Millions use Nagesh Challa's gadgetry -- in Japan. Now he wants to change how Americans shop.
In the wee hours of the morning, Nagesh Challa's life often unfolds like some turbocharged remake of the movie Lost in Translation.
Like Bill Murray's character, Bob, who blows off steam in Tokyo's karaoke underworld, Challa decompresses after long days in Japanese boardrooms by mounting bar stages and belting out standards like 'Hey Jude,' as well as enka -- love songs in Japanese -- that he doesn't quite know the words to.
As the shirt-and-tie-clad engineer croons, 'Don't ca-a-a-rry the world upon your shoulders,' locals clap and whistle -- and Challa's colleagues in the Japanese mobile-phone industry watch in amazement.
"It scares the heck out of me," Challa admits. "I'm not a very public person. But it's okay, because you don't have to hit all the notes perfectly."
Text: Elizabeth Svoboda, FastCompany.com
Image: Nagesh Challa, CEO, President and Founder, Ecrio. Photograph, courtesy: FastCompany.com
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