Any child born in Tamil Nadu is categorized into two, ‘Peyar sollum pillai'(a child who tells its name) and ‘Vure pesum pillai’ (A child who is spoken by everyone). However, when Kuberan was born he never expected that he will belong to the second category in just two decades later. Today there is no one in the IT fraternity of Tamil Nadu who can say he does not know Kuberan of VBK computers, Trichy.
Striking up a conversation with Kuberan is as simple as it gets. And once the conversation is over, you’re left with a great feeling of having a conversation to a man who’s genuine, hardworking and witty. And of course it’s a little wonder that it should be Kuberan who is the man responsible for starting VBK Computers and nurturing it over the years to emerge as quite a name to reckon within the Trichy channel market.
Early Days
“I was the dullest student in my class until I reached the 7th standard,” says the honest Kuberan. So, what had brought the change? The teachers, he admitted. “Well, in the primary classes, I was unfortunate to had very harsh teachers. From the 7th standard onward, I began to take interest in my studies and by the time I reached the 10th standard, I was a bright student,” says Kuberan. Subsequently, mathematics and science became his favorite subjects and somewhere between the ball and the goal and the endless football matches, Kuberan enrolled for engineering course in Electronics and Communications.
No wonder he chose to be a day-scholar while pursuing his engineering at Melmaruvuthur. I asked him about his college days and suddenly a distant picture of boys, movies and lectures came into his mind. They were the toughest two years after graduation. Kuberan remembers sending endless copies of his resume to various companies and the outcome was invariably negative. But his spirit seemed undeterred. Somewhere within Kuberan, there was this burning desire to start his own enterprise. VBK Computers was the outcome. But not before Kuberan equipped himself for the task. He did a high-intensity course in hardware at Microcode Consultants in Chennai. This was followed by four months of first-hand work experience, integrating systems at Pragati Computers, Puducherry.
“That’s when my mother fell ill. She had to undergo an open-heart surgery. But she didn’t pull through. That’s when I decided to go back to my family. I wanted to be there with my father during our times of distress,” says Kuberan, in a voice tinged with pain. For sheer practical reasons, Kuberan chose to set up a shop in Trichy.
“There’s no scope in Tindivanam. Trichy had a lot of potential where business is concerned,” says Kuberan. Today, Kuberan and his father jointly runs the show at VBK Computers.”My father was into coffee powder selling, a business which was started by my grandfather in the 1940’s. However, the coffee business didn’t do very well. And after my mother passed away, our coffee business slumped and it made sense to get into computer business since I was very interested in this field,” says Kuberan.
VBK Computers was started from scratch. Kuberan approached distributors.. And soon, vendors, distributors and customers came to trust VBK Computers for its genuineness. “Today, if a vendor plans to enter the Trichy market, he’d want to do it through VBK Computers. Such is our reputation,” says the confident Kuberan. Kuberan however is quick to share his success with everybody who helped shape his business. “We wouldn’t be what we are today but for the support and trust of my vendors, distributors and customers.”he added.
Social life
Kuberan is good at socializing with people. Be it in the IT association in Trichy or the Confed-ITA in Tamil Nadu, he is always in the forefront. Kuberan was also one among the few people who were instrumental in the concept of the state-level association for IT industry. He has held almost all the positions and was the president of the association. Known for a smiling face.
Personal life
Kuberan is a family-oriented person. For him, family is everything. May be his office and home are in the same building, he is too attached to his family. In any conversation he brings his family topic inside. One can witness that in every half an hour in any given time, he receives a call or he himself call his wife and informs his whereabouts. Balasubramanian, Kuberan’s father is a humble gentleman who works in VBK computers just like another employee without any showoffs. He also has a dedicated album in his Facebook profile titled, ‘my dear most people’ having pictures of his family members. Kuberan has a different working clock. Generally he hits the pillow not before 11pm. However, his days begins early and for sure whenever he is at home, he never starts a day without going to terrace to worship the tower of Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Srirangam.
source: http://www.dqchannels.com / DQ Channels / Home> Features> Success Story / by B. Swaminathan / July 22nd, 2013
