A man of all seasons

Whenever the devotees of
Lord Murugan climb the top of Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple at
Marudhamalai near Coimbatore, they have to cross a notice board
sponsored by Velmayil Group of Companies, which
welcomes the devotees to the sanctum sanctorum. With 3 years of stint
with a leading networking company, N Gopalakrishnan started a new
venture and entered into IT services.

Born to an orthodox and
traditional GR Narasimhan and Usha Narasimhan in 1971, Gopalakrishnan
did his graduation in engineering from Kumaraguru College of
Engineering, Coimbatore, and later did a Masters in Business
Administration degree from Newport University, California through
distance learning education.

“Our family is an ardent
devotee of lord Murugan, so we named our organization as 'Velmayil',”
said Gopalakrishnan. Before starting his new company, his family was
in the business of exporting plastic sheets, lamination films and
adhesives. Later in 1995, with the support of his parents both
morally and financially, Gopalakrishnan started assembling the parts
of computers. In 1997, a new office named Emrald Info Systems (which
was later renamed to Velmayil Info Services) was started, which was a
turning point in his life.

Challenges

Even though Gopalakrishnan
had not met much of tough challenges, there were a few to name.
“Though the incident has no relevance with the IT trade, but the
bomb blast which happened in Coimbatore had an impact on the IT
business-the sales went down,” recalled Gopalakrishnan. He
further said that the recession during 2009-2010 was also a tough
time for partners in Coimbatore.

However, with the motto
'Sell through service', we served our customer with the best of
our level. Apart from that,
Gopalakrishnan terms a competition which is 'unhealthy' in
nature, as one of the biggest challenges. But he said that his
customers believed in him and supported him during his tough times.

Lessons Learnt

Gopalakrishnan, though
supported by his family in business, had learnt many lessons in these
years in the IT trade, through failures. “There were a lot of
bitter moments like financial loss, order loss and manpower obsession
in the initial stages. But in the later stages, with that experience,
we framed a parallel system to overcome all the odds”, he uttered.
Gopalakrishnan also advised the same for wannabe entrepreneurs. “Be
straight, keep margins safe, clear your commitments, and do not spend
more,” is what he advises. He also suggested that too much of bank
loans and over drafts are not good for a healthy business.

Diversification

According to
Gopalakrishnan, having multibusiness approach will always help to
succeed in all businesses. “Diversification of your business into
different verticals is the best method to balance the financial needs
of the trade,” he said. He further added, “When I started my
business, many customers came only for the trust that my family
earned through other business.” He also added that having various
businesses
will also help in increasing the client strength.

Future Plans

“We have tied-up with
Eagle Information System and we got the privilege of being the
authorized multi-brand laptop service center, which is about to get
commenced from Vijayadasami (an auspicious day for starting new
things). In the forthcoming days, Gopalakrishnan want to enter into
webbased solutions and document management solutions.

Family Advantage

Anyone who has a family
support in business will be a successful person. “It gives me a
peace of mind, an elderly advice and great support, when my parents
guide me during some moments when I find myself confused,” he said,
adding his gratitude to his parents for the success he earned till
date. Gopalakrishnan married Chennai-born Nandhini, who is an MBA
graduate. The couple is blessed with 2 kids, Aishwarya and Akshaya.
Asked if there is any overlap of family matters with office,
Gopalakrishnan simply
refuses that in office, no matters related to family is discussed.
“In fact I call my wife 'Madam' in office and she calls me
'sir', from the moment we enter the office, such is the
understanding we have. I am responsible for outside activities like
meeting the clients, marketing, roving around for service, while she
is in-charge of inside activities like purchase, administration,
telemarketing, etc,” he added. There are at present 15 employees
working in his IT business.

Beyond Business

Gopalakrishnan is always
active in activities other than business. “I am a member of a
Coimbatore-based Rotary Club. I do social activities like free
medical camp, tree plantation and have adapted a school.” He finds
enthusiasm in spending time for the Confed-IT association and other
social activities. “I am the secretary of Coimbatore Information
Technology Association 'CIMITA,' and I am trying to do my level
best of it,” he said. He also wants to formulate some formulae,
which would work more aggressively in the insurance policies of any
diseased member. A believer, Gopalakrishnan has sponsored a separate
building inside the Marudhamalai Temple and never fails to visit the
temple at least once in a month. He also makes a visit to Tirupathi
once in a year with his family. However, Ooty and Kodaikanal, are his
famous tourism spots. Velmayil cultural mahal, a marriage hall owned
by him often conducts religious events. Gopalakrishnan finds his
leisure time in extensive driving of cars and motor bikes. “I still
remember my college days where, me and my friends drove to Ooty from
Coimbatore on our bikes, which is one of the most unforgettable
experiences of my lifetime,” he concluded.