Case 4
Case 4
Case 4
Sandhya Sitaram, the proprietor of Zeal Education and consultant to schools, has established
herself so firmly that her clients know for certain that her quality of work is matchless in the
field of training and education. It is a success story that has its roots in early computer era
when the computers were very new and very few could execute computer training with full
stream; undeniably Sandhya was one of them! The idea of teaching her daughter through fun
filled computer based softwares was the nucleus around which the present astounding
business of Sandhya took place. Sandhya Sitaram, a gold medallist (M.Sc. in Zoology) from
Bangalore University, taught Zoology in MES College, Bangalore before shifting to
computers and later into training. She wanted to continue her studies and do Ph. D but it
became difficult for her after her marriage to Dr. Sitaram as she moved to Ahmedabad after
getting married. At Ahmedabad, she started reading computer books and she explored her
interest towards computer programming. Sandhya started teaching computers and later
worked in various organizations as a faculty/corporate trainer and trained many
students/professionals in programming languages like C, C++, Visual Basic and others.
Sandhya joined the ICECD (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career
Development) training to get a better understanding of management aspects, and during the
training, the various projects of her co-trainees influenced her. She got motivated by their
business plans. The idea of starting a commercial venture took shape in her mind. The teacher
in her started thinking and she decided to start an educational firm. She soon started running
the Prosoft Children's Computer Club and became a pioneer in the use of computers in
Education for children. After few years, her husband joined her as a co-partner and Sandhya‘s
enterprise became a private limited concern. In spite of being a spouse of very famous Dr.
Sitaram (a well-known mathematician) and running the enterprise together, Sandhya
established her individual identity as a reputed Educator. Sandhya has just initiated a sister
concern – Ignite. Under that project, she has designed educational kits for schools. She is all
set to expand this project and reach new heights of success. She remarks ―when women are
settled in their family lives they must think of doing some constructive work instead of just
being a homemaker. Sandhya already possessed the teaching skills in her but her success
multiplied when she polished her entrepreneurial skills and gave a direction to her enterprise.
Sandhya took up the challenge to create her own identity not for money but to give a reason
to her life. Like Sandhya, there are many women who have many latent skills in them of
which they are mostly unaware. What they require is self-introspection and reflection. There
is no age bar for any woman to become an entrepreneur. Women should look within and
within and explore their potentials.
Q1. Identify the traits mentioned in case of strong entrepreneurs.
Q2. What are the difficulties for women entrepreneurs in our society.
Q3. State on woman entrepreneur whose story you find extremely inspiring.