Anil Agrawal - My journey in Canada - Year 1981 onward

[anil]

Why would anyone read my story? Why, really? Well, someone might. Here's my story anyway.

My immigration to Canada was unplanned. In 1979, soon after I moved to Calcutta (in West Bengal), I applied for immigration to Canada while I had no idea why I would go to Canada. However, as luck would have it, in 1980 as I was ready to get away from Calcutta, two opportunities fell in my lap: One, a lucrative job offer in Bangalore, an attractive proposition, and secondly, Canadian immigration, which I had no clue about. As I pondered my options, an astrologer (a pandit Ji) helped me make a choice. First, he said, "wherever you go, you will be successful." Then he advised, "you should go to West." That was it. I decided to go to Canada lock, stock, and barrel.

In Feb 1981, we, a family of four, left for Canada and landed in Toronto on the 6th of Feb, 1981. My sister gave us shelter and immediately, I embarked on a job search. Within three weeks, I landed a basic job in my field of computers and embarked on making a living in Canada. During the three years in that job, I went through my settling woes. After three years, I felt like going back to India. While I pondered the wisdom, or foolishness, of making a retreat to India, I happened to find a consultant's job in Systemhouse in Ottawa. Again, not knowing what lay ahead, I decided to stay on in Canada and moved to Ottawa on the 1st of April, 1984.

To start with, Systemhouse didn't quite know how to use me. I had no specific expertise to offer. Systemhouse hired me for my self-acquired knowledge of PCs (the brand new technology), but there was no business in PCs. Six months passed by. But as luck would have it, my destiny seemed all set for me. A labor union organization decided to 'automate their office operations.' They came to Systemhouse seeking a 'consultant' to advise them on technologies and guide their new sojourn on the automation track. Here's how my destiny was aligned with them. They wanted PCs-based new technologies and I was the only consultant at Systemhouse who knew anything about PCs. I was chosen for the assignment.

Towards the end of 1984, my new journey began on an unknown career path -- PC technology was brand new. Networks were just surfacing. As a consultant to my new client, my task was to uncover their requirements, teach them the fundamentals of automation and PCs, recommend and implement PCs and networks in their offices and automate their office operations. Fortunately for me, they reckoned with the reality that technologies were emerging and thus, allowed me to experiment with what was available. After a few hiccups along the way, I led a successful project and expanded business for Systemhouse in the area of PCS and Networks. I became a hero in the company and was rewarded with three promotions within three years. In my last promotion. Finally, I was given a position that came with a territory of specific clients. I had to respond to the varying needs of my client base. I found out that I was a misfit in this position. Here's why. My heart was in promoting and pursuing new technologies (PCs and Networking). I felt uncomfortable in that role, took my boss into confidence, and shared my discomfiture. He and his boss asked me to define an ideal role for me. I wrote out an 8-page overview of my vision of setting up a dedicated group under my charge focused on new technologies. They couldn't accept my proposal. I believed so much in the new technologies that I decided to move on to my own entrepreneurial venture.

In 1988, I began an entrepreneurial venture, Agrawal Systems Corporation, later renamed as LanVision Corporation. There were many challenges. First and foremost, I stopped receiving a monthly pay-cheque, a scary reality. Anyhow, I landed a few consulting and business contracts and earned a regular income. The professional challenge was I began to sell largely unknown and unproven new technologies. I adopted the slogan: "Technologies for the people, operated and managed by the people (everyday office workers)." These office workers had no technical expertise. I took it upon myself to train them in operating, managing, and maintaining the technologies. Thus began my technology training business that culminated in a technology training company, NetVision Inc in 1990. Passionate about teaching and training computer-neophytes, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of converting office workers into technicians. I led the market in this area and inspired a huge growth of the technology training business in Ottawa.

... To be continued

[skk]

You carved your own, very successful, career path in uncharted territory at the time, and paved the way for others.
You are a true visionary.
Very brave and very commendable

[bbadmin]

Hi SKK,

Thank you for reading my story and for your generous compliment. I appreciate that.

Anil