'Having People In An Organisation Who Always Agree With You On Everything Is Highly Dangerous'

Simarpreet Singh, founder-director of Hartek Solar, joined the family business with the hope of doing something remarkable for society. The hard and valuable work did not go unnoticed, and he was listed among the prestigious ‘Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia’ achievers this year! His journey in the solar energy sector of India has been challenging as well as rewarding. In a candid conversation with Baishakhi Dutta of the Electronicsforu.com Network, he unveils his journey so far and the aspirations he has for his business. Excerpts follow...

Childhood and family

I was a very energetic child who was full of fun. I was born and brought up in Chandigarh. I did my schooling from Yadavindra Public School, Mohali and later went on to study electrical engineering from Chitkara University, Punjab. I also did an MBA from S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. So these institutions have shaped my journey so far.

My father, Hartek Singh, is the chairman of the Hartek Group and my biggest idol. My mother, Keerti Singh, is also very actively involved in the company. She heads the HR and the CSR arms of the company. I recently got married—a month back. My younger sister, Harkirat Kaur, is a gold medalist from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi. She completed her master’s degree from the University of Chicago, USA, and is currently working with an NGO there.

Turning points in my life

Back in 2011, campus recruitments were taking place at my college. I was in the final year of engineering, and had decided to skip going to college one day. My father asked me why I hadn’t gone to college that day. I replied that companies were coming to the college to recruit students, and since I was going to join the family business (Hartek Group) anyway, I didn’t need to go for these. My father said he would speak to me about this later in the day. And what he said that evening changed my life. That very evening my father put down three conditions for my joining the Hartek Group. I needed to get placed at a company following an on-campus interview; if selected, I then had to go for training to any place in India that I was sent to for at least six months; and I had to make my presence felt in whatever work I did or position I held. After being rejected by Infosys, Wipro, TechMahindra and L&T at the on-campus interviews, I finally got placed at Patni Computers. This gave me some level of confidence.