Rajgopal

Our company was founded in the month of February, 2011. The
name of the company Tareta itself is unique – it’s a fusion of words from 2
great civilizations: India and Greece that were fountainheads of knowledge in
the ancient world. Tara symbolizing clarity and Eta symbolizing efficiency
combine to form Tareta – hence the promise of our brand to our clients that
through knowledge we deliver them clarity and efficiency.

We do this using what has come to be known as AIDC
(auto-identification and data capture technologies) technologies – an umbrella
term for things like barcodes, NFC, RFID, smart cards etc. As such we have 2
offerings – a standardized off-the shelf product which combines hardware and
software targeted at SMEs and customized solutions for large enterprises which
have more nuanced needs in areas like manufacturing, logistics, healthcare etc.
where last mile traceability can help combat issues like counterfeiting,
pilferages etc.

What do these offerings do? They help our clients tag, track
and trace asset workflows across a number of asset classes – fixed, mobile and
supply chain. It’s a nascent market in India unlike the West but with all
drivers in place to take off in the near future.

We have talking to 2 kinds of investors – VCs and strategic
investors. I guess it’s a question of fit as to who is better suited for a
business at a certain point in its lifecycle. VCs have a greater risk appetite
and hence more cash but the latter bring capabilities beyond money that can
help you expand. We’ll have to wait and see which one works better for us. But
we are keen on raising capital to fund some investment ideas that will help us
grow this market.

We are a very young company and so many things are not yet
set in stone, hence it’s hard to give it a definition but one thing is clear –
there is a strong undercurrent of openness in problem solving. Be it, how to
bag the next order to how do we market ourselves to what products we develop
next? Everyone pitches in.

There are 2 companies I admire the most – Apple and IBM.
Apple because as an Apple user, I get it that they get it – it’s the only
company that believes that an integrated model of owning hardware and software
is key to a best outcome – be that outcome is user experience or performance.

Our own philosophy as a company is the same – we don’t want
to be seen as a pure play software company and are hence expanding our hardware
capabilities as well because that is the best way for our clients to maximize
value. Our SME product reflects this philosophy.

I admire IBM simply because of the fact that they have
survived so long constantly re-inventing themselves pushing the forefront of what
technology should look like at a scaled level. That in itself is a big thing in
these times.

I don’t think I am seasoned enough to give others advice – I
am still new to the game, so first and foremost I will give them my best wishes
for the role of luck in entrepreneurial success is highly underestimated.
Beyond that, the only thing I can say is that it’s a great time to be an
entrepreneur – the economy is ripe for it, societal pressures are easing,
Indians are loving more risk and more urban legends – so bring it on.