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Startup > My Story > Krishna Mohan N
Krishna Mohan N

Krishna Mohan N

CEO
Softserve Global

Short Description

I just decided to take an entrepreneurial jump when there were no interesting job opportunities in market and I took this plunge without proper game plan.

Brief about company, offerings and foundation of the company

Softserve Global is Software Services and Products Company.

From the Software Services side, we have signed up with a Bangalore based Micro Finance Institution for providing Application Development Services and are executing another Outsourced Product Development (OPD) project, a retail product on lifestyle and fashion accessories

On the Products side,currently we are building a Strategic HR Management tool or rather I call it as product which is based on human behavioural science and psychology. We are yet to take this to Market. The product will be ready to go to market in September 2012.

 This product will help HR teams to strategically manage their workforce

  • It helps them identify the Leadership Pipeline in the organization
  • Dynamically create combinations of successful teams giving indicators like who will work well with whom and what are motivator factors for the given team, given a particular situation tricky situation who should be entrusted the job/project etc.
  • It also helps to identify the major strengths and weaknesses of the human resources under scrutiny
  • It also helps you to hire the right talent for the skillset that you are looking for
  • It also helps you to manage the critical team members
  •  And to build agile project teams helping companies to build  appropriate team with no fat i.e., both in terms of size and complementing skills of team members

Risks involved in business and way of addressing

Getting the right talent pool when you are building a product from scratch is the biggest problem that we faced. Secondly capital to spend on these development activities

Most critical decision

Some of the decisions that I took looks silly now. But you cannot help you need to decide in that juncture. One instance is, I just decided to take an entrepreneurial jump when there were no interesting job opportunities in market and I took this plunge without proper game plan. Felt it will evolve.So far we are moving in the right direction. Although it was not designed to be that way 

Unique about my way of motivating troops

I sell the idea in big picture. I motivate people in tricky situations saying some stories that I have encountered in my life or have read about

Way of choosing my people

Spotting right talent and inspiring them

Experience of reaching out to potential investors

We never have approached any Investors so far. I guess we will approach at the right time.

Advice for fellow entrepreneurs

Go chase your dream and start early


Three big lessons/ mistakes encountered while building company

Got into play without proper game plan, never made a business plan(I think I will never make a business plan now), and lastly started with very little capital of about a lakh

Some of the difficulties faced while building product/ solution

I was betting on a certain team to deliver but it was no starter and I had to change my approach. Also getting the desired team in place with varied background that was needed for our product development was a tall ask. So I used a mix of different players to execute the project i.e., hired some good consultants from market and entrusted them to build the system for me and maintained a very thin in-house team just to test the deliveries and provide quality assurance.

Different actions if I rebuild my company from scratch all over again

I think I was scared for too long. Should have started a little earlier is my feeling. Having said this, to answer your question precisely a little more capital would have been good so that I never had to worry about payments and personal commitments all the while

Motivation and Drives factor

Wanted to build an enterprise of my own from scratch and leave the legacy to rightful protégés. The other reason is my brother used to tell me stories of eminent business personalities when I was growing up and it was etched permanently in my mind and I feel that was certainly a motivator.

The challenges and lessons learnt to get first customer

My previous working experience with some good industry veterans and their references helped me to sign-up with my first few customers. From there on it is chain of references through which we are getting orders.

My role at different dimensions as the company evolved

As an Entrepreneur you don’t have a definite role. I have worked as Business Analyst, Tester, Designer, Recruiter, HR Manager, BDM, company ambassador, Marketing Officer, Trainer the list is endless that’s what is fun about entrepreneurship

As a leader how I make sure that I am connecting the right dots

I always believe in progressing. Mistakes are part and parcel of life. If you don’t jump in water to learn swimming for the fear of drowning you will never learn to float/swim. Having said this I don’t mind losing or going wrong as well. If you don’t lose you will never appreciate your win or learn from mistakes.

My thoughts related to entrepreneurship/ leadership and management

I would love to have more entrepreneurs getting into play. I believe they are the catalysts for any country’s growth. They indirectly create jobs and improve economy. I would recommend leaving behind their cushy jobs and to try and chase their dreams

Best company I admire globally

From India I like Wipro, Infosys and Globally Google. Wipro and Infosys have instilled confidence in us that we too can build world class delivery center’s right here in India. Like Google for its innovative products.