Here are some excerpts from the interview of Mr.M Srinivas Rao, Co-founder and CEO of Aujas Networks. Aujas is a pure play digital security services provider offering life-cycle security services such as Application Security, IT Risk Management, Identity Management and Vulnerability Management. Aujas was co-founded by Srinivasa Rao, Sameer Shelke and Manjula Sridhar in 2008. The company received seed funding of $3 million from IDG Ventures India. This is the part 1 of the interview & this will be followed by the video sessions of the interview.
About Mr.Rao’s background: After passing out of IIM Bangalore Mr.Rao joined Sonata Software when it was still an early stage enterprise. From there on, his corporate journey has taken him to a number of small companies that he helped grow large –Network Solutions (Netsol) being an exemplary success. He has also worked for Microland (was again one its first few employees), IBM-Netsol and Cisco (his last corporate stint before starting Aujas).
Q: Mr.Rao, are you a first generation entrepreneur in your family? You have obviously enjoyed your entrepreneurial journey, was it difficult?
A: Yes and No! Entrepreneurship does not run in my family and I have been the first person to go down this path. But it’s not that I started out all of a sudden in entrepreneurship. It was a gradual process. I joined Sonata Software after graduating from IIM B, you can classify this as a bit risky but not totally entrepreneurial. My subsequent jobs were similar in nature and risk levels. I was amongst the initial employees in Microland and started their distribution division & handled various divisions like education services etc. Then Network Solutions happened – I was a partner in the company and we built it up for 8 years before selling it to IBM. Aujas would qualify as the first company that I am attempting to build from ground zero.
Q: A number of our readers are MBA aspirants and are also interested in entrepreneurship. You worked for a start-up after the MBA, any advice for our readers?
A: Well, I joined IIMB right after my engineering without any work-ex. Actually, I did work for 5 days at a cement plant as an electrical engineer (smiles). In my opinion, having some work-ex before doing an MBA gives more value as you are able to relate the concepts that you study to real business life. For a fresh grad, it will all be just theory. Having said that, for me IIM B was a great experience. I made great friends there, learned a lot and there are absolutely no regrets on doing it right after graduation.
Q: So just before you started out in Aujas, you were working with Cisco. What role did the Cisco environment play to spur you to start something on your own?
A: I would say whatever Cisco and other big companies do to do well works for them. There are standard procedures for doing things and there is certain amount inflexibility – of course it works for them. But from a personal point of view, there are factors you cannot control and a number of times you have to toe the line – so to say. I had gone to Cisco thinking that I would spend the next 2 years in the company but exited in about 7 months.
Q: What’s your take on serial entrepreneurship? This is your second entrepreneurial venture after Netsol.
A: Yes, I would say 1990 onwards, the nature of my work has been entrepreneurial. Serial entrepreneurship excites me a lot mainly because when you work in a smaller organization your ability to ‘impact and influence’ is a lot more than when you work for a large company. So that is very encouraging of course. When I worked with IBM after the sale of Netsol to them, my leeway got decreased. Basically the degree to which you can ‘impact and influence’ goes down in such cases.
Q: So what made you stick to IBM-Netsol for one-and-a-half years?
A: Well, we had sold Netsol to IBM and being part of the top management at Netsol we were legally obliged (also, we felt we were duty bound) to integrate Netsol with IBM. We also had to ensure that the interests of our employees – who had become IBM employees then – were protected in the new environment. Another important reason for my staying around was the protection and enhancement of the several successful customer relationships we had built by then. So I basically worked until I could safely say that all interests were taken care of.
Q: One major facet of entrepreneurship is the ability to build teams. What has your experience been in the case of Aujas and what major quality of yours has come in handy while forming this team?
A: Oh! This is an interesting story. Manjula Sridhar (now the Chief Technology Officer at Aujas) was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at IDG Ventures building technology in the area of digital security services. IDG was keen to invest in this space and had been supporting her endeavors. When Manjula’s technology was ready to go into business, IDG asked her to build a suitable team. That’s when she found me on “Linked-in” (http://www.linkedin.com/) and liked my profile. She contacted me and I got interested too. Then we met the IDG team and were asked to prepare a business plan and build the complete start-up team.
As for the other team members, I had known Sameer (Sameer Shelke – Chief Operating Officer for Aujas) from my days at Netsol. He was with the Professional Services team at Cisco and I represented Netsol in an engagement with Cisco. We had a few things in common too – both had worked at Microland at some point in time and both had worked at Cisco too. He joined us as COO. Our other team mate, Naveen is also a Netsol Alumnus.
Q: Interesting, so you were just an acquaintance with Sameer but obviously you remembered him as someone who could join you. How do you manage to identify people with such qualities?
A: I basically look for people who have an entrepreneurial proclivity. You may be working for a large company but your entrepreneurial nature is evident a lot of times. A lot of us secretly aspire (smiles) to be entrepreneurs but are worried what might happen if the company goes bust – worried about our security and safety. Many such people need that one spark to spur them on.
Q: Ok. Let’s come to Aujas specifically. How big is the size of the opportunity for Aujas?
A:
Showing posts with label Skull Sessions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skull Sessions. Show all posts
Discussion with Founder - ASAP!
ASAP - Its not as soon as possible but the name of a venture which is making waves and has been able to create a niche for itself in a period of just 1 year. Today we discuss with Ruchi Chopra, Founder Any Surprise Any Place (ASAP) on how she has been able to build something which is truly innovative.
Manik - Hi Ruchi, So how has the journey been right from ideation of this wonderful idea to execution.
Ruchi - ASAP is someting that i started working on while i was still involved in my corporate career with a clothing giant. From working on weekends to taking it full time its been an exciting and exhilariting journey & i have enjoyed every bit of it.
Manik - Tell us about the execution part of it, i mean how many people are involved and how are you planning to expand both in terms of business and people.
Ruchi - As of now there are 4 people and we are operating out of Haus Khaz Delhi (though we plan to shift soon like we have been doing over last 6 months - laughs). In terms of ideation, it s completely handled by me and my team members support me in the execution effort. Besides this team there is a virtual team of free lancers across the globe whom i involve on need basis. About expansion, we are currently providing services across India & for that matter we have been serving global clients with most of the off shelf products and similar products. In terms of people we are looking at recruiting people and i am trying to find people who can think likewise and dont compromise on the quality front as thats what is highly important for us - one bad service & the word of mouth starts
Manik - Most of your products are serviced to individuals. Any plans to serve corporate customers?
Ruchi - Yes, we have provided services to a few corporate clients last year and are in talks with around 5-6 corporates in Mumbai. (I keep flying to Mumbai & have a small sales team in Mumbai)
Manik - Any advice to youngsters who plan to start afresh?
Ruchi - Hmmm, Some days back i was at LSR and this is one thing that i told there also that you cant have a huge set up to start with. When i started i started very small and hence you cant imagine to have a glass office and other luxuries to begin with. Also, you got to have faith in your idea else its difficult to actually take it forward.
Manik - Great! Thanks Ruchi it was nice speaking to you and wish you all the best in future!
To know more please hit http://www.asap.co.in/
Manik - Hi Ruchi, So how has the journey been right from ideation of this wonderful idea to execution.
Ruchi - ASAP is someting that i started working on while i was still involved in my corporate career with a clothing giant. From working on weekends to taking it full time its been an exciting and exhilariting journey & i have enjoyed every bit of it.
Manik - Tell us about the execution part of it, i mean how many people are involved and how are you planning to expand both in terms of business and people.
Ruchi - As of now there are 4 people and we are operating out of Haus Khaz Delhi (though we plan to shift soon like we have been doing over last 6 months - laughs). In terms of ideation, it s completely handled by me and my team members support me in the execution effort. Besides this team there is a virtual team of free lancers across the globe whom i involve on need basis. About expansion, we are currently providing services across India & for that matter we have been serving global clients with most of the off shelf products and similar products. In terms of people we are looking at recruiting people and i am trying to find people who can think likewise and dont compromise on the quality front as thats what is highly important for us - one bad service & the word of mouth starts
Manik - Most of your products are serviced to individuals. Any plans to serve corporate customers?
Ruchi - Yes, we have provided services to a few corporate clients last year and are in talks with around 5-6 corporates in Mumbai. (I keep flying to Mumbai & have a small sales team in Mumbai)
Manik - Any advice to youngsters who plan to start afresh?
Ruchi - Hmmm, Some days back i was at LSR and this is one thing that i told there also that you cant have a huge set up to start with. When i started i started very small and hence you cant imagine to have a glass office and other luxuries to begin with. Also, you got to have faith in your idea else its difficult to actually take it forward.
Manik - Great! Thanks Ruchi it was nice speaking to you and wish you all the best in future!
To know more please hit http://www.asap.co.in/
Interview with youCharades
youCharades is based on the popular guessing game Charades where one player acts out the words from movies, books etc. We have played the game so often but never imagined having an online version of the same & thats what Alok Kejriwal has for you at youCharades.com.
An interview with the Product Management Team of youCharades -
1. youCharades brings online a concept which is extremely popular. How has the response been and how many users/hits have you been able to generate?
We have been able to achieve a substantial amount of traffic and traction since our launch. We've had a lot of User Generated Charades created. The webcam record feature has really helped. InviziAds.com (Which is a sister concern) were our launch partners and we are happy with the results. It can only get better now.
2. Considering that it falls under the overall umbrella of online games how do you plan to compete with websites which offer similar but vast range of games (incld parent company contests2win)
Its a video entertainment platform. Users can have a lot of fun and it also acts as a Video Talent Platform. Be sure to check out our Facebook app too: http://apps.facebook.com/youcharades
3. What is the current team strength & who all are there in management team?
It's the entire team of Contests2win.com. Alok Kejriwal is the Chairman, Raj Menon is the COO.
4. What is the operating model (revenue) and what are the future plans both in terms of branding and hence increasing the audience base?
We have a well planned marketing plan. We'll concentrate on content and viral marketing too. We are in the process of signing up a lot of partners and this will help in getting some traction too.
To know more hit http://youcharades.com/
An interview with the Product Management Team of youCharades -
1. youCharades brings online a concept which is extremely popular. How has the response been and how many users/hits have you been able to generate?
We have been able to achieve a substantial amount of traffic and traction since our launch. We've had a lot of User Generated Charades created. The webcam record feature has really helped. InviziAds.com (Which is a sister concern) were our launch partners and we are happy with the results. It can only get better now.
2. Considering that it falls under the overall umbrella of online games how do you plan to compete with websites which offer similar but vast range of games (incld parent company contests2win)
Its a video entertainment platform. Users can have a lot of fun and it also acts as a Video Talent Platform. Be sure to check out our Facebook app too: http://apps.facebook.com/youcharades
3. What is the current team strength & who all are there in management team?
It's the entire team of Contests2win.com. Alok Kejriwal is the Chairman, Raj Menon is the COO.
4. What is the operating model (revenue) and what are the future plans both in terms of branding and hence increasing the audience base?
We have a well planned marketing plan. We'll concentrate on content and viral marketing too. We are in the process of signing up a lot of partners and this will help in getting some traction too.
To know more hit http://youcharades.com/
Interview with Founder & CEO - Management Paradise
1. Brief us about the value proposition of Management Paradise and how it is different from other MBA forums like PG or CoolAvenues?
Management Paradise like PG and CoolAvenues is a community. If you ask me, PG's expertise lies in Helping students crack CAT, Coolavenue's expertise lies in bschool related news, while MP has a strong foundation in helping students in their research reports. So if a person is confused about what he should include in his report on "Venture Capital", he logs on to MP and puts up a help request, he gets help on it and after completing his project he posts that report on the forum. Now another student doing the same research will use it as a reference point and build on it. Our TG started from BMS, we expanded into MBA. After finding that the market for Banking and Insurance has become lucrative, we spearheaded it with Priyanka Pisat TYBBI student and Founder for our BBI forum on our side. Our vision is simple, to make MP a resource so powerful that every person who has interest in Management Education, regardless of whether he has secured admission in a bschool or not, can become as proficient by learning from others experiences. And all this without any pressure on his/her pocket.
2. Since when has Management Paradise being in existence and what all were the problems you faced in building it up?
Management Paradise has been in existence since Nov 2004. It all began when I was studying in SYBMS. I had a strong urge to do something big, to change the way things worked and to better the education system. With this in mind I founded MP which flourished with the help of many like minded people.There were a lot of problems in the beginning because technologically challenged professors do not understand that the web is all about sharing information. If there was not sharing of information, the internet wouldnt be such big a thing. So while a few spread bad PR about the forum in the beginning, the same were found asking me to refer students to them for coaching classes after the forum showed signs of success.The forum is still misunderstood by many as a place from where they can just copy paste project reports but most of the members know that its an ocean of information about management education, a double edged sword that can be used either way.Getting people when you arent making enough monetary gains to pay them and expecting the same amount of commitment and passion has been one more challenge but i'm lucky to have found some gems that have stood with me like pillarstones.
3. Besides you who all are inolved in setting up of Management Paradise and brief us about the profiles of Founders?
Management Paradise the concept was my brainchild, and was founded by me. Though as days went by a lot many people joined MP and worked voluntarily for it. Many people have worked with me in the past 4 years though Key people include.
Bhavin Mehta : Marketing Head and Administrator, the stallion, pursuing his MBA from UTS, Sydney, Australia.
Nilesh Nagdev: Head Forum Moderator and content developer, is trying to crack the CAT
Nikhil Gadodia: Human Resource Head works full time with a media house as senior HR manager.
Vishal Bhawsinghka: Head Public Relations and is pursuing his MBA from XLRI which has been sponsored by accenture where he is undergoing training.
Pratik Mehta: person who Co-authored 2 books for tybms students under the MP publication umbrella is pursuing his MBA from Lala Lajpatrai
Kartik Raichura: Founder and CEO, is juggling with his MBA at Welingkars and managing this brilliant team that is commited to revolutionize management education.
Every leader needs followers and its only fair that I mention other potential leaders in MP which include Roshni Bhatia, Deepak Khanna, Melroy Lopes, Rahul Parab, Rohan Kachalia and Fatima Khan who played key roles to take MP reach where it is today.
4. Any messages you would like to give to young enterprenaurs?
YOU are always right. The world might not be ready for your innovations, you might be considered a wannabe , a whacko, your ideas might be laughed or frowned upon but the only thing you need to know is, if you truly feel that YOUR idea is going to help change lives, then there is nothing that should stop you from giving it your best shot. Your passion will drive your team achieve excellence. There is NO right or wrong in this world. Everything is relative which is why you should never shy away from experimenting.
Interview with Founder BrewHaHA
1. Please provide a brief on your venture “BrewHaHa” & also how you happened to choose the name?
BrewHaHa is a venture in the retail space that looks to deliver “fun for groups”. We do this by providing a unique dining/cafe experience centered on board games, events and hobbies of different kinds.
The name is a pun on the word brouhaha (which means “hubub/excitement/commotion/uproar”). We chose it because it communicates the concept of food/beverages (brews) and fun (HAHA!), and “smart fun” at that, which appeals to our core demographic of young, hip/smart users!
2. Who all are involved in “BrewHaHa” & a very small introduction of them.
The concept was founded by Sreeram (myself) and Mansur. Surga joined the team later. You can read more about us at http://brewhaha.in/about.html
3. What were the issues you faced while coming up with this platform?
Real estate costs, domain experience, funding and manpower/staffing were the main challenge areas
4. How has the response been to “BrewHaHa” and how do you foresee it in future?
The user response has been tremendously encouraging. We get lots of franchise enquiries as well as folks blogging about their time here, evangelizing the concept through chain mails as well as high level of repeat walk ins. So its super cool to see customers being passionate about the concept.
If you have any queries, please feel free to mail me at istartups@gmail.com and i will forward the same to Sreeram - Founder, BrewHaHa
BrewHaHa is a venture in the retail space that looks to deliver “fun for groups”. We do this by providing a unique dining/cafe experience centered on board games, events and hobbies of different kinds.
The name is a pun on the word brouhaha (which means “hubub/excitement/commotion/uproar”). We chose it because it communicates the concept of food/beverages (brews) and fun (HAHA!), and “smart fun” at that, which appeals to our core demographic of young, hip/smart users!
2. Who all are involved in “BrewHaHa” & a very small introduction of them.
The concept was founded by Sreeram (myself) and Mansur. Surga joined the team later. You can read more about us at http://brewhaha.in/about.html
3. What were the issues you faced while coming up with this platform?
Real estate costs, domain experience, funding and manpower/staffing were the main challenge areas
4. How has the response been to “BrewHaHa” and how do you foresee it in future?
The user response has been tremendously encouraging. We get lots of franchise enquiries as well as folks blogging about their time here, evangelizing the concept through chain mails as well as high level of repeat walk ins. So its super cool to see customers being passionate about the concept.
If you have any queries, please feel free to mail me at istartups@gmail.com and i will forward the same to Sreeram - Founder, BrewHaHa
SutraHR
About Sutra HR
As a people consulting firm, Sutra HR’s founding team has more than cumulative six years of market experience in fulfilling people related services ranging from hiring to realigning, assessing, training and assessment for startups, small and growing companies, and entrepreneur-driven companies, mostly in the IT, Internet, digital and mobile domain.
SutraHR with its small driven set of entrepreneurial talent without the baggage of conventional metrics of a ‘good’ candidate acts as a remote People Development Center and offers price, timing and effort advantage to startups and emerging companies to stop worrying about their most important resources that walk down the elevator every evening.
At SutraHR, we understand your unique blend of challenges and constantly strive to become partners of choice for startups.
Vision Statement
To be a partner for start up and entrepreneurial driven companies, and help them fuel their growth by ensuring a steady, dependable stream of talented people.
Mission Statement
To reform the mindset of people about working for a start up, and make a difference to the start up and entrepreneurial culture in India.
USP/Differentiator
SutraHR’s speciality is talent integration. It brings together diverse professionals in cross functional teams, made up of multi-skilled individuals such as entrepreneurs, techies, business development stalwarts, along with fresh out of college graduates who have no prior work experience, but have a lot of attitude and the will to learn as they go along. Each of these forms a constituent of the fabric of any start up, as ‘multi-hatting’ is a prevalent norm in start ups, as opposed to straight-jacket dead pan jobs offered by some of the big brand employers.
Sutra HR’s business mantra is rather simple. The small firm partners with other start up and entrepreneurial-driven companies, and provides them with a steady stream of talent to fuel their growth.
Strategy
Being small and nimble ourselves, Sutra HR wears the shoes of startups and entrepreneurial companies every morning, and sets out to find not just employees, skill sets, and profile for out clients, but also people who are dependable, a good fit, and have the same drive and values that support and grow a small company such as yours. We are the partners you were looking for, to take on your worries about people; training, assessment, increasing operational efficiencies with dashboard as you grow, and to stand by you in the long haul to fame and glory.
Future Plans
Presently, SutraHR has a focus on the online and digital space, given that most new startups in India come from this field. Going forward, SutraHr plans to target a lot of mobile companies and companies providing value-added services to the booming Indian telecommunications sector, which are involved in implementing some cutting edge work in the mobile value-added services (VAS) and advertising space. SutraHR also plans to partner with startups in financial service and microfinance space sometime in the near future, as part of its objective to be associated with companies that have a social cause attached to their business models and impact the lives of millions of people.
About the Founder:
Waqar Azmi completed his engineering in 2006, and though he was presented with numerous attractive career opportunities, he preferred to pursue his entrepreneurial aspirations, motivated by the success of his father as an entrepreneur. The idea for his online venture took root when Waqar was involved with some start ups, either directly or indirectly. One thing that he noticed was that funds, ideas and infrastructure was not a problem for them, but finding the right people for there organisation was a huge challenge. Seeing a huge gap in the market, SutraHR started up as a startup to help other startups in finding a solution to the biggest problem faced by them. To Read more hit http://www.sutrahr.com/
As a people consulting firm, Sutra HR’s founding team has more than cumulative six years of market experience in fulfilling people related services ranging from hiring to realigning, assessing, training and assessment for startups, small and growing companies, and entrepreneur-driven companies, mostly in the IT, Internet, digital and mobile domain.
SutraHR with its small driven set of entrepreneurial talent without the baggage of conventional metrics of a ‘good’ candidate acts as a remote People Development Center and offers price, timing and effort advantage to startups and emerging companies to stop worrying about their most important resources that walk down the elevator every evening.
At SutraHR, we understand your unique blend of challenges and constantly strive to become partners of choice for startups.
Vision Statement
To be a partner for start up and entrepreneurial driven companies, and help them fuel their growth by ensuring a steady, dependable stream of talented people.
Mission Statement
To reform the mindset of people about working for a start up, and make a difference to the start up and entrepreneurial culture in India.
USP/Differentiator
SutraHR’s speciality is talent integration. It brings together diverse professionals in cross functional teams, made up of multi-skilled individuals such as entrepreneurs, techies, business development stalwarts, along with fresh out of college graduates who have no prior work experience, but have a lot of attitude and the will to learn as they go along. Each of these forms a constituent of the fabric of any start up, as ‘multi-hatting’ is a prevalent norm in start ups, as opposed to straight-jacket dead pan jobs offered by some of the big brand employers.
Sutra HR’s business mantra is rather simple. The small firm partners with other start up and entrepreneurial-driven companies, and provides them with a steady stream of talent to fuel their growth.
Strategy
Being small and nimble ourselves, Sutra HR wears the shoes of startups and entrepreneurial companies every morning, and sets out to find not just employees, skill sets, and profile for out clients, but also people who are dependable, a good fit, and have the same drive and values that support and grow a small company such as yours. We are the partners you were looking for, to take on your worries about people; training, assessment, increasing operational efficiencies with dashboard as you grow, and to stand by you in the long haul to fame and glory.
Future Plans
Presently, SutraHR has a focus on the online and digital space, given that most new startups in India come from this field. Going forward, SutraHr plans to target a lot of mobile companies and companies providing value-added services to the booming Indian telecommunications sector, which are involved in implementing some cutting edge work in the mobile value-added services (VAS) and advertising space. SutraHR also plans to partner with startups in financial service and microfinance space sometime in the near future, as part of its objective to be associated with companies that have a social cause attached to their business models and impact the lives of millions of people.
About the Founder:
Waqar Azmi completed his engineering in 2006, and though he was presented with numerous attractive career opportunities, he preferred to pursue his entrepreneurial aspirations, motivated by the success of his father as an entrepreneur. The idea for his online venture took root when Waqar was involved with some start ups, either directly or indirectly. One thing that he noticed was that funds, ideas and infrastructure was not a problem for them, but finding the right people for there organisation was a huge challenge. Seeing a huge gap in the market, SutraHR started up as a startup to help other startups in finding a solution to the biggest problem faced by them. To Read more hit http://www.sutrahr.com/
Interview with Founder WIMB
1. Please brief about the team involved behind WhereIsMyBoss.com?
We would like to introduce our career gateway WhereIsMyBoss.com? (WIMB), a career gateway designed to make recruitment easy and effective by offering video interviewing. WIMB is one first of its kind to change the recruitment process for both job seekers and recruiters. WIMB is simple to use, the only requirement is a web cam, mic, ear phone and a broadband connection.
The team behind Whereismyboss.com is a group of young and dynamic professionals with varied experience. Mr.D.Prem a business management Graduate from the Regent Business School, London is the Chairman of PGC Industries including PGC Infotech(Whose offspring is www.Whereismyboss.com) , Mr.AAdith D Vikram a Finance and Management Science graduate from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland is the Managing Director and Vice chairman of PGC Industries which includes PGC Infotech. Mr.Yeragaselvan Kumaraswamy a post graduate in Mobile and Satellite Communications from Westminster, London is the Director of PGC Infotech, along with them is a team of young, talented and professional workforce. Whereismyboss.com is the first of their attempts apart from their mainstream business (Textiles) and we can expect many a more like this from them in the coming days.
2. How do you differentiate it from any other similar internet portals?
We are very different from other job Portals; WIMB is a new generation Portal. Whereismyboss.com is the first portal in India to introduce online video interviewing (Live Connect). In the recruitment industry, it is considered to be the next big thing, in streamlining the candidate screening process, while reducing time and cost for the employers, and its going to be a revolution in the head hunting scene and we will be first to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Job portals, with the help of AI we will be capturing the data elements from the resumes and presenting the same in a uniform format as per industry requirements, and also ranking or scoring of the resumes for the convenience of the employer, where in the resumes will be matched with the company requirements and ranked or scored according the organization priorities.
3. How has the response been to your platform?
Response to our portal has been very good; the traffic to the site is also improving day by day, we started in January 2008, and till date, we have more than 1 lakh registered users, and that’s really very much encouraging. Because of the uniqueness of the concept many employers and job seekers are registering with us and posting their requirements in the portal.
4. What are the modes/methods that WIMB plans to use to fight against the fraud?
WIMB plans to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to fight against fraud. In this process when an resume is uploaded in the portal, the technology checks the entire resume for any duplications then only the registration is approved.
5. Lastly, how do you see it growing and where do you see the same a few years down the line?
The portal is getting very good response with the job seekers and employers registrations, and posting of jobs. An interesting thing we noticed is that the uniqueness of portal is taking it nearer to the masses, according to estimates, of the total recruitment industry revenues, less than a tenth is from job portals, today in India, this has a hu8ge potential to grow, considering the global trends, but for the growth to happen the database has to be current and the matching should happen as per the recruiters needs, with the increase in traffic and registrations we are pretty sure in the next three years we will be among the top five job portals in India, by means of increase in the database as well revenue generation
Mail me all your queries at istartups@gmail.com & i will get back to you with the response. To know more hit http://www.whereismyboss.com/
We would like to introduce our career gateway WhereIsMyBoss.com? (WIMB), a career gateway designed to make recruitment easy and effective by offering video interviewing. WIMB is one first of its kind to change the recruitment process for both job seekers and recruiters. WIMB is simple to use, the only requirement is a web cam, mic, ear phone and a broadband connection.
The team behind Whereismyboss.com is a group of young and dynamic professionals with varied experience. Mr.D.Prem a business management Graduate from the Regent Business School, London is the Chairman of PGC Industries including PGC Infotech(Whose offspring is www.Whereismyboss.com) , Mr.AAdith D Vikram a Finance and Management Science graduate from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland is the Managing Director and Vice chairman of PGC Industries which includes PGC Infotech. Mr.Yeragaselvan Kumaraswamy a post graduate in Mobile and Satellite Communications from Westminster, London is the Director of PGC Infotech, along with them is a team of young, talented and professional workforce. Whereismyboss.com is the first of their attempts apart from their mainstream business (Textiles) and we can expect many a more like this from them in the coming days.
2. How do you differentiate it from any other similar internet portals?
We are very different from other job Portals; WIMB is a new generation Portal. Whereismyboss.com is the first portal in India to introduce online video interviewing (Live Connect). In the recruitment industry, it is considered to be the next big thing, in streamlining the candidate screening process, while reducing time and cost for the employers, and its going to be a revolution in the head hunting scene and we will be first to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Job portals, with the help of AI we will be capturing the data elements from the resumes and presenting the same in a uniform format as per industry requirements, and also ranking or scoring of the resumes for the convenience of the employer, where in the resumes will be matched with the company requirements and ranked or scored according the organization priorities.
3. How has the response been to your platform?
Response to our portal has been very good; the traffic to the site is also improving day by day, we started in January 2008, and till date, we have more than 1 lakh registered users, and that’s really very much encouraging. Because of the uniqueness of the concept many employers and job seekers are registering with us and posting their requirements in the portal.
4. What are the modes/methods that WIMB plans to use to fight against the fraud?
WIMB plans to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to fight against fraud. In this process when an resume is uploaded in the portal, the technology checks the entire resume for any duplications then only the registration is approved.
5. Lastly, how do you see it growing and where do you see the same a few years down the line?
The portal is getting very good response with the job seekers and employers registrations, and posting of jobs. An interesting thing we noticed is that the uniqueness of portal is taking it nearer to the masses, according to estimates, of the total recruitment industry revenues, less than a tenth is from job portals, today in India, this has a hu8ge potential to grow, considering the global trends, but for the growth to happen the database has to be current and the matching should happen as per the recruiters needs, with the increase in traffic and registrations we are pretty sure in the next three years we will be among the top five job portals in India, by means of increase in the database as well revenue generation
Mail me all your queries at istartups@gmail.com & i will get back to you with the response. To know more hit http://www.whereismyboss.com/
Interview with Founder - AnyPrice.Net
1. Please brief about your venture - AnyPrice.net & the team involved?
AnyPrice.net is the platform for Sellers and Buyers to trade their stuff, anything from machinery to household items. Unlike auction or bidding sites, here a Seller can trade his item to numerous Buyers very similar to one to one trading. The other advantage of the Portal is that the Buyer and Seller deal directly with each other and have option to ’Inspect Items on Sale’, making the dealing transparent. The portal has various trading options like,
1. B2B - Trade between Businesses for Bulk, High Value or Industry Items.
2. B2C - Trade between Business and Consumer offering discounts and deals to Consumers.
3. C2C - Trade between Consumers to retail used stuff.
4. C2B - Trade between Consumer and Business for buy back or exchange offer.
We are a group of professionals with varied experience, from technology to sales. We got together and formed the company FirstLeap eCommerce Pvt. Ltd., with the objective of offering innovative services that would touch 400 million young people of India. AnyPrice.net is the first of our attempts and very soon we would be launching some more portals that would provide platform for young people to express and entertain.
2. How do you differentiate it from any eBay or other internet shopping portals?
We are very different from Bidding or Auction Portals. At these portals there is only one winner and at times there is no response to an Offer.
At AnyPrice.net, it is different, the Seller can interact with every prospective Buyer and negotiate an individual deal. To give you an example, if a Seller puts up 10 T-Shirts for sale and 5 Buyers respond, he can Sell to each of these Buyers different quantity at different price. It is left to his negotiation skill to close the deal, it is very similar to one to one transacting.
3. How has the response been to your platform?
Response to our portal has been very good, we have many Business and Consumers registering at the site and listing Items for sale. Because of the portal appeal, we have items like Machinery, Garments, Consumer Goods, Personal Items, Household Items etc., offered for Sale.
4. How do you manage the logistics, i mean once the goods are traded how do you track the delivery?
The portal only facilitates the Buyers and Sellers to meet and interact. The transaction and exchange of items after sale is transparent and would be dealt between them. However, we keep monitoring the quality and reliability of the Sellers to ensure that their dealing are fair and they keep their commitments.
5. Lastly, how do you see it growing and where do you see the same a few years down the line?
The portal is getting very good response with Consumer and Business registrations, and listing of Items for Sale. An interesting thing we noticed is that the portal is becoming a good platform to trade in Rejects, Seconds and Used Items with overwhelming response from SME and Manufacturing Companies. We are working on improving the visibility for the portal in this segment. In a year time we will see the transaction volume increase and we would start generating revenues through fixed membership fee, which is free now.
To know more hit http://www.anyprice.net/
All those who have any questions related to AnyPrice.Net, their model etc. pls. feel free to mail me the same on istartups@gmail.com and i will help you get the response to them.