A True Facilitator Of Transformation & Success

By: Monica Pallavi J

Jaya Ahuja is an alchemist! She has a magical Midas touch. It's not without a reason a humble IT training start-up she started at the dawn of the new millennium has today turned into a global business with a turnover of over Rs. 250 crore. Alchemy has its mysterious ways but there is nothing mysterious about her ways. Her dogged determination, sheer hard work, dynamism, and unwavering focus on the customer have reaped her rewards. Born in the picturesque Panchgani, a sleepy hill station southeast of Mumbai, she spent her childhood dreaming of doing something different. As a kid, she al-ways took the less trodden path. True to her character, she chose MBA in Marketing, an area not many women ventured into at the time. Marriage brought her to Bengaluru in 1999. Her dream of starting something on her own got wings as her husband Dinesh Ahuja too was nursing entrepreneurial dreams. It was a marriage of dreams in a way that gave birth to Alchemy Solutions, a corporate training company working with a powerful vision of transforming human values and human capital resources.

Her people skills, sharp business acumen, and output-focused approach quickly won the hearts of many clients and employees as well. The inspirational story of this industry maven takes us through a ride of determination and growth. Women Entrepreneur India appreciates Jaya Ahuja's leadership and engages in an exclusive conversation with her.

Below is an excerpt of Jaya's interview with Women Entrepreneur India.

“Bringing more women into the tech industry is not a gender issue, rather, it is a solution for a number of growing problems”

Take us through the journey and growth of Alchemy Solutions

In 2000, when Information Technology was booming in Bengaluru, we saw a huge opportunity in grooming talent for the multinational giants and upcoming domestic IT companies. That marked the beginning of Alchemy Solutions as a small company with just three employees. With a tagline, `getting IT done', Alchemy weaved up magic for its clients. In just three years, it emerged as a key player in the corporate training space. Our vast network of expert trainers and customer-centricity soon became a big hit with the clients. In a matter of a few years, Alchemy had its offices in Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Gurugram, Delhi and soon expanded to international geographies.

Mention a few esteemed clients your organization worked with so far.

Many of the Fortune 500 companies and global IT majors such as IBM, Accenture, Cisco, TESCO, Capgemini, Wipro, and others, signed up with Alchemy. We also succeeded in securing education partnerships with top companies like IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat, BMC, CITRIX, Red Education, Informatica, Amazon, Google, PEARSON, and VMware.

What are some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved so far as a business leader? What is your guiding leadership mantra?

Alchemy won recognition from IBM, ANZ, Citrix, Red Hat, and HCL besides acquiring EICC, CRISIL and We Connect certifications. We had trained over 300,000 senior IT professionals and one lakh Campus Hires, clocking a turn-over of Rs. 35 crore by 2014. Corporate training alone could not satiate my appetite. We diversified the business into Tech Staffing in 2015 by leveraging my vast experience in corporate training and business management. Named Alchemy Techsol, our new venture shortly became a 3,500-strong company with techies contracted in India and USA.

As a successful business leader, what is your road-map set for the new growth phase of the company? What is the driving force for achieving so much in your life?

While my two ventures are growing steadily, I have set eyes on making the group a billion-dollar business. I strive to understand the challenges of a woman entrepreneur in achieving that.

Building a successful business and balancing the needs of the family is never easy but I believe that I have mastered the tightrope walk. I could not have done it alone. I am blessed to have a life partner who has been not only been supportive of my entrepreneurial journey but has been a friend, guide, and a great team member. The adage `Behind every successful woman, there is an understanding man' cannot be truer in my case.