Quick Heal Journey: From Earning Rs 400 By Repairing Calculators To Owning Multinational Software Company

Image Credits: LinkedIn and SugerMint

The Logical Indian Crew

Quick Heal Journey: From Earning Rs 400 By Repairing Calculators To Owning Multinational Software Company

A LinkedIn post on the story of Kailash Katkar, founder of Quick Heal company, shows how success comes along with time and effort. From earning barely ₹400 to establishing a net worth of over ₹350 crores, is a man who never gave up.

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At a time when alma mater and qualifications take the front seat, there are several entrepreneurs who have proven that skills speak volumes higher than any form of degree. Kailash Katkar is one such inspiring figure who started from scratch in a one-room electrical repair station and built an internationally known brand in the space of software and technology.

The journey was never easy, and it came along with several setbacks, but he made it through all of it with sheer confidence in his skill sets. Today, Katkar's organisation Quick Heal is a household name that has stuck along for 29 long years.

The Story That Began With Calculators And Computers

Katkar was born to a humble Maharashtrian family in the year 1966. His father was working as a machine setter at

Philips, and like many Indian parents he toiled day in and out to see his son become an engineer someday. This dream of his became a little out of reach when Katkar failed his ninth class and dropped out of school.

However, having picked up an understanding of technical-level work from his father, he started working as a technician in a calculator and radio repair shop at the young age of 19 years old. The job earned him about ₹400 every month, out of which he saved up a portion diligently.

Within about five or six years, he had sufficient capital to start his own radio & calculator repair shop. The ₹15,000 for the shop and ₹50,000 for a computer was his first-ever investment. From here, he stepped up to founding the CAT Computer Services company, for the repair and maintenance of computers, at the age of 27.

Joining him in his ventures and experiments was his brother Sanjay. Katkar had motivated Sanjay to study computers and gain an understanding of machines. He often visited Katkar's shop during his studies and would practice programming languages. It was from this point on that they developed an idea and revolutionised the software industry.

Setting The Foundation Stone For Quick Heal

It all started with a suggestion from Katkar to his brother to find a solution to remove viruses without formatting the hard disk.

Most computers that had reached the repair station came along infected with viruses. This was mostly because people did not opt to buy antivirus software in the 90's due to its high cost. The cost would often go up from ₹12000 to ₹15000, and the users would simply give the machine away to computer technicians to deal with. The process to remove the virus often involved formatting the computers and reinstalling the disk operating system, which is ideally not good for the computers.

Working on this line of thought, the two brothers developed an antivirus program and sold it for ₹700, a price twenty times less than the market rates. The product sold itself at those rates, but Katkar decided to build a wider awareness and audience around his antivirus system. Making visits to offices and homes, he would 'heal' the computers from the viruses for free of cost.

By 1998, the system had come to be known as Quick Heal and had its own website established. From there on, Quick Heal signed several deals with the big players in the software industry and became a household name. However, it wasn't until 2016 that Quick Heal went public.

Today, both brothers own one of the world's most successful antivirus software companies with a net worth of over ₹1200 crores and have worked with over 60 countries across the globe in the space of information technology security solutions. Their story continues to inspire many and give hope about evolving opportunities that come along the way.

Proof of this is the many comments under the LinkedIn post by Radhika Bajoria, narrating the brother's success story. A user by the name of Mahadevan Sridharan commented, "Formal education is only formal. It is what you learn through experience that matters. The success story of these two brothers shows that anyone can succeed if only you apply your mind and do hard work".

Many others were also of this opinion and spoke of the way the education system does not align with the job requirements in most cases. With over 8,000 likes and 300 shares, the post has started a much-needed conversation on the skills vs degrees debate.

Also Read: Kindness Pays Back: Stranger Repays Donation Given By Man 1.5 Years Ago

Contributors Suggest Correction
Writer : Laxmi Mohan Kumar
,
Editor : Snehadri Sarkar
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Creatives : Laxmi Mohan Kumar

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