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Telecom
Industry with almost 900 million users, provides incredible growth
opportunities to companies. A lot of companies globally clearly see this
opportunity in India and jump into the bandwagon. This has led to a fiercely
competitive environment. You always need to be ahead of the curve and innovate
fast else you are history. In addition there are a number of other risks worth
mentioning:1) Risk of Adoption – To understand if the application is being used
by the users and solving the problem that we set out to solve. We constantly
try to listen to our customers and iteratively improve our product offerings as
per their expectation.2) To
adapt to the constantly changing wireless technology landscape and eco-system.3)
Too much dependence on few large accounts – We have tried to diversify
our offerings and expanded our client base to small and medium enterprises
thereby mitigating the risk to a certain extent.
Telecom
Industry with almost 900 million users, provides incredible growth
opportunities to companies. A lot of companies globally clearly see this
opportunity in India and jump into the bandwagon. This has led to a fiercely
competitive environment. You always need to be ahead of the curve and innovate
fast else you are history. In addition there are a number of other risks worth
mentioning:1) Risk of Adoption – To understand if the application is being used
by the users and solving the problem that we set out to solve. We constantly
try to listen to our customers and iteratively improve our product offerings as
per their expectation.2) To
adapt to the constantly changing wireless technology landscape and eco-system.3)
Too much dependence on few large accounts – We have tried to diversify
our offerings and expanded our client base to small and medium enterprises
thereby mitigating the risk to a certain extent.
There
were two mist critical decisions:1)When I decided to leave a lucrative job
offer in the US and start my own company with almost zero experience.2)To
completely change our business direction from a service oriented outsourced web
development company to a highly challenging product oriented mobile application
space at a very nascent stage. It was a huge gamble that seems to be paying off
now.3)My passion and self confidence gave me the courage to just take the
plunge with a promise to either achieve what I set out to do or die trying.
1)The
earlier difficulties usually revolved around technology constraints. A very
fragmented mobile eco system, with myriad disparate platforms, Operating
systems and operator networks, made it extremely difficult to create a standard
user experience.2) Pressure to launch the product first and within very tight
schedules in a highly innovative and hyper competitive market
Getting
the right team in place is critical to scale up. Sharp focus on few things that
are our strength and not to get distracted by other non-core opportunities.Managing
Capital and Cash Flows
Getting
the right people/team in place before scaling up the business.
To build
a product/solution that changes the way we live ,To build a technology brand
that outlasts me.
Our DNA is
“Applied Technologies - We're essentially technology people who love finding
out new ways to making it relevant and useful to businesses and individuals.”.
We spend a lot of time to get the DNA ingrained in the team. Use of new,
exciting technologies and seeing them solve real business problems acts as a
huge motivator for the team.
This has
been the biggest challenge as a company. We are still trying to figure out a
way to crack this. I firmly believe that skillsets can be taught but attitude
cant. Therefore we try look for highly motivated people with the right attitude
who share the same vision to take the company forward.
Our first
customer was Airtel. Cracking such a large account is hugely challenging. You
have to convince that you will be able to service/support the product with a
small team size and agree to a lot of terms not in your favour. Perseverance is
the key - you have to constantly keep knocking on their doors and sit for hours
to demonstrate your product. In the end it all worked out and we were able to
demonstrate our capabilities to manage the product end to end.
We are a
completely bootstrapped company and have not yet started to look out for
potential investors.
I started
as a pure techie being engaged in all aspects of the product development.
However as teams grew and we scaled, the priorities kept on changing. The most
interesting aspect of starting a company is that you have the liberty to don
various hats. I set up each and every department of the company from HR to
Accounts to Sales. Have actively participated and led most of the
departments till I was able to find a suitable candidate to replace me for that
role. Currently am still handling the Sales role and actively engaged in new
product decisions.
Entrepreneurship
is not for the faint-hearted. It is a lonely roller-coaster ride with
unexpected twists and turns. Some of the key characteristics that entrepreneurs
must have are:Never Give Up attitude,Patience and Perseverance,Passion and Self-Confidence.If
you are cut out for it you should take the plunge NOW!! I can assure you that
the journey is going to be worthwhile whatever the result.
Whatever
the circumstances do not give up. Keep going at it and you will succeed. Have
the positive conviction that everything will work out in the end. More often
than not it does!
The
obvious choice is Apple. Their products are highly innovative and have a huge
impact on the way we live.
I wish
there was an easy answer to this. With experience and right guidance from
successful mentors you can try to avoid certain mistakes. However you are bound
to make mistakes as you go along. You should not be deterred/disappointed with
mistakes. You need to learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them.