As part of our endeavour to identify and share some of the unique and compelling stories from the ecosystem, we invited yet another seasoned entrepreneur and business leader Ravinder Pal Singh – Founder and Managing Director at Gokaddal Technologies, for an interview with us to understand more about his exciting entrepreneurial journey so far.
Let’s read more about his story, way forward and his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs through our exclusive conversation!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
Talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
I was born in the beautiful valley of Kashmir, my father was in a central govt job hence spent my Childhood and had my schooling in a couple of cities. Came to Bangalore for my Engineering and then got a campus job in one of the top Data Security Companies, Nashsoft.
First 5 years of my career were purely on Technical roles. Joined Wipro in 2000 as Project Manager and spent next 5 years leading complex ICT projects across India, some of them being of key national importance like e-Chaupal, North East Citizen Service Centres (CSC), Creating a nationwide network for India’s leading Oil and Gas company. I moved to Cisco in 2004 and for the next 12 years, I had the privilege of leading and managing large engagements across India, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and SAARC.”
Also got to work with key Indian transformation projects like India Smart Cities Mission, DMIC and creating one of the Smartest Auto manufacturing plants. Got to work with emerging and innovative technologies like IOT, Smart Cities, Data Management, IP networks, Cloud and DC and Cyber Security. In 2015 Dec, I moved to Dell Technologies India to establish and lead their Smart Cities and Digital Transformation business focused on the Public Sector.
Last year I decided to quit and launch a tech startup and got into a full-time Entrepreneur role.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a corporate career?
During my work with Cisco and Dell, I realised there is a big gap in getting digital and disruptive technologies from the right solution providers to solution seekers across the globe. We have some very innovative solutions created by small and medium organizations & startups. But they find it very difficult to reach out to global solution seekers due to limitations of resources and finances. At the same time, the solution seekers are finding it tough to locate and get the right solution for their digital transformation journey. For products and components, we do have platforms like Amazon or Alibaba but there was no such platform when it comes to complex Digital Solutions. Hence I decided to create a platform to plug this gap and decided to launch a Startup, Merkado RHA Technology in Bangalore last year. We got the Platform developed in India and to get to the global market, we launched another setup in Dubai, Gokaddal Technologies.
I chose Entrepreneurship due to 3 reasons: I felt it is time to create something which can solve a problem and we had a problem to solve. Second, after spending 25 years in corporate roles, it is quite natural to do something which you feel is right. And lastly, the time was right – we are in Digital Disruption 3rd phase, and could not wait for someone else to do this.”
Please tell us something about your idea and business you are building?
As I saw this gap, we decided to create a bridge between Solution Providers and Solution Seekers. Gokaddal, meaning Crossing-the-Bridge, is a Cloud platform which connects Solution Providers to Seekers from any part of the world. Gokaddal is a Disruptive Solutions Aggregator, Marketplace and Cloud Delivery platform offered as a Service to Small, Medium and Startups who are into Digital Transformation Solutions and Services. Gokaddal focus is on 4A domains: Analytics, AI, Augmentative & Automation Technologies.
Please share with us some of the challenges you faced in your journey;
One of the big challenge faced was the change in culture overnight. From being a Senior exec with an MNC to a small, 2-3 people startup.
No longer I had the luxury of a 5-star office or getting to fly across the world, stay in a 5-star hotel, etc. But I had chosen this and hence I had to adapt to this. It did not take long as my upbringing was in a middle-class setup which helped me to adapt fast. Another challenge is that you need to learn to manage finances better. With no steady 6 figure salary, we have to manage both household and company operations with Frugality.
This is where your family plays a big role. My wife helped manage our household with the same efficiency and culture we had. Also, my Co-founders and the small core team has been very supportive and helped manage our business operations with the best frugality.”
We took a big risk and within 6 months of launching Indian startup, we launched another in Dubai. This was a big risk and financial overhead but we decided to take the risk to create a global footprint. Which has started paying off well, I believe.
What is your Business Mantra: Money or Emotions?
For me, Professionalism is very important. Whether you have a small startup to deal with or a large MNC, we ensure we have the same professional ethics and courtesy extended. The way our team engages or our business operations are managed, being professional is key to create a long time association. Money is a key factor but I won’t say it is the first factor for our success. Empathy and Emotions are surely the other 2 factors.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
This is something you learn and adapt right from your childhood. My upbringing in a middle-class environment and later my stint with Companies like Wipro taught me a lot. When you work with cross-cultural and diverse teams, the art of managing multiple personalities and handling customers with diverse expectations, you learn to manage it well. As mentioned, I just tell my team to behave and manage in a professional way. Don’t mix professional issues with your personal chores. That is where it becomes bad.
What has worked well for you so far?
25 years of Industry experience, respect what I earned and having a similar-thinking core team has worked well with us. We got our the first customer within a week of launching our startup. This was due to market connect and image I had built in the last many years. Being honest with your customers and partners is something I always believed in. We don’t have to play excuses, if something is not working right, we are transparent on that. One thing this works well is creating loyalty in our customer engagements. Our customers have repeated businesses and this helps in acquiring more customers.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
I have 3 simple mantras for success: Be honest with what you are doing, Be Professional with your stakeholders and Do what you love to do.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
If you believe in what you want to create/develop, then go ahead. Until you have full belief in what you are doing, no one else is going to accept it. Persistence and Patience are key attributes for a successful entrepreneur and I have learned this from great leaders like Azim Premji, Anand Mahindra, Rattan Tata, John Chambers, Michael Dell and other.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
Agility is key to success in this ever-changing world. Businesses and leaders need to continuously evolve, adopt newer ways to work and learn to Un-Learn.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
As mentioned above, Honesty, Professionalism and Empathy are my mantras to build a strong and successful organisation
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures we have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
Even before COVID, we had adopted a few measures more from a frugality perspective which helped us in managing COVID pressure. Virtual working, no unnecessary travel and use of technology in every aspect of our business operation has managed to help us here.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
