Entrepreneur’s corner - Ajit Deora
After graduating from IIT Madras, Ajit Deora left Indian shores to study at University of Kansas in computer science. After that Deora worked for Intel for five years before striking out on his own. Deora was always fascinated by America, most importantly its ability to throw up successful entrepreneurs. He never believed that a regular job could help him succeed in a big way. Today Deora is considered one of the top entrepreneurial talents in town. He’s generally regarded as high energy and smart. Deora is well connected in the venture community, has been an advisor on the boards of several VC firms, and he’s a charter member of TiE.
“I started my first company called Silicon Platforms, which was acquired by a company called S3. Since then, I’ve done many startups, EnKoo being my fifth startup. Each time the startups I did either got acquired or went IPO”, says Deora.
For a serial entrepreneur, this is not a big deal, but a huge achievement to anyone venturing out for their first time.
Drawing upon his core competency, Deora’s first company was based on semiconductor design. But he has since diversified both in the semiconductor industry and in to the Bay Area high tech business.
Deora says - “So I did Silicon Platforms, I did Sand, I did a company called Chip Engines, all semiconductor-related companies, and then I did a venture fund, Beachhead Capital, investing in semiconductors, software, and networking and storage,” he said. “When Beachhead was done, I was looking for an opportunity and this particular idea for EnKoo came from my wife.”