Its more than 2 years since I came here. It has been an exciting, hectic and a very satisfying journey so far. There is a good sense of achievement, and assurance that we are on track, on a right business with potential.
For me, it is an experience of lifetime doing everything a new. Learning everyday on all aspects of running a business. Coding productivity has peaked, to the extent of adding features to the product on the fly during implementations!. We are becoming better at sales, negotiations, fighting a hard bargain with a misery customer, or putting pressure on a non-paying customer.
There are other learnings as well, more closer to life – how to deal with taxi drivers in Mumbai, how not to get cheated by auto guys (everywhere). Unlike our earlier life, we do not have drivers with placards waiting for us at airports. We have to fend for ourselves in the most cost effective way. We have learnt how to use train toilets during a long journeys such as mangalore to delhi that takes 2 days.
Best part is we have a great product. Our customers love it, and I think other than our hard work, our product is the single factor which has made us this successful. 40 installations in 18 months wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
We have also learnt that continuous innovation and improvements are essential in a product based business model. May be that’s why Apple releases a new iPod or iPhone every 3-6 months, even if it means incremental improvements. We are also clear that our product will go through continuous improvements on all aspects – be it usability, cosmetic or features. We will keep it getting better. Feedback from customers have been very instrumental here.
We are hopeful and eager to enter international markets this year. It would be a different league of operations, different market challenges and approaches. We are confident we will tide over.
A great team, ambitious colleagues, happy customers and a high potential market. What else can an entrepreneur wish for!
