Purdue University's
School of Management
Spring 2022:
Issue 23, Vol. 1

Reimagining the Boardroom - MBA alumnus builds success through collaboration

Paroon Chadha (MBA ’02) didn’t know how to write code when he graduated from the Krannert School, but that didn’t stop him from starting a software company in downtown Lafayette.

Chadha and his former business partner, Krannert alumnus Christopher Beltran, began with an idea for an auction platform called Boilerzone, “but there was no underpinning for an eCommerce engine,” he says. “At the time, it was just an exchange mechanism.”

Instead, Chadha and his partner took a different idea into the Burton D. Morgan Business Model Competition. Their plan for Passageways, founded in 2003, was initially built around OnSemble, an intranet collaboration tool for employees. “We won second place and $7,000, which was the seed money for our business,” Chadha says.

The next step was landing their first customer, a process that was aided by Krannert finance professor Charlene Sullivan. “She reviewed our plan and financials and told us to pitch our idea to Purdue Federal Credit Union, where she happened to serve on the board,” Chadha says. “Her help was instrumental in taking our business to the next level.”

“Imagine finding your business partner, your seed money, your mentor, and your first customer all in the same place. That’s something unique to Purdue.”

After a few meetings with Purdue Federal’s leadership team, Chadha and Beltran sold their product for $30,000 and secured a $100,000 investment to grow their enterprise. And grow it did — Passageways was named one of Inc.’s 500 fastest-growing businesses in the U.S. in 2008.

“Imagine finding your business partner, your seed money, your mentor, and your first customer all in the same place,” Chadha says. “That’s something unique to Purdue.”

Today, Passageways has been rebranded under its core product’s name, OnBoard, which was launched in 2011 and serves more than 3,000 customers and 15,000 boards and committees. The company, which recently divested its ownership of OnSemble, has offices in Indianapolis, Toronto, London, and Sydney, customers in 32 countries, and more than 300 employees.

“OnBoard is a board management platform that provides businesses, nonprofits and other organizations with cloud-based board management,” Chadha says. “The goal is to bring board intelligence into those boardroom conversations and make them better informed, more effective, and less complicated.”

One of OnBoard’s unique features is its ability to provide data-driven insights. “Every activity within the platform creates discrete data that can be analyzed and optimized to create actionable board intelligence,” he says. “It’s designed to improve interaction and engagement among meeting participants and enable the best outcome in real time.”

Starting Up

Paroon Chadha
“Over the dinner table, it was routine for us to think about, ‘Should we divest? Should we acquire? Should we get new funding?’ That upbringing was very helpful,”

Chadha came to the U.S. from India, where he was trained as an engineer and grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, including his father and brother. “Over the dinner table, it was routine for us to think about, ‘Should we divest? Should we acquire? Should we get new funding?’ That upbringing was very helpful,” he says.

Prior to arriving at Krannert to earn his MBA, Chadha worked in a technical sales role with Wipro, an IT consulting and business process services company.

“It was the dot.com era, so when I got a chance to come to US for my education, I felt like anything was possible,” he says. “I didn’t have to market somebody else's product. I didn’t have to sell somebody else's product. I could build one, too. That's the maker mentality that got me into it.”

He’s continued to find success through collaboration. “The software business is a people business,” he says. “Finding the right investor and the right product market are challenges, but it comes down to finding the right talent to build a team.”

Chadha has shared his enthusiasm for building a business in numerous talks with Krannert students and as a guest lecturer at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. He’s also invested in several start-ups that have ties to Purdue. “Generally, if you have a good business plan coming out of Purdue, you'll find me to be a willing investor,” he says.

He advises current students to make the most of their time at the university. “It’s important for you to do some soul searching,” Chadha says. “What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Who do you want to be? I think the best time to make those calls is while you're at school. It’s a low-risk environment where everyone is willing to help and build relationships.”

He also encourages students to hit the links at one of Purdue’s award-winning golf facilities, where he first picked up a club and regularly plays on his visits to campus. “A lot of business is conducted on the golf course,” Chadha says. “There are only a few ways to get five hours with a decision maker in your life. Golf is one of the best.”

Written by Eric Nelson

More Stories