Payal Doshi

Founder

Prime Softech Solutions

Short Description

She is a Founder of Prime Softech Solutions.

Company Profile

Prime was found in August 2011 with an aim to take quality education to nooks and corners of India through the medium of Internet. We decided to start this effort by launching 'PREXAM' which an Online Test Series, initially started with commerce courses and now expanding to other branches as well. PREXAM allows students to customize their own tests, view performance reports and points out their weak areas and allows them to retake test on the questions they have answered incorrectly. PREXAM now has 5000+ registered students from all states of India.

Most Critical Decision

Prime was started with an aspiration to be only in to product development. When PREXAM was launched we decided to keep it for free until we have good number of students. But this meant there would be no cash inflow until then. Funds were essential to grow and hence when we were approached by other companies to provide similar educational services, we moved into the service sector and did provide software solutions. This was indeed a critical decision.

Doing things Differently

Nothing as of yet. I believe in thinking before taking decisions and never look back once decision has been taken but rather work hard to make it the most appropriate one.

Choosing People

When looking out for technical staff, I look for someone who is passionate to try and learn new things. At a startup like Prime, lot of innovation is required to stand out of the crowd and staff has to be ready to take up any challenges. While looking for non -technical staff, I would look for sincerity in work which I feel is more important. All members at Prime work together as a team and everyone is always encouraged to bring in new ideas. Some of the features in PREXAM were brought up by the staff and were included in the product.

Making right Decisions

As a leader, my main job is to handle the team and make right decision for both the company and the team. I try to involve the concerned staff members in the decision making process. This helps in two ways; when decisions are made they are taken thoughtfully considering more possibilities than I can think of alone and the team members develop a sense of belonging to the company. Each decision is made only after calculating its feasibility and associated risks.

Advice to young entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur most important thing is to believe in yourself and your ideas and dedicated efforts to get these ideas working. Patience is the most important quality when you are starting something new because it would take time to bring back returns.

Source: http://www.siliconindia.com/startupcity/entrepreneurs-stories/Payal-Doshi-7xQp364h.html

Vaishali Sharma

CEO

Purplechai Technologies

Short Description

I am a CEO of Purplechai Technologies.

Brief about company, offerings and foundation of the company

Purplechai Technologies is a mobile applications & web development firm. We provide mobile application development services, affordable web designing, branding and advertising options to companies, businesses and individuals. So far, we have developed more than 30 apps and games with excellent design and content.Initially, we started with the development of in-house apps but now Purplechai is more focused on developing B2B or high-end customer applications. We started in Nov. 2010 with a team size of two people and we have now grown to a size of ten.

Risks involved in business and way of addressing

Certainly, there is a risk factor involved in every business, but we believe that business is not about taking risks but managing the risk involved.1 Operational risk: We dealt with this by setting up a firm which delivers excellent products and services to customers.
2 Financial risk: We made sure to understand what revenues and costs must be in order to make business financially viable. We took the time to understand what factors impact revenues and cost the most.3 Talent acquisition: We have hired committed people and trained them in a specialized field.4 Market reach: We reach people through the internet, developer conferences and attending events.5 Changing technologies: We are constantly updating ourselves about new innovations.

Most critical decision

We had to decide to focus on a particular segment for the business to grow and that’s how we decided to focus on mobile apps. Secondly, we had to focus on selecting the right candidate because hiring good talent and retaining it, is always a challenge.

Some of the difficulties faced while building product/ solution

As a start-up challenges begin from the day you think about an idea and want other people to validate and endorse it. It then moves towards building a prototype and getting some industry validation. The next sets of challenges begin when you have scale up and build revenues. I think if you are focused and determined then 50 % of your challenges are solved. The remaining 50 % are tackled by building a culture of transparency, innovation and listening to customers across your organization.

Three big lessons/ mistakes encountered while building company

Three major lessons learned:1.Be focused, committed and prepared to sail through any situation.We lost our partner and mentor at a very critical growing stage. But, we managed to get our focus and commitment back on track – plus, a hunger to grow. It was not at all easy but, we set our goals and we created a plan to reach those goals.2.Be honest and transparent with your clients: This creates credibility and trust to build a long-term relationship.3.Learn from every mistake or failure: We always learn from our mistakes and try not to repeat them.

Doing things differently

Have a strong marketing and branding strategy.Find the untapped market and create a business plan for that segment.

Motivation factor

The passion to create something from scratch and build it to a successful model is something every entrepreneur thrives for.There are several other reasons such as the freedom to accelerate growth, generating employment for others, building a global brand and learning new aspects of business.

My way of motivating troops

We have a very open culture, where everyone has the freedom to throw open new suggestions and ideas. We also reward the best ideas. This process gives immense confidence to our team. They are always charged and ready to take ownership. Plus, having a one-to-one relationship with each individual also helps us discuss their scope for improvement.

Way of choosing people

In the software industry, attrition is very high. We spot the right candidate through a reference system. Then, we train them on a specific platform.

lesson learnt to get first customer

As a start-up company, signing up an international customer as your first client was a hard-nut to crack. But, with the help of our mentor we were able to present ourselves successfully before the client. Our presentation impressed him and convinced him to sign us up within six months. We continue the association even today.

reaching out to potential investors

Currently we are self-funded and have not looked for investors yet.

My role

I evolved from a software developer to entrepreneur and the journey was not easy at all. I learned a lot with every single mistake, failure and success. Still there is a lot to learn and achieve. With time and experience I have realized that one cannot micro-manage and look into every aspect of the business oneself. You need to work smartly and delegate. Over a period of time, strong teams have been built for various areas such as technology, design, marketing, finance and administration. These teams are handled by dedicated and expert people. Currently, I am focusing on the overall management and strategy plans of the business.

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

A decision turning wrong is a mistake. But, mistakes can teach you good lessons. With constant introspection and learning from our mistakes, we have devised a simple model:a.While brainstorming for new ideas, we discuss previous lessons from mistakes.b.We implement ideas.c.We grow to the next level with each project.

My thoughts related to entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a journey where one needs to constantly innovate and accelerate offerings to the customers.

company I admire globally

Undoubtedly, Apple Inc. for the brand value they have created, for technology innovations and of course, last but not the least, for Steve Jobs.

Advice for fellow entrepreneurs

Be honest, passionate and hard-working. Create a well thought of strategy for your business. Plan your goals and work hard to achieve them.

Source: http://www.siliconindia.com/startupcity/entrepreneurs-stories/Vaishali-Sharma-mFQJn0VN.html

Hemalatha Sriramulu

Founder & CEO

Rossitek Software Solutions

Short Description

As the CEO of the company, I am responsible to make sure every staff is well advised on the direction the company is heading towards and what their role is. Though most of our staff have no experience working over seas, i make them see the outside the box perspective of the industry. My exposure to working with Japanese and Western companies has helped me explain my experiences. This interaction has helped the staff understand the short comings of the processes followed earlier and the advantages of following the processes in place within Rossitek .This has helped us to drastically reduce the mistakes many outsourcing companies have done , which has given Outsourcing a bad name .

Brief about company, offerings and foundation of the company

Rossitek Software Solutions is not just a mobile app development company, but a mobile solutions provider. We look at how we can provide end to end seamless mobility solutions not just apps.Our focus is on producing quality applications with our sights set on enterprise applications, and providing business solutions on the mobile platform for our global clients. Rossitek was initially formed in 2009, when we noticed a paradigm shift in the market towards mobility. We had seen a need, and moved with the market. Rossitek was created out of a need to provide high end, innovative and cost effective solutions to our growing customer base.

Risks involved in business and way of addressing

Every business or market will have risk. We have to try and reduce these risks to ensure the company is a success. A)As a start up, you need to watch your outgoing costs. Our biggest issue was infrastructure. We needed to accommodate staff with new Mac Computers, Mobile Devices etc., which can become costly. Ensure to allow for extra overheads and having a close watch on your budget. B) Competing against other well established companies which are established and already have existing customer bases to undertake and market their mobile development to. We had ensured that we are noticed through website, events .A good business plan and speaking to people who have gone through these experiences which also helped us to identify the shortcomings of our competitors and identifying markets to focus on. Read, research and know the market we are in and step out a plan to implement and improvise Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to speak up and say you don’t know or understand.

Most critical decision

Throughout your business we were faced with challenges which are key or critical points that has determined the direction of our business. Everyone will have a story, we have one too. Prior to Rossitek, We had tried several freelancers and some well known established development companies, all with disappointing results. A critical decision was made at this point to create Rossitek in India, and employ our own people and manage our projects on our own, to our satisfaction. For me the most critical of all decisions was to live away from my family to get Rossitek started, up and running. This had now taken our business from a small one bedroom company to a business half way around the world. This critical decision allowed us though to deliver on the quality & solutions that we wanted to provide. It was a key decision, and one that wasn’t taken lightly considering the sacrifice the whole family had to do.

Some of the difficulties faced while building product/ solution

Being away from India for a long period of time has contributed the many difficulties which I had to endure from the setting up of the company to complete build a product. Which I think, I have over come with more understanding of the work culture here. Having lived in Japan and Australia, I am used to believing in what is said. There are many examples.  Time Management - I have found the lack of respect for TIME in most of the areas. Quality - Lack of Focus on the quality of end product. Interview and Appointment -> many a times it is a very tedious and tiring process to find that right person to do the job , even though you find them and wait long notice period for their joining , they back off and I am back to level zero again. Though we had staff with skill set in place, there was a lack of passion, enthusiasm, commitment to my expectations. I had to personally ensure the quality and timely completion. Creating the sense of belonging to the company was another challenge. We had clients, jobs, staff and resources but we needed to find a way to weave all this together to come up with an almost automated process to ensure the best outcome for our clients and us.

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

Seek an Investor or Business Partners to share the load. Use Expert Partners where you are unable to provide that level of service or expertise. Spend more time, researching, planning, and then putting into action. Focus on small high skill set team and pulling them together

Motivation and Drives factor

To hear positive feedback on the end product. The urge to try and  remove the wrong notion about the   Outsourcing experience to India.

Unique about my way of motivating troops

I motivate our staff with incentives and encourage them to give their ideas and be innovative. We like to see our developers come up with new ideas. We would rather; they come to us and say, they would like to try implementing something new and innovative even if it takes extra time, because we want to be seen as being innovative and cutting edge in our industry. Why follow what others do, when you can do as you wish to do? Give your staff all the right tools to do their job correctly. Setup mentors in your office environment, so that younger staff can sit, watch & learn. Finding key staff is paramount. It is difficult to hire very experienced people in a startup environment if you do not have the lucrative offers for them.  However, you need to try offering them security. Explain your plans, your market and how you see the growth in your business to sell them the idea they can be part of something new and exciting. Your staff and especially your development people will be the engine of your company. Quality people will equal quality results. As a CEO I walk the hallways, sitting with staff from the ground up- ensuring that I understand their job, what they do and identifying any areas change or improvements can be made. “Ensure you engage with your staff” .

Way of choosing my people

I am always looking for talent and the right person to be with us. Being a start up company, not many experienced persons would confidently join a start up. We look for key characteristics on our staff. Number one is passion. We want people who are passionate about mobile apps, innovative and have a desire to better themselves and for the good of the company. A person with a good attitude, punctual, great work ethics would be employed by us over a more highly skilled person. Staff with the characteristics will soon learn and grow and be more than just a highly skilled worker.

The challenges and lessons learnt to get first customer

We started a simple web site offering mobile app development, earlier when the market was young. We had no SEO, no programmers, no idea how a mobile app process worked. We got an enquiry and we were off and racing. We focused on providing friendly and courteous service and as we went along we learnt the steps ourselves. Your clients are everything. Having an approachable company is key to building up relationships. Ensuring you can be easily accessed by key clients. Small factors such as having the office telephone answered in a timely manner and with a nice greeting script to follow will ensure that the company shows a professional attitude in everything we do. Treating every call as if it were, Steve Jobs calling us.

Experience of reaching out to potential investors

Rossitek is still yet to secure any investors. Not out of trying but mainly out of focusing on getting key products, strategies and business plans in place to provide maximum returns for our investors.

My role at different dimensions as the company evolved

As a single person trying to setup a company with only a couple of technical staff , I did everything from meeting with clients, doing the accounts , to making chai for the staff. I had gone from managing all areas of the business, at an early stage to the point where it is too much for one person. I have had to find people to undertake some of my responsibilities and let go of the things I would have normally handled myself. Not one person can manage everything. You need to create a good network and support group around you, to help you carry the load. Your role will forever change as the business changes. As an owner and CEO, I will live my business 24/7.

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

As the CEO of the company, I am responsible to make sure every staff is well advised on the direction the company is heading towards and what their role is. Though most of our staff have no experience working over seas, i make them see the outside the box perspective of the industry. My exposure to working with Japanese and Western companies has helped me explain my experiences. This interaction has helped the staff understand the short comings of the processes followed earlier and the advantages of following the processes in place within Rossitek .This has helped us to drastically reduce the mistakes many outsourcing companies have done , which has given Outsourcing a bad name .

Three big lessons/ mistakes encountered while building company

Every Day teaches me a lesson, some small and easy to learn and some very hard to believe, understand and act. To pick up three of them -1) It was difficult appointing staff, as I had tried to interview, source and scan candidates myself. As a lot of candidates were out of Bangalore, it was difficult determining what was on paper and what they truthfully could do. So many training courses & certificates undertaken by people, but difficult to understand what weight these courses carried and the level of expertise these people really had. I would advise not to rush, interview face to face, and if possible arrange a highly technical skilled person to help find the right candidates. Even if they are not in your organisation, find someone who can assist. Look for positive people. Don’t believe everything you read or hear. 2) Try not to undertake everything yourself. The time you spend trying to do everything can be better spent planning & growing your business. You are the face of the company so you need to be positioned to provide your vision, innovations and aspirations to prospective clients and your staff. 3) Never put all your eggs in one basket. Look at different product markets, assess the assets you have in your business and see if they can be used elsewhere for other opportunities. Our focus was originally on providing highest level of service & attention to our client’s products. We should have created a R&D Team to simultaneously develop our own products right from our inception.

Best company I admire globally

Google : the live and let live policy , which has encouraged a many entrepreneurs. The company has innovation and never fail to try . Even small things like the google search, the changing image is refreshing and lets you feel that they care.

Advice for fellow entrepreneurs

In summary I would encourage all persons seeking to go down this path, to do your homework, talk with as many people as possible, research the market, spend only as necessary, employ the right people and do the job right first time, all the time. Attention to detail, quality and being innovative will help secure long term clients, and at the end of the day it is about securing the future of the company. If I had to do everything over again, I could change a million things to make my life easier, however the lessons, the knowledge, the experience that I gained through the good and bad allows me to be better prepared, understand and make more informed decisions about the future of the company.  This experience is something money cannot buy, and all entrepreneurs will have their own stories of heartache and joy. Best of luck on your journey.

Source:http://www.siliconindia.com/startupcity/entrepreneurs-stories/Hemalatha-Sriramulu-59VaE8zF.html

India’s good Samaritans

Call them activists, leaders or changemakers – they are people who give selflessness a whole new meaning. From a budding lawyer who is trying to get justice for a 12-year-old girl abducted in Muzaffarpur; to a commerce student helping women artisans get a footing in the urban market; here are many stories that will warm your hearts and reassure you that this country, which celebrates its Republic Day after a few days, has a great future to look forward to. 

Caring for natureTake the case of Lavanya Julaniya, a political science student at Miranda House, Delhi University, who is passionate about conservation and children’s issues. She founded Amaani, a non-profit teaching initiative for underprivileged children – who do not otherwise have access to quality education – with financial support from the British Council, Switzerland in 2011. It has helped educate more than 400 children through innovative methods such as hands-on tools and fun workshops. Now, Julaniya has groomed and developed a team of 20 volunteers to run Amaani. She has also conducted climate leadership workshops and wildlife conservation programmes for youngsters like her.

“I have immense faith in the youth-led movements and their power to bring about change. It is my passion for conservation and children’s issues that keeps me going. As a good citizen, you should be able to think beyond yourself and be appreciative of nature and the people around you. Our values as good citizens come across when we treat others with dignity,” says the 21-year-old.

She was part of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, Toronto, from May to June 2010, where she conducted climate leadership workshops and organised events during the G20 summit to raise awareness on climate issues. Her love for wildlife and nature made her the Delhi coordinator of Sanctuary Asia, a wildlife and conservation magazine.

“This was my first job while I was still in the first year of college. The office of Sanctuary Asia is in Mumbai, but I was coordinating work from Delhi and handling work after college hours and weekends. I also trained about 20,000 children on ecological security and tiger issues in 60 schools of Delhi by organising climate leadership training, field visits, tiger festivals and audio-visual interactions. This was part of the Kids for Tiger Programme,” says Julaniya.

At the age of 17, she addressed world leaders at Kofi Annan’s initiative - Global Humanitarian Forum for Climate Justice in Geneva (2009). She even represented India as a Global Changemaker in the British Council’s Global Youth Summit, 2009 held in Guildford, UK.

Empowering rural womenFor Shashank Kalra and Subhash Pachar, it all began with Lead the Change, Youth Alliance's leadership programme in March 2012. “It really changed my thought process.

Service-based leadership and enterprise are the two values it instilled in me. As part of the Post Gramya Manthan programme started in June 2012, I decided to work to create alternative livelihood opportunities for women in Ganga Din Nevada village, near Kanpur. We began with two women in the village, where the indigenous skill is stitching and tailoring and set up a Swaraj Livelihood Centre there,” says this third-year commerce student at Hindu College, University of Delhi. Kalra conducts collection drives in his college and urges students to donate old denims which are then used by these women to manufacture bags. His efforts got a boost recently as these women artisans bagged an order from Tata Consultancy Services to manufacture 100 bags.

“Compassion for others and leading by example are the two most important values you can imbibe.

I ensure that I play my roles to the fullest — as a human being, student and citizen,” says Kalra.

My country, I careTanvi Girotra, an economics student at Delhi University, is leading a globally-recognised youth organisation - Becoming I Foundation. She spearheads a team of more than 200 volunteers who work in the fields of primary and secondary education, women empowerment and life skills training.

Girotra won the Youth Award for Contribution to Humanitarian Development at the United Nations and also served as an international fellow for the Global Fund for Children in the 2011 in Washington DC. Having bagged these chances, she seeks to bring about a change through participation. “Project Fiza deals with the issue of socially sanctioned commercial sex trade in Najafgarh. We try to integrate with the locals in a bid to change entrenched attitudes and end this age old practice among the girls and women and push the children towards education,” says Girotra.

Enabling justice Abhishek Ranjan Kumar, a law student at Delhi University, filed a writ petition seeking production of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped from home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur town. The PIL petition, moved by Kumar and his friends, said that without producing evidence, police had alleged that the girl had eloped. The Supreme Court recently issued notices to the central and Bihar governments on the issue. “We were really moved by the entire incident. As law students and responsible citizens, we felt that we must do something to help the girl. It has been more than 100 days since she was kidnapped and there’s no breakthrough in her case,” says Kumar. The students have also started online campaigns on social networking websites to spread the word about the case.

Get involved through these fellowships

Lead the Change It is a six-week programme for 40 youngsters. It will expose participants to pressing issues such as women’s empowerment, education, environment and rural immersion. They will study solutions offered by role models, personalities and get a short experience in leadership education. Last date to apply is January 25, 2013. Visit http://youthallianceofindia.org/lead-the-change/ for details

Gandhi FellowshipThe Gandhi Fellowship is an intensive two-year programme that helps young people develop leadership skills. It consists of hands-on field work undertaken in small government schools, rural villages or slum communities. Applications open till March 2013. Visit http://gandhifellowship.org/ for details

The Young India FellowshipDuring the one-year programme, you will take classes in a range of subject areas that cover anthropology, life sciences, climate change, art appreciation and entrepreneurship. Last date to submit applications is February 28, 2013. Visit www.youngindiafellowship.com for details

William J Clinton Fellowship for Service in IndiaIt is aimed at creating leaders who are committed to the development sector. The fellowship’s duration is 10 months starting September 2013. Fellowships are available in fields such as education, public health, social enterprise, human rights and advocacy, environment and sanitation, and citizenship and democracy. Last date for applying is February 4, 2013. Visit http://aif.org/investment-area/leadership/

By: Gauri Kohli, Hindustan Times( New Delhi, January 22, 2013)

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/HTEducation/Chunk-HT-UI-HTEducationSectionPage-OtherStories/India-s-good-samaritans/SP-Article1-998187.aspx