Silicon Valley millionaire

ICE PEOPLE

Vijay Uttarwar

He straddles the world of information technology and agriculture. He has cashed in on the Silicon Valley boom and returned to his roots. At the height of the dotcom boom, he struck a $ 360 million deal and today he wants to give something back to society.

Meet Vijay Uttarwar, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who's become founder of a company to sell agro-based products. The 44-year-old millionaire started life at Bhamb near Nagpur in Maharashtra, a village of just 500 people.

His family was engaged in farming and that is where he wanted to be after he did his Master's in Agricultural Science. His family suggested that he try his hand at something else first.

So he decided to pursue his other passion in life, computers. He was soon US bound for a computer science degree at the Florida Institute of Technology and after five years of work experience in the US he founded a technology product company called Digital Tools.It, however, did not do too well and he sold it.

His next venture, SoftPlus Inc, which made ECRM software for the telecom industry, was a roaring success, though. "The products helped telecom companies to stay in touch with their customers. Our client list included AT& T, Vodafone & AT&T," Uttarwar says with pride.

In 2000, he struck a $ 360 million cash-cum-stock deal with US Interactive to sell SoftPlus. Soon he founded another company with brother Mohan "� Roamware Inc, a mobile software company.

Vijay, who is on the board of the Indian arm of the company, then wanted to do something for his homeland. He funded Pratam, the NGO, for imparting education in 104 schools at Ralagaon taluka in Maharashtra ( of which Bhamb is a part). "Before the project started, 80 per cent of the students got 20 per cent marks. After a year 80 per cent secured 80 per cent," he says.

But Uttarwar wanted to take things further. So he launched Naturelle India, a herbal products company. His first product, Stugar, a sugar substitute based on a natural herb Stevaria, is to be launched this month.

"It is the sweetest natural sweetener in the world and with zero calorie and has no effect on blood sugar. Initially, we will import the raw material. Later on, based on how Stugar fares in the market, we will sign contract farming deals for the cultivation of Stevia. We are already in talks with farmers in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Later we might set up a processing factory which will generate further employment. Cultivating Stevia is 10 times more profitable than cultivating wheat or cotton," he says.