Software Service for Impact: Mr. Sachin Chawla on how DAStek Softwares is ready for the NEW

DAStek Softwares, has experience of 6 years in execution for innovations. It is a software service company with the capability of executing at scale. It has an aspiration of working on challenges in the sustainable ecology and foray into Ed-Tech. In the value chain of execution for impact DAStek Softwares is a new entrant and ready to grow. Empathy to good software design is its ethos.

Hello Sachin, a pleasure to have you in our studio, let’s start with your story. Tell us about DAStek Softwares and your journey?

We as DAStek Softwares Pvt Ltd., are a full-fledged software services organization and we are working on providing software consulting services to our clients across the globe. We are currently focused on two specific markets which are the US and Australia. If I talk about the domain, our work comprises of projects in the Ed-tech domain, where we cover education for dietitians through online mode- A platform where we set up webinars, as well as a couple of other educational initiatives for the dietitians through various virtual class modes.

In addition, we closely work with our clients on an everyday basis. Recently because of Covid19 most schools across the globe are going online, so we have provided a platform where they can take virtual classes, give assignments, evaluate assignments, and provide feedback. This particular product was first designed for the Australian and South African markets. We are specialized in is setting up solutions for conducting online classes.

We are also working in the Sports Management area, wherein we provide solutions to almost 15-20+ sports colleges in Australia which can actually help them to manage all their sports activity throughout the year. So be it tournaments or cross-country, state, or school tournaments we have a solution that helps most of the colleges in Australia to take care of all their sports activity be it intra/inter-school competitions.

Further, we also operate in E-commerce Domain where we provide solutions for an online laundry system which is being used by almost 60+ laundries in the US. The software completely automates the process starting from laundry pickup, during the process, invoice generation & delivery back to the customer.

We are working for around last 6 years in these particular solutions. Officially we started in 2018, but my journey started back in 2011 while I was still in the corporate sector. I started thinking on getting into entrepreneurship as a part-timer in 2011. I gave online classes to students about different technologies and then jumped into development and built multiple customer relations.

Can you share your journey as an entrepreneur and the milestones you achieved along the way? Also your learnings over the period.

I belong to a family with a business background for decades. Getting out of the family business was challenging and out of my comfort zone, but my passion and my love for the software industry did not let me have any second thoughts on my way to the corporate world. Eventually from day one I knew-as my roots beckoned, I had to build my own company and get back to business. I completed my graduation and post-graduation in Computer Applications and joined Teradata. Later on, I got opportunity to work with corporate giants like Tech Mahindra, Hewitt & Genpact. There, I got better insights on how projects are built, how things are done, how teams are managed, how the operation is managed.

Thus, gathering experience to apply it in my own venture. Gradually in 2018, I quit my job and DAStek Softwares was born!  I started as a sole proprietor and in Dec’19 we registered as Pvt Ltd company.

Today we have a multiple client base spread across various regions like US, Australia, South Africa etc. We have been growing in terms of customers and revenue and moving up the ladder. Our focus is to go forward as a service provider but gradually develop products of our own both for the Indian market and the international markets.

What was your motivation to leave the firm you were working for?

My last organization was Genpact Headstrong Capital Market, with the role of engagement manager where I was managing a project of almost 100 people. The motivation to leave was the number of hours spent on commuting. On an average I was spending 3 hrs daily traveling to and from the office. This was counter-productive and disrupted work-life balance.

DAStek itself means family always takes priority in your life. It is the foundation of your traditional values. So, I needed to apply this to my current team as well- The DAStek Family! Even though my career was at a good point, it all comes down to prioritization and entrepreneurial decision making. My vision already clear and set in my mind, I founded DAStek Softwares.

Can you Describe your team structure and capabilities?

Right now, we are a team of 16 members. We work from Coworking space location and some work virtually from distant locations. We have a team of people with different skill sets. Starting from the co- founders, I am specialized in a web-based technology-ColdFusion which is a rare technology found across the globe and my wife takes care of HR & Operations domain. She is a postgraduate in computer applications and has 5 years of corporate experience.

We also specialize in developing hybrid mobile applications using technology like IONIC, PHONEGAP with 4 people working in this area. Our dedicated team is responsible for a quality check for all the solutions before shipping. We have people working as PHP developers and designers as well. Our software architect has varied experience in various technologies and is well versed with AWS, UBUNTU, LINUX, ET AL.

What was the most challenging project/ enterprise solution you worked on? Why?

Every solution brings a piece of challenge with it. You can’t say that a particular project was more challenging while others were less. Definitely there are solutions which can be built in a month’s time and do not involve that much complexity. But, there are some solutions like the sports management area, where you have to manage each and every sport.

Starting from onboarding the players, their medical history, their training schedule, coaches assigned, teams etc are considered. Multiple games are managed like cricket, basketball, swimming and so on. So those games have different rules specific to them which need to be handled. The scoring section makes a complete mini project in this case. This is a solution where we put together some complex rules to define the winner and the leader.

So, every project brings some complexity, but its always pushing the boundaries for us in terms of scaling our knowledge and trying our hands on different platforms and technologies.

How do you maintain your work-life balance?

Generally, when you are working for someone, you have restrictions with respect to paid leaves, your deliveries (everything) are being managed not by you but your seniors. So, once I built my own venture, the first motive was to maintain work-life balance, to do justice to both professional and personal life.

The main area which I focus on is having a strong and capable team that is ready to take every risk which I was supposed to take as an individual contributor. I try and mentor each employee professionally as well as on personal relationship building. Now, I don’t have to ask for a leave when my son’s P.T.M. crops up or my wife want to go out on a shopping spree😊

I am very thankful to my team as well as my customers. Communication is the key with the team and the customers. If the communication is well done, then half the battle is won!

How expectations in the industry have pivoted/changing since the period you entered into business in this domain?

Digitization is one thing which is prevalent, so obviously growth is expected for years to come. Across the globe, I believe start-ups are coming up just because we have a requirement in the market. Definitely every domain, if automated will make life easier. Things like Artificial Intelligence and cloud computing are on new highs now which was not the case when I started. Our vision is to provide out of the box solutions for real-life scenarios.

What is your wish list in near future with respect to business and markets?

In terms of market we are definitely going to start focussing on the Indian market depending on what kind of challenge we want to solve. If I talk about the current circumstances, due to COVID-19 there will be a huge shift in what solves. There are two business areas that are important, one is the education area. So virtual solutions for education is the go-to domain in such scenarios. Additionally, we can also say Grocery business (online) which is going to be the need of the hour. And we believe every idea in this field can carve out a sustainable niche in this area.

In which field/ sector of economy do you see the maximum potential for Software Industry?

Healthcare, Education & Food Industry are the areas which are going to thrive…

What is your opinion on IoT? How can it be devised across sectors like HealthCare?

IoT plays a major role in areas where there are urgent requirements. For example, if there is any critical requirement for a critical procedure then IoT can actually help. In case of the emergency situations, let’s say when an accident occurs, starting from taking the patient from the place of the accident to the hospital and by the time the patient reaches, the much-needed arrangements must be accessible. All this information must be available on real-time basis.

This is only possible if we have different IoT devices installed and integrated for rapid use. Accordingly, operation theatres need to be prepared, with medical equipment ready and doctors need to be intimated and so on. So, all the automation may not be possible with a software solution only, definitely hardware interventions are required.

We see this as opportunity for seamless healthcare service dissemination.

Similarly, with a rising focus on the Agri-Tech sector, in what scope do you think DAStek can contribute to this field?

E-commerce is one thing that is untouched at the ground level where agriculture takes place. But one of the most important aspects is literacy. Our farmers are not that educated in terms of what kind of seeds to use, harvest technologies available, here we have a huge domain to explore. So definitely DAStek would like to work in the area of education of farmers. We can diversify our existing solution i.e our virtual solution being used by schools to make it fit for the Agri-Tech sector. Again, if this can be done our main focus would be education and not e-commerce area. We are readily available to provide the educational solution but again it comes to resources available to the farmers to access it. After Jio decreased the cost of the internet, definitely every home has one internet connection and that can be put to effective use.

How do you maintain your team morale?

My team is very motivated, we follow the ‘scrum methodology’ where we talk to all the team members individually about all the projects. Specially, in current circumstances, I made communication as my priority with all to find solutions to their problems. There is complete appreciation from my side for the team members that they are so motivated while working virtually. During in-office time we have a flat hierarchy where everyone can reach out to anyone at any point of time. And everybody works together, eats together, and celebrate the success of the team together. We maintain a family culture to ensure positivity & put let everyone put best of their efforts in all their deliveries.

How would you describe #innovationculture in your organization?

Every individual who is hired in my team has a career development program. It is not like that a person is brought into the organization and made to work on projects only. Our aim is self-growth of individuals because I believe that a company can rise only if it has a strong team.

The other part which I as a founder and Dipti as an HR operation head take care is how are we going to motivate them that they see themselves going to the next level. We have put in a process where we ask them to go through various educational seminars which are technology-specific or can be on personality development as well. Then possibly we promote them to take certifications which are sponsored by DAStek. At the end of each month we keep a session in which a team member gives a presentation on a new skill learnt. This, in turn educates the rest of the team as well.

Talking about innovation, we are open to work with different & latest technologies. We started just as a cold fusion shop, then gradually jumped to more technologies like PHP, PHP Framework Laravel and hybrid mobile application development. I also explore new areas of development, like what are the upgrades coming up so that knowledge is shared with developers and they spend time on their self-trainings.

So, apart from project deliveries, the team has been scheduled for educational training, can take paid leaves for study plans, share their short-term and long-term goals with mentors and draft out a plan to achieve them. This is how we plan out in a way in which is not only client-oriented but also in accordance with the career advancement of our employees. From their innovation is itself nurtured.

Covid19 Impact?

Definitely it has a huge Impact. Looking at the current economy situation in U.S. some of our major projects are put on hold. Now we are working with new customers with new requirements and technologies.

We are utilising this time to build our own products, as the idea was not to make people sit idle. My team is already working on the solutions which were planned at the very beginning of COVID-19. My motive is to keep my team proactive so that post-COVID we are in a position to deliver the best.

Open for new projects, DAStek Softwares is preparing for a solutions-based approach catering for the Indian market as well . My team is working on solutions in the Ed-Tech domain, Ecommerce and Sports Management with expertise in technologies namely Coldfusion, Lucee, PHP, Ionic, Phonegap, Angular and deployment expertise on AWS.

Sustainable solutions will be a piece of cake in the coming future. And DAStek Softwares is ready to take on the challenge.

Source: Interview with Mr. Sachin Chawla: DAStek Softwares Private Limited