company after so many years,“ he says.
Source: Times of India
