Vol. 02 | Issue 05 | 2021
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Business Synergy Entrepreneurship and CSR - A Synergy of Equivalent Exchange Business Dynamics Dynamics of Entrepreneurship in the Post Covid-19 Business World
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Every single person I know who is successful at what they do is successful because they love doing it.
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The
10
Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs To Watch In
2021
Aryen Kute Founder OAO Info India Pvt. Ltd.
Aryen Suresh Kute Revolutionizing the Indian Mobile Gaming Space
Editor’s Note
THE AGE OF ENTERPRISING BUSINESSPERSONS
Efficient entrepreneurs build their own path to glory, while guiding others along the way. They play a pivotal role in shaping the destiny of their organization. An exemplary entrepreneur leads by example and never gives up during challenging situations. They spearhead from the front and set right examples for the employees, the organization, and the clients. Successful entrepreneurs possess great competence and character. They guide the employees in the correct way, which derives better results for the organization. Entrepreneurs constructively engage their employees, which in turn, boosts their moral, and encourages them to participate actively towards achieving the organizational goals. They focus on creating a positive work culture, while nurturing gentle behaviour among the employees. These entrepreneurs believe in inculcating leadership skills among the future generation leaders. Entrepreneurs ensure that the employees are aware of their roles and responsibilities and can tap to utilize their strengths and skills to accomplish the organizational goals. They welcome positive feedback from the employees and implement them accordingly. These leaders respect the free will of
Darshan Parmar Managing Editor
darshan@insightssuccess.com
the employees. They maintain a trustworthy, honest, and cheerful personality and provide employees with the confidence to take on stiff challenges. Exemplary entrepreneurs possess exceptional communication skills to provide vital information quickly and efficiently for the welfare of the company. These leaders introduce innovative practices and procedures to empower their employees. They focus on larger progression of the organization, while tapping into the potential of technology and deliver excellent customer services. Entrepreneurs are gifted with an innovative mindset; accordingly, they deliver unique solutions to different problems. Driven by zeal to create unity in diversity, they promote harmony and understanding among the employees. These leaders believe that healthy relationships among employees help in better productivity and growth of the organization. Effective entrepreneurs overcome indomitable odds with sheer confidence and a smile on their faces. They have gravity in their voice and command over their words to lead their organization effectively. Such leaders are naturally respected by the people. People are ready to learn and work under the leadership of such astute personalities.
Hence, in the issue, ‘The 10 Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs to Watch In 2021’, Insights Success recognizes the leading entrepreneurs who are transforming their business, while creating a major impact on the industry. Do read a few of the articles written by our in-house editors and have fun with your reading experience. Read Away!
DarsHP
18 Arvind Ghorwal Creating Blissful Experiences in Virtual Reality
24 Riyaz Lakhani Helping Businesses Achieve Cost-effective Operational Efficiency
30
Shailendra Bramhvanshi Optimistic Tech-enthusiast on the Quest to Dominate the Blockchain Space
38 Vinod Chacko Leading FlexiCloud Dynamically
42 Samar Patel A Leader who Makes Everyone Go, WOW
Articles
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28
Business Synergy
Business Dynamics
Entrepreneurship and CSR - A Synergy of Equivalent Exchange
Dynamics of Entrepreneurship in the Post Covid-19 Business World
08
Aryen Suresh Kute Revolutionizing the Indian Mobile Gaming Space
Expert Motivation I am Raising a Toast to You
Cover Story
CXO
34
Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Managing Editor Darshan Parmar
sales@insightssuccess.com
Assisting Editor Ananda Kamal Das
FEBRUARY, 2021
Contributing Writer Vrushali Rakhunde
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Management Anuj Kumar Co-founder
Company Name
Brief
Formcept Technologies Anuj co-founded FORMCEPT with the objective of empowering and 21st-century leaders to take mission-critical decisions. Solutions Private Limited
Arvind Ghorwal Founder and CEO
Elysian Studios
Arvind spearheads Elysian, an active company which comes under Motion Pictures and Film industries.
Avinash Chandra Founder and CEO
BrandLoom Consulting
Avinash is a Branding and Digital Marketing Consultant and Founder of BrandLoom Consulting.
Master Aryen Suresh Kute Founder
TO WATCH IN
THE
10
2021
Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs
Master Aryen Suresh Kute, a child prodigy with his keen interest in gaming and various other technologies since childhood paved OAO Info India Pvt. Ltd. off the way in starting his Gaming and Software company in the IT hub of Pune.
Narayan Neelakantan Co-founder and CEO
Blockarmour
Narayan is highly accomplished Thought Leader, Energetic, and a Visionary Strategist backed by a 18-year record of ground-up success in Information Security and IT.
Piyush Nyati Executive Director
Nyati Group
One of the youngest and dynamic directors on the board of Nyati Group, Piyush Nyati joined the business in 2011.
Riyaz Lakhani Founder and CEO
QuicSolv Technologies Pvt. Ltd
QuickSolv under Riyaz's leadership has successfully completed more than 180 successful projects because of its high level of architectural planning, standard development processes and thorough testing.
Samar Patel Founder
WOW Travels
Samar’s company WOW Travels has ventured into properties.
Shailendra Bramhvanshi TECHAROHA Solutions Founder
Vinod Chacko Founder and CEO
FlexiCloud
Shailendra is a blockchain expert with 10 years of experience in IT industry.
Vinod is a communications professional with almost 30 years of work experience spread across marketing, advertising, brand building and corporate communications.
ARYeN SURESH Revolutionizing the Indian Mobile Gaming Space
Cover Story
KUTE
Aryen Kute Founder OAO Info India Pvt. Ltd.
The 10 Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs To Watch In 2021
O
AO Info India Pvt Ltd (OAO India) is an IT company focused on designing innovative Mobile Games and Custom Web Applications for our Domestic as well as international clients and provide them effective Digital Marketing solutions. Master Aryen Suresh Kute, a child prodigy with his keen interest in gaming and various other technologies since childhood paved off the way in starting his Gaming and Software company in the IT hub of Pune. The little IT tech from Podar International School, Beed began his venture when he was just 10 year old. Founded in 2018, OAO India with skillful technical expertise is providing expert solutions to clients worldwide. “We are committed to serve entertainment hungry masses by developing games that are engaging and appealing. We also provide web and customized software solutions,” states Aryen. “Our digital marketing services help enhance the brand awareness and digital presence of our clients worldwide with a vision and strategy that will help them grow exponentially,” says Aryen. Let us see what more Aryen has to say about the dynamics of his company OAO in the following interview: What are the prominent services, products or solutions that your company offers? OAO INFO INDIA PVT LTD is a Gaming and one stop IT and Marketing Solutions Provider. Our game development studio is dedicated to making culturally relevant games and takes pride in propagating our vibrant and diverse culture to the world. Entertaining and delighting our target audience with beautifully crafted games with simplicity at its core, we ensure joy to the players of all age groups. With our software development solutions, we help businesses leverage their potential by developing various custom software solutions and services. Our Software Development Services include Custom Application Development, Content Management System (CMS) Plugins, Ecommerce Development, MEAN Stack Development, Social Media Apps, Web Design, Template Design / Banner Design, App Design. With our expert Digital Marketers and Growth Hackers we
help businesses and brands create a powerful digital impact for their products and services to generate maximum traffic and customer engagement. Our Digital Marketing Services includes but is not limited to Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Pay Per Click (PPC), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Content Marketing, Social Media Optimization (SMO), Search Engine Optimization (SEO). We also provide Email and Hosting Solutions. Brief us about the featured person(s) and their contribution towards the company and the gaming industry. Master Aryen Suresh Kute at an early age had a liking for playing video games and mobile games. His curiosity led him to take interest in gaming and new technologies. He also studied and developed an understanding of software products and services. All these together motivated him to start an IT company named OAO (Online-Aryen- Organization) INDIA. An enthusiastic child prodigy, Master Aryen’s participation in the industry visits, board meetings of company and close association with sales and marketing teams accompanying his parents and role models- Mr. Suresh Dnyanobarao Kute and Mrs. Archana Suresh Kute (the Founders and MD’s of The Kute Group - A leading entity catering products and services in various sectors) from an early age has blessed him with the insight and vision of a true entrepreneur. His interest and efforts in embarking the journey of OAO INDIA are inspirational. He has received the “Youngest Entrepreneur Award” in “Entrepreneur Excellence Awards-2019” at ‘Vivanta by TajAurangabad’ organized by 94.3 MY FM and also featured in the famous business magazine “Insights Success” that spreads light into inspiring business success stories and latest business updates. They have appreciated the commendable dedication and vision of Master Aryen to expand in the fields of Gaming and Information Technology and take the business of The Kute Group to new heights. What is your opinion on the current scenario of the gaming market? There is significant growth in Indian mobile market & it has grown significantly over the past couple of years. In particular, the gaming industry is undergoing a massive evolution because of the mobile revolution. The serious gamers mostly prefer to use their mobile phones as a
VISION TO BE ONE OF THE BEST IT COMPANIES PROVIDING TOP-NOTCH SOLUTIONS DELIVERED BY BEST- IN-CLASS PEOPLE TO SATISFY THE EXPECTATIONS OF CLIENTS AND TO CREATE THE FUTURE OF GAMING THAT ENABLES US TO BE THE MARKET LEADER IN THE INDIAN GAMING LANDSCAPE
gaming device instead of the traditional desktops or laptops. The market value of the gaming industry in India was around 62 billion Indian rupees in 2019 and is estimated to go up to over 250 billion rupees by 2024. By 2022, the estimated number of employees within the market would be over 40 thousand. Mobile gaming in the country is growing at a rapid rate due to development and affordability of Smartphone's. The market value of mobile gaming in India was estimated to reach about 405 million U.S. dollars by 2022. The number of mobile phone gamers was anticipated to be around 628 million by 2020 according to the forecast.
tion puzzle games, matching, swap, dash or click games then you will love this casual puzzle game. This mouthwatering puzzle adventure will instantly quench your hunger with delicious Indian Foods.
The gaming market is here to stay and grow with increasing number of gamers and demand for fascinating games globally. Our Current Live Games: Krishna Makhan Masti
Upcoming Games: We are also planning to launch a few more games in various categories like Action Games, Multiplayer Game, Strategy and Adventure Games and many more. Here are some of our upcoming games: We launched our first game Krishna Makhan Masti on the auspicious day of Janmashtami 2020, and gathered over 20,000+ downloads within a short span of time.
Rise of Warr An action-puzzle game that will leave you spellbound with the exciting moves and adventure.
Focused on delighting the gamers, KKM is a fun puzzle game where little Krishna is on a mission to rescue his friends while enjoying makhan, breaking the matukis on the way.
War Zone This is a shooting game with Indian Army Theme. Player plays as an Indian Army Character who is assigned some missions to complete. How do you strategize to sustain your company’s competency in the cut-throat Gaming industry?
Indian Food Baash We are launching our second game Indian Food Baash on the occasion of New Year 2021. If you're a fan of combina-
The gaming industry is a crowded trade. It’s one of those industries, where people are attracted every day; so, a lot of people are trying to get into it and to sustain in the competition and to be successful in the industry requires an awakened sense of changing demand in the gaming industry. Our core design and development come from some of the Top 10 gaming companies in India. With the sustained strategy, we are focusing on-
MISION TO PROVIDE BEST SOLUTIONS THROUGH INNOVATION AND BRINGING OUR CLIENTS A DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE. WE ARE COMMITTED TO CREATING SAFE, REGULATED AND RESPONSIBLE ENTERTAINMENT WITH A POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOCIETY
1. Target Audience - Know-how of our target audience. 2. Genre - The various categories of games 3. Game Mechanics - Form and functioning of the core game. 4. Characters/Storyline - Proceeding of the storyline with game characters created, powers assigned, audio-visual effects etc. Creativity is at the core of our games and keeping view of the larger picture, we have used the best technology and systems. Study of gaming industry trends and understanding the needs of the target audience goes a long way in making exciting games. Where do you envision your organization to be in the long run and what are your future goals? Our vision is to become a leader in Mobile Gaming Industry as well as Software Development industry to providing quality products and services with our professional expertise along with our curated digital marketing services.
We are in a constant R&D process of designing and developing unique and engaging Mobile Games that will take OAO India to new heights in come future. Give us a few testimonials of your clients that accurately highlight your organization’s position in the market. Here are some of the testimonials of our clients for our Software Development and Marketing Services. From Planning, Content Writing, Web designing to implementation, OAO INDIA has helped us in setting up our digital front with full efficiency. - Tirumalla Edible Oils & Foods. OAO India and their Creative Marketing team has created an excellent Digital and Social Media Marketing Strategy for our Brand. Our Brand Value and Customers Engagement is improved drastically. Thanks to OAO India team. - Tirumalla Edible Oils & Foods. Our “Bank Website” and “Dnyanradha Bank Calendar Application” is developed by OAO Info India Pvt Ltd and it is made creatively; it is informative and has exceeded our expectations. - ‘Dnyanradha Multi-State Co-Operative Bank. We are delighted to be a client of OAO Info India Pvt Ltd. They have created a fabulous website for us. - DNR AutoTech. The team is supportive and has taken all our needs into account while creating an attractive website. - Tirumalla Hair Oil.
VALUES “TEAMWORK, TRANSPARENCY AND RESPECT ARE THE VALUES WHICH OAO INDIA PUTS INTO ACTION EVERY SINGLE DAY.”
The 10 Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs To Watch In 2021
Arvind Ghorwal Creating Blissful Experiences in Virtual Reality
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e get only those things in life that we have the courage to ask for and if we are ready to pursue what we truly want. Choosing to be an entrepreneur means to live on the edge of success and failure. It can go any way therefore it is a courageous decision to be an entrepreneur. If one has the courage and enough nerves, then anything is possible. Once we are an entrepreneur, we are the master of our own destiny and we also get to experience the freedom that comes along with it. Arvind Ghorwal is one such young and dynamic entrepreneur that loves the freedom that comes along with choosing to be an entrepreneur. He is the Founder and CEO of Elysian Studios.
bringing back the ancient wisdom, taking you beyond what you can perceive, opening you up - to the lands of mysticism and inspiring you to reach your ultimate possibility.
In an interview with Insights Success, Arvind Ghorwal shares his journey and about his contribution in creating blissful experiences through virtual reality.
What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur? How did you overcome them to establish yourself and the company? Start-ups are all about going through tough situations and you have to overcome these hurdles to create something meaningful for as many people as you can. One of the biggest challenges that I faced was that people did not know and understand Virtual Reality, so we educated people about Virtual Reality and how they can use it for their benefits. We made 1000’s of people experience Virtual Reality for the first time and the reaction which we received was amazing and it increased our faith in the technology and it’s future.
Below are the highlights of the interview between Arvind Ghorwal and Insights Success: Why did you choose Entrepreneurship over a regular 9-5 job? After finishing my college, I got an opportunity to work in one of the fastest growing start-ups in India, it was there that my interest in entrepreneurship grew. It was not like a 9-5 job, but it was like work, work and work. You have to put in everything that you have got to make a start-up work. Back there, I was leading teams who used to work with the latest technologies like Virtual Reality and drones. There were very few people in India who were doing this at that time, and I started Elysian Studios which creates blissful experiences in Virtual reality. Once you are an entrepreneur, you are the master of your own destiny and I love the freedom that comes along with it. Tell us more about your company/startup/organization. Elysian Studios uses a unique and in-depth approach to the virtual reality (VR) storytelling, creating blissful VR experiences. Elysian means divinely inspired and is 18 | FEB 2021
We are one of the 1st VR studios in India who have created a VR series - Mystic Lands, which takes you to some of the most ancient, blissful and energetic lands like Kashi - The city of Lord Shiva, Bodh Gaya - The land of Buddha’s enlightenment and Rishikesh - Yoga capital of the world. Our VR films are receiving much love from various parts of the world, are getting shortlisted at various International Film Festivals and are featured on major VR platforms.
How do you lead your company and help it sustain in a competitive environment? Leadership is majorly about understanding people and motivating them to first understand how their work is impacting other people’s lives and how they can influence humanity to take it to the next level. We majorly focus on building a great product which can solve other people’s problems and while doing that we are having a good time. It’s not just about work but it’s a part of our lives which we invest in creating meaningful solutions for other people. What is that one aspect or emotion that drives you at work or keeps you motivated? www.insightssuccess.in
Passion and perseverance help us in overcoming difficult situations and moving forward on the path of progress. If you don’t love what you are doing then it becomes very difficult to move forward and once you love doing something then it’s not work, it’s your life which you are investing to create something wonderful and meaningful. As a business leader, what is your opinion on the current landscape of business given that the pandemic has been adversely affecting every industry. Keeping the current situation in mind, we just need to hold on and keep sustaining our businesses, this pandemic will go and something else may happen in future. Difficult times come and go, we just need to adapt to the necessary changes and keep moving forward. And after difficult times, there are always good times.
What are your future endeavours/objectives and where do you see yourself in near future? We plan to create more Virtual Reality content. We have been focusing on spiritual tourism and spirituality is India’s soul. We have Char Dham, Sapta puri and many other spiritual and religious locations. India is a world leader when it comes to spirituality. Our sages, saints and rishis like Swami Vivekananda, Paramhansa Yogananda have gone to the west and have influenced billions of people around the world. We would like to do the same thing in a different way, by using our ancient wisdom and helping people to overcome their difficulties through our content. We only get to learn how to survive in schools and colleges, but only few learn - how to live. And we want to transform lives through our content and influence as many lives as we can across the globe.
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Arvind Ghorwal Founder and CEO
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Elysian Studios uses a unique and in-depth approach to the virtual reality (VR) storytelling, creating blissful VR experiences
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Social Media is an inseparable part of the daily life of youth. Your thoughts about it and how do you leverage its power for the company? Social media is playing a very important role in every company’s marketing strategy. This is where you can reach a whole lot of people and can encourage them to try your product or service. We do leverage social media to influence and educate people about Virtual Reality and how can it transform their lives especially in the times of pandemic.
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ENTREPRENEU and CSR A SYNERGY OF EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE
20 | FEB 2021
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Business Synergy
A
s you sow, so shall you reap. An old saying, we heard from our parents and quite often from their parents.
For the corporate world though there is a slight change, for them it means that they ought to reap more they can ever sow. And this fact was brought out by James Allen, one of Britain’s foremost philosophical writers known for his inspirational books and poetry that pioneered the self-help movement in the early parts of the 20th century. The latter definition in a way defines the scope and raison-d'etre of a corporate’s very existence. It is there to make money for its stakeholders, and more money than it has put in. It has been that way from the time that private enterprise came about. The difference today and in a rather strange twist, is that the same saying also defines the motive behind most (if not all) Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives worldwide. To give more to the society than has been taken from it. In a way, given the resources it commands which in almost all cases is much higher than most individuals, this is a synergy of exchange which with times is today an equivalent exchange. You give for what you get. Why is Corporate Social Responsibility so important? Or is it more important than even entrepreneurship?
URSHIP Entrepreneurship started the day our ancestors (homo sapiens and others) understood the concept of give and take, and that to survive one ought to make profits that helps grow the enterprise. It obviously wasn’t defined to them on a computer but everyone with basic intelligence understood that two buffaloes made more sense than one, and for that to happen, one had to sell produce at some profits. That was fine till the environment had enough trees, grassland, rivers and resources to sustain human’s
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unsatiable appetite. In time, society formed divisions whose ultimate result was inequality. Inequality also came with unbridled use of resources to the point of exploitation. Enterprise from early on thus had all the makings of the ultimate exploiter. Till its owners realized, and this became quite visible from the 70s and 80s, that exploitation of resources be it of man, money or material beyond a point is like eating your own tail. You do not go too far. You either create too much friction in society, pollute extensively or run the place dry of resources. Irrespective of reasons and motives, enterprise ends when they do not bother about society and the environment. The movement to reform started from the 60s though it caught mainstream attention in the 70s and 80s with worldwide movements against pollution and excessive exploitation. Worldwide experiences put together by experts in the field put down the idea of CSR into three categories that also shows the reason behind the CSR exercise. 1.CSR through pure philanthropic initiatives India is one country that has always been ripe with the prospects of implementing myriad CSR initiatives and doing so successful in every sense. From the initiator to the ultimate beneficiary, everyone is said to benefit from the same. Add to that the fact that the Government itself promotes CSR activities by relevant provisions in its Income Tax rules and regulations that allow for generous deductions to fund these initiatives. In the context of CSR through pure philanthropic initiatives, the Adar Poonawala Foundation’s CSR campaign to keep the bustling metropolis of Pune clean in every sense is a prime example. The company isn’t expecting anything in return for what it’s doing under the initiative- besides being called a responsible corporate entity which could help in the long run when it comes to recruitment and society-related activities. In fact, in India, in the absence of a great understanding of the scope of CSR or great direction, it is CSR through pure philanthropic initiatives that rules the roost.
MM 2021 | 21
Practically every corporate entity in India is known to run or fund schools, vocational education or help with people’s medical needs with tie-ups with known medical and health-related entities and hospitals. These activities help fill in the CSR blank in the company’s balance sheet and keeps entities on the right side of the law. They do help, but many things can be accomplished where mind is applied to do things that matter. 2.CSR through the improvement of an enterprise’s operational working Social Responsibility is a term with a very wide amplitude that needs to be seen in its original context and own reasoning. To that extent, society may include not just humans and human activities in the vicinity but also the entire environment and ecosystem that exists in and around a corporate entity which may be affected directly and indirectly by the latter’s act both by omission and commission. CSR in this context means the responsibility of individual corporate entities towards its environment and ecosystem which the latter tries to preserve or better through its own initiatives. Great examples of these include the working of thermal power plants where the latter is known to have installed electrostatic precipitators to arrest the outflow of fly-ash from smokestacks besides using better quality coal which gave out lower quantities of fly-ash. Add to this is the much-needed usage of fly-ash in the making of bricks, cement and other materials that besides putting a waste to very good use, result in the safe use and disposal of an otherwise toxic waste known to pollute ground water resources.
What came back to them was higher sales of their product and that of the farmers’ produce which in some cases was procured and sold by the company. A win-win situation for all, it showed the efficacy of CSR initiatives where an enterprise’s way of doing business was tweaked. The other example is that of FMCG companies including Unilever of India which commissioned semiliterate women to sell its sanitation products including sanitary pads in rural areas. Besides helping hapless women get an additional source of income, the knowledge, and advantages of the use of sanitary pads spread fast. The best part was that the company saw substantial rise in its sale making it an ideal win-win situation. Years ago, Nirma, Unilever’s biggest competitor in the washing powder segment employed semi-literate sales agents in villages as against Unilever’s city-bread and educated sales staff. The former with the full knowledge of the area, of the product and the wiliness to change their circumstances always trumped over their MNC rivals. At the very base of a CSR mission irrespective of location and circumstances, is to give to society in measures substantially close to what you draw from it and can be termed an equivalent exchange of sorts. As for the future scope of CSR, it shall continue till the time that enterprises continue though in forms which may have to stand the test of time and circumstances.
- Purushottam
3.CSR through change in an enterprise’s ways of working Jain Irrigation in the state of Maharashtra achieved the dual objective of increasing its sales as also helping farmers in the vicinity of its plant. Situated in one of the driest parts of India with products (drip and sprinkler irrigation systems) meant to increase output with just the right amount of water- even in dry areas, its CSR initiative included providing farmers in the vicinity of its plant the right means to save water and grow crops.
22 | FEB 2021
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Riyaz Lakhani Founder and CEO
Riyaz
Lakhani Helping Businesses Achieve Cost-effective Operational Efficiency
24 | MM 2021
T
he pandemic has forced organizations around the world to revisit the need for digitization and reconsider their IT infrastructure and IT Strategy. Technology-driven companies, who have been focusing on innovation and have been on the cutting edge of technology can now expect faster recovery and rapid growth. Better communication and collaboration tools, IoT based technologies and machine learning will help resilient organizations across the industry to recover faster. Working with a similar belief and approach is one such dynamic IoT services and solutions provider, QuicSolv Technologies Pvt. Ltd. It is led by Riyaz Lakhani who is the Founder and CEO of the company.
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The 10 Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs To Watch In 2021
“Our manpower tracking is equipped with real-time tracking and tracing features, which their ensures safety and security along with tracking their attendance and operational efficiency, while our asset tracking solution is helping with tracking and tracing of assets, finished goods etc. with quick implementation and lower total cost of ownership” states Riyaz. The company under his leadership has successfully completed more than 180 successful projects because of its high level of architectural planning, standard development processes and thorough testing. That is the reason QuicSolv’s clients revere the company as a one-stop-shop. He believes in providing solutions for the business that not only help businesses improve operational productivity but also attain a great deal of savings through a lower total cost of ownership. While Riyaz and his team has worked on an array of different projects, one of the most important value that their clients have benefitted from, is the ability to understand and interpret business requirements into technology. This has helped clients to build applications and mobile apps that are scalable, robust, and easily maintainable as each delivery is followed with proper documentation and training.
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Sailing through the Storms “Challenges, well, there is a long list, and I cannot do justice to the entire article,” shares Riyaz. So, let’s take a look at the most relevant ones he has shared with us: a) Creating a Niche With more than 33 million software companies in India, and more than 90% servicing the West, it was important to create a differentiator. His experience in the industry had taught him that, the ability to understand and interpret business requirements into technology was something that would give him and his team the edge. “We built our niche in Health Care and Industry 4.0 and continued to improve our knowledge and expertise in these areas,” informs Riyaz. b) Creating a Stellar Team One of the most important aspects of a successful business is the people who run it. Riyaz built a stellar team with Mr. Vikas Somani, Mr. Pradeep Sahoo, Mr. Karim Lalani and Mr. Manoj Thombare. These four pillars have helped not only keep the structure of the company
strong, but also, give growth and inspiration to the others in the organization. Most people within this team have been with the organization from the past decade. c) Building on Strength As a startup, it was very difficult to outsource specific areas of the business to specialists, considering the costs associated with it. But Riyaz realized, very soon that, to build an organization, he needed to build on the company’s strengths and would need to outsource resources that did not form a part of the team’s core strength. “Now, with our IoT products too, we have partnered with Crown Worldwide to promote our Manpower and Asset tracking solution across the country and beyond,” shares the team of QuicSolv. QuicSolv Dynamics “Our core values consist of innovation, action, accountability, and joy,” states the team of QuicSolv. Riyaz along with his team constantly strive to redefine status quo in everything that they do. Though the culture of
“
In 2017, with an aim to solve business problem using technology, Riyaz embarked upon the IoT (Internet of Things) journey and now three years later, his team at QuicSolv has products for Manpower Tracking and Asset Tracking.
I believe innovation can lead to value creation
MM 2021 | 25
innovation requires some structure to guide the decision-making process, core innovation value is crucial to provide this structure. The most important thing is to communicate the vision and mission to the entire team, even to the office boy and make sure they are in line with the vision and mission. Riyaz learnt this from the Chinese, when he was in China once and hired a cycle rickshaw to reach his hotel. He was startled when the driver asked Riyaz, “So what can you do for China?” “I realized that the leadership must have done a hell of a job communicating the vision and mission to every
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person in the country,” explains Riyaz. Riyaz is driven by results and this the element that keeps him motivated at work. He believes that results are only achieved when we set an achievable deadline and strive hard to reach it. Talking about his take on entrepreneurship over a regular 9 to 5 job, he elaborates, “I think this is really two motivations, the idea of creating something from ground-up and, the challenge of solving a problem using technology.”
4.0’. He believes that we all have the responsibility to give back to the society and being a part of the Agakhan Foundation, has taught him and his team that giving back creates a virtuous cycle that makes everyone successful. “For us, giving back has been our way to express our gratitude and we will continue to do so in the future,” concludes Riyaz.
In the coming few years, QuicSolv under the leadership of Riyaz would like to be an authority in the field of ‘Internet of Things’ and ‘Industry
www.insightssuccess.in
Business Dynamics
T
he entire world is standing together in this battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only humankind, but businesses are also struggling to recover from this calamity. Owing to the lockdown, economies have been disrupted, businesses have been forced to shut down, and remote working has emerged as the new normal. Accordingly, entrepreneurs now must shift quickly from offline to online mode, while adopting completely new business strategies. The Impact of COVID-19 The pandemic has had a widespread impact across various domains. These have been mentioned below: Industrial Impact COVID-19 has badly impacted services that rely heavily on customer mobility. Transportation, fitness, and tourism industry have incurred massive losses. Other businesses have been forced to reduce workforce and engage in digital conversations with clients. Technological Impact With the emergence of practices such as work from home and social distancing, businesses are now facing an unprecedented level of IT challenges. Users have to amp up their systems or completely overhaul the IT infrastructure. Impact on Customer Relations The pandemic has drastically affected customer expectations, both in terms of buying patterns, and interactions with a company. Companies also must transform their e-commerce practices in innovative ways such as contactless delivery, modified product lines, and so on. Impact on Operations COVID-19 has brought in a paradigm
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shift because shipping and distribution facilities have been shut down or heavily restricted. This has limited companies to cater to only a fraction of customer demand and adapt to new ecommerce channels. Impact on Human Resources Employees are struggling to adjust to work from home dynamics, while keeping in mind the uncertainties of the present and the future. With massive financial and business losses, employees now also must worry about pay cuts, layoffs, and termination. The Future Pathway Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has introduced modern challenges, which require out-of-the-box solutions. Businesses should employ unique methods to ensure efficiency during these challenging times. These methods have been mentioned below: Market Research In this post-pandemic world, businesses must evaluate whether the markets and geographies they have been serving, remain profitable. They must understand which core technologies and business practices need to be improved and how the team can better adapt to the new normal. Businesses should make sure that the research is conducted online, while avoiding in-person interactions and remain trustworthy, impartial, and goal oriented. Entrepreneurs should employ DIY qualitative solutions and in-depth data collection assistance to ensure smooth workflow. Moreover, it is important to note that these facilities should be available to all the employees and the customers. Embracing Digital Transformation Performing business activities virtually is the need of the hour. Accordingly,
employees need to update their skills to adapt to this new age of AI and automation. Moreover, going digital does not merely mean creating a website and running social media campaigns. Entrepreneurs should ensure that the team stays connected and business activities are carried out normally while working from home and fulfilling customer expectations at the same time. Agility is Important Entrepreneurs should reshape supply chains and automate processes wherever possible. It is important to make swift financial planning to ensure enough liquidity to respond to unexpected situations. Smooth Transition to Remote Working It is essential for entrepreneurs to make sure that their teams are rising to this new challenge and coping up swiftly with remote working. Working with every team member at personal levels and supporting them emotionally and professionally is the need of the hour. Employees will feel included, if leaders and team members keep them informed about important decisions and give them an opportunity to voice their opinion. COVID-19 is an unexpected calamity which has hampered lives and businesses in unimaginable ways. During these testing times, entrepreneurs must stay at the top of their game, adapt quickly and smartly to a mostly online format of working. They should stay in sync with every employee and department and properly understand how markets are working now and what changes may occur in the times to come. - Ananda Kamal Das
www.insightssuccess.in
DYNAMICS
Entrepreneurship in the Post COVID-19 of
BUSINESS WORLD www.insightssuccess.in
MM 2021 | 29
SHAILENDRA
BRAMHVANSHI Optimistic Tech-enthusiast on the Quest to Dominate the Blockchain Space
C
uriosity is an eager confession of ignorance. Once you see something or hear a certain word for the first time, it ignites the thirst of knowledge in curious minds. You are driven to know it all about the subject and convert your lack of knowledge into an opportunity to discover new path of success for yourself and others. Shailendra Bramhvanshi, Co-founder of Techaroha, is one such curious dynamic entrepreneur who converted
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his lack of knowledge about Blockchain into an opportunity to take his business to the next level. In the quest to grow their SugarCRM firm Techaroha, Shailendra along with his business partners Sagar and Umesh entered the Appathon contest by ICICI Bank and made it to the top ten finalists. During the contest, the trio heard the term Blockchain for the first time and were eager to know more. With an extensive research Shailendra
and his partners took the deeper plunge in the world of Blockchain and decided to incorporate Blockchain development and solutions in their company, Techaroha. In the following interview with Insights Success, Shailendra Bramhvanshi shares the major challenges they faced to enter the blockchain world, motivation to being an entrepreneur, and his growing curiosity about the latest technologies
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The 10 Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs To Watch In 2021
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Being an entrepreneur, we pursue our passion which never feels like working. We can choose who we work with and how we manage our time as well
Read the following interview of Shailendra Bramhvanshi to know more about his dynamic entrepreneurial journey in Blockchain space. Brief us about you and your journey since the beginning of your career. Techaroha was founded by Sagar, Shailendra and Umesh, tech-freak passion trio. Journey of Techaroha started in Sep 2013 with an idea discussed over a beer about exploring their skills and innovative minds in making something huge. And the next fine day, we quit our jobs and founded a proprietary firm “The Missing Floor”. We started operating from a friend’s flat and used to work majorly for offshore clients. We had a good freelance base from different countries before starting a proprietary firm. We had expertise in SugarCRM, had our names mentioned amongst Top 10 Worldwide Contributors on SugarCRM Forum. As the business was growing, we took a small office on rent in Mumbai Suburbs in 2014. We expanded the business and started development in PHP-based web applications, mobile app development, and now in Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We hired a team of tech www.insightssuccess.in
“
that has become the power asset to his success.
enthusiasts. We preferred their logic and passion over knowledge while recruiting. Techaroha is a well-known name in SugarCRM development and has clients around the world like Netmagic Solutions, NTT-Data etc. Who has been your guide, source of inspiration, or support? We found biographies of successful Entrepreneurs inspiring. We are highly motivated by journey of Apple Cofounder Steve Jobs and Alibaba’s Cofounder Jack Ma. Robert Kiyosaki’s ‘Rich Dad and Poor Dad’ has motivated us to stay in business over doing jobs. We three partners have a good bonding between us. Apart from business partners, we have been best friends since past seven years. We have always had each other’s back through thick and thin. There were so many ups and downs in the company, but we sorted things out together. What do you like the most about your job? State us about your passions, mission, and goals. What acts as a motivation tool for you? This work is just amazing. There is no one specific thing to love about this. Here we get to work with people, helping them finding business solutions. We love trying new ideas and the challenge of staying at the forefront of a changing industry which allows us to get more learning opportunities.
We are passionate about new technologies, which will help making world a better place to live with advanced technologies available to people easily. We at Techaroha, want to be the pioneer in Blockchain and AI Services. Kindly describe in brief about your company and its services/products. Techaroha Solutions provide a range of services in Blockchain and related technologies. Key verticals of Techaroha in Blockchain includes: Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ
New Cryptocurrency Development ICO Development Web and Desktop Wallet Development Mining Pool Setup Mining Farm Setup Hyperledger Development Web Application Angular JS and Node JS Application SugarCRM Development
State your major achievements and your company’s achievements under your leadership. Techaroha was listed amongst Top 5 Finalists of Blockchain for eGovernance Grand Challenge in 2018 held by Chhattisgarh Govt. There, we presented the solution to Chhattisgarh Govt Officials and their technical team about how blockchain technology can help improve and bring transparency in government transactions. Techaroha has also been in the top 10 finalists of ICICI bank Mobile App Development Challenge for improving mobile banking experience for users. We had presented a solution that would help users to transfer money by sending a simple SMS using mobile number and UPI gateway. Techaroha was listed in Top 10 Most Promising Blockchain Service MM 2021 | 31
Providers among Start-ups in India by SiliconIndia Magazine, May 2018 Edition. State about the most memorable and remarkable moments of your life. The most promising moment was when our solution was selected by ICICI bank for the Grand Finale and we had to demonstrate our solution to top authorities of ICICI bank and their technology partners. It was a big deal for us then. We got media exposure and most importantly, we got to know about Blockchain Technology through one of the key persons’ speech. Kindly tell us about the challenges you took, and the risk associated with it and how did you overcome them? SugarCRM Challenge with SugarCRM was that most organizations using SugarCRM were big corporates and asking them to use our services were a big challenge. We didn’t have the brand and our experience as a SugarCRM development company was zero. To handle this, we used our earlier contacts and forums. We asked our developers to give solutions to people having SugarCRM queries on forums free-of-cost. As a result, our image in SugarCRM forums improved a lot and whenever big companies’ developers use to look out for SugarCRM queries our name and blogs appeared in top. This created an image of us as SugarCRM experts in India. After doing this for a while we approached our contacts who were using SugarCRM. Since our expertise were proven in front of their technical team it was easy to convert them. This is how we got our first big client and then there was no looking back. Blockchain Major challenge was identifying the 32 | FEB 2021
need of Blockchain development. Awareness was very less in 2017. People just knew Blockchain means Bitcoin. So, it was impossible to approach clients for Blockchain services like Mining Setup, Mining Pool Setup, Coin Development, ICO Development and many things like that. So, we started extensive marketing on Google via SEO. We wrote lot of blogs, posted answers in forums, created knowledge base on our website. Within few Days we were top on Google result for Blockchain services. We got few enquiries and then we converted first Project of Coin Development and ICO Development. Share your point of view on the current scenario of the industry and its future. Well, Techaorha is working on two fronts, one is SugarCRM Services and the other is Blockchain Technology. There are a few big corporates in India which are using SugarCRM extensively. SugarCRM being opensource and full features attracts many CTOs. With the cloud based SAAS CRM software available at low cost this market is going down. It is important for small companies to convert their features and solutions into SAAS module which will help clients to reduce cost and small companies can earn profit with the volume it will generate. High size tickets will soon be a thing of past. The future of Blockchain space is bright with more organizations incorporating the technology. Major challenge in Blockchain is awareness and its implementation from small to large organizations. Though bitcoin has made Blockchain popular, it has hardly penetrated the common live internet. Blockchain requires major investment
from corporates as well as the government. And even government needs to amend law. Small industries are finding it difficult to enter Blockchain market due to high infrastructure cost and high cost of acceptability. Huge marketing is required here to create trust. What would you advise to the budding entrepreneurs? Patience and focus are the key strengths of any entrepreneur. On management front, explore and analyse all aspects, especially for finance management, consult an expert if require. Maintain a good CIBIL score, you never know when you need it. Don’t try to do everything by yourself, for the sake of cost reduction. It costs a lot in the long run. Hire experts, it will help you get the quality work done at lower cost. Please tell us about your future business plans. Techaroha wants to be pioneer in Blockchain and AI Services. These technologies will dominate the future of IT. In Blockchain technology, Techaroha is working on a solution to eliminate the need to send the same documents such as xerox, salary slips, rent agreement, and many other things for the same purpose. We are working on Blockchain CV and Blockchain KYC which will have secured verified documents in Blockchain which can be accessed easily with the owner’s permission. With AI, we are working on real-life problems in India and creating a team of trained developers who will be ready to take on any task on AI easily.
www.insightssuccess.in
I AM
Raising AToast TO YOU A
s I write this, we all know that we have been slowly coming out of an unprecedented time that the world witnessed and experienced with the emergence of the pandemic unleashed by COVID 19. Perhaps the damage is more than what we can anticipate. It was tough on each one of us. I am sure as an entrepreneur you had to go through a difficult, challenging, and unforeseen phase. Undoubtedly, the struggle was real, and it is pretty evident that the road is still bumpy for us ahead. But kudos to you for showing the strength and resilience to hang in there. A lot has already been said and written about how the business dynamics are going to change post Covid19, how work from home is and will be the ‘new normal’; how and when businesses are going to ‘revive’, and how this era would be a renaissance for all of us. Today I will rather not talk about those fundamentals and predictions, I am keener about writing this to appreciate all the entrepreneurs, who are reading this and efficiently managed to keep their businesses floating. It has been a well fought battle and the credit must be given to where it belongs. Once the nationwide lockdown was announced, many things changed overnight for the businesses. There were different sentiments in the market and suddenly you had to adopt a new way of working. The businesses faced different types of challenges with respect to the industry, type of business, appetite, scale, that they belonged to; but the undiscarded fact is that most of them faced a hard time in some or the other way. You all might have different stories to tell but one thing which I am sure about is that most of you have worked extremely hard to survive regardless of the scale of the
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business. Most of the time maybe you did not have anyone to motivate you, you had to be self-motivated in the game. None of us could ever imagine being stuck completely in a ‘work from home’ situation but we did that conveniently and absorbed it so fast and made it look easier than it was. Many of you may have been surprised and amused by the thought that you managed to do a sale without even that regular important meeting with your clients and that you could manage to close sales on video calls! Some of you may have done it for the first time, but isn’t that a big feat? Being in the IT industry I consider myself lucky that it was comparatively easier for us to manage work from home because of the nature of work also we have good tracking tools available to keep track of work and productivity, but this is not the case in many businesses. Many of you may have businesses which involve import and exports, some of the businesses have the most basic requirement which calls for the physical presence of people and tools. I do realize that things were not the same for all the entrepreneurs during the time of the pandemic. You may think at times that what you have done with your business in 2020 is probably beyond putting it at stake. But you did what you had to do. Some of you may have faced booking losses, the laying-off of the employees and shutting down your offices to work from home. Some may still be bringing their work slowly back on the track right now. It was a roller coaster, but you chose to hold it tight with all your strength and might. Now, it is like every day you are trying to heal and get better. Let me tell you, I feel you! I applaud you for upgrading your conviction to match your invulnerable determination. This is where you proved that
www.insightssuccess.in
Expert Motivation Yogesh Choudhary
Founder and CEO Radiant Web Technology Pvt. Ltd.
www.insightssuccess.in
MM 2021 | 35
entrepreneurs have got distinctive kinds of traits - we are a different breed. Recently, I met one of my friends who owns a watch boutique in the city. I have known him as an extremely hardworking person, and I have seen him grow over all these years. Coming from a very humble background, and quitting his previous job, he managed to start his business by opening a watch boutique in a mall and invested all his hard-earned money backed up by a loan from the bank. But this pandemic and the lockdown came as a disaster, there were no sales in the business. As he wanted to retain his employees and pay them their monthly salaries while paying other necessary bills for his family and the business he was not left with much equity in his hands. He told me how hard it was for him when it started coming down to his day-today survival. As everyone was thinking about new ways of business and survival, he started trading used watches. Many people own expensive watches which they get in gifts or bought but merely use because they have many in their collection. He started communicating with people he knew and clients and started trade of pre-owned watches via WhatsApp and generated some revenue to survive in the period of lockdown but at the same time, many weren't able to survive the journey. So, if you are an entrepreneur and reading this and still have a chip on your shoulder, then let me tell you what you have achieved! You have devised the mantra to survive in the business and you have worked hard for that for which you surely deserve a pat on your back! As the saying goes, one of the most underrated secrets to success is to start before you're ready - perhaps the time of pandemic taught our entrepreneurs clan to believe in our abilities and make a way out before you know it. But we live in a dynamic environment and we entrepreneurs very 36 | FEB 2021
well know how to match the pace of changing times! This new reality is overwhelming, numbing, crippling. But every cloud has a silver lining. When all is in disarray, no one needs to feel they have all the answers, because clearly no one does. In crisis, it is acceptable to have more questions than answers. In crisis, there is no room for ‘not-invented here’. In crisis, we should all be learners. I am sure, we will all come out of this pandemic as learners. So, here is raising a toast to all my fellow entrepreneurs for still sailing the ship in the storm, I am immensely proud of you and celebrate your indomitable spirit today and every day. Cheers!
www.insightssuccess.in
Vinod
Chacko Leading FlexiCloud Dynamically
D
uring this pandemic, everyone is in a cost-cutting process and counting on the best value for money that anyone can get out of their investments. FlexiCloud has been providing its customers the best-inclass Managed Cloud hosting at the best price available. Vinod Chacko, Founder and CEO of FlexiCloud also believe that due importance should be given when you select your hosting partner as it directly affects the speed and functioning of your website which has a direct impact on your business. “I would add the point that after the outbreak of Covid-19, all business has gone digital, hence the potential of our industry expanding would be beneficial to us,” he says.
I am a person who always follows my heart and does what is just for me. The organizations that I had worked for perceived me as an odd one as they were not happy with my working patterns. In the corporate world sitting late and working on weekends made the managers happy while working efficiently and finishing the work on time does not count.
In the given below excerpts of the interview, let us figure out what more he has to say about the industry and its dynamics with the FlexiCloud:
I did keep my professional and personal life completely in separate boxes and when it started to take my personal life too, I decided that I needed to find my own space. Besides, the recession of 2008 was the turning point in my life as one of my colleagues got fired and I felt the threat of losing my job anytime. In the meantime, I did some freelance projects just as a hobby which made me realize that there was a big door of opportunity for self-work.
Why did you choose Entrepreneurship over a regular 9-5 job?
Gradually it led to more and more projects and people were quite happy with my work. Life became exciting as
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I could work on my terms and not take orders and the aftermaths of bossy environments. Finally, I started weaving dreams of my venture which came into reality within a few months. FlexiCloud was the name I chose for my company. Today my brainchild has evolved to the level I breathe, eat and sleep “FlexiCloud”. Though I believed when I would be working for my venture, I can choose the time and would be less than conventional office hours. On the contrary, I work more than 14 hours a day for FlexiCloud, as most of the activities will be concerning FlexiCloud either strategizing new horizons for the company or solving clients’ issues. In short, I think I am an entrepreneur not by choice, but by destiny. Tell us more about your company/startup/organization. FlexiCloud, my venture was an idea that was conceived by me over a www.insightssuccess.in
The 10 Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs To Watch In 2021
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The criticism and rejections we faced made FlexiCloud stronger than applauses and praises
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considerable period. It all began once I started freelancing as I had to quit my job for some time. During this period, I happen to work with a lot of web hosting providers which gave me a big revelation that there is a huge gap in the industry where hosting providers giving proper customer support at a fair price. In addition to this, it was a rare scenario to figure out a transparent pricing platform which finally made me think of launching a hosting company that is worthwhile for individuals, startups, businesses, and enterprises.
www.insightssuccess.in
Vinod Chacko Founder and CEO FlexiCloud Internet
With the knowledge and expertise that I gained over time; I was able to create a hosting venture which none of my counterparts were able to provide. Initially, FlexiCloud was just about shared hosting, but later we pivoted to managed cloud hosting where we leverage the existing public cloud infrastructure to host our client applications. We are now partnered with many Cloud providers and can deploy servers and host applications in about 25 locations around the globe which
provides flexibility for the customers to choose the location where they want to host their application. Today FlexiCloud offers Managed Cloud Hosting to more than 1000+ clients and handles about 100000 websites all across the globe. We also eliminate the hassles of server management from the clients’ shoulders and provide them peace of mind along with 99.99 % uptime and giving assurance that their sites will not be slow or be down.
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What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur? How did you overcome them to establish yourself and the company? Reaching the milestone of getting the first 100 clients was the biggest challenge I faced. I still remember those moments where I patiently waited to add each one of them to my clientele. The enthusiasm that I had during that period when I got paid each time, still gives me goosebumps. The platforms from where I got my initial clients were communities like Quora, FB, LinkedIn groups, and Reddit. They started giving me more clients and the word of mouth propagated from my clients built my reputation which increased the number of customers. Eventually, social media platforms did the rest of the job and I never had to regret the path I chose over a mundane 9-5 job. How do you lead your company and help it sustain itself in a competitive environment? I do not believe in micro-managing my employees. They are constantly motivated and encouraged for selflearning with proper guidance so that they could solve their problems themselves. Our office culture is quite comforting, and we work as a team. In addition to this, I have complete support from my partners Anooja Bashir (CMO of FlexiCloud) and Naman Modi (CTO, FlexiCloud) to handle the marketing and tech support, respectively. Together the management and our employees create a strong organizational system that evolves and grows every day with our hard work and dedication. To sustain in the competitive environment, I always ensure that we use cutting-edge technology. Our research and development team 40 | FEB 2021
continuously monitors the technology developments, and we find ways to implement them in our company and propagate the benefits to the end customer too. Apart from that when a customer has a problem, we have a problem, and we work hard towards fixing it so that the customer can do their business with ease. We do that round the clock every day! What is that one aspect of emotion that drives you at work or keeps you motivated? As I mentioned previously, when one of our clients has a problem with their application hosted with us, we take it as our problem and go to any extent to fix it or help them fix the issue. That is what keeps us going. We always want to be on top of technology and work on ways to bring the benefits of the cloud and innovations on the scenario to our clients. We are a Managed Cloud Hosting provider that keeps its promise of getting the websites of our clients faster and better bringing the best for their business. We consider security paramount in online business. FlexiCloud provides Free SSL certificates to everyone that is hosted with us to start with and provides multiple layers of security to ensure that they are safe from online threats. The happy faces of our clients and the trust they put in us with their website and data, not only make us proud but also feel responsible for what we do. Social Media is an inseparable part of the daily life of youth. Your thoughts about it and how do you leverage its power for the company?
marketing activities are handled by Ourea which does a great extent of job in that aspect. We are also planning to launch digital marketing campaigns for FlexiCloud so that more people are aware of our services. Besides, I like writing blogs to create awareness and contribute articles to spread more knowledge on hosting. As a professional, I believe a strong network is an aid for business growth in today's world where social media channels connect people to get mutually benefited. What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in near future? FlexiCloud is a company where we take pride in providing ultimate client satisfaction, without hesitating to go the extra mile to achieve it. Keeping this as our mission, we aim to make ourselves grow to such an extent where we become a key player in Managed Cloud Hosting which is a multi-billiondollar industry. We are looking forward to expanding our present business to a wider scale in the USA and UK and European markets by end of this year along with setting a market in GCC too. FlexiCloud presently manages WordPress, Magento, Laravel, Codeigniter, and Node js and aims to add support for more applications shortly where we become the most promising people in our verticals.
Though I am not a happening person in social media, but I do believe that social media platforms can do wonders especially in expanding one’s network. I know it because it was from where I got my initial customers. All our www.insightssuccess.in
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A Leader who Makes Everyone Go, WOW
I am a certified personal trainer and a nutritionist from NESTA and ISSA
Samar Patel
Samar Patel
Founder, WOW Travels
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The 10 Young and Dynamic Entrepreneurs To Watch In 2021
T
echnology has made it very fast and easy to communicate and disseminate ideas, products, services. The world has become a single market. It just takes few seconds for a person sitting in India to send his point of view to the United States of America. The ‘reach’ for a technology savvy business has become unlimited. The global exchange of ideas and dissemination of information has changed the face of the market. One person leveraging the power of technology in everything he does is, Samar Patel, the Founder of WOW Travels.
In the given below excerpts from his interview with Insights Success, Samar has shared his experience of running the WOW empire in brief. Let us read what he has to say: Why did you choose Entrepreneurship over a regular 95 job? I was in a regular 9 to 5 job and was not having the desired motivation. I was an overachiever and there was appreciation for work, but the monetary benefits of overachieving were not satisfying. I wanted a structure wherein when I work, I grow and I overachieve, I over earn. I knew it was possible only if I channelled this hunger for growth into starting something of my own. So, I quit my successful 9-5 job and I took the first step towards starting my own business. Tell us more about your company/start-up/organization. We started with Passports. Our aim is being creating a base of satisfied customers. We gave them the best of service and more value for their money. Then we started adding value added products and services and got a good response from existing base and references from them. Our acquisition team kept on adding new relationship and our retention team kept deepening them. We offered a bouquet of products and services like Election I Card, MSME registration, Adhaar Card Issuance. WOW Travels came up with travel packages. We started social activities for becoming visible through BDS. SDS started building health consciousness. We kept on building our brand image and scaled. What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur? How did you overcome them to establish yourself and the company? My biggest challenge was to train resources. I wanted my employees to get the idea that they would grow if the www.insightssuccess.in
organization grew. I had my plans in place. I overcame the challenge by designing a compensation plan where any achiever will be paid in line with his target. An overachiever will earn more. I addressed those problems I faced in a 9-5 job and my employees enjoyed working with me. How do you lead your company and help it sustain in a competitive environment? I believe that my organization is as good as my people. I invest time in training and motivating my people. I keep on adding products depending on the demand of the market. What is that one aspect or emotion that drives you at work or keeps you motivated? I don’t want to die average. I want to grow, and I want to increase my reach. This is what keeps me going. As a business leader, what is your opinion on the current landscape of business given that the pandemic has been adversely affecting every industry? Every problem brings in an opportunity. The market is dynamic, and it has the inherent capability of bouncing back. I believe if we realize this, no business will be adversely affected. It is just that in difficult times align your strategies in a way conducive to your business. You will then be unstoppable. Social Media is an inseparable part of the daily life of youth. Your thoughts about it and how do you leverage its power for the company? We are active on the social media. SDS and Richfit helps us connect through YouTube and Instagram. The present-day youth is more informed and is hungry for more information. We connect and then we convert. What is the current scenario of the industry you are catering to? We have always adapted and reworked our strategy based on the market situation. Being dynamic has helped us sustain the lockdown during the pandemic and have helped us reach great heights. We have added more products in our array so that the marketing team has more products and services to sell and the customers have a greater range to choose from!
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