K K Pal

Founder & Director

Laitkor InfoSolutions

Short Description

Trust the people who manage your service/product. They will rarely let you down.

Brief about company, offerings and foundation of the company

Laitkor is a 100% Software EOU Unit under the STPI scheme. Laitkor has three offerings (a) Custom software development (b) Private managed cloud Hosting (c) Media (a) Custom Software: We build complex software web/mobile apps for clients in all continents. The profile of our clients, for example is a startup from Stanford to a Telecom giant in Australia and everything in between.(b) Managed Hosting: We operate out of a secured datacenter in California.(c) Media: We have a Web media business line.03Dec2003 in a small room in residential area of Lucknow with 4 staff.Now,we are occupying whole of STPI,Lucknow Incubation space.

Risks involved in business and way of addressing

As a startup, you have got to take risks, but as the business grows, you get more risk averse. One example is the risk involved in dollar-to-rupee conversion. A more established company hedges the risk through contracts or financial means. A startup, just hopes for the best.

Some of the difficulties faced while building product/ solution

Time difference and client communication

Most critical decision

Starting the company in India. There were a lot of unknowns and India doesn't have a startup friendly business climate. However the STPI scheme was a godsend and helped us bootstrap the company.

Three big lessons/ mistakes encountered while building company

Market Research, Product and Positioning.

Motivation and Drives factor

Problem solving

Unique about my way of motivating troops

Empower them and Pay them well

Way of choosing my people

I interview every single hire. I look for out-of-the box type people.

The challenges and lessons learnt to get first customer

A hot lead led me to contact the prospect. Then it was a short drive to a Starbucks cafe in San Francisco. I pitched the solution and we signed the contract. You have got to do your homework and understand what are the pain points of the clients. Then you address them.

Experience of reaching out to potential investors

Haven't had a need. We are self funded.

My role at different dimensions as the company evolved

From a code writer, to a project manager, to a solutions architect/sales guy

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

As a consulting company, no two projects are alike. Avoiding mistakes doesn't keep us up at night, Figuring out more than one solution to a given problem does.

My thoughts related to entrepreneurship/ leadership and management

Trust the people who manage your service/product. They will rarely let you down.

Best company I admire globally

Apple: For its UI and products.

Advice for fellow entrepreneurs

Find a problem, then solve it. The business will grow around it in due course.