“Always be honest to people because honesty leads to success”- Sanjeev Kumar
Childhood and family
Sanjeev Kumar was born and raised in a simple family in Uttar Pradesh as the first child in the family. Since his father had a government (transferable) job, he was moved around the state of Uttar Pradesh. He was born into a middle-class household with two sisters and a brother. Sanjeev was a mediocre kid who took his life seriously after high school. Whatever he accomplished or aspired to be in life, he was always surrounded by his parents’ unwavering support.
He was accepted into IIT Kanpur, fulfilling his dream of becoming an Electrical Engineer (Hardware). Despite the fact that his initial position was as a Software Engineer, he persuaded his manager to switch to Hardware. Even now, he has numerous opportunities to collaborate with his previous team members while developing hardware products for our customers.
All about ‘Logic Fruit Technologies (LFT)’ and the story behind it
Logic Fruit Technologies or LFT is a provider of embedded system and application development product engineering R&D and consulting services. Sanjeev and few of his teammates decided in 2009 to build their own business that would be the greatest in technology. They didn’t have big dreams back then, but they felt it was worth a shot and taking this risk. They were willing to accept the worst-case scenario and fight for it. They didn’t have a lot of information at the start, but they were determined to give the best to not only their customers but also to their employees.
As they had to choose 5 lettered domain names, they began with the brand name, LOFRU Technologies. However, they realised that it did not fit well with the Indian market and mindset over time, therefore in 2011, they changed it to Logic Fruit Technologies from LOFRU. The origin of the name is straightforward: ‘Logic’ because they deal with technology and ‘Fruit’ as in Apple. Now they’ve grown from a three-person company to a workforce of more than 250 people.
LFT’s contribution to the society
LFT transitioned from a service-based to a product-based organisation. Initially, the company hired a few engineers, but it now has a blended model of consulting as well as hardware and software services to clients, building hi-tech products, and having diverse clients ranging from overseas to Indian Defence. They have made significant contributions through this venture, not only by creating job opportunities but also by developing our country’s youth through their unique Internship program. A great deal of motivation is placed in LFT’s process where they hire youths and train them, put them in real-world projects, and feel that this is where they are really developing real engineers. After their time at LFT, the majority of LFT Interns go on to work for prominent MNCs/big brands.
Overcoming the challenges and struggles
Sanjeev believes that creating his own business was a challenging option to choose because it is difficult to maintain. Over the past 13 years, the company has developed slowly and gradually. As a start-up, Sanjeev and his partners faced many challenges- winning customers during the initial years of business, shortage of funds, liquidity issues, competition, financial management, and achieving consensus in decision making. However, positivity and team support were crucial. The core team has always been supportive, and a few of the core team members have even become profit-sharing partners, including company shares and equity.
They also faced numerous challenges as they transitioned from a service-based to a product-based model. No one wanted to get into Product Engineering or provide turn-key projects in India, but they saw that Defence was one area where they could generate revenue. This is how LFT’s involvement with defence began. Working with Defence, on the other hand, required persuasion and cost-cutting, which was a difficulty. In order to survive and remain competitive, they soon took on multi-crore projects, but they soon realized that small projects involved small losses, while big projects involved huge losses. They are now focusing on a few projects to strengthen their bottom line.
Logic Fruit Technologies was a self-funded firm at the time, and they did not want to risk losing money from investors, thus they never had development centres or operations in the United States or Europe, nor did they build satellite offices there. As a result, they faced a liquidity shortage as well as other advantages and disadvantages of bootstrapping. They confronted issues of expensive investment and low-profit margins as a result of their ongoing pursuit of investing in hi-tech products.
One of the most difficult challenges for LFT has been paying a high salary, particularly in Semiconductors, and investing in high-tech products. They do, however, believe that the LFT staff should never be demotivated because of compensation concerns because they are hardworking and knowledgeable, and LFT wishes to fairly reward them.
Sanjeev’s contribution to make LFT a successful name
LFT has always been a global corporation, as the founders began their venture with exclusively international clients. They completed all of the difficult phases a few years ago, and Sanjeev’s dedication has made him and the entire team so excited about taking LFT to the next level, which is the latest version of LFT 3.0.
Sanjeev’s success mantra
Sanjeev’s success mojo has been positivity and team spirit. As a leader, you must treat everyone with dignity, equality, and recognition, and you must provide critical feedback without hesitation. He values his team, and this has greatly aided him in dealing with any challenges.
Life before LFT to Sanjeev
Sanjeev was a full-time employee at Agilent Technologies prior to starting this venture on November 1, 2009. His previous job assisted him in shaping his benchmarks in terms of company policies, employee benefits, customer commitment, work-life balance, technical knowledge, and business know-how.
Sanjeev’s inspiration and supporters
Sanjeev’s family, younger brother, and core team members Anil and Rohit have all supported and contributed to his life journey. In fact, his younger brother founded his company five years before Sanjeev founded Logic Fruit Technologies, so he attributes his success to his younger brother.
The next five years
Sanjeev and his team have built LFT as a brand, and they understand that without monetary backing, growth and brand expansion will be limited. As a result, they’re looking for investors and international market mentors in Israel, the United States, and Europe. They’re also excited about Strategic Investment, which will help them take the company to the next level.
Awards and accolades to date
Sanjeev’s most prized achievement is having repeat customers and not only winning but also keeping their trust. They have delivered a system designed under the Technology Development Fund Scheme (TDFS) in the presence of the Honourable Raksha Mantri in the year 2021. It was a significant accomplishment for LFT, as 7-8 distinct teams collaborated for 2-3 years. Sanjeev credits his team’s accomplishment to the fact that this was the first project delivered to the Indian government.
Parting words for the readers
Sanjeev is a firm believer in dedication and delivery. Be true to yourself, be honest, and be committed to your employees as well as your external customers.
