ChaiONE CEO selected for Houston Business Journal's "40 Und
Young businessman honored for innovative technology and leadership vision
06.29.2009 – Gaurav Khandelwal, 30, recently accepted Houston Business
Journal's "40 Under 40" award given to Houston's top young business men and
women who have shown exceptional leadership, vision, and success within the
local business community. Gaurav is the President and CEO of ChaiONE,
Houston's leading web development agency that focuses on building iPhone,
Facebook, and custom web apps.
The Houston Business Journal selected 39 other leaders to receive the honor at the
Celebrate Enterprise event in May. Khandelwal's expertise and sharp business
acumen caught the eye of several, including many clients such as Microsoft, New
Balance, Nestle, and Intel. ChaiONE has developed web environments,
applications, and mobile (iPhone) apps for major brands, as well as small and
medium businesses. Most notably, his company's iPhone app for the Houston
Chronicle is slated to be released in early July.
Gaurav started ChaiONE in 2005 and built it on a few key principles. "Make $3 before
you spend $1," says Khandelwal who shares this rule with every employee,
contractor, and vendor with whom he plans to work. Gaurav attributes this
procurement rule to a lesson learned from a previous business where he heaped a
large amount of debt before making his first buck. "Being wise with your spending is
the best thing a small, or startup, business can do to prepare for growth and
sustainability," Khandelwal shares.
Khandelwal also believes in hiring the right people the right way. Following the
lessons shared by Jason Fried of 37Signals, ChaiONE does test projects with every
employee before bringing them on full-time. "You get a chance to see if it's the right
fit and see their work ethic," states Gaurav who co-founded ChaiONE with his
younger brother, Raunak, VP of ChaiONE. Raunak and Gaurav (also known as
'Thunder' and 'Lightning,'respectively, by friends) keep thing