If you think all software professionals wear thick glasses and brown suits, then meet Upinder Zutshi, CEO of Bangalore-based software firm Infinite Computer Solutions. The designer clothes-clad Zutshi’s style statement reflects in his slick office as well, which opens out onto a private terrace, complete with garden umbrella and potted plants.

When Zutshi joined Infinite in 2002, the company worked out of a small office in Indiranagar, employed 90 people and posted revenues of $35 million.

Those days are long gone. Today, the company has an employee strength of 2,000 and a sprawling office in Whitefield, the heart of Bangalore’s knowledge economy. Revenue has touched $140 million. “Infinite is among the top 22 software exporters in India,” claims Zutshi.

But Infinite’s biggest achievement, according to its boss, is that the company’s attrition rate is half that of the industry. Zutshi prides himself on fostering creative freedom at his workplace. “I believe in building a team that enjoys working with you.”

Zutshi says this is a value he learnt early in life at CMC where he landed his first job after graduating in mechanical engineering from BITS Pilani. He joined CMC as a sales executive in 1984. He stayed put in the company for eight years, despite the low salary. “The company had a strong culture of working together,” recalls Zutshi.

He went on to become the youngest business development manager at CMC after he struck a massive Rs 30 crore deal for an IMD meteorological ground station. “I lived the project till it was signed. It was a major achievement for the company and myself,” he says.

Zutshi’s exit from CMC in 1991 was unplanned. The young manager had called three colleagues for a dinner. It got extended into a nightlong discussion on a business plan. “We chalked out the plan on the drawing room floor till four in the morning,” he remembers.

Zutshi had a clear mantra for success. “To be successful, you have to believe in something and have the ability to take risks,” he says. And he believed in the business plan drawn out on the floor of his house.

In 1992, the four colleagues launched Eastern Software Systems. This was at a time when venture capitalists were unknown. Raising funds was therefore a problem. “I sold all my household goods to raise capital for the firm,” says Zutshi.

Zutshi moved to Kuwait, and later Qatar, and managed the West Asian operations of the company. “It was a period of excitement and stress. We were embarking on something unknown,” he says.

In five years, Eastern Software became a $3 million company. Zutshi admits that its growth was slow. “We did not grow because we kept out of the US market.”

Zutshi was all for making forays into the US. But his business partners thought otherwise. “This led to differences,” he says. In 1996, Zutshi quit the company.

The techie-entrepreneur’s next stop was Velocient Technologies. Velocient was born during the dotcom boom and Zutshi had big plans for it. “We made the company a high-end consulting firm,” he says.

Zutshi pulled out all stops for Velocient. Venture capitalists pumped in money. Business expanded to Europe and the US. An ace team was created in the US ? people were hired from companies like McKinsey and Deloitte & Touche. “A lot of Indians were selling the dotcom dream to the biggest brains in the industry,” says Zutshi.

For five years, Zutshi lived life on the fast lane. As Velocient’s global CEO, he travelled every other day. “I had collected two million miles on British Airways, North-West and KLM put together,” he remembers.

When the dotcom space vanished, Velocient’s business model went with it. “Suddenly, we had to go on the back foot. There was pressure from investors, the market and employees. I didn’t sleep for months,” says Zutshi.

Velocient’s last days taught Zutshi to manage failure and survive under great stress. Burnt out after the Velocient experience, Zutshi joined Infinite Solutions with the sole aim of taking things easy. He joined the company as head of M&A strategies. “It took just two months to realise that I couldn’t sit back,” he says.

The young CEO took charge of Infinite’s India operations, got back into fifth gear and remains in that mode. “It’s a competitive world. You have to stretch yourself to succeed,” he says.

Based on a conversation with Varuna Verma in Bangalore