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Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Nikita Narvekar: Art and creativity have always been my passion, and web design is a perfect outlet for that. I've always had a desire to create something of my own, which has pushed me to explore the exciting world of entrepreneurship. With my background in art and creativity, I'm confident I can bring something unique to the table Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Sunshell? Nikita Narvekar: At Sunshell, we provide a comprehensive range of services to help you create and promote a powerful business brand. From custom website design to digital marketing strategies, our team of experts will help your business reach its goals. Our services include: Branding: Developing a consistent and strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience. Website Design: Creating a visually appealing and user-friendly website that works on all devices. Digital Marketing: Maximizing marketing efforts with a comprehensive digital marketing plan. Great Companies: What makes Sunshell different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Nikita Narvekar:When it comes to design, my team and I have learned the latest UX/UI design and color theory that is essential in our industry. We continuously strive to learn something new that will further develop our skills and help us stay ahead of the competition with the latest trends. Our commitment to learning ensures that we stay one step ahead of the competition. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Nikita Narvekar: The initial phase of any venture is always a tough one, and mine was no different. Growing our client base, ensuring we had enough funds to pay the salaries of our staff, and managing to accurately understand and respond to the needs of our clients all posed a challenge. But with dedication and hard work, we persevered and eventually overcame these obstacles. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Sunshell? Nikita Narvekar: Five years from now, I envision Sunshell as a renowned and reputable digital marketing agency in Goa, known for delivering results at an affordable price. I am committed to helping small, medium, and large business owners grow their businesses through our marketing services. Our team is dedicated to providing reliable and effective digital marketing solutions tailored to the unique needs of each business. By utilizing the latest technologies and industry trends, we are dedicated to helping our clients reach their goals and succeed in the digital space. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Nikita Narvekar: I advise delivering the best possible product or service, as this will automatically create a huge client base. Doing so will ensure that you build a strong reputation and trust among your customers, enabling your business to grow and thrive.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Sharad Jain: The idea for our business was born out of my personal experience and observation of the challenges faced by SMEs in the recruitment process for sales and software professionals. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, I noticed that despite high unemployment rates, finding qualified candidates for junior to mid-level positions remained a significant challenge. Furthermore, low attendance rates at interviews further compounded the problem, frustrating employers and senior management. We consulted with industry experts in January 2021 to develop a product plan that includes the creation of two specialized digital platforms: one for sales professionals and one for software professionals. These platforms aim to bridge the gap and improve the recruitment process by providing a streamlined and efficient way for employers to connect with qualified candidates. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Link8 Intelisystems Pvt Ltd? Sharad Jain: At Link8 Intelisystems Pvt Ltd, we offer a range of services that are designed to cater to the needs of both recruiters and job seekers. Our platform is built on cutting-edge technology, which enables us to provide a tech-enabled recruitment ecosystem that is specifically tailored to the needs of Sales & IT Professionals. Our recruitment portals for Sales and IT professionals, SalesProfessionals.co.in and SoftwareProfessionals.co.in, have been instrumental in helping us build a strong network of experienced and skilled Sales & IT professionals. These portals provide recruiters with access to a large pool of qualified job seekers and help job seekers find the right opportunities that match their skills and experience. In addition to our recruitment portals, we also provide recruitment and offshore staffing services to global companies looking to build teams in India. Our offshore staffing services enable companies to leverage the benefits of outsourcing, including cost savings and access to a large pool of talented professionals in India. We have a team of skilled and experienced professionals who are adept at working with clients to identify their staffing needs and providing them with the best resources to meet their business objectives. Overall, our services are designed to provide clients with a comprehensive recruitment ecosystem that is efficient, effective, and tech-enabled. We are committed to providing exceptional service to both our clients and job seekers, and our cutting-edge technology ensures that we stay at the forefront of the HR industry. Great Companies: What makes Link8 Intelisystems Pvt Ltd different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Sharad Jain: Our solution combines the power of technology and personalized support to simplify the recruitment process. Our recruitment platform combines technology-driven solutions including AI and ML algorithms, practical exposure through interaction with industry experts, a niche focus on sales & IT professionals, and improved accessibility, making it a unique and innovative solution in the market. By creating a fractional services model that ensures organisations only pay for what they need, when they need it, they can take advantage of our Technological based blended HR recruitment ecosystem, and it becomes their own full-fledged recruiting department instantly. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Sharad Jain: As a start-up, we faced several challenges when it came to hiring experienced and quality resources due to our limited availability of funds. To overcome this, we decided to hire less experienced candidates who showed great aptitude and passion for the work we do. We offered them a fixed salary along with incentives based on their performance. This approach helped us build a team of motivated individuals who were eager to learn and grow with the company. However, we also recognized that there would be times when we would need specialized resources for certain tasks or projects. To address this, we decided to partner with specialized resources on a case-to-case basis. This approach allowed us to access the expertise we needed without incurring the high costs associated with hiring full-time specialized resources. Overall, the key to overcoming these challenges was to be creative and flexible in our hiring and resource allocation strategies. By focusing on finding candidates with potential and partnering with specialized resources when needed, we were able to build a team that was capable of delivering high-quality work despite our limited resources. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Link8 IntelliSystems Pvt Ltd? Sharad Jain: At Link8 IntelliSystems Pvt Ltd, we have a clear vision for the future - to become a leading HR technology brand from India for the world. To achieve this goal, we have set ourselves some ambitious targets, including making footprints in 10 countries, becoming the exclusive recruitment partner for over 10,000 SMEs, and registering over 10 million jobseekers. To make this vision a reality, we are focused on several key growth strategies. First and foremost, we plan to invest heavily in research and development, leveraging the latest technologies to enhance our recruitment ecosystem and provide even more value to our clients. We will also continue to build strategic partnerships with businesses and organizations around the world, helping us to expand our reach and build a global network of clients and candidates. By building strong relationships with our partners and clients, we aim to become the go-to choice for businesses looking to hire top talent. At the same time, we remain committed to our core values of excellence, integrity, and innovation. We will continue to prioritize providing personalized support and exceptional service to our clients and jobseekers, ensuring that everyone we work with has a positive experience. Looking five years down the line, we see Link8 IntelliSystems Pvt Ltd as a globally recognized brand that is known for providing cutting-edge HR technology solutions and exceptional service. We are confident that by staying true to our values and leveraging the latest technologies, we will achieve our goals and become a true leader in the HR industry. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Sharad Jain: As someone who has had a professional journey that includes starting a new venture, I would say that my overall experience has taught me that there are no shortcuts to success. It requires a lot of hard work, perseverance, and dedication to build something that can stand the test of time. One piece of advice that I would give to someone who is just starting out is to focus on building an ecosystem that is process-driven instead of person-driven. This means that you should establish a set of clear processes and procedures that can help guide your team towards success, rather than relying on the skills or expertise of any one person. By doing so, you can ensure that your team is working towards a shared goal, with a clear understanding of what is expected of them. This can help to create a culture of accountability, where everyone is responsible for their own work and is committed to achieving success as a team. In summary, my advice would be to focus on building a strong foundation for your venture by establishing clear processes and procedures that can guide your team towards success. With hard work, dedication, and a focus on the right strategies, you can build a successful venture that stands the test of time.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Abhijit Chaudhary: While working closely with Mobile Network Operators (MNO) in previous projects, the Niral team understood the challenges faced by them due to Vendor Lock-in, the proprietary solutions are rigid that leads to slower time to market and higher total cost of ownership. It is predicted that 5G Networks needs to be 10X denser than 4G Networks. Denser networks would require devices from more vendors leading to further risk of vendor lock-in. MNOs understand the risk of vendor lock-in and are fast transforming from traditional and proprietary solutions to openness and disaggregation. Most operators have set up their own Research and Development arm to have better control over their Vendors, Products, and Costs. Niral Network’s co-founding team has a combined experience of more than 70 man-years in the Telecom and Networking Industry in India. They have rich product experience in Telecom, Data Center, and Enterprise verticals. The team has worked closely with customers in the US, India, Europe, Australia, Middle-East, and South-East Asia. They have co-founded multiple startups in the US and India and co-authored numerous patents and technical publications in the area of computer networks. After multiple deliberations with customers, the Niral team came up with the concept of NiralOS. NiralOS is an Network Operating System for private 5G and Edge with open interfaces that helps customers to transition from Vendor Controlled to Customer Deliberated approach, thereby reducing the time to market and lower the total cost of ownership. Website:- https://niralnetworks.com Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Niral Networks ? Abhijit Chaudhary: Niral Networks provide a comprehensive cloud-native 5G Edge networking platform for Enterprises using its open and disaggregated Network Operating System called NiralOS that can be easily integrated to third party Edge applications and managed from a centralized dashboard without the need of any specialized IT staff. Niral Networks cloud-native 5G & Edge solution for Enterprise is targeting the USD 517 Billion private 5G + Edge market for faster, low latency, reliable connectivity with mobility that would accelerate the use of emerging technologies like IoT, Drone, Robotics, AI/ML, AR/VR, thereby redefining the way people live and work in oil & gas, mining, ports, manufacturing. Niral Networks aims to provide a private 5G & Edge platform as a Service (5GaaS) to redefine the future of Enterprise Connectivity by making private 5G as ubiquitous as WIFI. NiralOS is a network operating system for Private 5G & Edge and contains 3 key components: Niral 5G Core - Cloud-Native Private 5G SA core for enterprises that contains 5G functions - AMF, SMF, AUSF, NRF, UPF, PCF, UDM and integrated with various 5G Radio OEMs. Niral 5G core contains a compact UPF for local breakout when integrated with TSP Network. Niral Edge Platform - Kubernetes and Virtualized infrastructure to create a Mobile Edge Cloud (MEC) using existing commodity servers and open APIs to host various applications like IOT, Robotics, Drones, IMS, AR/VR for low latency, high bandwidth, mobility and privacy. Niral Controller - Centralized management, orchestration, zero touch provisioning & monitoring of multi-site Private Network and On-premise Edge Cloud. The controller can be hosted in a data center to centrally manage & monitor multiple private networks. Niral 5G Core runs on commodity servers and is integrated with 5G radio from various OEMs to create Private 5G Networks. Applications like Drone, Robotics, IOT can be easily deployed on Niral Edge Platform and remotely managed using Niral Controller. Great Companies: What makes Niral Networks different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Abhijit Chaudhary: While most vendors are focused on connectivity by adding more and more hardware, radio that leads to higher CAPEX, more space, more power and higher OPEX. Niral Network's approach is to reduce the number of HW/Radio, cost, space and go greener by creating a single private 5G and on-premise Edge Cloud to connect the unconnected or under connected area using a single private 5G Network infrastructure that can be used by all the Mobile Network Operators(MNOs) to extend their coverage. A single Private 5G Networks to be used by all MNOs instead of each MNO putting their own 5G Network will result in less HW/Radio, cost, space and help in developing a greener 5G infrastructure that is easier to manage. Niral Private 5G and Edge Cloud uses a zero-trust architecture to connect with each MNOs 5G Network and guarantee that MNOs Network does not get compromised by the Private 5G Network. Niral Private 5G & Edge platform provides Seamless communication and application experience locally even if the connectivity with the Internet is lost. Niral SDN Controller is used for centralized provisioning and management of Private 5G and the on-premise Edge Cloud using a single dashboard with the click of a couple of buttons making it simple to manage and diagnose the end to end Enterprise use cases. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Abhijit Chaudhary: Setting up an end-to-end Private 5G Infrastructure needs collaboration with various ecosystem players, thus, has multiple challenges. The good part is we are able to overcome those challenges one by one and make steady progress. We are awaiting clarity on the allocation of 5G spectrum to Enterprise. Due to unavailability of 5G spectrum for Enterprise Captive Networks in India, on-going 5G POCs within Enterprises are happening on the experimental spectrum being allocated by the Government, which is slowing our deployment pace. There are limited options of 5G radio at this moment and cost is also high. We expect to have better supply by the 3rd quarter of 2023. Long-cycle time to close business partnerships with Mobile Network Operators , Internet Service Provider, Data Center Provider and System Integrators that can scale the deployment of Enterprise 5G. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Niral Networks? Abhijit Chaudhary: Globally the 5G and Edge market is growing at a CAGR of around 40% and the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for the five verticals (Manufacturing, Healthcare, Transportation, Environment Monitoring and Gaming) is $517 billion dollars as per KPMG report. The Service Addressable Market (SAM) for Private 5G and Edge software is around 25%, i.e.$130 billion dollars. Niral Networks is looking at a Service Obtainable Market (SOM) of $10 billion dollars. Niral Networks will provide the Private 5G and Edge Cloud Platform to end customers through our channel partners who would take care of the deployment and system integration. We are doing multiple paid POC of our private 5G and Edge Cloud Platform, and looking to start deployment in FY 23-24. We are also targeting the overseas market in Asia and Europe in the next financial year. As we grow our global partnership, a significant portion of our revenue will be from partners that includes system integrators, infrastructure/neutral host providers, edge data center providers and mobile network operators that would include perpetual license and subscription revenue. In around five years time, Niral Networks would provide private 5G & Edge Infrastructure as a Service (5GaaS) and charge subscription revenue annually. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Abhijit Chaudhary: It is a great time for deep tech startups in India. This decade is to build ATMANIRBHAR deep tech products and take them to global markets. Government has various funding schemes for such startups through MEITY and DOT. DOT has funds through DCIS and TTDF scheme to fund upto INR 10 Crore or more. Infact, Niral Network has been a beneficiary of multiple grants from DOT. Various VCs are investing in Telecom, Quantum, Satellite, AI/Analytics startups. Various Enterprises and PSUs have startup Incubation programs to enable paid pilots of deep tech technologies for internal use. Social Media: YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? David Leonhardt: This business sort of grew organically. It started off as me doing freelance website promotion and some freelance writing. As I went on, I got more and more writing clients. I had to turn some away, especially fiction projects, since I really don’t have that level of fiction-writing skill. But the clients kept coming…and so did writers offering to take my overflow. We took on writers, one at a time, always as freelancers – but always as team members. Over time, I did less and less writing and more and more coordinating of clients, writers and projects. By 2006, we incorporated. I still do some of the writing, especially small projects. I love writing wedding speeches and graduation speeches, and I take on some other small projects, such as website bios or the occasional blog post on a topic that fires me up. The Company’s name grew just as organically. THGM stands for The Happy Guy Marketing. I was originally known as The Happy Guy due to the book I wrote on happiness. As I started freelancing, the added “Marketing” covered pretty much everything I was doing. It worked especially well for website promotion. As we did less and less promotion and more and more memoirs and novels and speeches and screenplays, we reimagined the name as THGM Writing Services and THGM Writers, both of which we use. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by THGM Writing Services? David Leonhardt: We’ve narrowed it down a lot. A decade ago, as I mentioned, we were doing a lot of website promotion and also translation, as well as writing and editing. Now we do pretty much just writing and editing. Our top services are book writing and screenplay writing. They account for at least 80% of the business. With books, it’s mostly memoirs and fiction, with a healthy dose of personal development, kidlit, spiritual and other topics. As ghost-writers, we can’t reveal most of our clients, but some have given us permission to do so, and you can see some samples at https://thgmwriters.com/blog/tag/client/. There are some types of writing projects we don’t touch. We don’t write resumes. We don’t write technical manuals. We don’t write business plans. And we don’t write homework assignments. Geesh, people actually want to pay to be cheated out of an education. Let AI cheat them, not me. But we write pretty much everything else. Great Companies: What makes THGM Writing Services different from hundreds of other similar service providers? David Leonhardt: The name – the HG in THGM stands for “Happy Guy” – says it all. We are very focused on giving top-notch customer service to make our clients happy. You can see this by what we do and by what we do not do. What we do is keep a roster of good writers who really, really know how to treat the customers. There are lots of very good writers out there. In the early days, I let some very good writers go, because they did not live up to my client-relations expectations. It’s just that important. We also have a standing policy to be as flexible as Elastigirl on almost everything. This is especially important on timing, because our clients tend to be busy people juggling way more than they can handle. I never want “reviewing draft chapter seven” to be an added stress point in a client’s schedule. I don’t think that makes them happy. What we don’t do is compete on price, because quality is more important. You can find cheaper writing services. If you want the lowest bid, we are not for you. So, if you hire the lowest bidder, you might come back to us anyway. And it’s true! It’s happened many times. We also don’t compete at the higher price end. Charging top rates doesn’t bring the client better quality, it just brings them emptier pockets. We charge as much as necessary to retain good quality writers whose work will please our clients. We don’t charge extra just because the market can bear it. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? David Leonhardt: Oh, the ups and downs of the marketplace. In 2008, everything slowed … just after hiring our first full-time employee! But we kept him for several months after we should have let him go. Who knew the recession would run that deep? Lesson learned, we are more flexible and more scalable – both up and down – when our team is freelance. In 2011, a couple of our web promotion clients ignored my advice and got in trouble with Google. Because my website was linked with theirs in Google’s back-end, they took us down with them. The pipeline quickly grew as dry as the Atacama Desert. Lesson learned, but we are not doing website promotion anymore, so not a very useful lesson, I suppose. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for THGM Writing Services? David Leonhardt: I don’t. We are at a good size. I like having a team of a dozen writers. I don’t want to coordinate two dozen. If I could get my two kids more involved, I would. They have each written a few projects – kidlit books and screenplays – but school is keeping them busy. I never set out to create a family business, but the thought does appeal to me. However, I don’t want to grow, because bigger is not always better. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? David Leonhardt: Understand your goals. “Success” is not measured by the numbers. It is measured by how you feel about what you are doing. As an entrepreneur, you have to pay attention to numbers – you have to. So, don’t lose what really counts, because money buys only so much happiness before it doesn’t. Do the numbers that you must, then focus your energies on what fulfils you. In my case, that is making clients happy.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Rob Spence: I was working as a sales and marketing manager for a fine food company when I authored, and published my first book, Relationship Selling. If I am honest, the book was supposed to be a bit of a hobby project, and I didn’t expect much to come of it. However, the book became a best seller on Amazon and sold copies all over the globe. Following the success of this book, I had businesses come to me for advice, support and guidance on all things sales, marketing and business growth - it was here that became the catalyst for Paragon Sales Solutions. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Paragon Sales Solutions? Rob Spence: Paragon Sales Solutions offers an array of services that are there to help businesses from any sector, and of any size, to see an increase in their sales. Whether it be through consultancy and training of sales techniques, and processes, or by doing the sales activities on behalf of their clients which include; telemarketing, call answering, digital marketing, social media marketing, content writing and much more. Ultimately, any client that works with Paragon Sales Solutions will see an increase in their bookings, appointments, leads and ultimately, sales! Great Companies: What makes Paragon Sales Solutions different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Rob Spence: We work very closely with our clients and customers to ensure we get engrained in their business and their operations, and we do not tie people into long-term contracts; which means we have to work really hard to keep hold of their business. We believe that if we feed incredible services and results into the people that choose to work with us, then not only will they grow, but we can grow alongside of them. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Rob Spence: I think there have been two min challenges in growing the business; funding, and the Covid pandemic. When starting the business, I made a conscious decision to not rely on investment, or loans - I wanted to ensure the business grew with minimal debt, and with no one interfering with how the business was ran. This was very successful in the end, as we have invested every penny of profit back into the business, and our overheads are now so minimal. However the downside to this is that I have no doubt we would have grown faster with some form of investment or loan. The second challenge was the Covid pandemic. Of course for many businesses this was a horrible time, and many unfortunately failed. At the time, we were not eligible for any business grants, nor any furlough payments, so we were really alone. However despite all of this, we kept our heads down, worked hard, and actually found we grew during this period of time. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Paragon Sales Solutions? Rob Spence: Our plans now are to really grow, and to take a larger stake of the market share. We feel that our growth will not be led through greed, or a need to be bigger, but simply because we know that by growing we can help more and more businesses and people, and we can have a greater positive impact on the people we would work with. We also feel that by growing, we will be able to attract incredible team members that in turn, will allow us to offer better help, support and advice. For this growth to happen, we will continue doing what we have done for the past five years; work hard, deliver quality results, and deliver impeccable service. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?ā Rob Spence: Just take the leap. I speak to so many entrepreneurs and potential business owners whom want to start a business but fear of failure, or safety, holds them back. They get wary of their current financials, and the safety blanket of an income. However from my own personal experience, and what really drove me to take the leap and to succeed was hunger. I started the business with just £300 to my name, an old iMac, and a dream - and now, five years on, we employ eight people, and are continuously growing.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Balasubramanian Jayaraman: Insurtech companies are a relatively new breed of technology startups that aim to disrupt the traditional insurance industry by leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve the efficiency, transparency, and customer experience of insurance products and services. The core idea behind insurtech companies is to use digital technology to make insurance more accessible, affordable, and personalized for consumers, while also providing insurers with new tools and techniques to manage risk, prevent fraud, and streamline their operations. By leveraging data analytics, AI, and ML algorithms, insurtech companies can provide more accurate risk assessments, pricing models, and claims processing, which can result in lower premiums for customers and higher profits for insurers. The concept of insurtech companies is based on the growing recognition that the traditional insurance industry is ripe for disruption, as it has been slow to adopt new technologies and adapt to changing consumer needs and expectations. By bringing together digital technology and insurance expertise, insurtech companies are able to create innovative insurance products and services that are faster, more flexible, and more responsive to customer needs. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Digital solutions bay? Balasubramanian Jayaraman: Digital Insurance Platforms: DSB has partners who offer digital insurance platforms that allow customers to buy and manage insurance policies entirely online. These platforms provide a seamless user experience and reduce the need for intermediaries. Data Analytics: We have partner companies that leverage data analytics to assess risks, identify fraudulent claims, and personalize insurance products. This helps in providing better insurance rates and improves customer experience. Artificial Intelligence: AI is used by few of our partners to automate insurance processes, such as underwriting and claims processing. This helps in reducing the turnaround time for processing claims and provides a more efficient customer experience. Work Flow management and DMS: We have partners who provide DMS and WFM solutions which are state of the art technology and secure. Great Companies: What makes Digital solutions bay different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Balasubramanian Jayaraman: Most of the times, Insurers are able to find bits and pieces of solutions in the market. DSB can provide a whole 360 degree view into their requirements and provide the complete and perfect solution with a combination and collaboration of various companies as ONE STOP SOLUTION. To differentiate themselves from other insurtech providers, DSB is focusing on developing unique value propositions that set them apart from the competition. Here are some strategies that DSB is considering to stand out from the crowd: Focus on a niche: By specializing in a particular type of insurance, such as pet insurance or cyber insurance, We can differentiate our self from broader insurance providers and target a specific customer base. Offer personalized products: DSB Partners leverage on data analytics and machine learning to offer personalized insurance products that are tailored to individual customer needs and preferences. Emphasize customer experience: By providing a seamless and intuitive user experience, DSB can differentiate themselves from traditional insurance providers and create loyal customers. Leverage emerging technologies: We can gain a competitive advantage by leveraging emerging technologies such as blockchain, IoT, and AI to automate processes, improve underwriting accuracy, and offer innovative insurance products. Educate customers: DSB can differentiate by educating customers on insurance and related topics, such as risk management and personal finance, and providing tools and resources to help customers make informed decisions. By focusing on these strategies, DSB can differentiate themselves from the competition and build a strong brand and customer base in the industry. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Balasubramanian Jayaraman: The struggle is still on-going – Starting a new company, creating a brand, building the website with the right content for the right audience, creating marketing on LinkedIn etc. We are still facing each one of them as we cross the bridge. The website and LinkedIn activity is going strong so far. Currently it is only running on Word of mouth and strong networking skills. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Digital solutions bay? Balasubramanian Jayaraman: In the fast-paced and ever-evolving digital solutions industry, it can be difficult to predict the future of a particular company with certainty. However, assuming that Digital Solutions Bay continues to adapt to changing market needs and maintain its current trajectory, here are a few possible scenarios for what 5 years down the line might look like:- Expansion into new markets: Digital Solutions Bay may expand its offerings to new geographic locations or industries, potentially through strategic partnerships or acquisitions. We recently partnered at Qatar & Dubai Continued growth: The company may continue to grow its existing customer base and revenue streams, potentially through increased marketing efforts or product innovation. Emphasis on emerging technologies: Digital Solutions Bay may prioritize investing in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, or the Internet of Things to stay ahead of competitors and meet evolving customer needs. Increased focus on sustainability: As consumers and businesses increasingly prioritize sustainable practices, Digital Solutions Bay may invest more resources in developing environmentally-friendly solutions or incorporating sustainable practices into its own operations. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Balasubramanian Jayaraman: My advice for someone just starting out their own business would be to focus on solving a problem or addressing a need in the market. This means doing thorough research to identify gaps or pain points that potential customers are experiencing and developing a product or service that can effectively address those issues. In addition to this, it's important to have a clear understanding of the target audience and to develop a strong value proposition that differentiates the business from competitors. It's also important to be adaptable and willing to pivot if necessary, as the market and customer needs can change over time. Finally, I would advise new business owners to focus on building relationships and creating a strong network of support. This can include mentors, advisors, peers in the industry, and potential customers or clients. Building strong relationships can help with everything from gaining valuable insights and feedback to generating new business opportunities.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Sukriti Verma: It all started with a bamboo toothbrush. No really! In April 2020 whilst grocery shopping, my co-founder, Namrata Budhraja came across a bamboo toothbrush. Intrigued, she decided to give it a try and was amazed at how easy and simple a switch to this toothbrush was from a plastic toothbrush. Thus sparked a conversation between Namrata and me. And we wondered why more people are not making such small changes in their daily lifestyles to reduce their negative impact on the environment? And so, the first thing we decided to do was turn to research. We conducted some qualitative and quantitative research, and the results were very interesting. While 95% of consumers wanted to do better for the planet, only 45% were actually following some eco-friendly practices. The intent to do better was there but the habit change was not following through. We further investigated why this behaviour change was not happening and there were 4 key barriers that stood out. The first aspect that deterred people was lack of availability, where people didn’t know where to buy these products. There was also a Lack of knowledge / information about green practices, people were weary of green washing. People considered eco-friendly living as very expensive. Overall, consumers perceived this space as daunting and difficult to implement. And to bridge these gaps, Shift Eco was born. Shift Eco is an aggregated platform for honest and impactful eco-friendly products. We help consumers and organizations go green. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Shift Eco FZ LLC? Sukriti Verma: We have 2 pillars to our business: B2C Aggregated Platform: We run an online platform with 1500+ meaningful, earth friendly products across 8 categories, carefully vetted in line with our Green Code .We are making eco-friendly products accessible, available and affordable for consumers so sustainable living becomes easy for consumers. Our platform also focuses on building knowledge and information so we can together form a community of conscious consumers. We have built several strategic partnerships with Instashop, Etihad Rewards, FAB rewards to fuel this B2C business. Shift Eco for Business: This arm of our business helps organisations adopt greener practices. We, along with our strategic partners have various offerings such as eco-friendly corporate gifting, eco-friendly procurement, green audits and employee learning programs. We are the only company that offers holistic services from procurement to training that helps companies to build a conscious organisational culture. Great Companies: What makes Shift Eco FZ LLC different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Sukriti Verma: The ethos of our company is to build a conscious community. We build this conscious community by not only giving people access to clean products but also by building knowledge and information about sustainable living. We do so by conducting free of cost events, writing articles and information about sustainable living on our learning platform – Learn with Shift Eco. This not only helps us spread awareness about sustainable living, but also brings authenticity to our platform. Additionally, our competitive advantage is the fact that we are truly an “eco-friendly” company. Our products are carefully vetted to ensure they are non-toxic for our planet and our families. All our deliveries are next-day deliveries, delivered in eco-friendly, plastic free packaging. We have built an active community of conscious consumers, suppliers and partners that are fueling this much required change. Being one of the early marketplaces, we have a great supply network locally, and internationally for eco-friendly products. This puts us at an added advantage to successfully deliver large B2B orders that we win. In just about 2.5 years of our operations, we have grown our eco-shop to 1500+ curated and vetted products, nurtured over 15000+ conscious consumers who have engaged with us through the online store, and our events and cultivated over 85 partnerships of sustainable product suppliers, companies interested to go green and sustainability experts. We are an ambitious, bootstrapped and 100% female owned company that’s working tirelessly to make eco-friendly living mainstream. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Sukriti Verma: To play in the e-commerce space, you need significantly large funds for marketing, and as a young bootstrapped company, it becomes very challenging to be burning a significant chunk on marketing. We must be very cognizant of the same, and we decided to grow through strategic partnerships instead. Today, we are a part of various reward platforms, and quick mile delivery platforms that gives us an added visibility and helps us scale our sales. We are also in the space of creating behavior change, which is a Herculean task for any small company to take up. However very early on we launched our learning platform to engage with consumers and build conversation around sustainable living. While this part of the business is not directly revenue generating, we take it very seriously, and as a young business with limited resources, it becomes challenging. Given this is a passion for both Namrata and I, we can keep up the momentum to ensure we are able to build and grow a community of conscious consumers. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Shift Eco FZ LLC? Sukriti Verma: The strategic vision for the business is to become a key player in the sustainability space helping organisations with meeting their ESG agenda through supplying vetted products and building internal awareness. Through further strengthening our supply chain network, and supplier network, we aim to scale the impact further across the GCC, working with leading organisations and individuals and helping them cut their emissions. The business will evolve significantly in the next 3 -5 years, where we will grow by expanding our business vertical. We also plan on growing our consumer vertical by building more strategic partnerships and building awareness about sustainable living and making these products more accessible to consumers. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Sukriti Verma: I would say, starting out on your own is not for the faint hearted. And so, it is important to be very passionate and truly believe in your concept in terms of what you decide to do. Everyday throws new challenges, and so it is important to have that faith in what you are building. Entrepreneurship requires perseverance, patience and a never say die attitude. Additionally, it is important to continue to test your concept and build and pivot your business according to what is working and what is not. It is important to be lean in your operational setup, so you have the flexibility to adapt.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Austin Soutas: When I started my company I saw a gap in the area of small business awareness and their ability to get found online (I began helping clients with Google business listings and optimization). Great Companies: What are the various services provided by SEO Expert Management? Austin Soutas: We provide SEO, web design, SEM, social media marketing and PPC. Great Companies: What makes SEO Expert Management different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Austin Soutas: Unlike other digital marketing firms where you deal with a sales person who passes you along as a number, I take a hands on approach and provide 1 on 1 time with my client’s directly and I do all of my own work. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Austin Soutas: Being in this industry you always have to innovate, educate and change. Nothing stays the same when it comes to digital marketing and what you can do to help your clients. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for SEO Expert Management? Austin Soutas: The future is always bright, it’s how you get there that shows your dedication, talent and love for the industry and your clients. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Austin Soutas: Continued education in your craft is a must.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Monish Shete: Elscint is a family organisation and I am the second generation who is running the same. It was started by my father, who had around 20 years of experience when he founded Elscint at the age of 43. He was a highly accomplished technocrat who could visualise the future trends and hence decided to get into the field of automation when labour costs were very low in India. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Elscint India Pvt Ltd? Monish Shete: Elscint has thus, been serving the world's industry by providing small part handling solutions using vibratory bowl feeders, linear feeders, small parts conveyor feeders, rotary or centrifugal feeders etc. We also manufacture F.H.P. worm reduction gear boxes / motors for low speed, high torque, continuous duty applications. Elscint has a trained work force of highly skilled engineers and bowl toolers backed by a competent design team. Great Companies: What makes Elscint India Pvt Ltd different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Monish Shete: Elscint takes pride in the quality of its products and the rigorous testing standards it follows, ensuring that customers get a plug and play solution. Another big point is that tooling of vibratory bowl feeders is a business where experience counts more than anything. In fact, it takes more than two years for a person to start understanding the tooling of a bowl feeder. Being in business for 40+ years, Elscint is very well placed in this respect. Presently Elscint’s workforce has a combined tooling experience of almost 200 years behind it, ensuring that almost all types of components have been handled by its team one time or the other. This is highly useful as far as Elscint as well as its customers are concerned. It reduces the try out times, thus reducing the delivery times. The cost so saved is passed onto customers. This ensures Elscint products, though superior to other makes, are priced in such a manner than everyone can afford them. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Monish Shete: Everyone faces challenges and struggle is a way of life for an entrepreneur. My journey has been no different. From times where we faced labour issues to the times where due to lockdown, the factory was shut down, I have seen it all. However, patience and perseverance has seen that these times too passed. Struggles are a way of life, however, if one stays the course, there is always a silver lining at the end. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Elscint India Pvt Ltd? Monish Shete: I feel that growth is the only evidence of life! One has to keep growing to stay in business. Growth is the only constant, one has to continuously plan for growth. For an entrepreneur, working is like riding a tiger, as long as the tiger is moving, its fine. The moment it stops, you fall down and get eaten. 5 years down the line, Elscint is looking towards increasing its verticals and spreading its geographical reach. Right now, we have exported to more than 50 countries and exports constitute 30% of our turnover. The aim is to increase this percentage to 50% with special emphasis on exports to Europe. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Monish Shete: Starting an entrepreneur journey is a decision which people take without much thought. You have to understand that being an entrepreneur is a full time 24 hour job and once cannot stop midway. Most new entrepreneurs don’t understand the amount of effort and time required for starting out. Being an entrepreneur is an mindset which an average employee cannot be expected to have. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Secondly, the new trend of getting outside funding and burning cash is being glorified. However, one should have a very down to earth approach and ensure that the business is sustainable on its own. Another advice one should concentrate on the quality of the product and customer satisfaction. These are the two main aspects of business which are the most important. If they are taken care off, other things can fall in place.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Prerna Arora: The idea for Proton Labs came to me when I noticed a gap in the market for fashion niche marketing agencies. I was interested in fashion and saw that many fashion brands struggled to market themselves effectively. I also saw that there was a need for more personalized and tailored marketing services. That's when I decided to start Proton Labs, with the aim of providing customized marketing solutions for fashion brands. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Proton Labs? Prerna Arora: Proton Labs provides a range of marketing services, including social media marketing, content creation, influencer marketing, performance marketing, photoshoots, email marketing, and branding. We work with our clients to develop tailored marketing strategies that suit their unique needs and goals. We also provide consulting services to help our clients optimize their marketing efforts and maximize their ROI. Great Companies: What makes Proton Labs different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Prerna Arora: Proton Labs stands out from other similar service providers because of our focus on one niche where we provide personalized and tailored marketing solutions. We take the time to understand our clients' unique needs and goals, and develop customized strategies that are designed to help them achieve their desired outcomes. We also have a team of experienced professionals who are passionate about fashion and marketing, and are committed to delivering the best possible results for our clients. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Prerna Arora: When I started Proton Labs at the age of 18, one of the biggest challenges I faced was my lack of connections in the industry. It was hard for potential clients to trust me and my team to deliver quality results. To overcome this, we focused on delivering exceptional results for our early clients, investing heavily in marketing and public relations efforts, and continuously improving our skills and knowledge in the field. We also faced stiff competition in the industry and worked hard to differentiate ourselves by developing unique and innovative marketing strategies. Our personalized and tailored solutions helped us establish a loyal customer base and attract new clients through referrals. By staying focused on our goals and continually pushing ourselves to improve, we were able to overcome our initial challenges and establish Proton Labs as a leading fashion niche marketing agency. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Proton Labs? Prerna Arora: In the future, we plan to expand our services and reach new markets. We also plan to invest in technology and automation to improve our efficiency and deliver even better results for our clients. In 5 years, we hope to have established ourselves as a leading fashion niche marketing agency globally, with a strong reputation and a diverse portfolio of clients. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Prerna Arora: If I were to give one piece of advice to someone just starting out, it would be to choose your clients wisely and only work with those whose products or services you truly believe in. It's important to be selective to build a strong reputation and avoid frustration down the line. I would suggest focusing on clients whose values and goals align with your own and whose products or services you are passionate about promoting. Remember, it's better to turn down clients who aren't a good fit rather than risk damaging your reputation by promoting products or services you don't believe in. By being selective and working with the right clients, you can build a successful business and establish yourself as a trusted expert in your industry

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Devisha Jatakia: My idea for the business came from my passion for learning and exploring. I have been involved in this field for over eight years and during this time, I have witnessed the tremendous power of connections and social media. However, I also noticed that many people lack the knowledge and awareness to use these platforms correctly. There are numerous aspects to explore, from creating the right content to online safety. As a result, I saw a significant gap in the market and realized that I could help people better understand and utilize social media platforms to achieve their goals. That is why I decided to go ahead and start my training business. By leveraging my expertise and experience, I am providing individuals and businesses with the necessary knowledge and skills to harness the full potential of social media. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by The Social Meraki? Devisha Jatakia: We provide Social Media : PROFILE & REPUTATION management. 1:1 customized training to effectively use Social Media platforms. Create SM strategies, content calendar, infographics, build & maintain websites, deck presentations, etc. Roadmap to increase visibility & reach more potential audience. Great Companies: What makes The Social Meraki different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Devisha Jatakia: What sets The Social Meraki apart from other service providers is our comprehensive approach to social media training and management. We offer a wide range of services, including profile and reputation management, customized 1:1 training, SM strategy creation, content calendar development, infographics, website building and maintenance, deck presentations, and more. Our services are designed to provide a holistic solution to our clients' social media needs. We don't just provide training or manage profiles; we help our clients develop a social media roadmap to increase their visibility and reach a wider audience. Moreover, we understand that each client's needs are unique, so we customize our services to meet their specific requirements. We pride ourselves on delivering personalized attention and tailored solutions to help our clients achieve their social media goals. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Devisha Jatakia: As a social media trainer & strategist, I faced the challenge of people underestimating the importance and complexity of social media management. Many believe that managing social media is a simple task that anyone can do without any special skills or knowledge. This misconception leads to businesses and individuals attempting to handle their social media accounts themselves, often with poor results. Another challenge I faced was the lack of knowledge and awareness among potential clients about the different factors that affect social media success. Many businesses and individuals who attempted to manage their social media accounts themselves did not understand the importance of metrics, engagement, content type, posting algorithms, and other factors that contribute to social media success. To overcome these challenges, I started providing social media training to educate people about the importance and complexity of social media management. Through my training, people began to understand that social media management is more than just posting content. It involves understanding your audience, analyzing metrics, creating engaging content, and using different techniques to reach your target audience effectively. In addition to training, I started creating awareness through my social media posts and free "ask me anything" sessions. This approach helped people to realize the value of social media management and understand the different factors that contribute to social media success. By creating awareness and educating people, I was able to overcome the challenges of people underestimating social media management and the lack of knowledge and awareness. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for The Social Meraki? Devisha Jatakia:To grow in the future, The Social Meraki would continue to focus on providing high-quality social media training and consulting services. As more businesses and individuals become aware of the importance and complexity of social media management, there could be an increased demand for expert guidance and support. In five years, The Social Meraki intends to expand its services to include additional areas of digital marketing, such as search engine optimization, email marketing, and online advertising. This could help the company provide a more comprehensive suite of digital marketing solutions. Overall, the future of The Social Meraki is bright as we continue to provide valuable services to its clients, stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies, and adapt to changing market conditions. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Devisha Jatakia: My advice would be to stay curious and always be willing to learn. The field of social media is constantly evolving, and new platforms and features are being introduced all the time. It's important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies and to continually educate yourself about best practices and strategies for success. One can join my broadcast list where I share social media trends and updates to keep up the pace with this ever-evolving platform. In addition to staying informed, I would recommend that you focus on building a strong foundation of knowledge and skills. This includes understanding the basics of social media platforms, such as audience targeting, content creation, and engagement metrics. It also involves developing your communication and relationship-building skills, as social media is all about building and nurturing connections with your audience. Finally, I would encourage you to be patient and persistent. Social media success doesn't happen overnight, and it can take time to build a following and see results. Keep working hard, stay focused on your goals, and don't be discouraged by setbacks or challenges along the way. With dedication and a willingness to learn, you can achieve great things in the world of social media management.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Radha Stirling: Since 2008, I have been asked by victims of wrongful Interpol reporting to assist them to clear their names and protect them from unfair extradition requests. ‘Interpol abuse’ became so prevalent that I found it necessary to open an organisation dedicated to saving victims from human rights abuses. Innocent individuals have been listed on Interpol, arrested, detained and tried for “crimes” that don’t even meet Interpol’s minimum reporting criteria. Journalists, activists, businessmen and credit card debtors have been locked up in Western nations at the mere request of countries who repeatedly take advantage of their membership with Interpol. It was a clear expansion of my human rights work to focus on lobbying for long term reform of the Interpol Red Notice and extradition procedures. Countries like the UAE, Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain, Iran, Turkey, Venezuela, South Korea, Russia, Egypt and China have been able to use the crime tool for their own personal vendettas. IPEX seeks to eliminate this practice. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by IPEX (Interpol & Extradition) Reform? Radha Stirling: IPEX seeks to advise, lobby, and achieve urgently needed reforms in Interpol’s internal procedures for data collection and the issuance of diffusion Notices, as well as to improve Interpol’s overall transparency and accountability so that the organisation’s crucial function in global law enforcement will no longer be compromised by abuse and manipulation; and so that no more innocent individuals will suffer the devastating consequences of being wrongfully included in Interpol’s database. IPEX provides Interpol removal and prevention services, extradition defence, reputation management and recovery from the damage such a wrongful abuse of the system can cause. Great Companies: What makes IPEX (Interpol & Extradition) Reform different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Radha Stirling: CEO Radha Stirling has been a leading voice against Interpol abuse, having pursued the call for greater Interpol transparency and reforms to end abuse by an emerging “authoritarian nexus” which misuses the Interpol Red Notice system to circumvent due process. With her 15 years experience, she is an expert witness in the field, who works with politicians, enforcement authorities, legislators and the media to ensure accountability within the organisation. Stirling is spearheading the first class action against the seemingly immune Lyon based agency. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Radha Stirling: When taking on an international enforcement agency with diplomatic immunity backed by powerful authoritarian states, and with zero incentive to comply with United Nations principles in respect of human rights, it’s never going to be easy. Interpol has lacked not only transparency but also accountability. They have seen the abuse of their system and the suffering of individuals as ‘collateral damage’. They haven’t wanted to rock the boat of any member states (donors) in case it impacts their income. Campaigning for individuals and highlighting these ongoing abuses to the point where reform becomes a priority has been more than a decade’s work but with perseverance, change is inevitable. Highlighting case after case to the media and working with influential think tanks and political figures to push the issue with legislators is an ongoing project that has begun to bear fruit. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for IPEX (Interpol & Extradition) Reform? Radha Stirling: We’re working on some groundbreaking projects and lawsuits that will ultimately force Interpol to review protocols to protect individuals from abuse. As part of these endeavours, we are to recommend international protocols and procedures that member countries should adhere to when considering extradition requests. We anticipate such measures will reduce the prevalence of wrongful arrests, wrongful extraditions and human rights abuses. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Radha Stirling: Choose a business that you’re passionate about, that you’re naturally drawn to, that doesn’t feel like work to you and that builds your sense of self esteem. Write down your goals regularly and practice self discipline. If you can imagine it, you can do it.