Varun Chandran bagged the Kerala State Youth Icon Award in the Industrial Entrepreneurship category
Text Credit: Rochelle D’Souza Photos: FWD Media
From humble beginnings to a highly successful international startup, VarunChandran has climbed the ladder to success and acclaim. One would think that the odds would be against the son of a farmer who dropped out of college and willed against all odds to start a highly successful international startup of his own, but that’s exactly what VarunChandran did.
Varun Chandran
In an official function held in the state capital on Tuesday morning, the State Youth Commission felicitated VarunChandran, the head of the Pathanapuram-based international start-up venture, Corporate 360, with the Youth Icon awards for the year 2016-17. The award is given to youth who have made their mark in various social spheres, including art/culture, sports, literature, agriculture, industrial entrepreneurship and social work and through their exemplary involvement could help others tread a different path.
Varun won the award for his work in the field of industrial entrepreneurship. He heads the Pathanapuram-based international start-up venture, Corporate360, a marketing data software company. Chandran’s firm C360 offers SaaS-based marketing data cloud software for B2B marketers to help discover sales leads, ideal buyer contacts, technology installations and competitive intelligence. With 40 executives in five countries, it is a fast-growing multi-million-dollar revenue company with over 240 global customers.
“I come from a small village in Kerala called Padam which is bordering a jungle in Kollam district. My father was a farmer and since childhood I learnt to work hard, helping him with his daily work. We did not have proper food to eat and managed to survive on the basic minimum. The need to live and survive defined my childhood. It pushed me to do better and be better. I learnt the value of labour,” says Varun.
The award was presented by Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan, at a function held at the Government Women’s College in Trivandrum on August 1.