Our Journey Building A $60K/Month QA And Software Testing Firm
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
My name is Yashu Kapila, and I am currently working as the CEO of BugRaptors. BugRaptors is a brand on a mission to revolutionize the world through software testing and quality assurance. Sticking to our agenda of “All Ways of Quality Always”, we foster consistency and positive output in operations and client collaborations with an approach to giving back to society.
Since 2017, our team of testers has grown by 6 folds. At present, we are a team of 200+ ISTQB-certified testers who are dedicatedly working to improve the technology landscape for over 12 different industry verticals. More importantly, BugRaptors as a team always aim to showcase the true meaning of diversity and inclusion by being honest and transparent at all times.
At BugRaptors, we are capable of managing the QA and software testing needs of more than 10 industry verticals. From banking to ed-tech, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunication, retail, energy & utilities, real estate, or the government sector, we have all the potential to meet quality and compliance goals.
From manual testing to automation, our team has expanded to handle all types of client requirements relating to functionality, performance, user acceptance, and every aspect of mobile applications, business software, or web solutions.
Also, we have our very own proprietary test automation frameworks and tools that are made to simplify the automation of web and mobile testing. Also, we have mobile device labs and IoT device labs established to ensure maximum efficiency with our QA goals.
To underline, we are presently the choice for several Fortune 500 brands and various SMEs that we have empowered with 30 to 40 percent reduced time to market and the confidence of zero-defect leakage for their products or operations.
We have the confidence of creating highly advanced and industry-leading test frameworks for web and mobile testing.
At present, we have our geographical footprints established in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, which allows us to streamline operations and align well with the clients to deliver more appropriately.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
Going back to my years of learning and working across different positions, I got to explore all the dynamics of the QA industry while working through the various phases of testing as well as business operations and client relationship management.
I worked through various positions to build my expertise in manual testing, automation testing, learning test environment configuration, test script migration, and other essential QA operations.
I was just fascinated by the scope of innovation that the QA industry held with the ever-expanding digital landscape. I believe my dedication to QA as I progressed in my career enabled me to identify the potential of QA and walk my journey to become the CEO of BugRaptors.
As I got more exposure and went towards managerial positions, I started taking command of managing key relationships with clients and explored various dimensions of testing and technology verticals.
Since BugRaptors belongs to the Seasia group of companies, we were backed at all times from finances to mining our first customers. In 2016, I gathered all my exposure and learnings to start BugRaptors considering the massive demand for quality software and the need for testing to create sustainable solutions.
And now, BugRaptors as a quality assurance company has touched so many benchmarks of global success. We have got mentioned in the World Outlook for Software Testing Services report published through ICON group international. Besides, BugRaptors got featured in a worldwide digital assurance market research report for delivering quality services and client satisfaction with their top-notch services.
From becoming the top-quality assurance company in the United States, India, or the global list, we’ve been recognized by the top listing platforms like Clutch, Design Rush, Good Firms, IT firms Selected Firms, DBMR, and many more.
Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.
Though there is no secret recipe for software testing and quality assurance, our services are made of three key C ingredients. These include consistency, collaboration, and curiosity within our team.
From consistency, we refer to improving and adopting all the strategies that could complement the operations while performing the right set of tasks each time without missing out on the potential collaboration drive.
On the other hand, curiosity defines the use of advanced tools, tactics, and methodologies to improve deliveries.
Right from the beginning, we have catered to all the needs of business organizations as well as development companies offering the most distinctive support on a dynamic range of quality assurance solutions.
Initially, it feels quite a challenge to accommodate all the verticals and technologies in the business model and find the right direction to aim with software testing services when every industry is digitally thriving. Besides, the bigger challenge is always to ensure all your client queries are resolved well in time.
I would call myself lucky to find people who helped take BugRaptors forward while offering the best availability to the clients. Though I always feel blessed to have the best team, if I need to mention a few from the initial days of BugRaptors, I would like to take the name of Kanika Vatsyayan, at present VP, of Delivery & Operations, who always held a vision to streamline operations. Parteek Goel, Senior QA Automation Manager, enlightened the path to automation for us.
Also, there were people like Rajeev Verma, Project Manager, and BugRaptors who were always there to take up any challenges or last-minute client requirements.
Once you have a good team with you, taking any business process forward becomes easy.
From Seasia, we inherited the confidence of delivering with maximum efficiency as we have CMMI level 5 certification in our core DNA. Besides, we are an ISO 9001:2018 and ISO 27001-certified brand that defines our capability to achieve the highest level of quality in our processes, products, and services.
Describe the process of launching the business.
It all started with the idea of creating an impact. Especially, when the entire world was aligned to foster transformative tech into business, we landed the market with the agenda of highlighting the ever-expanding need for quality in applications, software, and business solutions.
However, launching any brand these days cannot be done without access to the right online strategy. From the very beginning, we gave it a start through a full-fledged website that catered to all the audiences in need of QA support, and testing services or was looking for aid to establish a test center of excellence.
The tech stack contained Laravel to gain access to full-stack development while we harnessed PHP to yield customization, flexibility, scalability, and encryption. The content was carefully crafted to meet the objectives of SEO as well as users who need access to dedicated QA solutions & software testing with no hours of scrolling through unnecessary content.
With all the experience our board of directors had, we dived into the QA industry, becoming one of the top brands within the early five years of our start. As a part of the Seasia group, we inherited the legacy to fetch client exposure. More importantly, we had top-tier talent (People mentioned above) that enabled BugRaptors to dive into the requirements of clients and immediately plan on strategies to curb their pain points for value generation. All in all, conversions never felt difficult since we had a team that knew the path to generating success for all, be it the company, the clients, or themselves.
If I need to share any lessons that I have learned from the start or the launch of the brand is that your success depends on your ability to trust people. When you put your faith in your team, it motivates them to be the best version of themselves. I have personally experienced and witnessed people thriving with this approach. It allows us all to prosper as an individual, a team, and an organization.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
Based on what I have learned throughout my career, a startup always needs a strong business plan to become a success. It needs you to have recorded feedback from real-time scenarios consisting of all the positives, negatives, and things that could help fetch the returns.
As far as it is concerned with BugRaptors’ sales and marketing initiatives, we had most of our initial business driven through word of mouth and our extensive concern for customer service. Besides, we harnessed marketing by acknowledging all the innovations and trends. From the use of lead management tools to keeping track of visitor actions, we developed a thorough understanding of the market landscape. To mention any marketing initiatives specifically, we took it to LinkedIn to feed on essential networking and reach out to a more specific slab of clients.
Besides, we kept a strong focus on the personalization of services as well as our marketing efforts to gain a grip. We catered to a dynamic audience, and we made sure to engage and involve our clients to meet the branding goals.
As there is always scope for expansion, we are constantly taking initiatives like setting up email marketing campaigns, press releases, and social media promotions to gain the necessary exposure. Since we mostly deal with B2B brands, we capture most of our leads organically.
However, we always strive to foster quality which allows us to win the confidence of our customers and ensure sustainable relationships. Also, we leverage the concept of encouraging communication, interactions, and individuality of the people through various campaigns, which helps us to get visible returns.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
BugRaptors from its commencement has been a profitable business as we landed into the market picking on the need of the market. Since quality assurance is all about adding quality to the digital future, BugRaptors as an organization in the upcoming years is aiming to leverage automation to the maximum.
Right from enterprise solutions to business applications and websites, we are working to streamline the entire QA process for maximum efficiency. And therefore, the pricing structure for our services varies as per the project’s requirement and scope.
Besides, we have different engagement models designed to cater to clients that need managed services, constant support, outsourcing services, etc. The usual cost of the services varies somewhere between US $13/hr to $25/hr.
With our headquarters established in India and the United States, we are present in Australia and the United Kingdom. As far as our clientele is concerned, it is mainly spread over the United States, Europe, Australia, India, and UAE. Also, to expand our products, we are constantly adapting and understanding the various tools available in the market that can help upgrade our QA process. More importantly, itoimprove our customer service experience, we will be looking forward to expanding our global impression.
As far as it is concerned with quality assurance, we at BugRaptors are already on our way to progressive testing making the most of automation technologies, AI, Agile, Low code & No code development, and shift left approach, etc. These practices and initiatives have not only complemented our business operations but enabled our clients to fetch the scalability, sustainability, and progress they need at a faster pace.
From automation solutions to changing testing practices and the introduction of modern tools, BugRaptors’ evolution will leave no stone unturned in terms of improved test journeys, streamlined development lifecycles, and convenience to the end users.
And to attain all these benchmarks, we are taking constant measures to progress. We have the confidence of creating highly advanced and industry-leading test frameworks for web and mobile testing. Moreover, our products and services are constantly analyzed and modified to deliver around 30 to 40 percent improved time to market to our clients.
Also, we promise some of the most effective market launches and deliveries with experience in serving various Fortune 500 brands and numerous SMEs. Above all, we always seek, achieve, and promise zero defect leakage assurance to our clients with continuous support on scalability and business resilience goals.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Of course, starting a business or anything new is always full of experiences and learnings. Recalling the earliest day of starting BugRaptors, I could recall the struggle of establishing the right team as only the right people with the right mindset could align with your objectives.
Once you have a good team with you, taking any business process forward becomes easy.
Luckily, I never missed picking the people who could add value to the organization. Besides, there are a few lessons that I have learned with time and would want every reader, startup owner, employee, or dreamer to know:
- Always have a willingness to change
- Strength and success lie in collaboration
- Most importantly, life is not always what you expect so keep doing the right thing
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
Since we need to cater to multiple industries for their varying testing requirements, we have to deal with numerous tools in our routine. From working on manual testing projects to automation, performance, security, test management, or marketing we have frequently need to work on different tools.
To mention it all, it is going to be a long list. But to mention a few, I would like to underline Selenium, Appium, JMeter, Cucumber, Katalon Studio, Postman, AppScan, HPWebInspect, LoadRunner, Neoload, and many more. To manage tests or work on our marketing initiatives, we harness tools like Jira, Hubspot, Ahrefs, etc.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
I have always been an avid reader. I believe reading allows you to explore the unexplored and look at the world with an all-new perspective. If I need to mention the most influential books that I have read, I would like to underline “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter.
While atomic habits contained some of the best lessons on improving as a person, rich dad, and poor dad helped me gain the necessary financial literacy to govern my business. Apart from these, I would like to talk about a recent read called, “Your Best Year Ever” by Michael Hyatt.
I even posted about the book on my social media as I was thoroughly moved by Hyatt’s description of achieving the best year by nurturing the power of possibility, finding you're why, and making big things happen.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Quoting the biggest lessons from my journey so far, I would like to share a few important things with other entrepreneurs. These are:
- Have faith in the almighty and believe in yourself.
- Learn at all times! from success as well as failures.
- Think of giving back to the world. Extend empathy!
- Always have the most important integrity.
- Demonstrate competence, encourage people, and never miss a chance to spread positivity.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
For any organization, the biggest strength is always the employees. Employees allow an organization to walk the path to success. Therefore, BugRaptors as an organization always aims to nurture happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives through its work culture.
We constantly hire new talent to keep our operations active and ensure opportunities are served to the talent. And if there is potential talent looking forward to empowering their career, they could simply explore the opportunities by writing our team at info@bugraptors.com
Besides, readers could walk through our philosophy and work style by checking Life at the BugRaptors section on our website.
We believe that employees are the biggest strength of our organization. They help us make our way to success and therefore it is our responsibility to stick to our commitments to lead them toward happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives.
Where can we go to learn more?
If readers have any queries relating to quality assurance, software testing, collaborations, or anyone looking for a piece of advice about beginning their career in the industry, I am always reachable through LinkedIn.
Besides, you can explore more about BugRaptors by visiting our social media channels. You can reach us on:
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