Having worked with 21 years with various manufacturing industries in various metro cities of India, Mr. Giri had experienced the plight of job seekers being exploited at the hands of consultants, decided one day to quit his position as COO and head his own venture names Futures and Careers. Headquartered at Bangalore, they provide a wide range of services to job seekers on a pan India basis.
In addition to staffing and keeping in mind overall development of the candidate, FAC provides training and strategy management services also. They wonderfully reincarnate professional opportunities for women who want to have a second chance at their career.
Mr. Giri and his profound team of recruitment experts who excel in the in-depth knowledge of the Non-IT as well as IT industry leave no stone unturned to reach talent which is unique and competitive in all aspects. They have their techniques of course. FAC is a tough competition to the giant players of recruitment industry these days. Mr. Giri himself been an entrepreneur since a decade now and prior to that an employee for two decades, genuinely understands the core loopholes of this industry and plan to contribute to the society the best he can offer. Not only this, FAC strives hard to provide their client incomparable services and proudly hold a great client retention record.
He has a wonderful advice for students and upcoming entrepreneurs. Read on the exclusive interview of Mr. Giri with Inventiva to know more about him and his ideology.
1. What is the Name of Your Venture? Any specific reason for this name?
Futures And Careers is the name of our Company. The name has been decided to provide suitable career opportunities for Job seekers and enable them to have a bright future.
2. Who is your target Audience/clients?
Our target Audience are Job seekers (Fresher’s to experienced candidates) as well as IT & Non IT Clients
3. Where is your venture based (city, state, country) & What are your geographical target areas?
Our Venture is headquartered at Bangalore, Karnataka, India. We work Pan India as well as provide placement opportunities abroad also.
4. What problems does your venture resolve? What are your products or services?
Futures And Careers (FAC) portfolio of services include:
• Permanent Staffing
• Contractual Staffing
• Executive Search
• Organisation Development (Realigning HR Policies)
• Soft Skills Training
• Pre-Placement Training
• Business Improvement Strategies
• Vendors Suppliers Management
• Productivity Improvement Techniques
• Education Consulting and Immigration Services
• Business Development/Marketing
• Employability Skills Training
• Resume Building and Video Resumes
• Entrepreneurship Development Programme
5. Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it came to an existence? What motivated you to start your own venture?
After having worked for 21 years in the manufacturing industry in 5 different metro cities of India, I wanted to contribute something back to the Society. So, in 2007, I quit my plum job of COO &planned to start a small business where I could provide employment opportunities. But, I did not have the money power to set up a factory or any other venture. During the course of my career, I was a victim of paying money to a few Consultants for getting job interviews. I could not digest this fact & hence I decided to start a venture wherein I could support the job seekers with placements free of cost.FAC does not charge any fee at any stage of its recruitment from the candidate, nor allows our employees to collect any fees from any candidate (This is given in our website under FAC Principle Declaration).
We established FAC on 1st Jun 2007. We are very unique in hiring our employees. We provide ‘work from home’ opportunities to women who have experience in Non IT or IT Recruitment & to those who want a 2nd innings in their careers. Our employees are located across India & abroad.
6. Who are your biggest competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
We compete with the Top brands in the Recruitment Industry. Our USP is that we have specialist team of recruiters who are adept of social media recruitment. We share jobs postings through LinkedIn & Facebook & attract unique candidates who are not active in the regular job portals. We work with several Clients as “Preferred Recruitment Partners”. This is because of our in-depth understanding of the IT & Non-IT industry & we comprehend the terminologies & requirements extremely well. Recruitment Consultants provide the 1st batch of candidate profiles within 48 hours. Team Lead acts as the single point of contact. Clients renew their contracts invariably as we strive to maintain highest standards of quality & speed of service.
7. How did you identify your co-founder? Tell us some thing about your co-founder/s.
FAC is a Proprietary Company & has no Co-founders.
8. How did you hire your first team members? What skills Do you want in your employees/team?
I hired the 1st team member in June 2007 with about 2 years Recruitment experience. We are always on the lookout for hands-on recruitment experience in any IT & Non-IT industry.
9. What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?
Exploring Synergies is our logo & we are seeking to connect with new Clients for the various business verticals apart from Recruitment. We have been successful in implementing HR Policies, building productivity improvement systems & processes for a couple of small scale manufacturing Companies & we intend to expand & strengthen that area of expertise within the next 2 years. Acquiring Clients abroad, Hiring C-level positions, Contractual Employment, Video Resumes & providing one-stop basket of HR solutions for all Clients will the plan for the next 5 years.
10.Where do you want to see yourself in next 10 years?
I would like to be on the Board of Directors & providing Consulting services for several Companies in the next 10 years.
11. What are your goals over the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months?
Improving the efficiency & productivity of the team is the immediate goal for the next 1to 3 months. Acquiring new Clients is the goal for the next 3 to 6 months. Achieving quarterly targets for the Recruitment & Synergy business are the main goals over the next 1 year.
12. Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?
We never found the need for raising funds as we have been self-sufficient all through.Yes, I will more than delighted if I find the right investors for my ideas/expansion plans.
13. What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
When I established the Company in 2007, the main problem was to acquire Clients during a time when India was going through a recession. But, I got through successfully as my previous 20 years of hard-core domain experience in various functions while working in the manufacturing/engineering sector came very handy.
14. What was the most challenging part of your journey till now? How did you overcome those challenges?
Getting continuous business & a fixed monthly billing was always a major challenge as I was focussed mainly on Recruitment business from 2007 till 2015. In 2016, I decided to diversify & add other business verticals & market the services of the Synergy division. That was the turning point.
15. Are you married, single or in a relationship?
I am single from April 2013 as I lost my beloved wife due to cancer. I have not found a soul-mate as yet.
16. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
I play percussion instruments during my free time, watch inspirational movies & connect via LinkedIn.
17. Whats your favorite food & holiday destination?
I love Chinese, South & North Indian cuisine & find it exhilarating while visiting various hill-stations.
18. Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
Dr Abdul Kalam is my idol & motivator.
19. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
I have been on both sides. I have been working for different employers for the 1st twenty years of my career. And been an entrepreneur for the last 10 years. It’s been an excellent journey right though.
Being an entrepreneur has a special charm as it gives me an opportunity to dream & achieve big. I feel elated when I am able to employ skilled women & provide them with work from home opportunities. My team enjoy the accolades from the job-seekers when their get their career-break. We rejoice whenever our Clients share testimonials about the speed & quality of work.
As an Entrepreneur, I am able to consult many micro & small Companies. I am able to adapt to various Industry needs & hence my Consulting business is an added source of income.
20. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I would have been an entrepreneur right from the beginning of my career. It is an enriching experience. I would have been rewarded with the right connections/network.
21. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?
My family has always supported me as an entrepreneur. They want me to devote extra time towards leisure & sports activities. Though I don’t spare too much of time for socialising, my social life somehow gets mixed with business discussions.
22. Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
I would love the graduates, PGs & Doctorates to pursue their passion & convert their ideas/concepts into business. Instead of waiting for employment opportunities, it will be worthwhile for freshers to intern with the MSME Companies &learn multi-tasking. This way they would get a 1st hand experience before setting off to build their own Company/business. Upcoming entrepreneurs can thereby generate employment.
23. Tell us something about your education & family background.
I have completed my BE(Mech) from the University of Mysore in 1987, MBA (Operations) through distance education from IGNOU in 1993, certified in Lean & Six Sigma courses.
I was born in Kolar Gold Fields which is 100km away from Bangalore. My father worked for the famous Bharat Gold Mines Ltd for 40 years. My mother was a home-maker. But I lost my parents in 1995 & 1997. My 3 sisters are well settled at Bangalore & Hyderabad. I was happily married for 18 years from 1995 but I lost my wife due to cancer in 2013. My son Akash Krishnan will be completing his PhD in Economics from IIM-Kolkata in 2019. My daughter Akshada Krishnan has completed her BA(Pyschology) in 2017 and has completed her 7th Grade from Trinity College of Music, London.
24.What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains.
We provide opportunities to women to start their 2nd or 3rd innings& provide with flexi, work from home opportunities. Most of the women experienced in their respective domains get trained in the various techniques & nitty gritties of recruitment & make a name for themselves by provided the best candidates to our Clients. Clients are extremely satisfied with the quality of our work & hence continue with our services year after year!
25. What do you think is the biggest threat to the success of small businesses & Start-ups today?
Cost of service providersincrease with each passing year & hence we need to find innovative methods to survive. We therefore diversify into multiple areas with our network. Start-ups & small businesses who do not adopt the latest technologies upgradation will find it very difficult to survive.
26. Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?
I consider myself as a very successful entrepreneur as I have assisted more than 250 Clients in finding the right talent. There are many Companies who seek our HR Organisation Development support because of our expertise. I feel extremely happy that I have been instrumental in providing flexi/work from home employment opportunities to several needy women in India.
27.Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person.
Giri Krishnan
Proprietor & CEO,
FUTURES AND CAREERS
#302, Building No.7/13, 4th Cross,
2nd Block, Koramangala, Bangalore – 560068.
Opp. Grand Krishna Hotel, Near Kaveri Hospital,
www.futuresandcareers.com
