Interview with Shankar Sahai | Co-Founder & Director | SoftPrime Technologies Pvt. Ltd
We always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Mr. Shankar Sahai for an exclusive interview with us. Let’s learn more about his incredible journey, his background and his advice for our growing community.
Tell us a little bit about your start-up and your journey, please;
Everything starts with a dream and a vision. I am a dreamer, who wants to make all his dreams come true. I always look at myself in a position where I can achieve my passion for work and job satisfactions. Setting up my own business was a dream since my early days.
I spent a good amount of time in corporate world and held various leadership profiles all of which added to my expertise and helped me to become a responsible leader. It also helped to hone my skills and acquire domain expertise.
I’m a tech enthusiast and very passionate about new technological developments. That’s where my core expertise lies.
Being aware of all the risk factors involved to set up a business from scratch I preferred a job over entrepreneurship in the early stages of my career.
I have always been very passionate about building solution on my own that can solve major IT problems.
How did the idea for your business/startup come about?
I have two decades of experience in IT Industry where I learnt a lot. After sometime I just felt that I should be a job provider not a job seeker.
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
My job experience makes me aware of my potential towards my work but I need flexibility in it which can come through only when I drive that work independently where I can take risks as well as any decision for better results. In a job you bond to do work according to your employers, so your work’s results sometimes haven’t been that fruitful as you expected. This is the main force which makes me an entrepreneur and so I give wings to my work.
I want to use my experience to start from scratch to build something big and I also wanted to give employment to other. The key driving force was support from my family.
How did you come up with the name for your business/startup?
I always wanted to start a software company which can provide prime products or services in the field of Information Technology. I wanted a name which is a synonym of best software solutions. Since ‘Soft’ refers to software and ‘Prime’ refers to premium/best. I had an epiphany to keep the name SoftPrime Technologies and that’s how this company got its name.
How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
My company is unique because here we allow our employees to give honest feedback which we try to implement as effectively as possible. We thrive to create a positive work environment for our employees. They have the freedom to take any work-related decisions for the betterment of the company. We also have flexible work hours. As per my past job experiences whatever shortcomings I felt were there I tried not to repeat it here.
What risks are you facing?
Risk is everywhere. If you want growth in life then you have to take risk. Business is risk but over the time of experience you can reduce the risk.
Have you considered any alliance/partnership?
Yes, we have alliances with the leading OEMs to offer various solutions and services like Oracle, Microsoft, Adobe, Corel, Nitro, SonicWall, Seqrite, Barracuda, Citrix, HP, Commvault, Palo Alto, NetApp, Cisco, Dell-EMC, Lenovo, Acer, Sophos, McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro etc.
What are your responsibilities as the business owner?
Entrepreneurship is a big responsibility that comes with many risks, so before plunging into entrepreneurship be prepared for it
How many hours a day do you work on average & can you describe/outline your typical day?
I would say if you love your work and follow your passion then hours do not matter, you enjoy every bit of time. Discipline and life beyond work also play an important role, so keeping that in mind I usually work 10 hrs a day and sometimes more if required. Here I would like to thank my wife who has been my constant support system, without her support I’m unable to do so for which I am grateful.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I always try to make sure that I empower the right people for the right work. This way I do not feel overburdened with work that leads to stress.
In my free time, I try to travel, spend time with my family, and try to maintain my work-life balance as much as possible.
Travelling helps me clear my mind and focus on issues that needs my attention.
What piece of advice would you give to college graduates who want to become entrepreneurs?
My only advice to them is to chase your dream and follow your passion. Whatever field you have chosen, Art, Science or Commerce, just try to learn beyond academics also. Academics is important for good marks but to understand the subject is important for good knowledge. Good knowledge will help further in achieving your goal. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; see them as an opportunity to learn. Don’t lose hope, and keep going no matter how difficult things are. Believe in yourself! I believe in one simple mantra of life i.e. the plan should be good, and the execution should be better then you will definitely get the best result.
Where do you see the future of your company? Share with us your future plans/endeavors
With the continuously evolving digital world, SoftPrime thrives to be the best-in-class IT service provider with the belief of having the utmost customer satisfaction. SoftPrime Technologies strives to offer a design-led approach for enhancing the end-user experience, process change at the enterprise level for increased productivity and profitability, and innovation and differentiation for its clients with future-ready technologies.
We would like to know more about your organisation SoftPrime Technologies and its offering.
SoftPrime Technologies provides true one-stop services covering all areas of the IT Life Cycle needs. SoftPrime Technologies Managed Services are IT Consulting – Business & Technology, Database Management, ERP Implementation & Support, Be-Spoke Software Development, Resource Management, Annual Maintenance Contract & Corporate Training. SoftPrime Technologies has carved out a niche for itself in the areas of Product, Services, Renewal and System Integration.
SoftPrime Technologies focus is on building solutions and providing services across those solutions and it is open to work with most of the OEMs or in their technical environment. Besides this, the company has professional deployment capabilities and has a professional team which helps its customers on time and efficiently deploys products and services.
With its flexible pricing models, SoftPrime Technologies offers to its customers a wide range of flexible and transparent pricing options which help them reduce their upfront cost and convert that into an operational expenditure.
At present, SoftPrime Technologies is serving 400+ customers in India & abroad across verticals IT & ITES, Manufacturing, Banking & Finance, Insurance, Automobile, Healthcare, Education, Hospitality, Telecom, Tours & Travels.
• 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 M𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 C𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲
• Indian Achievers’ Forum Award 2020 – Emerging Company of the Year in Information Technology
• Corporate Vision-Corporate Excellence Awards 2020 – Most Innovative IT Consulting & Managed Services Company
• CIO Review India – Company of the Year 2020 – Oracle Solutions & Services Provider
• India 500 Most Promising IT Company-2021 Winner
• Corporate LiveWire Innovation & Excellence Awards 2021 – IT Service Provider of the Year
• IDG Channel World Premier 100 Awards 2021 – The Resilient 100
• Indian Achievers’ Forum Atmanirbhar Bharat Award 2021 – Information Technology
• Foundry Channel World Premier 100 Awards 2022 – The Futuristic 100
• Indian Achievers’ Forum Award 2022 – Most Promising Company of the Year in Information Technology
• Microsoft Cloud Champions 11 Season3 Winner – 2023
Brutnow Media 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 brutnow4@gmail.com, we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
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