It is always our endeavour to share with our community some of the compelling stories on entrepreneurship. This week we invited Satyajeet Pradhan for an interview with us to understand more about his interesting journey so far and his advice for the startup community. But first, more about Satyajeet – He is a very passionate entrepreneur and worked with major corporates before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. He did not give up despite many failures and through his hard work, passion and positive attitude he founded successful venture Bizydale Nets. Let’s read more!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Satyajeet:
Tell us a little bit about yourself (background) and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
Born in a small town of Odisha and a strong believer of “Karma”, I started at a very young age and have never shied away from taking risks. I believed that “Its the man’s desire, dream, and vision buried deep inside their heart that pushes them to achieve their goals of life.”
I hail from a middle-class family whose parents had aspirations for their son to take up a software engineer in a good IT company however I had different ambitions. Since my childhood, I somehow liked to follow, read about business idols like Mr Dhirubhai Ambani, Mr Ratan Tata, Steve Jobs and how they made a difference without sticking to a regular job. Even I wanted to make that difference. I knew it would be challenging as I had no business in my blood however I was in my all state of mind to take it up.
Although I started at a very young age of 10, where I use to sell Gaming CDs to Cybercafes, however, the first job I took up at an International call centre serving customers of the United States’ leading Telecom company and all this was during my last year of graduation. After I completed my business management studies, a job for freshers was extremely difficult as the recession had just hit the job markets badly. However, I took up a job of selling a leading telecom’s data card and sim card over the streets of Bengaluru and near the corporate establishments.
With god’s grace, I was hired by a multinational company for its new automotive process and I think that was the turning point of my life. I was one of the top performers and won awards like Hall of Fame, Top Gun, Creation of Resplendent milestones, I was then approached by a former top brass of a leading automotive brand to join him in his new consulting and technology venture. The risk of moving out from a secured job to join a start-up worked well in my favour of learning and excellence. My skills got polished and my brains got sharper.
I worked for 4 years before moving out to start my own venture along with my wife Vrushali Pradhan.”
My initial products failed miserably however that didn’t stop me in working on my dream venture “Bizydale Nets” with two units Autoconnekt and Bizydale Studios.
The journey has not been a cakewalk to become one of the awarded and highly recognized new age technology companies, we required huge investments initially for building up of concept models, Products and running free pilots across the industries. This is not all, We required a team with strongest and efficient minds, along with entrepreneurial skills who would work together for a common goal. However, my belief in the 3Ps i.e Persistence, Perseverance, and Patience let me surpass those challenges and take me further ahead of my goals.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
To be honest, I didn’t know that life would take me to business over a job, as entrepreneurship was not in my blood, nor I had that financial back up it, however, it was always on my mind since I was a kid. Like I mentioned above, I had different ambitions and always wanted to create a difference, do something out of my comfort zone. Since my childhood, I somehow liked to follow, read about business idols like Mr Dhirubhai Ambani, Mr Ratan Tata, Steve Jobs, and respected entrepreneurship more and sudden turns of my life gave the opportunity to take up this journey.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
Bizydale Nets majorly serves Industries like Automotive, Health, Medical, Manufacturing, Fashion, Celebrity, and Entertainment by digitally transforming their reach and operations through new-age technologies like artificial intelligence, IoT, AR/VR, etc. The main objective of Bizydale Nets is to make the industry’s presence felt digital and boost their profitability.
I find a huge opportunity in the niche I am working in as I see that more than 60% of industry needs digital’s disruptive power to scale up and compete in the global market.”
Digital is not only a means to optimize a company’s existing operations, but it also gives both attackers and incumbents the power to disrupt value chains, enter new sectors, and create innovative business models. Established companies face threats from new competitors for example like Amazon which offers millions of products, from automotive components, industrial lifts, and ramps to lab products, protective gear, and electrical equipment. To get ahead of threats like this, industrial companies can use digital to transform with cutting edge technologies, stay one step ahead of the attackers reshaping the industry, by extending their own business models.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
My wife and business partner Vrushali is my biggest source of motivation. She keeps me going through her energies, support and takes care of me personally and professionally. She ensures that my daily schedules are well organized and I am relaxed, stress-free to plan out strategies as a leader.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
Initial years were tough as we were into digitalization and changing the mindset of the industry to understand the need for digital transformation and invest in it was a challenge as they had little knowledge about the results that would yield.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Well, I don’t think work is a pressure to me as I love what I do and I believe deadlines are greatest inspirations. I always ask my team to not work under pressure however to work overpressure and they can do this by keeping their daily tasks organized. If they have any concerns, I am always accessible to them to discuss and make their life easy.
I manage stress by going out with friends and family on a trip, movies or day out, early morning walks with family, discussing with them on any problems or challenges.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
“Stay Positive, Stay Optimistic” is what keeps me growing as a person. Even the worst of situations I look for positive aspects.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
3 Things:
(i) Taking risks without fear of losing
(ii) Never give up attitude
(iii) Being Optimistic
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Well, Great companies start with an objective that the founders want to change the world and not make a fast buck. Founders should work towards excellence than results. It is rightly said by someone that starting a company is like getting married and having a kid. We need to invest, patiently wait for years with an expectation to get returns on the investment. Success is the result of preparation, hard work over years and learnings from failure. 3Ps i.e Persistence, Perseverance and Patience should be the strength of every founder who is starting up.
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.
