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Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Pragya singh: One pace day, my friend and I were shooting the breeze whilst returning from office and found his wife was pestering him with the telephone calls and the reason was that she wanted to start her business on e-commerce platform and wanted to help her husband to augment the income but she was not getting any pavement and was agnostic about E-commerce business, and suddenly I came up with an idea of Delberto and being an autodidact and good acquaintance on E-Commerce and having an experience of almost half decade in E-Commerce I was aware of all the pain points of new e-commerce sellers and and I suggested to help my friend in starting a new venture. This is how the delberto club started and got the investment from some known venture capitalist because of our unique idea. In delberto we provide the platform to rookie to establish their business on online and off line and help them to be a person in their own right instead of an appendage to the family and the old cliché after wedlock a woman’s place is in the home’ is fallacy and to prove all those naysayer wrong. We school our members on legal requirements, onboarding, OEM/White labelling, access to 1 lac virtual inventories. No MOQ (minimum order quantity) and easy pay and pick model in short members can be owner or CEO of their own brand without investing enormous sums of money. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Delberto Ecom Pvt ltd? Pragya singh: We work on 3 models- Dropship Model: Those who want to venture into a full-time or part-time business can start by registering their business and availing drop-ship model to sell on leading e-commerce marketplaces without having a major investment and Delberto handles everything from managing products, inventory, payment gateway and logistics. Delberto team member gives hours and hours of time to understand their true vocation and suggest the product line whether they want to sell Clothing, Fashion jewellery, Decorative items, Knick knack items, etc. Delberto has everything they need to run their e-commerce store on different marketplace. Re-seller model: This can be started with Zero investment by owning a social commerce website in less than 30 sec and can choose from over 100K products to be listed on his/her website with a customized margin structure. With Zero investment, Zero inventory and Zero programming skills a person is all set to start using the power of social commerce tools provided by Delberto. Grow your business: It’s a DIY platform made especially for brick-and-mortar stores or people working from home which they want to expand and make it either hyper-local online or pan-India presence digitally. We bring opportunities for existing traders or manufacturers to expand their business and reach by either listing their catalogue for entrepreneurs present on Delberto or using the SaaS-based application to promote their existing business in extended geography by using the logistics and listing services from Delberto. Great Companies: What makes Delberto Ecom Pvt ltd different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Pragya singh: On a similar level we have competitors like Shopify or meesho, wherein they are not into providing white label for products and the customer knows that the seller is meesho and the seller is taking commission thus ruining the trust in the mind of consumers. While Shopify just provides a platform to build website and there is no support for inventory and thus leaving the entrepreneur with all the trouble of maintaining inventory. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Pragya singh: High Attrition Rate: The drop out rate is high since the sale is limited to own network or person gets occupied in full time work and unable to give time. Lack of focus: The seller or Reseller if sees less response initially loses interest and focus on the business due to low patience level. Low Conversion Rate: Probable customers mixes the model with a web site creation company and hence has low conversion rate. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Delberto Ecom Pvt ltd? Pragya singh: Delberto has entered into a strategic partnership with Bennett Coleman and company limited, to use it's publications and digital media in promoting Delberto's offering to the mass. We have entered into a strategic partnership with UPTEC to take the offerings as a training to young minds and enabling them to start their venture. In the next 5 years we see 2 million marketers associated with Delberto and over 500K members using Dropship model. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Pragya singh: Think big, Dream big, Soar high.

Name: Surabhi Nigam Tula Business Name: Kaizen Training Solutions Location: Gurugram, India Establishment (Year): 2011 Category/Industry: Education and Learning Profession/ Specialty: Corporate Training Agency Website: http://www.kaizentrainingsolutions.com/ Social Media: Linkedin Company Detail: Several Indian magazines and internet forums have written about India's Fastest Rising Training Agency. It is renowned for using experiential learning methodologies to create training that emphasises adult learning concepts and gives employees the knowledge, skills, and habits they need to contribute value to their work. It develops people's skills to produce world-class leaders, highly effective collaborative teams, and fruitful think tanks. Through thorough and integrative development of individuals, teams, and organisations, KTS specialises in enhancing client business performance. It helps its clients by coordinating their training requirements with their corporate objectives. KTS offers top-notch business consulting services as well as soft, behavioural, product, process, and technical training. Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage: It has found the perfect talent pool of trainers and consultants, specialists with the correct combination of ability, knowledge, and experience, and cost-effective customised learning solutions. Challenges Faced During the Journey There were already so many well-established competitors with substantial resources and powerful connections. Her motto of offering "excellent quality at a lower cost" attracted the attention of businesses. She remained consistent, and as a result of positive word of mouth, she began to experience success. She has overcome numerous difficulties, but she has always maintained that if she just "does one thing at a time," everything would work out. Maintain your attention and stick to the fundamentals. We use the knowledge we get and apply it to our business. She now competes with the same well-known market players when bidding for projects, and she frequently defeats them. Advice for Women Entrepreneurs: The potential for performing miracles is enormous, and women are born with a few abilities that are unique to God alone on Earth. You can accomplish a lot since you are a natural multitasker. If you think it, it will happen. Women naturally possess the endurance, focus, and continual sales skills necessary for success in entrepreneurship. The only thing left to do is polish the diamond that is already there. Thus, despite your self-doubt, keep studying and developing!

Name: Disha Banthia Business Name: DiJit Consulting Location: Bangalore, India Establishment (Year): 2020 Category/ Industry: Legal & Accounting and Finance,Insurance Profession/ Specialty: Chartered Accountant Social Media: LinkedIn Company Detail: DiJit Consulting have a passion for statistics and provide continual support to their clients through consulting, planning, and representations. DiJit offer a wide variety of services, such as organizational structure and process setup, serving as virtual CFOs, and collaborating with businesses in a variety of industries, including software, manufacturing, dining, and commerce. DiJit don't follow the adage that "one size fits all," but they customize their services to fulfil the particular requirements of each client. DiJit is renowned for their high standards of professionalism, technological know-how, and a talented workforce that provides clients with efficient solutions. Instead of only providing remote services, they want to collaborate with their clients. Unique Selling Proposition / Competitive Advantage: DiJit’s work environment prioritizes creativity and teamwork, fostering growth and development in the modern day. To satisfy customer expectations, the business prioritizes flexibility and prompt reaction times. The managers at DiJit Consulting are skilled and committed to providing top-notch service that caters to the particular requirements of clients. The business takes pleasure in providing good service and aiming for remarkable outcomes. Challenges Faced During the Journey: By offering clients top-notch services, DiJit overcame expansion hurdles and saw a considerable rise in referrals and recommendations. By posting job openings on job boards and getting recommendations from current employees, the productive workplace also made it possible for DiJit to hire new personnel. Advice for Women Entrepreneurs: The key takeaway from Disha’s advice for women entrepreneurs is that, women should be inspired to succeed and should have faith in their own abilities. It is crucial to emphasize the value of a positive mindset, perseverance, and patience in overcoming obstacles. With these attributes, women should feel certain that they can handle and go beyond any challenge that comes their way.

Financial freedom is a dream that many of us have. We all want to live a comfortable life, with no worries about money. However, achieving financial freedom is not an easy task. It requires dedication, hard work, and a solid plan. In this article, we will provide you with an 11-step blueprint to achieve financial freedom super fast. Step 1: Set a Goal The first step to achieving financial freedom is to set a goal. Determine what financial freedom means to you and how much money you need to achieve it. Step 2: Create a Budget Creating a budget is crucial to achieving financial freedom. Determine your income and expenses and create a budget that allows you to live within your means. Step 3: Live Below Your Means Living below your means is essential to achieving financial freedom. Spend less than you earn and avoid unnecessary expenses. Step 4: Save for Emergencies Unexpected expenses can derail your financial plan. Create an emergency fund that covers at least 3-6 months of living expenses. Step 5: Pay Off Debt Debt can be a major obstacle to achieving financial freedom. Focus on paying off high-interest debt first and then work on paying off other debts. Step 6: Invest in Yourself Investing in yourself is essential to achieving financial freedom. Improve your skills, education, and knowledge to increase your earning potential. Step 7: Invest in the Stock Market Investing in the stock market can help you build wealth over time. Start by investing in low-cost index funds or ETFs. Step 8: Real Estate Investing Real estate investing can also help you build wealth. Consider investing in rental properties or real estate investment trusts (REITs). Step 9: Start a Side Hustle Starting a side hustle can help you earn extra income and accelerate your path to financial freedom. Consider freelancing, starting a blog, or selling products online. Step 10: Maximize Retirement Savings Maximizing your retirement savings is essential to achieving financial freedom. Contribute the maximum amount to your 401(k) or IRA each year. Step 11: Seek Professional Advice Seeking professional advice can help you make informed financial decisions. Consider hiring a financial planner or advisor to help you achieve your financial goals. Achieving financial freedom requires discipline, hard work, and a solid plan. By following this 11-step blueprint, you can achieve financial freedom super fast. Remember to set a goal, create a budget, live below your means, save for emergencies, pay off debt, invest in yourself, invest in the stock market and real estate, start a side hustle, maximize retirement savings, and seek professional advice. With dedication and hard work, you too can achieve financial freedom.

Sales leadership is a challenging role that requires a combination of skills, experience, and intuition. While there are many success stories about sales leadership, there are also plenty of screw-ups that can teach us valuable lessons. In this article, we'll explore some stories about sales leadership screw-ups and big wins, and what we can learn from them. Screw-up: Micromanaging Sales Reps One common screw-up in sales leadership is micromanaging sales reps. This can happen when a sales leader is too focused on the numbers and not enough on the process. Micromanaging can create a toxic work environment, decrease morale, and ultimately lead to lower sales numbers. A sales leader should provide guidance and support, but also trust their team to do their job effectively. Big Win: Empowering Sales Reps A big win in sales leadership is empowering sales reps to take ownership of their work. This can involve providing training, coaching, and resources that allow sales reps to excel. When sales reps feel supported and empowered, they are more likely to take risks, be creative, and ultimately drive more sales. Screw-up: Ignoring Customer Feedback Another screw-up in sales leadership is ignoring customer feedback. This can happen when a sales leader is too focused on their own ideas and not enough on what customers actually want. Ignoring customer feedback can lead to missed opportunities, lost sales, and a damaged reputation. Big Win: Listening to Customer Feedback A big win in sales leadership is listening to customer feedback and using it to improve the sales process. This can involve conducting surveys, focus groups, and other forms of market research to gather feedback from customers. When sales leaders listen to their customers, they can identify pain points, improve the customer experience, and ultimately drive more sales. Screw-up: Not Adapting to Change Another screw-up in sales leadership is not adapting to change. This can happen when a sales leader is too set in their ways and not open to new ideas. Not adapting to change can lead to missed opportunities, lost sales, and a diminished competitive advantage. Big Win: Embracing Change A big win in sales leadership is embracing change and being proactive about adapting to new trends and technologies. This can involve investing in new sales tools, exploring new channels, and experimenting with new sales strategies. When sales leaders embrace change, they can stay ahead of the curve, outmaneuver competitors, and ultimately drive more sales. Sales leadership is a challenging role that requires a combination of skills, experience, and intuition. While there are many success stories about sales leadership, there are also plenty of screw-ups that can teach us valuable lessons. By learning from both the screw-ups and the big wins, sales leaders can improve their performance, drive more sales, and ultimately achieve greater success.

Name: Jenisha Kiri Business Name: Le Quirks Location: Mumbai, India Establishment (Year): 2021 Category/Industry: Advertising & Marketing Profession/ Specialty: Content Writing and Communications Website: https://lequirks.com/ Social Media: Linkedin Company Detail: ‘Le Quirks’, as the name suggests is an idea that aims to accentuate one’s whimsical thoughts and perceptions. As it is said, “imagination is the key to creation”, at Le Quirks their emphasis is on bringing ludicrous ideas to life. While it is imperative to nurture one’s thoughts and ideas, there is also a massive demand for marketing them effectively to achieve one’s goals. Le Quirks aims to provide tailor-made solutions for your content creation and communications needs with a little quirk for your business/startup. They deliver quality outcomes to their clients based on their needs through an integration of services that include content writing, article writing, blogs, SEO website content, design, and development, content marketing, social media marketing, and corporate communications. The idea of building a business that revolves around promoting and marketing other businesses comes from the concept of “Help each other grow”. This concept allows Le Quirks to enable, strengthen, and launch their client’s ideas into the world, promising their growth. In today’s age, quality draws greater value than quantity, and the team strives to give their clients the best quality output that reflects their core values and business ideals. Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage: Le Quirks focuses on client satisfaction, based on their needs as well as budgets and provides the best solutions for their content creation and communications needs. They believe that their calling is to ensure quality solutions for their clients based on their needs. Le Quirks aims to work with established organisations, to help them enhance their communications strategies. They also aim to help budding enterprises and entrepreneurs set foot in the market, enabling them to compete with their contemporaries. Challenges Faced During the Journey: One of the biggest challenges as a woman entrepreneur is to be assertive and confident about your choices both in personal and professional relationships and to be taken seriously by your associates. In the creative field, it is extremely important that the client is satisfied with the final result. Only then will they return to you with more work. Advice for Women Entrepreneurs: 50 percent of starting a new enterprise is believing in yourself. If you believe in yourself, your ideas and your potential, you have won half the battles to reach your target and achieve success.

Name: Malti Lakhani Business Name: Kaizen Institute of Training Excellence Location: Baroda, India Establishment (Year): 2015 Category/Industry: Training & Coaching Profession/ Specialty: Training & Coaching Website: www.kaizentraininginstitute.com Social Media: LinkedIn Company Detail: Training of company employees in basic skills, change management, behaviour-based safety management, training content design, coaching, mentoring. Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage: Our USP = Result oriented, genuine guidance, quality delivery Challenges Faced During the Journey A single woman army has made it so far in 27 years of work experience and have impacted positively several lives on the way Advice for Women Entrepreneurs: If you haven't begun, the time is Now!

Name: Dr. Aashmi Thiruvambalam Business Name: My Fettle Bio Products Pvt Ltd Location: Chennai, India Establishment (Year): 2014 Category/Industry: Manufacturing and Retail Profession/ Specialty: Manufacturing Bio Products Website: myfettlebioproducts.com Company Detail: Fettle bio products is a Biotechnology based company which is specialized in producing nutritional supplements using natural ingredients without any preservatives. It was promoted and manufactured by Dr.Aashmi Thiruvambalam. We strive to provide quality and freshness. Fettle means strong. Our aim is to make our customers at healthy and disease-free society by providing natural supplements. Aiming to popularise thousand years old practice of medicinal plants and natural ingredients in curing the diseases, Dr.Aashmi Thiruvambalam started to manufacture medicines free from harmful ingredients, are ethically sourced, and 100% vegan. Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage: During the course of the research study, she came across many common people who were suffering with several illnesses but were unable to undertake proper treatment due to the higher cost of medicines and side effects. This made her to think of finding a cheapest economical solution without any side effects. The theoretical studies had been made into [practical procedures which made her to prepare natural health supplements without any chemical preservatives & adulteration. Over a period of time, the health supplements were provided to their well wishers, friends and relatives. This has produced outstanding results irrespective of their age food habits, prevailing ailments, etc. In fact one of her neighbor's lives was saved from the tip his life and had recovered completely and led a normal life. This spark and the passion on natural Medication lead her to the formation of the firm M/s. Fettle Bio products in the year 2014. Challenges Faced During the Journey Mrs.Ashmi comes from a middle class family of 4 members. His father’s name is Thaniyampillai and he working in an agriculture department which is a government job. Her mother Parvathi is a house wife. She has a younger sister and she completed engineering and was working in an IT company. Ashmi did her schooling in kanyakumari in 2002. There she completed her B.sc biotechnology in Noorulishn College of arts and science. And she also did her PG in Holy Cross College. In 2005 she worked as a professor in BK College in Chennai. She got married and she has 2 children. She has also done her PHD also in Biotech of Anti Cancer Research. After she completed her post graduate in Biotech she worked in BJR College of Biotechnology in Chennai. From there she got knowledge about research and her husband also helped in her career. He is engineer and then he run the business of Hydro power plan. So she did her PHD and there she did research on Anti cancer in medical entrance quadinatine time institute. She completed her research and then she decided to start business in bio products. Advice for Women Entrepreneurs: Being a young and energetic team, we have to offer the advantage of accessibility, flexibility, free communication and open minded approach which creates a homely atmosphere for our customers. The quality of our products will enhance the customer satisfaction.

Name: Neha Mody Business Name: Studio Design Atelier Location: Ahmedabad, India Establishment (Year): 1999 Category/Industry: Construction,Real Estate and Architecture Services Profession/ Specialty: Architect Social Media : LinkedIn Company Detail: SDA Pvt. Ltd. is a multidisciplinary firm established in the Architectural field for 20+ years, with over 1000 projects in their portfolio. It offers architectural building services that include interior designing. Unique Selling Proposition / Competitive Advantage: It includes every detail of the project from architectural things to interior things. Challenges Faced During The Journey: Since 1999, the company has successfully completed over 1000 projects spanning various domains including residential, hospital, farmhouses, industrial and more. Advice For Women Entrepreneurs: Women who are dedicated to their work can excel and achieve great things by staying focused on their goals and ignoring external criticism. They can make their mark and let their work speak for itself.

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Vaishnavi Srinivasan: It started off with a small yearning to do something for the nation in 2006. A bunch of youngsters volunteered to teach children at an orphanage. The experience was an eye-opener to us about the status of the education system in the country. This motivated us to start Bhumi on August 15 of the same year. We wanted socially conscious and young change makers to associate this platform with something close to everyone’s heart. ‘ "Bhumi" meaning Mother Earth in many Indian languages, what else could fit in better? What initially began as a thought of providing children the access to quality education has now transformed into widening their spectrum of learning. Ideas from volunteers to improve our system are encouraged all the time and they have been an integral part in introducing many facets to our programmes. Yes, we primarily focus on strengthening their basics in subjects like English, Math & Science, as the children struggle their way through school every day and in most cases belong to a grade / class that’s probably way too higher for their knowledge; but, we also pay equal attention in giving them a holistic development, by emphasising the importance of identifying and nurturing their talents in sports, art, literature and other cultural activities. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Bhumi? Vaishnavi Srinivasan: "Bhumi" is one of India’s largest independent youth volunteer non-profit organisations. Our volunteers work amongst orphaned and underprivileged children in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Bihar and West Bengal and other parts of the country with the aim of providing children with quality supplementary education and enable them to become responsible and productive citizens of the future. The efforts of our volunteer force consisting of over 30,000 students and young professionals under the age of 30 will benefit tens and thousands of children every year. The various services include : • Educational – Teaching Computers, English, Mathematics & Science, Fellowship, Skilling programs. • Non-Educational – Mentoring, Talent Development • Others – scholarships for deserving students from underprivileged communities. Great Companies: What makes Bhumi different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Vaishnavi Srinivasan: We have full time employees as well, and HR, Fundraising etc. are taken care of by them. Volunteers are welcome to support. But our educational programmes in shelter homes are run by volunteers. Volunteers are also the most important part of our civic initiatives. We also take pride in the fact that many of our volunteers have quit their highly lucrative jobs to take up full-time opportunities in the teaching sector –a sign of creating leaders for a better tomorrow. Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face? Vaishnavi Srinivasan: The hurdles would primarily be managing a large pool of volunteers wanting to change society, but amidst many distractions like society itself; the challenge of establishing the organisation in the eyes of senior and experienced people, as we’re primarily voluntary and youth driven; the challenge to overcome hurdles caused by financial constraints and execute our plans that will help us dream bigger and better. The rewards would certainly be the change we see every day: in volunteers – we eventually seek to create leaders who will go onto take up the challenge of bridging the gaps in every sector, not just education. We already have many change makers who have quit their lucrative jobs to take up full-time opportunities in the non-profit and education sectors; in children – growing in difficult backgrounds with no one to guide or mentor, they constantly seek support and encouragement to study harder and often prove their calibre to their teachers / mentors; in society – parents of our volunteers now appreciate the work extended by their children, who now set aside at least two-four hours for improving the standards of the underprivileged community. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Bhumi? Vaishnavi Srinivasan: In five years, reach out to more than 50,000 underprivileged children across the country in at least 50 cities; we are not looking to establish schools at all, only working on improving existing schools. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Vaishnavi Srinivasan: For any new organization that’s just starting out my advice would be to take risks and build trust. It’s important to take risks because the greatest learning comes from trying what others may not have tried before. It’s also important to embrace failure in a positive way and ensure that all learning from such an experience is absorbed and implemented in all future efforts. Being transparent helps build trust with all your stakeholders. In the same way, it’s important to trust your stakeholders and everyone in your ecosystem. Collaborating this way helps build a robust organization that can deliver great impact. Website : https://bhumi.ngo/

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Ashok Balasubramanian: I have worked with multiple global enterprise customers over the past couple of decades, with a predominant focus on making technology more efficient. This includes moving legacy technology to the cloud or automating inefficient processes with AI. More and more people use smart devices and are connected across the globe. Every aspect of life and business is becoming a digital engagement. This is a trend that is here to stay. Despite this new paradigm, technical teams still write millions of lines of code every time to create digital experiences. This is also evident in the rapid scaling of the IT services industry. It has also resulted in a profound technical talent shortage. It's time for a change. The need for digital is almost infinite. The way digital experiences are developed is still effort-intensive and decades old. The development models that powered the technology of the past cannot scale in the digital age. We founded Open Weaver to make application development easier and faster and help the world scale into the digital era. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Open Weaver?. Ashok Balasubramanian: Open Weaver helps developers build digital applications faster and easier. Our main platform kandi, helps developers build scalable applications faster using reusable open-source libraries and code snippets. kandi also helps developers learn digital skills by building complex projects across all hot technologies in minutes. kandi is pronounced like candy and signifies knowledge of open-source and our artificial intelligence algorithms (k and i), which accelerate the development through reuse. We support over three million developers globally and are growing rapidly. WebSite: http://www.openweaver.com https://kandi.openweaver.com/ Great Companies: What makes Open Weaver different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Ashok Balasubramanian: Interesting question! Through our extensive R&D and customer research, we are proud to have kandi as a unique platform. Today it is the only platform where you can get all open source resources across code snippets, dependent libraries, and fully-built solution kits in one place. We have also patented our unique algorithms. We continuously innovate our platform to revolutionize how applications are developed quickly and easily. Our innovation is driven by our users and their value journey, which are our guiding principles. By putting the developer first, we have always stood out with our platform. We extend the differentiation by bringing in customer adoption and ease of use. With kandi, developers build applications faster and better by reusing open-source components. We didn't stop at providing a platform where they can find millions of libraries and code snippets to reuse. We continuously take user feedback and tune our algorithms to recommend components that best suit user's needs and environments. We also recommend code snippets and install commands and FAQs to help developers build their applications. Further, we have implemented features to make executing complex solutions a 1-click for beginners and experienced developers. We have also added the ability for developers to stay ahead of complex technology trends in the digital and open source field. Together these capabilities help developers build digital applications faster. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Ashok Balasubramanian: Open Weaver is my first startup. We were founded just days before the first COVID lockdowns hit! Coming from a well-established enterprise background, I had a steep learning curve across setting up operations, scaling the teams, creating a scalable digital marketing approach and much more. Building a team that brings in complementary skills helped bridge this gap. Also, we live in a flat world of information today, and help is more available if we seek it. So I would recommend everyone to seek help when required. The vital aspects that helped me were to acknowledge what I did not know, being patient, building a complementary team and asking for help. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Open Weaver? Ashok Balasubramanian: As more and more people embrace digital technologies worldwide, platforms like Open Weaver that provide acceleration and foster innovation will be crucial for shaping the digital future. We aspire to be the preferred platform for global developers envisioning the next generation of digital solutions. Our team of engineers are also developers who can empathize and foresee users needs. This user-driven approach, combined with our R&D team specializing in artificial intelligence, cutting-edge software development, and generative technologies, help accelerate our innovation. We file over a dozen patents every year for our innovative solutions. These make us a preferred platform for developers today and for the future. Millions of developers rely on Open Weaver and kandi to jumpstart their application development with open-source libraries, code snippets, and kits. We are aiming for 100x growth. And with the huge digital opportunity and our commitment to an innovative product roadmap and developer-centric approach, we are sure to achieve it. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Ashok Balasubramanian: Based on my experience, I would suggest two areas to focus on. Being an entrepreneur is very challenging on different levels. You will be the leader of a small boat in stormy waters. Make sure you are prepared for it so you can guide the company and your team to the goal. An immediately actionable piece of advice is to learn digital marketing. Don't be obsessed with it. I have seen many people use terms like SEO, social, and others without understanding the core customer value proposition. You may get views and feedback but focus on deeper product usage and the value you are providing. Once you are clear on that, use digital marketing as a tool to reach millions of users. Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram

Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business? Deepak Baldev Thakur: I wanted to become an actor and I have done my diploma in acting from Asha K Chandra Institute, Mumbai. But when I came back to Hyderabad, I was struggling to find work or contacts. One day, there was a casting requirement at Director A Kodanda Rami Reddy's office, and I decided to give it a shot. I went and met the director and gave my audition. He was so impressed with my performance that he offered me a chance to train his son, Vaibhav Reddy. I took it as an opportunity and accepted the offer. Within a few sessions, I understood that I could teach my craft to others. However, after I finished training the director's son, I was back to square one. There was pressure from my dad to join his business, but I was so afraid that I didn't want to be in any other profession except the film industry. Suddenly, I got an idea. Why not open a film institute in Hyderabad? With that, my parents also wouldn't force me to join their business. So, in 2001, at the age of around 18 years, I started my academy with a small classroom area. With time, the universe has blessed me with a lot of success and wide industry contacts. Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Glitters Film academy? Deepak Baldev Thakur: Alongside training new talent in various film courses like acting and direction, we are also into casting, celebrity management, and film production. Great Companies: What makes Glitters Film academy different from hundreds of other similar service providers? Deepak Baldev Thakur: Here at GFA, I focus more on discipline and talent, and I personally support students who prove their talent. Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? Deepak Baldev Thakur: Well, struggles and challenges are a part of every profession. As the universe always blessed me, and I have a few close friends who taught me great things about life. At the early stage of my career, I had a friend, Mr. Naveen Agarwal and Sunil, who supported me to their best. Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Glitters Film academy? Deepak Baldev Thakur: Five years from now, we will expand our Glitters Film Academy in a franchise model across India and globally. I myself have plans to make Bollywood films. Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be? Deepak Baldev Thakur: If you believe in yourself, just do it. No one understands you better than yourself. Today's young India has better options for startups...