What inspired a young, socialist Narayana Murthy to start Infosys? A visit to France!
Raised in a family of 8 kids, 'in the staple diet of socialism', he believed everything the government did was right.
"But then I went to France in the early 70s. I was in for a surprise," he told former CFO Mohandas Pai in a podcast.
In France, he saw prosperity, clean roads with no beggars, punctual trains and supermarkets stocked with goods.
"My belief in socialism started crumbling," he said, as his friends, who were studying Economics, spoke in favour of capitalism.
After a night spent in a railway station jail in Communist Serbia, the 'confused Leftist' became a determined capitalist.
He went on to found Infosys in 1981 with six other engineers.
"It was an experiment in entrepreneurship. I wanted to create a company of the professional, for the professional and by the professional," Murthy said.