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Accelerating Business through Data Analytics.| Prithvijit Roy of BRIDGEi2i Analytics Solutions
87 Plays4 years ago
We are in conversation with Prithvijit Roy - CEO and Co-founder at BRIDGEi2i Analytics Solutions. BRIDGEi2i is a rapidly growing analytics solution firm based out of India and USA.
In this episode host Akshay Datt talks to Prithvijit about his early childhood days growing up in Calcutta and then later studying at ISI Delhi as a student of quantitative economics. Prithivijit also shares about his corporate work life - working in big large corporations such as GE & HP where he incubated and built two of the largest business analytics services organizations.
Having grown up in an entrepreneurial environment Prithvijit, always had an inclination towards entrepreneurship & starting something of his own. Thus after almost 12 years of solid corporate experience, Prithvijit took the courageous leap of faith and dived straight into the genesis of BRIDGEi2i.
We talk to him about his journey thus far and learn some great insights about maintaining successful co-founder relationships. Especially about dealing with the tough questions - How to decide roles & how to navigate the equity split.
For more such inspiring & intriguing leadership stories visit our website at www.thepodium.in
We are also on Instagram at @thepodium.in and have a Whats app community of fellow entrepreneurs & startup enthusiasts at www.podm.in/growwithpodium
Join us there to stay updated on the latest from The Podium.in
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Transcript
Career Dilemmas Post-MBA
00:00:00
Speaker
Akshay, did you always knew what you wanted to do when you passed away to the MBA? I was all over the place. Sort of, what about you? I was confused about your career choices. Wondering what steps to take next.
Podcast Introduction
00:00:18
Speaker
In this podcast, called Beyond Campus, Saurabh Garg, founder of C4E and Akshay Dutt, founder of UNATI, are on a mission to crack open the career success code for the youth. So, let's turn the dream into reality.
Data Mining as Modern Oil
00:00:39
Speaker
Hi, I'm Pritvijit. I'm one of the co-founders and CEO of Brijai 2 Analytics Solutions.
00:00:46
Speaker
I'm sure you've all heard the phrase data is the new oil and if data is the new oil
00:00:52
Speaker
then data mining or data analytics is the new oil drilling business.
Corporate to Entrepreneur Journey
00:00:57
Speaker
Today we're talking to Prithvi Jeev, a data analytics professional who has founded Bridge Eye 2 Eye, which is among India's leading B2B data analytics platforms. Here's Jeev talking about his journey and his transition from a rising corporate career to becoming a founder and the struggles of starting up.
00:01:19
Speaker
So Prithvijit, or rather Jeet, as most people call you. First, tell me how did Prithvijit become Jeet? Yeah, that's interesting. You know, I come from Calcutta, so in that part of India, you always have a nickname. So my nickname had been Jeet, but when I came to work, again, I had the first call with an international client and
00:01:45
Speaker
My then manager was trying to kind of pronounce my name and after the call, he said, you know, it's going to be tough with all this international talk about Pritvigit. So do you have any other names? So any of you people call me Jith also. So that's how I think Jith became popular and that remains still.
Entrepreneurial Influences
00:02:06
Speaker
Tell me about growing up in Calcutta, what kind of family are you from? What memories do you have of those days?
00:02:13
Speaker
Yeah, so this is, again, so I've done my schooling as well my college in Calcutta. Again, my father used to be running his own business. So he's kind of a self-made man. Again, at that point of time, moved from a job to set up a business in interior decoration, which was very different. So I have seen ups and downs in that scenario.
00:02:40
Speaker
kind of a middle-class background. My mother was a housewife. So again, my brother, he's a CA. So he's eight years elder to me. He has been kind of a role model always in terms of things and also not to what to do, but also what not to do. Like when he studied CA, I realized, you know, CA is not my cup
Education Choices and Career Path
00:03:00
Speaker
of tea.
00:03:00
Speaker
So that's where I spent a good part of the formative years in Kolkata before I again went to Delhi to study in ISI to do a master's in quantitative economics. But till that point of time school and college was in Kolkata.
00:03:22
Speaker
And seeing your father, did you have that early ambition to do something entrepreneurial or were you more interested in a stable career with good growth? Was that the goal?
00:03:37
Speaker
So that's interesting because so we had an option to stay on the family business. I think both my brother and I at that point of time, we kind of thought we don't want to be in it. So I think my father actually wind it up.
00:03:54
Speaker
because in some form because it was again a private limited kind of a proper leadership business that he was into. So at that point of time seeing the ups and downs and seeing also the kind of studies and everything that was not necessarily an attractive option but having said that deep in my mind probably this whole the fun of setting something up doing being on your own that had been there so but may not be in the same field but
00:04:24
Speaker
But not something that in mind what I'm doing today. So it was probably, yes, maybe at some point of time trying to do something which probably builds up over time. It's almost like creating an enterprise thinking had been there. But I won't say that that was the only ambition I had. And neither am I that ambitious also saying that I had a view 10 years down the line, I want to do this. I was probably not of that kind.
00:04:50
Speaker
Yeah, okay, okay, okay. So, why statistics? Like, why did you do your masters in ISI?
00:04:57
Speaker
Hmm, so that's a good one. I think, so I studied economics in my graduation from Kolkata San Andreas College. The choice at that point of time was to think of doing an MBA or again study further in economics. Actually, I didn't study statistics in the sense, so what I actually did, my master's was a MS in quantitative economics from ISI kind of a thing. So, MBI gave
00:05:24
Speaker
But those are also periods, again, I hadn't thought through, neither planned, whatever had happened, I hadn't got through MBA. And that's the point of time I got a little serious, saying that, you know, I have to be serious about doing something in a master's degree only. So that's why I applied for JNU, Delhi School of Economics, and ISI was also starting this at that point of time.
00:05:49
Speaker
So that I think I was lucky to get into all three of them, but then picked up ISI. So not that it was a very structured thinking, but again, math, stats and economics were areas I enjoyed in terms of studying very practical areas. So it was a good thing again. And I think ISI also came with that brand. So that's where I kind of stepped into ISI. And did it offer campus placements like when you finished the course?
Early Career Challenges
00:06:16
Speaker
So I graduated in 98. So there used to be placements where ISI is a little different from the IMs and others. The focus is to get people more into academics, more than jobs. So having said that, what was common at that point of time, a lot of companies on more IT services or market research would come. Those were the only jobs at that point of time from
00:06:44
Speaker
someone who is studying economic statistics and others, otherwise getting to do your PhD and others. So there were a few jobs, so somehow the IT jobs I didn't click it, again a period where it didn't go through.
00:07:01
Speaker
So there were one or two more corporate-ish jobs, which again also did not happen. So I actually ended up one of the very few people in the campus. The group was also small, only 15, 16 people or so. So thinking through maybe do a PhD or maybe again take up more like a semi-academic option and see how it builds up. So I had actually a period. So I joined National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
00:07:31
Speaker
So that's where I worked for one year or so. So you can call it a campus placement, but it was not really core. Neither was it core academics, nor was it more corporate. So it was somewhere in between. So at that point of time, I was also, I met my wife also at that point of time, she was a classmate of mine in ISI and others. So we were thinking of getting to the same city, getting married at some point of time. So PhD was not an option.
00:07:56
Speaker
in that scenario. So that's where I think there was a that period of one year was really very tough but also taught me a lot to be serious in life because I remember those were the times where you would have shared computers where you go in and sit down and try to write down your applications but it will not go on email
00:08:21
Speaker
But you had to post your application. So there was a period I would have applied 200 places or so, would have given 340 interviews. But nothing was kind of converting into what I would call a well-paying corporate job. But then it happened. I think then GE happened at a period of time. But the first one year was not really a cushy placement kind of a thing. So that was not for me.
00:08:50
Speaker
And what role did GE hire you for?
00:08:54
Speaker
So G at that point of time was just setting up their
Pioneering Analytics at GE
00:08:58
Speaker
analytics. So it was a very new space at that time. So they were setting up an analytics center in India where they were, this was part of the credit card division where they were trying to kind of see if the people with a quantitative background could kind of do a lot of their analysis or so from India.
00:09:22
Speaker
of their US business. So they set this up in Bangalore. Honestly, when the interview happened, I had no clue what this phase is all about. So they talked about saying that they're into card modeling. So what they meant was credit card, data modeling kind of a thing.
00:09:40
Speaker
For some time I heard this company G talking about car modeling and I had no clue what it was all about. Honestly, because the space was really not... I knew I have studied statistics but only after he got into the job, the realization was a lot of their marketing, risk management and others, they want to do a lot more with data, learning from data.
00:10:03
Speaker
But that I learned after I got into GE. And that one year as I was talking about not being so serious or learning the hard way, the GE period I was very serious. So that learning was fantastic. So they were setting up in some form. It was really industry getting created in GE. They were the first guys and a little later, Amex set up a similar center.
00:10:25
Speaker
but they were just setting this up and the whole fun that this could be done was new because India never had a lot of data so you would have market research but you will not have analytics kind of thing. So this was a completely new concept at that point of time so we saw it growing inside GE and almost at the time the industry was forming so was somewhere lucky to
00:10:48
Speaker
be one of the early members of that team to be kind of be part of the GE engine who started analytics industry in India.
00:10:57
Speaker
So what is card modeling like for our listeners? Can you tell us what you were doing at GE? Yeah, so GE what they do is this is their consumer finance business. So they have a concept of this private label credit card. So essentially they will fund retail chains like a Wal-Mart or anyone else.
00:11:19
Speaker
on the credit cards, those chains will issue it to their end clients, whoever is visiting the stores. And all the private level means it's a Walmart card, for example, but GE will finance that. So essentially, GE is taking all the risk of that business and making profit from it. And any usage of credit card, as we all know, is actually creating a lot of data.
00:11:44
Speaker
because you have to take a call how much they are spending, whether they are credit-worthy. So using a lot of that data, the decision used to happen whether to give someone a card or not. Are they going to return the money? Are they going to be profitable? Or even deciding if someone has a card, should we give them more money or more limit? So all of those are modeling really. So how do you use that data to make a lot of this marketing, risk management kind of decisions? So that's really card modeling.
00:12:14
Speaker
Okay, okay. So this was like basically what we call as big data, right? So the name has evolved quite a bit. I think initially it was called analytics. More so, then it became last eight, nine years back big data, because a lot of it was not just a volume of data, but a lot of concepts started being called as data like image, video, all those are treated data. So that's where it became data.
00:12:43
Speaker
So yes, it became big data. Now it's called more AI also. So the name gets changed. And obviously, technology is also evolving. But you're right. And what interesting anecdote on that. So my first card, I mean, the visiting card used to carry a title called Assistant Manager Modeling. And honestly, I used to feel shy showing that card to anyone.
00:13:12
Speaker
People would look at me and say, you know, you are modeling. So people had no idea at that point
Building Analytics at HP
00:13:18
Speaker
of time, what am I doing? So it was a way to explain to people what do I really work on. And you got married by this time, like while you were a G?
00:13:29
Speaker
Yeah. So interestingly, we were trying to be in the same city. So we are classmates. So we were, so she was in Baroda. She was actually, she had joined Market Princess and then she was working out of Calcutta. He was in Delhi. So we were trying to converge to a same city.
00:13:44
Speaker
So we ended up, I got a GE job. And interestingly, the same time she also was giving interviews, she also ended up in GE. So we were actually, we landed in the same company, not just the same city. So six years we have worked together in that sense and kind of from a similar profession. And then the path becomes separate later. But I got married after six more months after joining GE or so.
00:14:12
Speaker
Okay. So by the time you left GE, you were an AVP there, which I think is a pretty big deal, right? Yes. So that way I was kind of lucky also there because this thing was building up very nicely. So initially it was for the credit card. Then I got a nice charter to say that, you know, and GE is a very diversified business. So build up a team for insurance. So got a very early experience of leadership or management.
00:14:42
Speaker
and then I think the whole the GE Capital Services organization which was called Jackie's that point of time that was also hived off by GE so this our group became a part of that which is now known as Genpact so we were kind of also lucky to also look at not just in GE business but start incubating this as a service for other companies so
00:15:09
Speaker
So that way, it was a little early in terms of a variety of roles. But in a couple of years, I became a manager. Another couple of years became my VP or so. So that was a very interesting growth. That way, almost incubating our business as a part of the leadership role within GE. In some form, the industry was also getting formed. So good growth within GE in that scenario. OK. And why did you want to move on from GE?
00:15:36
Speaker
Yesterday, the GE experience was very nice and honesty means even thinking this is possible. And by that time, I think a little bit of the entrepreneurial bug was starting to bite a few of us. In fact, some of my co-founders really worked together in GE at that point of time as we were trying to take this as a commercial offering.
00:15:59
Speaker
But we said that every time we were sitting down to do a plan, we were realizing, you know, even our salaries will not be kind of paid for, and that time we used to think, yes, you can make salaries from day one. But I think, so there was a, so yes, entrepreneurship at some point of time was mine, but a similar experience in a different setup was playing on.
00:16:22
Speaker
So that's where I think HP offered me a role where they were saying, you know, you're the first guy said this capability for HP completely from scratch. And that's where I got that role with HP. And also, I think I always had this thought, you know, this is a very technology play. So being in a company like HP might also give me a little different learning and obviously building up your own team, setting up from scratch.
00:16:49
Speaker
So that was the attraction to move into HP in 2005 or so. And what was your like KRA at HP? Like you were setting up an analytics kind of a team. This was for internal customers or this was a service being offered to HP clients.
00:17:09
Speaker
Yeah so initially when they hired me they thought of both the options were open and HP unlike GE were given, GE was already doing a lot of analytics kind of work given the financial services business and others. HP was just at very initial stages, data was also not organized
00:17:31
Speaker
So as soon as I joined in, a lot of focus went inside HP because they are also very diversified business and very quickly we scaled up, I think in two to three years time we scaled up a thousand member team which was just supporting internal HP businesses globally.
00:17:51
Speaker
So we think at that point of time for HP that become a bigger play although we're starting to think a little bit on commercializing this but the management was more insistent and kind of thinking of you know this is a big asset for us although you might commercialize but a bigger play might be to get HP to yield the value of doing analytics. So I think so the lot of focus went inside HP in setting that practice up completely.
00:18:19
Speaker
And what were the kind of problem statements that you were solving? Yeah, so HP, again, if you see, they are into different business models. On one hand, obviously, they are known for printers and personal computers, which they would sell through a channel like a retailer or so, or they would sell it online on their own dot com. So they were starting to do that also. By the time I left, they had
00:18:48
Speaker
fairly large online business also in US while I think HP being diversified they again had a separate business into servers and storage which was not to a consumer line but more what enterprises will buy and then services and others so again just like GE the diversification was very high in the type of businesses and all of them would realize you know there is a play of data
00:19:13
Speaker
to enhance marketing effectiveness in terms of how do I ensure a conversion happens on my online sale, how do I know what pricing will work in RCR retailer, how do I enable my sales guys,
00:19:30
Speaker
to kind of use data to drive more leads or more conversion. How do I look at this? No fraud happening on pricing on say a student laptop being given. But that is instead of students, others are actually taking it. So a lot of use cases across the board around.
00:19:50
Speaker
marketing, sales, supply chain management, HR and others which became really using data to drive forward looking decisions. So that was really what was building up inside HP for all the businesses and regions globally.
Entrepreneurial Leap
00:20:06
Speaker
hmm okay okay and this is where you finally like bit the bullet to become an entrepreneur so tell me about that journey like taking the decision to quit a well-paying job and starting on your own
00:20:23
Speaker
Yeah, so two, three things which goes into it. So again, I think by that time, I think three of the now the founder team Ashish Pritam and me were discussing quite a bit. In fact, we did one more business plan in that meantime.
00:20:39
Speaker
and they were all in HP together? Pritam and I continued to be in HP, although all three of us had walked together in GE. Ashish continued to be in GE, while Ratoa first stepped out and then we realized, you know, this is a, there is an inertia, because
00:20:56
Speaker
You just, one person doesn't step out of something, it just will not happen because you are used to it, it's a cushy job, it's doing well, it's very difficult to do it. And in some form, I think I was reaching a stage where, as you were saying initially, I was getting excited, you know, there's a large commercial opportunity and HP was kind of thinking, you know, is that the core
00:21:20
Speaker
take it commercially and also to some extent sitting out of India thinking about a global business in a very large entity is a difficult thinking. So my thinking was somewhere you probably either take another job in HP and
00:21:35
Speaker
continue or whatever I have picked up over the last 10 years or so you know step out or do this again this might be a business on its own. Having said that I think finally I had made up my mind but stepping out was very difficult because there's no way three people can come together was what my thinking so
00:21:55
Speaker
So the choice was, you know, continue in this or just leave it. So at one fine day in some form and there are some funny anecdotes to it, I was again in some role was being asked to go to US for a month during the 2011 World Cup time.
00:22:11
Speaker
And I had made up my mind, you know, I want to leave. Somehow the cricket welcome has been something I had followed always. And I said, there's no way I'm going to, if I'm going to leave, why do I sacrifice the welcome also? So I remember talking to my wife one evening and saying, you know, I'm going to leave. She said, you know, you keep on talking about it, but you never do it. So that was my time to just tell her and say, you know, you know the consequences, right? There might be a...
00:22:38
Speaker
Luckily, my wife, or rather to be all the founder's wife, had been also doing very well in their jobs and others, which was really a cushion which existed. But she said, it's okay, if you leave, that's fine. So I actually, without talking to others, next day went and put in my papers.
00:22:56
Speaker
So that I think triggered, and then I spoke to Ashish Pritam again saying, you know, I'm doing it right now. And they also said, yes. So I think that trigger helped. So in a month or two, we just got together as a team. So that's how it all started. It's not that this time we had a business plan, honestly. So we just said, let's do a formation. And people started coming in. That's how it formed finally in 2011.
00:23:23
Speaker
okay and from the time you quit till the time you saw the first rupee of revenue like tell me about that journey yeah that's that's not that's not an easy journey I think obviously any fuss of that takes a lot of time it's easy to form a company
00:23:44
Speaker
and then I think the team was starting to come together which itself is a few months although I think what happened at that point of time we realized if you have to do this we first need the company but then we need a space to operate in fact we kind of looked into a few things we
00:24:04
Speaker
the the the
00:24:22
Speaker
But in the space, again, took a phone to see if there are inbound calls. There were little places we were telling things. But business was not necessarily coming in. So we got one small assignment. Again, both were two assignments, actually. One is someone who had walked, one of my earlier bosses who said, you know, you're getting in.
00:24:42
Speaker
help me a little bit into something. So it was like a project which was actually very valuable to actually get some money coming in. And others, I think someone had published an HP veteran has left to start on business. So an IT services company who was trying to solve the analytics problem reached out to us. We have a project. We are not able to solve it. Can you guys do it? So it was a very small. So the past year revenue, that was actually the year we did not
00:25:11
Speaker
really that was a year of losses because it was so we did couple of projects but both were not too tangible to say you know it's a business thing so what we did is couple of us just then left the country and said let's just book a flight go to US and there start talking to potential people we know start having some discussions through references and others we kept on talking to a lot of people and I think that
00:25:40
Speaker
trip. So there is two consecutive trips we did. One was a few weeks. There was a second trip we did. In four weeks or five weeks, we went to some 25 cities in the US. So all over the place, going and talking to people. And we behaved as if we are a fairly large company. We have some thoughts and others. Not to lie anything, but being very confident, saying that we can do something for you. At that time, it was just the three of you.
00:26:06
Speaker
Yes, the three and actually a couple of people volunteered who we knew, who said we were starting, we will also want to come in as employees in the company. So some of the initial people were lucky because they knew us and in some form who also wanted to be a part of this, who also joined it and who still are kind of key people in the company. So in fact, we met
00:26:32
Speaker
two offers in a single day in two coffee shops in HSL, talking to two of them. But they were the first two employees. So we were around a five, six member team by the end of that year, although there were hardly any revenue.
00:26:47
Speaker
So that's where and then a couple of the founders were traveling mostly to figure out how to get business. So then I think somewhere I think a couple of companies started giving slightly larger projects. So which is where the real game started off.
00:27:06
Speaker
Did you already have a network in the US, like, you know, just landing up for someone? I mean, you know, for someone like me, even if I'm offering a service which I can sell in the US, I can't imagine how I would make it work. You know, like, how did you get the doors opened and meet people? And, you know, how did that conversion happen from the US?
00:27:30
Speaker
Yes, so having worked into large enterprises for a decade obviously and most of our work in the past has been with US, so that way
00:27:42
Speaker
We had known people, but it's a very different thing knowing people with the brand name of HPG versus knowing people without a brand name and having ability to talk and others. So that helped knowing people to do conversation and some of them honestly trusted.
00:28:01
Speaker
But more people would think, you know, these guys are between jobs. So people were talking, but being convinced this is going to stay, it was a difficult thing. But at that stage, I think you just have to talk. And honestly, it was the most difficult thing to do.
00:28:25
Speaker
In the US, for example, in HP, I would go buy and take a cab every time, but now you can't afford a cab, so you have to rent a car. You're not driven in the US. So that is a change. You're going in.
00:28:41
Speaker
for the first time to kind of go to office, rent a car, drive in from the airport, talk through. But thankfully, technology played a little bit, because I think by this time, a couple of these technologies were starting to come in. I think one is LinkedIn, because you are able to identify certain people who might matter for you, being able to reach out. And some doors opened through either through references or talking to them. They were open to talking. So that's one second.
00:29:08
Speaker
You don't necessarily have to be local. It's not that typically you would attribute cells to local presence. But by this time, you would start using your GPS and a little later Google Maps to land up anywhere without knowing the city at all. So there was a huge inertia. But I think we overcame. We had no other choice. In fact, I remember still the second trip, Pritam fell.
00:29:36
Speaker
sick in between the trips. It's like 20 cities or so you're covering. And through the trip, he was very unwell. I think had I been in his place, I would have come back home. In fact, he went through process and others. But he said, you know, I'm not going back because if I go back, it's like a defeat.
00:29:55
Speaker
And I will not be able to come back and do this. And he continued through that process, which was, I think, some of those things actually make you more and more confident. You know, if you try, it will happen. And it's a matter of trying it in a structured way and doing it. So a lot of it, yes, we knew a few people, but I think the businesses we got over a period of time, some initial referrals helped, but also some new people we have met, talked, convinced them. And I think US is very open in this thing.
00:30:25
Speaker
Honestly speaking, other geographies take a lot more time to think about the brand. But the US is open to do some experimentation in a small ticket and others, which was the way it started off. Okay. Okay. Okay. And why did you call the company Bridge I2I?
Bridge I2I's Unique Approach
00:30:42
Speaker
What was the story behind the name?
00:30:46
Speaker
Yeah, so I think right now also it fits very well on what we do at that time. The thinking was, you know, there is a huge opportunity to partner with enterprises in their journey from what we call as information to insight to impact. So information is all about organizing the data that they have.
00:31:08
Speaker
insight is really mining that data to see what patterns, what trends, what changes which is now a lot of statistical modeling, machine learning kind of thing and impact is abroad. From this learning put something back into the system and help businesses kind of get a larger
00:31:27
Speaker
top line or bottom line. So that was the thinking at that time. And I think that continued to be the single thread which is still today very valid. I think those are also core capabilities and others. So we sort of thought through, I think, although with this three I's information inside, we had some variations of names. So we had send, I remember, five names when we were doing the company formation. I think the fifth name got picked up, which I think worked out for us finally.
00:31:58
Speaker
And around this time, you also had other Indian companies into similar analytics kind of services, like Mu Sigma was also very much active at this time. Were they a significant threat to you or a significant competitor to you? Or was the market so big that there was enough space for everybody?
00:32:23
Speaker
Yeah, I think even today I think the space is still very early stages and I think Mu Sigma especially was a very good example that this is possible because they scaled up very fast and I think it was a good model for us to see but we thought they have a particular
00:32:43
Speaker
part that they are addressing and I think they were mainly trying to focus on companies who know what they want to do and they were looking at skill augmentation kind of a thing and they scaled that up very well initially and that helped them scale but then we were also realizing
00:33:02
Speaker
you know there are other places like a lot of what we did was more solving problems and seeing you know a company is not able to and they had an option honestly it was not only mew sigma but even a consulting company, IT company, others people by the time we came into the picture there were quite a few options because this space had no entry value and the bigger players were also do so so initially I think our focus had been you know
00:33:28
Speaker
try to solve problems, see if you can productise some of it, what is the role of technology. So we found our niche in this huge space and in some form the means to end is different a little bit. The end is similar for all these companies but the approach given this a fairly large pie and today also I think honestly is just building up.
00:33:50
Speaker
So that was the focus. Yes, there are players. But still, if your approach is a little different, you could get in. So that had been the thinking. And we kind of found a good response to that. A slightly harder business to build on, but build up pretty nicely again.
00:34:06
Speaker
Just help me understand how was your approach different like if you had to like say make a graph and plot the companies in it like where would you be in that graph what would be the axis of it like as compared to say Mu Sigma or companies like Infosys and which are also offering analytics as a service. So it is really the approach in some form and how you look at it I think Mu Sigma
00:34:36
Speaker
A lot of the initial market they got helped or even a lot of the more boutique analytics companies were trying to do was to take on a lot of the analytics outsourcing kind of work initially because a lot of companies knew what they wanted to do, they were scaling it up and they looked at who could bring scale and I think some of these companies were getting established, they were doing it.
00:35:04
Speaker
Okay, so these companies which just looking for an implementation partner, like they already had heritage. Yeah, actually the skill is not an easy thing also, because in some form, you might say statistician, but yes, someone might have a degree in statistics, but that does not mean they can also immediately start solving say a card modelling, what we initially talked about.
00:35:28
Speaker
So I think in some form, Mu Sigma's approach had been create a university, bring a lot of the skills and drive it. But we still saw there was a gap on, this was still not solving the problem. This was more like, you know, these companies already know what the solution is, they needed skill.
00:35:45
Speaker
That was initially also scale and by the time we came in that game was a little crowded also because the IT players to your point were also coming in and they were well entrenched with IT organizations.
00:36:01
Speaker
But we were also seeing a lot of decision makers are not necessarily at that time IT. This was like a marketing head or a sales head. And they did not know analytics. And their whole approach was that I need to solve problems. I don't know what analytics inside, but I think this is an analytics problem. So we took that group, saying, you know, we'll work with the business heads and try to initially show them what can be done.
00:36:25
Speaker
and then come in and that was our approach. So it was more, initially was more projects and smaller programs rather than outsourcing kind of a focus. But I think what that helped us, and I think not that we thought all of this, but what it helped us in this path, we saw a lot of commonality on how you solve these problems. So there's a lot of reusability of what I would call technology. So which gave us a kind of a platform
00:36:54
Speaker
are not starting from scratch every point of time. So our approach was gradually became more asset-based consulting. So it's still consulting, but don't start from scratch. Reuse a lot of your assets or solutions and structure it for companies who are still figuring out because although I might say a company A might have solved it for marketing, but they have still not solved it for sales or supplies and others. So the ability to go to them and say, you know, we will structure this. We'll also bring in our platform.
00:37:24
Speaker
has been our differentiation as compared to say the space in some form has outsourcing players space is in some form also of consulting players whose approach is more you know we'll just go with the blueprint of the business design
00:37:40
Speaker
But those consulting players may not get their hands dirty on actually solving the problem. They will just do a blueprint. So there we come in. The IT players are mostly into the data side they go in. So they are working with the tech organization. But still there is a gap between the tech and the business.
00:37:58
Speaker
So there is a fairly large space which is unaddressed, which is where our approach is to kind of attack through that space. So we call it more, you know, more technology readiness, not really a pure product, but almost a platform play, but then rapid with consulting to work with those people who are trying to solve. And today, honestly, if you see this space, I don't think it's any more about analytics over the last three, four years.
00:38:26
Speaker
It is becoming more a digital space. So in some form you and I all are today very different on what we expect from companies after using an Uber or a Facebook app or Amazon. So we all expect every company today will give us similar experience as customers which is very digital in nature.
00:38:46
Speaker
and all businesses are also becoming digital given technology is also evolving but fundamentally all these digital models are kind of incomplete without the role of analytics because they all generate a humongous amount of data and if you don't use that data to almost have automated decisioning you know making recommendations
00:39:10
Speaker
being able to converse with someone, finding out issues. So that I think has become really an automated, what I call artificial intelligence is the new place. So we are increasingly, I think we are not just about analytics. Analytics is a mean, but we are more fitting into digital transformation.
00:39:28
Speaker
and our play is more AI. So that's really how we are evolving. So yes, this analytics is embedded, but what customers buy from us is more in the digital transformation journey, how do AI fit in? So how do you make AI real in enterprises is really what we are trying to drive now.
00:39:49
Speaker
Okay, so typically like you are solving a business problem for a customer like a client might tell you that how do I increase sales of so and so product or how do I optimize my product portfolio and you would use analytics and AI tools to give them an answer to that question.
AI's Role in Business Transformation
00:40:09
Speaker
Yeah, and the color of that, what could have changed over the last five, six years is visualize a FMCG company, say a Kanjima package goods company, who now have to drastically change their model, say after COVID, where the sales is not necessarily happening in the store.
00:40:29
Speaker
and in support, it's more direct to consumer. You have a lot more leverage of, say, IoT devices. So a lot is getting sold on Amazon or some of them have their own .com. So they are saying, you know, I'm going through this digital transformation and I'm generating a humongous amount of data. So can I then change my game using this data and maybe the decisioning best on this data in an automatic way, which is AI,
00:40:57
Speaker
and I need a partner to make that happen. So I am adopting a new digital model but I don't know how AI fits in. So can you guys come in and fit in AI is really the whole thing that we are chasing in some form. A lot of our business has become more digital enablement based on AI.
00:41:16
Speaker
Okay, got it. So how has the growth been like? What kind of revenue did you do in the first year and then how did it progress after that?
00:41:30
Speaker
So first year, as I was saying, first year is not our normal year, but being again a services or a solutions business, I think you can again see growth coming. I think the second or third year probably we're kind of setting a baseline. And in some form, I think every year we have grown. I think we were
00:41:51
Speaker
I think Deloitte's first 50 in India for several years. So I think every year we had seen a significant amount of growth. Although there was initial days, there was still a question mark as you were talking with the competition. What is the sweet spot? Is it like another company who's just solving problems? But I think over the last three, four years with the fitting into the whole AI to digital transformation charter,
00:42:17
Speaker
I think we are seeing a significant shift and I think the space also is going to be more around that because enterprises don't have a choice they will become more and more digital and obviously there's no entry barrier then different companies will play but now we are fairly well established also that you know you need a specialized partner to do this being able to drive it so I think we typically would see a
00:42:44
Speaker
us 50% to 80% growth every year is the kind of growth we would see. So we are not like a software company. We'll see overnight 1,000% growth one year and another. So it's more about selling it in enterprises and more execution and making that happen. So typically, every year, we have seen around a 40%, 50% growth on an average is how we have seen growth.
00:43:11
Speaker
What about your headcount? You know, something to give an idea of the scale? Yeah, that I can tell you. So we are more than 650 people or so. We operate out of five countries, 13 cities right now. Although I think Bangalore, where I'm sitting and talking right now,
00:43:30
Speaker
is the headquarters. So again, I'm the only person sitting in the 60,000 square feet right now. But that's the standard office where we do most of the heavy lifting from here. But then we are present close to, again, geographies where we work on. Our largest market is US, where we work on focused on a few industries. Most of our clients are
00:43:55
Speaker
Fortune 500 or so because we focus on larger clients or very data rich companies. So those are some indications in terms of what's kind of building up here. Okay. Okay. So you took external funding in 2016. So what was the rational for that?
00:44:16
Speaker
Yeah, so being in this space in some form, you would see, see, we are a profitable company from other than that for six months or so, we've always been profitable. So you can fund your own growth. But having said that, I think
00:44:34
Speaker
I think there are two fronts where you look at external capital, one is to see how you probably take some risk and I think that was also the thinking initially, a few things which are working, how do we go a little bit more bullish there, not try to get everything and say in 12 months I need
00:44:55
Speaker
profitability back into every investment I'm making. So having a little bit of a watchers there to play on which is one rationale. Other I think in some form given we work with large enterprises and others a little bit of this is also some backing and some balance strengthening which becomes a part of the game which has been the rationale where we did one round we'll do more
00:45:18
Speaker
has been the thinking but it's not necessarily again you know it's not really a we have been a fairly capital efficient growth kind of company probably one of the most efficient companies to kind of drive growth still having said that I think obviously now that was the initial round and and the thinking would be also similar as we go forward to be more bullish and to strengthen the balance sheet further on larger deals and others
00:45:48
Speaker
would be the tool to look at external capital. So are you a pure services company or do you also have some products that you sell off the shelf to clients?
00:46:01
Speaker
Yeah, so we don't sell off-the-shelf products. So we are not into a SaaS kind of product. But any engagement we get in, we also have a certain amount of not starting from scratch every time. So we call them our accelerators, which allows us to reimagine what can be done for the client and give a head start. So assume that's like a platform.
00:46:28
Speaker
We don't sell that platform standalone, but we build on that platform and customize. So in that sense, there is a technology play, but not a pure off-the-shelf product. Because mostly the large enterprises that we cater to, they need a lot of customization because most of the businesses, if you see, they would have some options of the stack and would have invested. But the bigger claim is to
00:46:53
Speaker
work with them and really realize value from it. So if you bring something that is very valuable to get a head start and reduce the time to value. But on the other hand, I think most cases, pure products, many of the time, don't scale, which is the market we are trying to address again.
00:47:14
Speaker
Okay, and what has been the change of business or change of your approach due to COVID? Have you changed the way you operate or has the revenue mix changed or how has that impacted you?
Impact of COVID on Digital Transformation
00:47:31
Speaker
Yeah, so COVID has been interesting. I think when we started off, we were also nervous, like anyone else. And we also wanted to be cautious, to be honest. But I think two things happened. One is the exposure. If you see the kind of industries which got impacted in a large way, our exposure there was low. That should we don't know about the hospitality, travel, and others.
00:47:55
Speaker
So that way we were lucky in the industries we are into like consumer package goes, high tech, manufacturing, financial services. It was not a very direct thing. So it is a little bit of indirect thing that we go through. But as we do this, I think through the process, one thing we realize, honestly, the kind of conversations pipeline has significantly gone up. Although you are very nervous. How can I close a deal without travel? But now, I think a lot is happening today.
00:48:24
Speaker
where enterprises, the whole adoption of digital has become much bigger and that's probably the only silver lining for this whole pandemic. Because every enterprise now has fast-forwarded the digital transformation thinking.
00:48:41
Speaker
And I think AI is something which fits very well in most of them. So I think for us, I think eventually, again, there's a little bit of shock, although we are doing pretty well when this year is going to be a growth year for us. Having said that, it's a little lower than our normal. But on the other hand, we see a next year or the following year will probably be even bigger because a lot more companies are adopting it in terms of what they are trying to change the way they operate.
00:49:11
Speaker
And it's very inherent, any of those will be very eye-driven as they're adopting digital channels. Are Indian companies also coming to you or bulk of businesses? No, yes, a bulk of a business at one time, 100% was US. But over the last three, four years, we are actually doing quite a bit of India, although we don't actively
00:49:33
Speaker
reach out in India. We have been reacting and I think India somewhere the brand has also been building up given we are here. So we now work with quite a few companies in India who are pretty serious in this space. I think a lot of them are trying to almost
00:49:50
Speaker
get to the whole digital, given the whole fintech, the whole a lot of other areas, the whole technology adoption is big in India right now. So a lot of companies is also realisation. Some of them think, you know, Ismika, maybe Banalunga, I'll just hire the same people. That mindset is also there partly, but a lot on the CX2 level, especially large business houses and others are very serious about it now. And we partner with quite a few enterprises in India also.
00:50:20
Speaker
as they are going through this journey. So I think India is going to be a pretty interesting market in the next four, five years. Okay. And how about the way you do business? Are you, for example, now looking at making remote working, long-term, permanent, or do you feel that it's better to have people in office? Has your view changed on that because of the COVID?
00:50:42
Speaker
So we still haven't, I think initially we were very skeptical whether this model will work. But when it started off, I think we are lucky that this can be done from any location. Honestly, you don't have to really come together to do it.
00:51:00
Speaker
For the last few months, I think we are working pretty well. Everyone is working from home. In fact, our team is so scattered around India right now, getting them back into the office. And if you want to do it next month, it will not happen overnight. It will look like some planning and others. But having said that, I think some things cannot still be done
00:51:22
Speaker
in this environment. I'll give an example. We had almost 100 campus guys joined us over the last six months or so, getting them to touch and feel who we are, what we do. I think remotely you can do so much. But then some amount of this still a gap, which requires thinking, some very complex projects. I think you always feel, can I get together as a team drive? Then also, I think closing certain deals. See, it's a trust game at the end of the day, whatever we do.
00:51:52
Speaker
people to virtually trust someone that they can help when you are not yet a very established brand. Those things still are things we miss probably. But in general, our work can happen. So currently, I don't think we'll go back to exactly the same model where we will have everyone back in office. But on the other hand, we also believe
00:52:16
Speaker
We don't want to, a lot of people we are seeing are reducing office space and others. We don't want to do that because we think this is also critical, but maybe we won't expand in the same rate at which you would have thought we would do in the past. So that's our current thinking right now. And I see again, I think we are not in a big hurry, but some employees want to come back. So we are opening slowly, slowly that up, but we are not making it compulsory right now. We don't know in the next three to six months, we'll decide what, but we are able to work
00:52:48
Speaker
So there are three co-founders at Bridge I2I. So how did you navigate that relationship? How did you decide who will be CEO? What is the split of role between the three? And what are tips for successful co-founder relationship?
00:53:09
Speaker
wow, this is really going back on the memory lens to pick up a TV. But I think it's good. I think the point you asked and the fact that I'm thinking before I answering is that that's not the biggest concern for us. So things have, in some form, tortured, worked out very well between three of us. But having said that, I think, see the positive, in some form, we knew each other in the past. And in some form, we have
00:53:36
Speaker
respect from each other because of certain things we do and we are very different from each other. We have similarities but also very different in terms of what we do. Which was the basic premise I think if you ask me the one thing I would take credit of is to think of that initial team and kind of think
00:53:56
Speaker
who could play what role. So in some form, I think Ms. Pritam, for example, is a gold medalist from ISI. He is reputed in the industry on solving complex problem, a great teacher for people to learn. Ashish, on the other hand, is a person who throws him into a situation which you are
00:54:17
Speaker
kind of driving in some form he will fix it so he's a fixer so in some ashish focuses on lot on the operation side making everything in place the functions he has a very solid finance acumen britam on the other hand focus on our technology innovation building that up i think in some form my focus had been more on the front end
00:54:39
Speaker
and building that up because again, not that I have done that in exactly the same, I was never a sales guy, but ended up being the whole face and thinking about how to build business, both marketing and sales. We're also very marketing focused along with sales. So that's where my focus had been. So I think some of those, I think initially actually we spend, I remember the first month or two months,
00:55:06
Speaker
we actually did a very documented agreement, I think we call it the founders agreement or something and sometimes we thought why are we doing this but I think that was very useful honestly we never opened it up later but I think the best practice to do in whoever you are coming in because it's good to put down on paper
00:55:26
Speaker
what you think and that was also our thinking on sitting down and saying you know who could play what role what could be the thinking on ownership who should so those were all where we spend actually quite a bit of time and maybe
00:55:42
Speaker
in some form, have you worked on large enterprises and others helped us think through it. But I think it's a very crucial part. And then it went into a lock and key and I don't know where the document is today. But I think it's useful. And having said that,
00:55:57
Speaker
That helped, but I think initial days coming together in this setup means you can be a CEO, you can work, but you're working together. I think the ability to work together is not an easy one. I think the first one year, I think we also learned a lot more about each other in terms of strength and the ability to create a space for each other.
00:56:18
Speaker
and give it is a very important aspect in this game because so that that also we did I think we did a lot by learning I think there have been situations we have fought like crazy and I think it is healthy because the more you open up rather than holding it yourself which no one knows why is it I think it's a very healthy thing I would suggest everyone be very open if you don't believe in something
00:56:44
Speaker
articulate, come to agreement. It's a little bit of a husband-wide relationship in some form. You're coming together for years to do and you don't have an option to step out of it because the moment also you open that option, you can step out, then you are gone in the game.
00:56:59
Speaker
So I hope there will be a few guidance in my view on what we worked, which helped. I think that's one thing which has worked very well. I think the founding team has been intact. And today also, I think we come across, we would again fight in front of other people as need be, which is a part of our culture. But again, I think we'll agree. Finally, we will decide on something and we will then come together and drive. And I think the variation of people is very important. If you are all
00:57:29
Speaker
very same people interesting you all come from the same institute but we are very different people is the second aspect and i think having the trust with each other will be the third aspect i think which i think we had because of working together in the past which is also very important how did you navigate the equity split between the three of you like did you have it like a three-way equal split or because you initiated the idea was there like a difference or
00:57:56
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's again something we actually spend quite a bit of time. It hadn't been exactly equal because there are components of what experience of what we bring to the table. So we have some thoughts on that a little bit. And also, obviously, in India, I think capital plays a role. So in terms of we also had varied contribution in terms of capital. It was not exactly the same.
00:58:26
Speaker
So that came together and agreed more or less, but it was not purely capital because that doesn't help in some form. So I think those were the two things we actually spent time, let it down at that point of time and which I think was good to actually structure it right then and there.
00:58:45
Speaker
So this is my last question to you and it's somewhat unrelated to your own journey, but you have worked with technology giants like GE and HP who are now, you know, a shadow of what they used to be.
00:59:03
Speaker
And what made that happen? Why did they lose their way? And you know, what do you do to make sure that you remain relevant even 20 years down the line, 30 years down the line? Yeah, very interesting one. And I think...
00:59:21
Speaker
Again, yes, I think the kind of learnings I had with G and HP had been tremendous. I think I have my own significant respect for what has been created over a long period of time and it's really unfortunate to see some of them in the direction it has gone and I think in some form it's also
00:59:43
Speaker
There are ups and downs in our industry based on also, I think in terms of there is a condition on certain things, but then also certain choices of businesses and others which can go right or wrong. Although the foundations, if you see in some form, it's not that they'll vanish. The foundations are so strong, they will continue in some form, but they haven't necessarily done in the same light. And I think one big part, I would say,
01:00:13
Speaker
is being relevant with time and I think that's a big part and both G and HP at one point of time innovation has been the core to those companies and in some form the whole space how it's changing
01:00:28
Speaker
a lot of companies start coming in where they bring in something so innovative again and I have seen a little bit in HP for example I have been an early user of what I would call the smartphone they had a device called IPAC at one point of time we were one of the early guys to think about it but somehow
01:00:52
Speaker
that whole space Apple and others probably just took off and did an HP could not kind of play on it and in some form that was today a very different market as when you think technology you start thinking some of this as new tech versus old tech. So I think the ability to continue on innovation being relevant at the right time being able to capture it so obviously a lot of
01:01:17
Speaker
companies who have been there has his own barriers created to be able to do it. When you become very large, yes, you will stay on, but your ability to do innovation becomes a little bit of an issue because it's a ship which is going in a way. Changing the steering the ship a little different is so difficult while a smaller company or newer company probably can steer much more efficiently. So I think that probably is one thing I think
01:01:41
Speaker
In some form we see sunrise, we see again sunset and others, but I think that probably is the most important aspect. How relevant have you been with time and are you being able to, you have a lot more capital or brand to back it up, but there are others who will come in who will still break. I think Covid for example,
01:02:03
Speaker
I think a lot of this kind of crisis actually fuels a lot more innovation which sometimes large giants just miss it. Smaller companies will just come and do a lot more as compared to bigger players. So that in my view I think means I would not generalize on it. I would say
01:02:24
Speaker
I think everyone has ups and downs, I do have respect for them, what they have done and built over time, centuries in some cases. But being able to stay relevant is probably the most important thing, which sometimes becomes a need for some of these larger companies.
01:02:44
Speaker
From an assignment they got through a known client to having clients all across the globe, Bridge i2i has truly experienced quite the journey. To know more about the services they offer, visit www.bridgeitui.com. That's b-r-i-d-g-e-i numeric2i.com.
01:03:10
Speaker
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