VIVEK Hansraj believes resilience is the key to business success. On Saturday, the 28 year old received an accolade at the Tamil Business Warriors (TBW) Awards at Morgenhof Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. Vivek Hansraj with his father, Vinay. Picture: Supplied
VIVEK Hansraj believes resilience is the key to business success. The 28 year old recently received an accolade at the Tamil Business Warriors Awards at Morgenhof Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.
Hansraj, who was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg, was the recipient of the Youth in Business Award. He is the co-director of Property Finance Solutions, a business he started with his father, Vinay, in 2019.
“It has always been my dream to run a business with my father because we share similar values. The opportunity presented itself four years ago and now we run a bond origination company.”
Hansraj said it was rewarding to see his work being recognised.
“Simply being in the presence of entrepreneurs such as Vivian Reddy, Esay Reddy, Karthi Moothsamy, Sugen Moodley, Ashok Sewnarain, Sugan Naidoo and Ragi Moonsamy was overwhelming. It is wonderful to see that they see the importance of youth empowerment and mentorship.”
Hansraj said he began his entrepreneurial journey after matriculating from Raisethorpe Secondary School in Pietermaritzburg.
“I was selling media advertising to businesses. I was challenged with many obstacles along the way where I found that businesses would not support minority media companies. These challenges required me to think of innovative ways of conducting business and getting the right clientele.
“I then decided to follow my passion of IT and open a company called Tech Byte Consulting with my childhood friend. This company proved to be a success and quickly took the market by storm in servicing a vast number of schools, insurance companies and medical institutions throughout KZN with our hardware and software requirements.
“One of the notable projects that I was proud of was building several mobile apps for his clients before the technological boom and craze of apps was around.”
Hansraj said it was important for more young people to be involved in the business industry.
“It’s important to try different avenues. I’ve had to work really hard to ensure that what I do is successful. If not, you don’t get paid.
“But it’s important to understand that it isn’t just about financial gains. It is rewarding to help people and to work for yourself. In my case, I help people find their dream homes and that’s important work to me.
“Find your avenue and work to make it something worthwhile. There will be challenges but you have to be resilient. If you get rejected, keep your head down and focus on the next target.”
Hansraj said he aimed to take his business to national levels in five years.
“We have become one of the top bond origination companies in KZN, achieving awards such as the Highest Conversion Rate in KZN from Mortgage Max, and the Fastest Market Share Growth from Absa.
“We already have a clientele outside of the province but we want to cement ourselves by having offices around the country. That is a dream and target of ours.”