It is a very common adage that customer is the king. But what happens when the king is left alone and abandoned in the lonesome world of marketing and internet of things.
Here the king is the Small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Most of the SMEs do their business in the traditional way, hence faltering in unlocking their ultimate potential. As we are aware of the profound importance of marketing in this tech savvy world, it becomes necessary to provide a guiding light to the SMEs who are lost in the darkness of ignorance. There comes Koderrs as the anchor to hold these SMEs upright and make their businesses a success.
Founded by Mukul Abuwala and Yogesh, Koderrs started in the year 2016 with the sole motive to boost the online presence of small enterprises and SMEs that lack in business because of limited online reach. It aims to assist individuals and businesses to leverage their online presence while honing their potential to woo customers and grow exponentially in the virtual space.
Their ideology is to help entrepreneurs in fulfilling their dream, by providing them with swift and cost effective e- commerce development service. Imagine the reach of customers a business can explore if they get the right direction to sail through this boat of cut-throat competition. Such reach is very easy to exploit by the big corporate houses as they do not have constraints of capital resources. But to capture a wide market like this seems an uphill task for these SMEs.
The objective at Koderrs is to aid the SMEs in their business grow and expand their clientele by creating a global business base through utilizing the power of internet. The most effective way to communicate with the customers today on a large scale is an informative website. The first impression of a business comes from its attractive website which in turn grows to an ever lasting impression.
Koderrs provide all types of IT services utilizing various latest tools & technologies. They stand apart in their approach which emphasizes on understanding the business objective and hence associating with the clients on a long term basis. Mukul believes that perseverance and passion are the only things one needs when they have nothing. The cofounder comes from a family background where the business was conducted in an old fashioned way. When he saw the business of such kind not flourishing, he reached to a consensus that website is the stepping stone to compete with the big online players. Hence he crested several websites for his friends.
The founder has a staunch belief in the power of expanding business through online marketing. At Koderrs various products are offered. CMS development, web development and e-commerce development are their major products. Koderrs have a talented pool of designers and developers that hold expertise in building highly user-engaging websites for the business. Their websites are highly compatible and support all type of operating systems and platforms. Content Management System is another pillar supporting the identity of the company in the inline space. They excel in building user-centric, enterprise-level Custom WordPress Solutions that last.
They possess expertise in E-commerce development and their meticulous developers are proficient enough to deliver the SMEs bespoke solutions for their business’s e-commerce needs. Steering through the challenges and fears welling up from the SMEs, the team at Koderrs carries a vision to become a trusted and respected name in IT industry, in the league of big names of Technology Company. Let us read between the lines about their entrepreneurial journey in their own words in this exclusive interview.
1. Hi Mr. Mukul Abuwala, Tell us about yourself and your entrepreneurial stint.
I started my career as a Marketing professional with an ad agency. During the time of 2006 recession, when Media industry was struggling, I moved to the IT industry and it was when I realized that IT was my calling.
I was in the UK at that time; after coming to India, I started my Marketing Consultancy firm, Mukul Abuwala, and worked with various SMEs and startups. Our company helps SMEs in setting up there Sales & marketing. All the details about me and our services are available at www.MukulAbuwala.com After successfully establishing Mukul Abuwala, I founded another venture; an IT service company.
What is the Name of Your Venture? Any specific reason for this name?
The name of our venture is KODERRS. As we are an IT company, which is primarily about coding, we consider ourselves coders. To make “coders” sound different and easy to recognize we have started the name with “K” and put two “R” in it.
- Who is your target Audience/clients?
Our target audience is SMEs and startups. At present, most of the SMEs do business in the traditional way; they don’t even have their own website, neither is adept with the advanced digital tools. At Koderrs, we help them start their online journey and expand their business globally utilizing the power of the internet.
- Where is your venture based (city, state, country) & What are your geographical target areas?
Mumbai & Ahmedabad, we have our sales office in Mumbai and our development center based out of Ahmedabad.
- What problems does your venture resolve? What are your products or services?
We do provide all types of IT services utilizing various latest tools & technologies. We also love creating websites and as Website is the most important identity tool for any business we use our passion to help our clients have an established online presence.
An attractive and efficient website is the proof of your business’s existence. If any business doesn’t have website people don’t take that business seriously. A good website is the first impression of your business & we develop CMS, Informative and E-commerce website to help the businesses have a perfect impact on its customers.
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5. Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it come to an existence? What motivated you to start your own venture?
SMEs exposure to the immense power of digital marketing is limited. There are many industries that suffer from lack of proper digital infrastructure and service providers to help them expand their reach and the target customer. For instance, being from the Marwari background, I am aware of the fact that there are several businesses run by Marwari people that are still done in an old-fashioned way. Such businesses don’t even have a website neither have knowledge of the online operations. Most of the time they crib that business is not good and profiteering and blame for the competition from online players.
We have created a website for some of our friends and found that there are so many businesses out there who are still struggling on this front.
Most of the companies targeting this sector quote very cheap price and in result offer them very basic websites with poor services as the client does not know much about the website operations and how to utilize online tools.
We not only create websites for our partners but also teach them and guide them for effective use and the many advantages that they can seek from their websites.
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6. Who are your biggest competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
There are so many companies out there offering similar services like us, but, we do not consider them as our competitor as their approach is just to create a website for the client.
At Koderrs, our services aren’t limited to website creation but it is a process to establish the identity of a business. It is a start of his/her entrepreneurial journey and we understand that it is a very emotional thing for him/her.
- What skills do you want to your employees/team?
The most important thing that I look for is my employee is their attitude. Skills can be learned but attitude makes the difference and helps the employer determine whether or not a person will be a team player.
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8. What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?
We are coming up with some IT products in near future and focusing on the international market. We are working on some really good international projects.
- Where do you want to see yourself in next 10 years?
We see Koderss as a Trusted and respected name in IT industry, in the league of big names of Technology Company.
- What are your goals over the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months?
As of now, we are developing our channel partner program and in next one year, we are planning to appoint channel partners in at least 15 countries.
- Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?
Till now we are managing our own funds and are proud to claim ourselves profitable.
12.What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
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p align=”justify”>Planning is always easy however the execution is very tough, there were quite a few problems but with perseverance and patience, we resolved them in due course of time.
13. What was the most challenging part of your journey till now? How did you overcome those challenges?
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p align=”justify”>The biggest challenge is convincing SMEs about IT & its benefits. There are so many misconceptions about websites that people fear using them. Also, some companies who offer these services demand cheap pricing and in result do not deliver the right product to the client. The client, with the mediocre product, does not get the desired result. This has made people lose their trust in technology. We are working hard to overcome this barrier by educating people about ease of Internet use and its many advantages for the business.
14.What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Reading, I love reading business books. Also, I love reading about Numerology, it fascinates me and recently has become one of my passions.
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15. Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
My Elder brother Dilip Khandelwal, he has always been a pillar of strength for me and has helped me to determine and achieve my goals. My brother and my sister-in-law are the biggest motivators that boosted my morale during adversities and made me excel despite all odds. They stood rock solid with me through the rough patches of my life.
I would also like to thanks my wife for understanding everything through this tough journey.
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16. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
An entrepreneur is responsible for everything, he /she is a one-man army involved in all task, an employee is focused more on his role or assignment. Being an Entrepreneur has its own perks but the role brings in a lot of responsibilities.
- If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
When I started, IT was not that big thing but if I have to restart, I will start with more technical knowledge and expertise.
18. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?
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p align=”justify”>Like I said, it brings a lot of responsibilities; I don’t get too much time for socializing, but, I try to spend some quality time with family whenever I get an opportunity.
19. Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
No matters how much the time or the technology changes; old values are still very important.
Perseverance and passion are the only things you need when you have nothing. Even if you are bankrupt or left without resources, it is your passion that helps you find the alternate and keep your boat sailing through adversities.
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20. Tell us something about your educational background.
I am from Rajasthan and have done BSc from MLS University. I did my PG diploma in Advertising and Public relation from KC College. I moved to the UK for higher studies and pursued Chartered Marketer from Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) there.
- What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains?
We try to associate with the client on a long-term basis and try to understand his business objective, and my Marketing background gives me an upper hand to understand his vision. We work along with his vision as every entrepreneur has his own vision which makes the product or a company different.
We do not go with the Price war; we don’t offer ourselves as cheap because it harms the client in future. We explain to them that this is their investment in business and if they wish to go cheap it will result in short-term saving but will buy long-term loses.
- What do you think is the biggest threat to the success of small businesses & Start-ups today?
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p align=”justify”>Dependence on external funding; everybody wants to make quick bucks without working on fundamentals.
23. Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?
No, not yet, “we have miles to go before we sleep”.
- Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person
Name: Mukul Abuwala
Email ID: [email protected]
Websites: www.Koderrs.com, Www.MukulAbuwala.com
Contact : 95880 31755 / 83477 76885
Address: Mittal Estate, Marol Naka
Andheri East, Mumbai
