It would be a rare Indian business that hasn’t used Tally, the ubiquitous accounting software. Founded by the father-son duo of S.S. Goenka and Bharat Goenka in 1986, Tally Solutions today has more than 7,50,000 customers and a turnover of Rs 230 crore (FY11-12). But Goenka isn’t stopping till he gets to more than four million customers in the next three years.

I was in high school when I began helping my father in his textiles business in Bangalore. At that time, they were facing some accounting problems, and I thought I could use technology to help solve them. I was very interested in science and technology as a student at Bishop Cotton School. So, I developed some software to help address some of these accounting challenges. My father was the first one to test the software. But, the testing lasted all of two minutes! The software was fine but the user interface was elementary. My father couldn’t understand how to begin using it. I told him he should type in “T001” to enter a transaction. Instead of keying that in, he turned to ask me what my software’s objective was—to help the programmer, or to help the user?

I remember being taken aback by this sharp insight. But I understood what was required. I returned to the drawing board and came back to him with another demo. When he began to use the new version seamlessly, we both knew we had arrived, and there would be no looking back for Tally then. We now had the foundation for a fast-growth company. I went to National College, Bangalore after school. But, my career was already charted. We began Tally in 1986, right after I finished college.

From the very beginning, we believed we weren’t in the software business. We were in the business of “making business better”. We focused on our users and put ourselves in their shoes. What my father had told me during my first software demo was something I can never forget—“Remember that we’re not doing computerised accounting, but accounting on computers,” he’d said.

In fact, when we launched it, the “no codes” concept in our software was a significant technological breakthrough. This especially resonated with our SME clients. Their fear of technology disappeared since they didn’t have to know any code. We identified this market as our biggest opportunity. We never strived to have a single, large anchor client. The mass market has always been our focus. Our aim in the early years, as now, has been to get Tally into as many businesses as possible. My father always used to say—there are two kinds of businesses; those that use Tally, and those that will use Tally. We constantly bear that in mind as we step into new markets and develop new products. Simplicity that can work for everybody is the cornerstone of our solutions.

From the very beginning, we believed we weren’t in the software business. We were in the business of “making business better”.

Despite this, in the early years, sales weren’t easy. It wasn’t just about selling the product. Often, we had to begin with selling the benefits of using computers for business to our customers. Many of our clients would have inhibitions, or were wary of adopting a new technology. Fortunately, once we overcame this initial skepticism, there was no looking back.

Staying committed to our core offering has also been a key aspect of our success. We made sure we never let ourselves get swept away in the services boom during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It would’ve been very easy to jump into that. But, we were clear we wanted to grow our product portfolio. Staying on the product path requires a lot of patience. But, patience is a key trait for entrepreneurial success. You can’t let delays dampen your enthusiasm. The drive to push through changes is critical.

I truly believe that Tally is poised on achieving something remarkable. If you look at our growth story, we had around 4,000 customers in 1991. Today, we have close to 7,50,000 customers, and we are targeting four to six million customers within the next three years. We are also steadily expanding our global list of clients. That growth will mostly come from two geographies, the Middle East and Africa.

Managing this exponential growth is a challenge, of course. But, an ambitious enterprise must “design for scale”. When you think big, and design for scale, success follows. To work in this mode, you have to assume that your business plans and objectives will be achieved. You have to be an optimist, and be prepared for glory. Along with optimism, inculcate the ability to adapt, to be adept at change. To transcend levels, and create new boundaries, one has to continually innovate and transform. For instance, Tally has learnt to manage 7,50,000 customers. But, I need to plan and design a new environment to manage four to six million customers. I need to work backwards from that success point somewhere in the future, to the structural changes I need to make in the present.

In the years ahead, we expect turbulence in the economy. But, I see this as a positive disturbance, one that will help us achieve explosive growth, not compel us to bring down our targets. In fact, the market we operate in allows for sustained, sharp growth and it is important to recognise that opportunity. When you work with the principle that business is about the exchange of value, not the exchange of product for money, mutual benefit and growth is guaranteed. That principle has been my main driver through all these years.