On Building A Digital Product Development Service
Hello! I am Mitul Makadia, the Founder & CEO of Maruti Techlabs. We are a product development company and guide SMBs and Enterprises on the digital transformation journey. Right from materializing ideas through rapid application development, to improving processes via RPA and AI, to streamlining customer support via chatbots, we do it all.
Our mission is to help our clients build future-proof and intuitive digital products while guiding them with the best processes & practices that will allow them to undergo a successful digital transformation and scale sustainably.
Having built products for our clients across 16 industries over the past decade, we have also built and continue to scale two products of our own.
WotNot - It is an all-in-one chat marketing tool that helps businesses build a pipeline of qualified leads, drive more revenue, and retain customers, without increasing headcount. We help you talk to your current and future customers today at scale.
Alertly - It is a personalized Slack bot for JIRA alerts. We have a series of PMs and Product Owners across some of the biggest companies across the globe who are using Alertly to manage their projects seamlessly while keeping JIRA updated via alerts on Slack to the rest of the team.
What's your backstory and how did you get into entrepreneurship?
I was working as a Senior Technical Manager with a product engineering company for about 5 years after my graduation. It was in 2009 when I put down the roots of Maruti Techlabs with a single project for a US-based client.
Never stop learning. Be a lifelong learner. Regardless of the role you are in, technology is evolving day in & day out & you don’t want to miss out on that.
Our story begins with one. It started with a small assignment with a trusting client. I’m really happy to share that we still work for that client to date.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Since then, we've been working as a go-to technical and product development partner for clients across automotive, advertising, eCommerce, healthcare, and more. I started the company with 5 friends of mine back in 2009, and we gave it our all. Today we’re 140 strong and will be growing steadily as we go into 2022.
In this day and age, it's hard to overlook the influence of technology on business, much alone the breakneck pace with which it's evolving. Whether you're a global corporation or a recently established startup, technological breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence and cloud databases are fast-defining an ever-evolving blueprint for how we do business in the future.
One thing is inevitable if we go forward five or 50 years: technology will transform the corporate landscape as we know it! Although the term "digital disruption" may feel like a buzzword, the consequences of its reach and effect have never been more apparent.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Yes, it has been a long journey & there have been learnings at each stage of our growth story. Here’s a few off the top of my head:
- Never stop learning. Be a lifelong learner. Regardless of the role you are in, technology is evolving day in & day out & you don’t want to miss out on that.
- There will always be problems and fires to put out. You need to assess, pick your battles, and differentiate between good problems and bad problems. Identify where systems and processes can be tightened to mitigate the same.
- Invest time in building relationships. Network & learn from other tech entrepreneurs. See what mistakes they are making, & try to prevent them.
- Focus on value. Keep track of the industry, but don’t focus too much on competitors. Instead, try to provide as much value to your customers.
- Hire people who believe in the vision. To be inspired and to learn from each other is what it is all about. Moving ahead in challenging times requires excellent teamwork.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
The latest crop of business technology tools can help you run your business more efficiently. The goal is to work smarter, not harder—so that we can focus on the work we do best. When it comes to running a business, having the right tool for the job can make a big difference.
For technology businesses to scale, prioritizing & optimizing teamwork is essential. We use a myriad of tools internally at Maruti Techlabs.
Communication - Slack
Meetings - Zoom
Project Management - JIRA, Trello, Asana
Customer Engagement - WotNot
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
Below I have mentioned some books, which are on my reading list & a few podcasts which I am inspired by as a tech entrepreneur:
Books:
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
- The $100 Startup by Chris Gillebeau
- Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap & Others Don't by Jim Collins
Podcasts:
- HBR Idea Cast
- Masters of Scale
- The Tim Ferriss Show
- This Week in Startups
- The Future of Everything
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Being a first-time entrepreneur may be difficult and stressful, but it can also be thrilling and rewarding. As you start your firm, there will be a slew of financial, legal, personnel, marketing, and customer difficulties to deal with. And, unfortunately, there is a lot of contradictory advice for budding entrepreneurs out there.
Here’s what has worked for me so far:
- Don't blindly focus on creating new products; solve problems.
- Hire the right people & build a team that shares your vision.
- First-time entrepreneurs should start a business they are passionate & knowledgeable about.
- Constantly monitor your company finances.
- Know who your customer is. Not every customer is right for you.
- Learn from your mistakes as well as from others.
- No sales, no business. Hence focus on sales & marketing.
- Network & seek support from industry peers.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
We’ve been scaling steadily over the last couple of years, and we’re taking things up a notch in 2022. We’re looking for extraordinary people to join our ever-growing team - a crew united by intellectual curiosity, a passion for great work & a standard set of values and goals.
An inspirational, innovation-driven & fun working environment coupled with ambitious projects that focus on emerging tech are some of the few reasons you’ll love working at Maruti Techlabs.
Come work with us!
Where can we go to learn more?
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
