A graduate in Computer Science from the IIT, Kanpur and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, USA, Ambarish Gupta is the CEO and Founder of Gurgaon-based cloud telephony start-up Knowlarity Communications. Belonging to a Kanpur based business family, Ambarish feels entrepreneurship comes to him naturally.
He started off his career as a researcher for the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics in Germany before joining software major EFI. After having worked with consulting firm McKinsey & Company as a Senior Associate, in 2009, he founded Knowlarity, which provides business telephony software to some of the world’s leading corporations.
A technocrat at heart, he believes that advancements in communication technology hold much potential for changing how the world does business. There are massive numbers of SME’s in emerging markets but they are under-served because of sales, marketing and distribution issues. To address this market potential, Knowlarity Communications caters to over 12,000 SME’s in 65+ countries.
Schedule that keeps the leader healthy
Fitness regime
I like to be fit and healthy therefore I spend almost 1 hour daily in the gym morning and evening.
Life at work
Ambarish is a workaholic and passionate entrepreneur by birth. When he’s not working, you will either see him reading history and philosophy books or listening to Beatles or watching inspirational movies.
Life when not working
As an entrepreneur, Amabrish is always on calls and emails. His first passion is his company. But he likes trekking and has covered some dangerous trekking routes in the hills of Himachal, Kashmir (India) and US.
Hobbies:
- Listening to music, dancing and reading philosophy and history books.
- Stress buster mantra
- Dancing and listening to good Beatles’ music
Favorite books
Mostly entrepreneurial, history and philosophy books. His personal favorites are Walden by Henry Thoreau & Animal Farm by George Orwell
Advice to Peers
- Give it all that you have. It is like raising your own baby, requires constant attention.
- Never give up- failures are the foundation to success
- Don’t hesitate. Express your ideas wherever you can. Remember, great companies were once ideas.
- Be upfront. Speak your mind, even if you think it is wrong.
