NAWBO, Director Marketing, Nidhi Saxena, Does It Again.
July 13th 2006- The Adam’s Mark Hotel, was filled with 400 people representing various businesses in Colorado at the annual awards celebration for Colorado's Largest and Fastest-Growing Private Companies sponsored by the Denver Business journal. There was anticipation in the air even as everyone devoured a delicious breakfast. When Scott Bemis, president and publisher of the Denver Business Journal took the mike, a hush settled over the crowd, and he proceeded to announce the winners of the Business Awards, in his inimitable style. When he announced that a husband wife team continues to find success in tech industry, everyone at the DatamanUSA table knew that DatamanUSA and Nidhi Saxena had done it again! Nidhi went up and accepted her award for being the 4th fasted growing company in Colorado in the Small Business category. In her speech, Nidhi was as humble as ever and attributed the success of her company to her employees, support of her husband and children. She said”I could not have done this without the support of my family, kids and employees. The credit goes to all of us.”
From a One woman Show in the year 2000 to a 254,000$ company in 2003 to a 2.4 million company in 2005, DatamanUSA has shown a phenomenal 845%jump in revenue. They started an office in India in July 2005 with three employees and are now up to 15. In total, their business grew from just Saxena herself working from her home to 37 employees in three offices. The company now specializes in IT staff augmentation, IT and BPO services and software development. DatamanUSA not only has increased revenues and employees but greatly increased its visibility in the community. In 2005 Nidhi was awarded the Outstanding Women in Business Award for Consulting, Gyan, her life partner, business partner and COO was named a "Forty Under 40" and the business was awarded No. 3 Fastest-Growing Small Company by the Denver Business Journal and Fastest-Growing Woman Owned Company and Top 50 Fastest-Growing Minority Owned Companies by ColoradoBiz magazine.
Her humble demeanor in the face of all the limelight, and positive attitude, endear Nidhi to one and all.
A quick recap- Denver Business Journal, August 13, 2005 Nidhi Saxena, President and CEO of DatamanUSA LLC, was presented the Outstanding women in Business award in the Consultant category, by the Denver Business Journal at the seventh Annual Outstanding Women in Business Awards Luncheon on Thursday, August 11, 2005. In association with the National Association of Women Business Owners, the luncheon awarded 12 local women for excelling professionally through innovation, perseverance, and leadership.
This award honors nine women for their accomplishments in various categories. "I am very pleased to receive this award," said DatamanUSA CEO, Nidhi Saxena. "I am happy to be the recipient of this award and feel highly motivated to perform better. It is a great honor to be a part of this outstanding group of Women Entrepreneurs." Earlier this year DatamanUSA was also the recipient of another award by the Denver Business Journal - Colorado's Third Fastest Growing Private Company 2004, Fastest Growing Woman Owned Company in 2004 and Fastest Growing Minority Owned Company in 2004.
This award acknowledged Nidhi’s leadership of an IT company through challenging times and her ability to balance home and office beautifully. "This was possible due to everyone’s support, be it my family, friends employees or clients, each one has a part to play in my achievement. It has been a team effort. I have been really fortunate to have the support and help of my husband Gyan."
Since 1998 Nidhi and Gyan have sponsored six fully paid educational scholarships for needy students in India and plan to add more soon. They are also in the process of establishing the GyaNidhi Foundation to streamline their charitable efforts. The nominees in each category were judged on innovation, entrepreneurship, professional accomplishments and community leadership.
Denver Business Journal, August 15, 2005
Challenging the conventional wisdom has paid off in dividends for Nidhi Saxena, now President of DatamanUSA LLC, an IT consulting and development firm based in Denver.
Growing up in India, she broke away from cultural stereotypes by competing with the boys gaining notoriety as a badminton and ping-pong champion who competed on a state level. She also excelled in school, earning high grades in the boy-dominated subjects of math and science.
"I wasn't raised as a typical Indian girl. I never played with dolls, but I played cricket with the boys," she said. "I had liberal parents who never stopped me from doing anything."
But Saxena's father discouraged her from pursuing a major in electrical engineering in college. Ironic, given that he was an electrical engineer himself. Instead, he urged her to study medicine.
"I was a vegetarian, so the thought of swatting a fly, let alone cutting someone open, was too much for me," she said. "He believed that engineering was not a good profession for girls."
Fortunately, Saxena found support through her mother who convinced her father to let her give electrical engineering a one-year trial.
"I told him 'Give me one year, and if I don't make it, I'll do whatever you say,'" she said.
After completing her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Madhave Institute of Technology and Science and Information Systems training at NIIT in India, she launched a successful career as a software consultant.
Saxena moved to Colorado when her mechanical engineering husband, Gyan Saxena, found work in the state in 1996. The two were set up in a traditional arranged marriage shortly after college.
While she rebelled against many Indian conventions, Saxena said that arranged marriages are among the aspects of the culture that she likes.
"From my point of view, expectations get too high in what we call 'a love marriage,'" she said. "But if you like someone, you will present your best to that person. You learn to complement each other rather than create supremacy."
The young couple adapted easily to life in Colorado because of a big circle of friends from India who resided in the same apartment complex.
After leaving her job as a technical manager at EchoStar Communications, Saxena took up yet another endeavor that some might consider ill-advised for someone who expressed a desire to raise two children: She started her own business.
Saxena lacked business mentors throughout her career, but she said she found a great source of inspiration in her husband.
"He's the one who made me believe I could do this," she said.
Five years later, Saxena's DatamanUSA was listed as the number 3 fastest-growing small company by the Denver Business Journal. Revenues at the consulting company grew from $138,000 in 2002 to an expected $3 million this year.
Dataman USA's key clients have included Citigroup, UPS, Verizon and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In fact, DatamanUSA grew so successful that Gyan Saxena joined the operation in 2002 as chief operating officer. Today, the firm employs nine people in Denver, 21 in Wyoming and seven in its new office in India.
Despite the company's success, the 35-year-old Saxena claims she has found the work-life balance that was lacking in the corporate world. Yet, she remains true to her values.
"I try to achieve a balance between what my mother and father taught me," she said. "My mother was very outspoken. My father never shares his views, but he always gets what he wants."
About DatamanUSA
Founded in 2000, DatamanUSA has been serving its clients by providing superior service and the highest caliber of candidates to suit their needs and requirements. DatamanUSA is a Colorado and Wyoming based consulting and information systems service organization specializing in IT staff augmentation and software design and development. DatamanUSA is a Microsoft Certified Partner, Sun Iforce Partner, IBM business partner and Serena's System Integrators Partner. With offices in Denver, Colorado and Cheyenne, Wyoming and India, DatamanUSA serves many clients within various industries, including telecommunications, software, health services, transportation, and government. DatamanUSA is also a preferred price agreement vendor with the states of Colorado and Kansas.