KUALA LUMPUR: In 2008, at the young age of 26, S T Rubaneswaran, or Ruban as he likes to be known, decided to take up the challenge to turn around a loss-making company that was saddled with some RM1.4 million in debt with just about RM200,000 in the bank, based on just a “hunch”.

“It was a risky challenge, but I just had a ‘hunch’ that I could do it,” Ruban, who is now the chief executive officer (CEO) of Knowledgecom Corp, told The Edge Financial Daily in a recent interview.

At the time, Knowledgecom’s board of directors was planning to shut down the company’s operations in the dilapidated building it was housed in when confronted with the mountain of debt. Until Ruban, who was just a sales manager in the company at the time, came up with a proposal to turn the company around.

After listening to his plan, the board made him a director and CEO and gave him the RM200,000 to take on the task, money which he later used to move themselves into a new office building and refurbish it.

Once the new premise was ready for use, he said there was only RM600 left to restart the company’s operations.

Undeterred, Ruban worked his network and contacts to look for corporate clients whom he invited to participate in his training programme by giving them an early bird discount when an upfront payment was made.

His determination, his strong will and his drive to make a success of himself kept him focused on the end goal. And a portrait of Tan Sri A K Nathan, who was named EY Malaysian Entrepreneur that same year, provided the extra inspiration that fuelled his drive to succeed.

Every day, he would wake up and draw strength from Nathan’s photograph, which was hung in his bedroom wall next to a heart-shaped balloon that was gifted to him by his then girlfriend, who later became his wife.

“If the dream is strong enough, you don’t break down. You keep going, that’s how you reach your dream,” he said.

The sleepless nights and the endless days he spent trying to solve the company’s cash flow problems, were the toughest and it got to a point that the company was nearly blacklisted by its creditors, but he struggled on. “I always told myself, if I could do it yesterday, I can do it today,” said Ruban.

Patience was also paramount in those days, when he had little business knowledge and could only take it a day at a time as he figured how to tackle each problem that arose.

The breakthrough came in 2011, when he closed a big deal and made RM1 million in profit that year, which enabled him to clear the company’s old debts.

In 2012, the company was acquired by Censof Holdings Bhd, which now holds 80% in Knowledgecom Corp.

In 2015, the company was recognised as one of the Top 100 SMEs in Malaysia by SME Magazine. That same year, Ruban won the Young Indian Entrepreneur Award from the Malaysian Indian Entrepreneur Cooperative.

Today, Knowledgecom Corp is known as an IT business solution services provider. It also provides corporate IT training and various other management courses. Firstly centred in the Klang Valley, it has now replicated its training programme throughout the other states in Malaysia. Ruban plans to take Knowledgecom Corp’s training module regional now.

Essentially, Ruban said Knowledgecom Corp trains people and certifies them to help them get the job they want and improve their lives.

Ruban, who has been shortlisted as one of the nominees for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the Emerging Entrepreneur’s category, said his biggest asset is his core team, who has stood by him throughout his journey.

His biggest strength, to him, is simply that he never quits even when the chips are down.

No less passionate about entrepreneurship than he was eight years ago, Ruban is now focusing on helping young entrepreneurs to kick-start their dreams. He sees this as an opportunity to play a small role in helping others achieve their dreams.

“I feel joy and happiness when I see others succeed,” said Ruban.

And to those who are thinking to start a business, Ruban advised: “If you have something (a business idea) in your mind, you should have started yesterday, because you are losing time. Don’t wait because you’re only going to get older and time waits for no man.”