In our relentless pursuit to identify and share with our community some of the unique and compelling startup stories from the ecosystem, this week we invited Deepak Mishra, Founder & CEO of Prodevans Technologies, to understand more about their journey, their vision and the way forward. Deepak is a seasoned entrepreneur, business leader, mentor, coach and keynote speaker. Let’s read his unique story!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Deepak Mishra:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, tell us a little bit about your startup and the problems you guys are solving, please;
Our efforts are geared towards making organizations cloud-ready. Cloud offers tremendous promise, especially for small and medium businesses. But technologies involved are bewildering – many of them opensource, which require time & effort to set up.
This is where Prodevans comes in. We help the organization set up the cloud infrastructure, transform applications to be migrated to cloud, automate the process to harness the benefits of cloud and manage the environments.
We simplify the landscape and guide organizations so that they can reap the benefits of the cloud. We are unique because we propose solutions that do not require any upfront investment.”
Our solutions always use the existing tooling to bring out the value. The intent is always to help the organization reduce costs with a concomitant increase in ROI
‘Prodevans Technologies’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving with the help of your startup?
We wanted the name to capture the spirit of what we are trying to achieve. We are a professionally driven organization that will own the client’s problems as ours.
Using technology & automation, we try to solve their problems while being cognizant of the constraints. While Pro & Dev will provide the context for Professionalism & technology, Ans stands for automation or innovation.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
Our consultants are deployed across India and ASEAN. We offer services to clients across different time zones. Our focus is to work closely with our clients to make sure their businesses, timelines & delivery are not impacted. Though COVID has placed a restriction on travel, there has been no disruption to the client delivery though.
Over the years we have tried to nurture our talent as leaders. We have tried to empower them to take their own decisions. Since most of the business is conducted virtually, much of the decision making also needs to happen virtually. It’s really impossible to get the buy-in from all of the leadership.”
To that extent, we have made decision making decentralized. Each leader is responsible for some of our strategic clients and he/she is responsible to do everything possible to strengthen the relationship and help sole clients problems. While achieving this, they are allowed to make decisions that help us move towards this goal.
That does not mean we have done away with leadership forums. Our day starts with the daily mandatory leadership stand-up, which is used to discuss all these and make course corrections if needed.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives the team?
There are challenges, but at the same time, there is also opportunity. Fortunately for us, technology has been the enabler on which the organization thrived. I did not have to overemphasize this – this was there for everyone to see.
But I do encourage them to see the kind of solutions they are part of how critical a role they are playing. The opportunity, especially on the Cloud & DevOps space, has actually gone up. So it was evident for everyone to see what we are building. I really did not have to di much in this regard
What has worked well for you so far?
Though we use technology to solve problems, it is actually people that are behind the technology. We never lose sight of that. People can be effective when they have everything they need and are allowed to think like leaders. That is exactly what we have tried to do at Prodevans. We are aware that it is a journey but we facilitate to bring in all the tools that technology can offer to make our lives easier.
The other important thing is make the employees feel that their efforts are being valued. We do that by investing in our talent for long term. Employee training & upskilling one of the ways we do that. This is what has allowed us to tide over the challenges. In spite of being is space where retention is a problem, our employee turnover is one of the least in the industry
What is one strategy that you guys believe has helped you grow as a team/startup?
Technology is a space that is rapidly changing. If we have to not just survive but thrive, we have to have the ability to react as the situation demands. We can only do that if we are nimble on our feet and thinking. Our decentralized decision making and being lean has allowed us to be just that.
This has placed us with a chance to maximize our opportunity. But without the right skills & the right intent, we will never be able to harness what we have in our hands. Skills are built through training and enhanced through exposure. The right intent is what we instil by making our employees feel a part of the family.
In your opinion – what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful startup?
I believe both are important And I believe both are interrelated. You do need a good idea to start with. But it is the team that can make a good idea great. Also, very often it is the team that gives us the best of ideas.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out?
Never lose faith in yourself. You have taken this step because you believe in your innate ability. It is not an easy journey. Entrepreneurship will test you to the core. But if you have the right people, and more importantly the right mix of people, you are sure to get there. Don’t miss the woods for the trees. Have a long-term plan and stick to it no matter what.
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.
