“We are in a dynamic market where resting on short-term glory is not something we are aiming for. In the mobile market, things change rapidly and achieving short-term success has no meaning. We are looking at creating a success story that can be sustained over a longer period of time. We do not wish to be the market leader for a year because when you get success too quickly, you tend to lose focus as complacency sets in,” he says.

An economics graduate from Sri Ram College of Commerce in New Delhi, Ahooja has seen too many competitors boast about their leading position and then taking recourse to short cuts in order to maintain it. This, he says, leads to them making mistakes and losing their way. Ahooja is thinking of long-term strategies so that  the company’s stakeholders, both internal and external, can  benefit.   “Everybody associated with the company should benefit, especially our employees without whom we cannot achieve success. It is important to create value for them in order to ensure their passion and commitment. Our channel partners too have to be passionate about our products. Hence, we are going to build our business slowly but surely. Look at Apple, it has taken decades to get where it is,” he says.

Ahooja spent the first 12 years of his life in Africa, in places like Ethiopia and Cameroon, where his father was posted with the UN. He studied at the American International School, which was at a distance of 800 km from where his parents worked. “It used to be quite a journey. I have distinct memories of school and would love to revisit those places and reconnect with people,” he says.

In 1972, his parents returned to Delhi. After his graduation, Ahooja took up a job as a trainee with Xerox and moved to Mumbai in 1982 on a small salary. His paying guest accommodation cost him, he recalls with a smile, Rs 450 per month.

After five months at Xerox, he was promoted as area sales manager, a result largely of his exceptional sale of a Xerox machine worth Rs 700,000, which was used in the Mumbai municipal elections. “The machines were imported from England. The sale was featured in publications such as Mid-Day.”

He narrates an interesting story about the only time in his life when he did not feel “in control”. It was when he was based at the Hyderabad branch of Xerox. Ahooja was in a long distance relationship with his future wife and it was proving to be  expensive as well as  time consuming.

“It affected my work and productivity. My phone bills at the time ran into Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 when my salary was Rs 3,000. I had to sell my prized possession – a VCR – to pay my telephone bills. My work also began to suffer and my boss warned me to get my act together or risk losing my job,” he says.

After two warnings, Ahooja managed to focus on his job and the results started trickling in. The Hyderabad branch was given the Champion’s award for being one of the best-performing branches of the company.

In 1995, when the wireless segment was beginning to find its feet in India, he left the company and joined Nokia where he was responsible for setting up a new team. He worked with the company for over seven years, leaving as sales head for the entire country.

On leaving, Ahooja wanted to start his own business by setting up a distribution company  representing big mobile players. While discussing the proposal with Samsung, he was given an offer to lead the business as company head and vice-president of Samsung’s telecom segment in India, an offer which he was unable to refuse.

Between 2003 and 2004, he headed Samsung’s telecom business. At the end of 2004, he received an offer from B.K. Modi to join his new company, Spice Mobiles. “I knew Modi from my early days at Xerox. At that time, I thought it was crazy for him to launch a mobile company when multinationals like Samsung, Nokia, Motorola and LG were dominating this space,” he says. “In 2005, no customer would even think of buying anything but these brands. Also, other brands like Siemens, Alcatel, BenQ and Philips had entered the Indian market and made an early exit since they could not cope with the demands of the Indian mobile market.”

In 2005, even distributors were sceptical of stocking phones other than the prominent brands. In these circumstances, Ahooja faced the challenge of establishing the first Indian mobile brand. Within three months of the launch, the company featured in the world’s largest research firm Gfk’s list of top 10 monochrome handset because of its S 500 handset.

The company’s strategy was novel in several ways. It launched its products via the “reverse distribution” method, that is, first in small towns and then in bigger cities. Customised handsets were created for customers and free Bollywood ringtones were provided by paying royalties to music companies.  The company  offered better-looking handsets and to build its brand value, hired actress Priyanka Chopra as the first brand ambassador.

For Ahooja, the move to Spice Mobiles meant a chance to exercise his entrepreneurial talents since it involved creating something from scratch. He often tells Modi that he is merely the surrogate parent and it is he, Ahooja, who is the real parent of the mobile business. “I am totally committed to the company. I am passionate about the kind of products it  makes and the success that it gets,” he says.

Ahooja is pleased with the way mobile phones have now reached a stage where customers feel comfortable while using them for making important transactions. With S Mobility’s launch of the country’s first secure Android phone, the company has made it easier and safer for the phone to be used more extensively.

“Going forward, we will see mobile phones being used more than, say, a laptop. Technology is evolving very fast and so are consumer trends and behaviour. We see increased usage of the mobile to connect, communicate, engage, transact and  manage businesses,” he says.

He points to the fact that the size of mobile screens has increased to up to 5 inches, something no one would have thought possible a few years ago, when it was considered too big for users’ comfort. Nor would anyone have  imagined that the Samsung Galaxy Note with a big screen would sell 5 million units within three months of its launch. “Technology that we thought would never get used will become common  and be available on most mobile phones as people realise the benefits,” he says.

The pace of change in the industry is so rapid that, despite eight years since the launch of Spice Mobiles, Ahooja never feels jaded. In fact, he says that he often feels that he is working on a new venture. Every day brings a new challenge and adds to his experience in dealing with chip-set suppliers, component manufacturers, design houses, manufacturing, R&D and software development.

Moreover, he feels that the decision-making speed and flexibility offered at the company is much greater than that offered by an MNC. “You do not have to make endless PowerPoint presentations to tell foreigners what is the right strategy for your brand or justify and consult others on what you are offering consumers. I have more freedom. With an MNC, by the time your strategy is approved, the market has moved on,” he says.

Ahooja’s days tend to be very long, since he lives in Gurgaon and works in Noida and has to spend three hours commuting. Owing to a paucity of  time, he is unable to go to the gym or play golf. He is looking forward to a vacation with his family which could not materialise last year.

A motorcycle enthusiast, Ahooja loves his 1800cc Cruiser and Suzuki Hayabusa. Whenever he finds time, he takes to the highway on his bike. His wife is a radio jockey at the All India Radio where she hosts a western music programme. His daughter has graduated from the  the Kodaikanal International School and is taking a break before enrolling for an arts programme. His son is in his final year of economics in the US.