Thriving in organised chaos
This former Microsoft researcher will soon use mobile phones to generate blue collar employment.
Sean Blagsvedt walks into his office barefoot, dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and khaki shorts that reach his knees. He has been unwell and apologises for being late before dropping into a chair and putting his feet up on another.
Blagsvedt, 34, has little time to rest. His three-year-old start-up babajob. com, which provides job listings for millions of blue-collar workers, is growing fast, recently crossing the 100,000 job-seeker mark. What's more, the portal, founded and run from Rhenius Street, a leafy road in Bangalore's central business district, is looking beyond the Internet to mobile phones and possibly at an offline presence too.
This is not Blagsvedt's first tryst with the bottom half of the pyramid. At the Microsoft Research labs, he ran the Advanced Development and Prototyping Team that worked closely with the software giant's Technology for Emerging Markets group to find new ways to use technology to help the world's poorest four billion people.
Fifteen years after he began working with Microsoft in the US, he came to India in 2005 and worked at the company's research unit in Bangalore. This former White House employee and graduate in computer science and public policy from Brown University, worked on finding ways to bridge the digital divide. He teamed up with his stepfather-in-law, drained his life savings and started babajob. com three years ago. What began as a two-person company has evolved into a 20-person unit and is growing fast. The company has expanded across India and through a partner entered Indonesia which, after India and China, is the thirdfastest growing Internet market globally.
He might be hard at it, but it's not exactly all work and no play for Blagsvedt. His office in downtown Bangalore has a carrom board on one side, a guitar in its case on the other and his other instruments somewhere close - Blagsvedt plays the bass guitar, drums and the saxophone.
Blagsvedt is unlike many expat businessmen in India. He makes frequent trips to local markets in Bangalore and eats dinner with his in-laws twice a week too. His office is not air-conditioned and he relies on Bangalore's weather and large windows to stay cool. He drives his own car, a Maruti Suzuki Swift, walks to work often and has married Archana Prasad, an Indian colleague at Microsoft. The Blagsvedts are neighbours at work - Sean's office is right next to Jaaga, a free space for innovation co-founded by his wife.
Despite his comfortable existence, Blagsvedt is acutely aware of the sharp income divide in India - and is reminded of it every time he walks to work (home is just a kilometre away). Growing up in California, he led a sheltered life, playing soccer and graduating from a top college. Now, that he's found his calling, Blagsvedt wants to make it count, and hopes to stay put in India for the next five to seven years before he heads back to the States.
Blagsvedt, 34, has little time to rest. His three-year-old start-up babajob. com, which provides job listings for millions of blue-collar workers, is growing fast, recently crossing the 100,000 job-seeker mark. What's more, the portal, founded and run from Rhenius Street, a leafy road in Bangalore's central business district, is looking beyond the Internet to mobile phones and possibly at an offline presence too.
This is not Blagsvedt's first tryst with the bottom half of the pyramid. At the Microsoft Research labs, he ran the Advanced Development and Prototyping Team that worked closely with the software giant's Technology for Emerging Markets group to find new ways to use technology to help the world's poorest four billion people.
Fifteen years after he began working with Microsoft in the US, he came to India in 2005 and worked at the company's research unit in Bangalore. This former White House employee and graduate in computer science and public policy from Brown University, worked on finding ways to bridge the digital divide. He teamed up with his stepfather-in-law, drained his life savings and started babajob. com three years ago. What began as a two-person company has evolved into a 20-person unit and is growing fast. The company has expanded across India and through a partner entered Indonesia which, after India and China, is the thirdfastest growing Internet market globally.
He might be hard at it, but it's not exactly all work and no play for Blagsvedt. His office in downtown Bangalore has a carrom board on one side, a guitar in its case on the other and his other instruments somewhere close - Blagsvedt plays the bass guitar, drums and the saxophone.
Blagsvedt is unlike many expat businessmen in India. He makes frequent trips to local markets in Bangalore and eats dinner with his in-laws twice a week too. His office is not air-conditioned and he relies on Bangalore's weather and large windows to stay cool. He drives his own car, a Maruti Suzuki Swift, walks to work often and has married Archana Prasad, an Indian colleague at Microsoft. The Blagsvedts are neighbours at work - Sean's office is right next to Jaaga, a free space for innovation co-founded by his wife.
Despite his comfortable existence, Blagsvedt is acutely aware of the sharp income divide in India - and is reminded of it every time he walks to work (home is just a kilometre away). Growing up in California, he led a sheltered life, playing soccer and graduating from a top college. Now, that he's found his calling, Blagsvedt wants to make it count, and hopes to stay put in India for the next five to seven years before he heads back to the States.
