- Sabeer Bhatia
Sabeer Bhatia (सबीर भाटिया) (born 1968) is the co-founder of
Hotmail and anentrepreneur .Biography
Sabeer Bhatia was born in
Chandigarh ,India on 13th December 1968. His father, Baldev Bhatia, started as an officer in the Indian Army and later joined the Indian Ministry of Defence, while his mother, Daman Bhatia, was a senior official at the Central Bank of India. [ [http://www.pathfinder.com/asiaweek/technology/990625/bhatia.html Newsweek article entitled "Driving Ambition" on Sabeer Bhatia] ] Bhatia was schooled at theSt. Joseph's Boys' High School inBangalore . In 1985, he began his undergraduate education at theBirla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) inPilani and was transferred toCaltech after two years at BITS. After graduating from Caltech, Sabeer went toStanford University in 1989 to pursue his M.S. in Electrical Engineering. At Stanford, he worked on Ultra Low Power VLSI Design.At Stanford, he was inspired by entrepreneurs such as
Steve Jobs andScott McNealy eventually deciding to become one himself. Instead of pursuing a Ph.D. after his Masters, he decided to join Apple in 1991.Founder of Hotmail
After a brief stint at Apple, Sabeer joined a startup company called Firepower Systems Inc, where he spent two years. In 1994, Sabeer started working on new ideas for the Internet and he teamed up with Jack Smith, a colleague from Apple Computer, Inc.
The two came up with the concept of a web-based database entitled Javasoft. While pursuing this idea, they subsequently realised the potential of a web-based
e-mail system and thus decided to create one called HoTMaiL (the uppercase letters spelling outHTML - the language used to write the base of a webpage).In order to attract attention, the e-mail service was provided for free and revenue was obtained through the advertising on the website. Draper Fisher Ventures invested $300,000 on the project and the service was launched onJuly 4 ,1996 .In less than six months, the website attracted over 1 million subscribers. As the interest in the web-based email provider increased,
Microsoft eventually took notice and onDecember 30 ,1997 , Hotmail was sold to Microsoft for a reported sum of $400 million.Other ventures
After selling Hotmail, Bhatia worked at Microsoft for about a year and in April 1999, he left the company to start another website, Arzoo Inc, which was shut down when the
dot-com bubble burst. In 2006, he relaunched [http://www.arzoo.com/ Arzoo] as a travel portal.He started (alongside co-founders Shiraz Kanga and Viraf Zack) [http://www.blogeverywhere.com BlogEverywhere] , a website attempting to capitalise on the emerging
blogosphere .In 2006, he became an angel investor for
NeoAccel , a network security vendor and maker of SSL VPN-Plus.In November 2007, he released an online office alternative to Microsoft Office, called [http://www.live-documents.com Live Documents] . This application allows users to use their documents both offline and online, edit, collaborate and share documents in real-time with others, and sync documents between various computers and users. Users can also download their Microsoft Office plug-in, which allows them to get the best of offline and online offices suites, along with full compatibility for all office document formats.
He has also pushed for enabling access to the internet through
cable television in Indian homes.In January, 2008, Sabeer announced the launch of his latest venture [http://www.sabsebolo.com SabSeBolo.com] , [ cite news | url = http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/15161206.htm | title = Sabeer Bhatia launches SabseBolo.com | accessdate = 2008-01-18 ] a free web-based teleconferencing system (Sab Se Bolo = "(Let's) Talk To Everyone" in Hindi).
Future plans of his include the development of a new city in India called [http://www.nanocity.in/ Nanocity] . The aim of Nanocity is to replicate the vibrancy and eco-system of innovation found in the
Silicon Valley .Personal
He got married to [Tania Sharma] ] , heiress of the
Baidyanath group , in 2008. They have known each other for eight years as friends. They got married in a private ceremony inLangkawi ,Malaysia .Awards
*"Entrepreneur of the Year," Awarded by the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (1997)
*Named to the "Elite 100," Upside magazine's list of top trendsetters in the New Economy
*Recipient of theTR100 award, presented by MIT to 100 young innovators who are expected to have the greatest impact on technology in the next few years
*Selected by the San Jose Mercury News and POV magazine as one of the ten most successful entrepreneurs of (1998)
*Named by "TIME" as one of the "People to Watch" in International Business (2002)References
External links
* [http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?story
]
March 14 ,2006
*P O Bronson's Book [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0767906039/ Nudist On the Late Shift] . contains a fascinating chapter on Sabeer Bhatia's life in Silicon Valley and his story of funding, bootstrapping & selling Hotmail to Microsoft.
* [http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/apr/13sabeer.htm Why Did Bhatia Walk Away From Bill Gates?] Rediff - April 13, 1999
* [http://techgirltalk.blogspot.com/2008/06/hotmail-hot-bride-photo.html Techgirl's blog photos of Sabeer Bhatia wedding, and bride]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
