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Jumpstart Episode 9: Rajeev Gupta
- Rajeev Gupta CEO, CTO and Founder at dbsync.
- DBSync provides an affordable and simple to use integration solution for Cloud, SaaS or On-premise application like CRM, Accounting or Healthcare EMR delivered both on-demand or on-premise.
- Originally incubated by Salesforce.
- Since 2009, first version 2007/2008.
- Recently a finalist for a TiE50 Award.
- His wife Reena inspired him to attend Auburn to get his MBA. Instead of getting an internship, he moved to India to start up his business. He then brought his company back to Nashville.
- Originally moved to Nashville in 1995 to get Masters at TSU in software.
- Very inspired by Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
- Recommends Inc Magazine and Fast Company.
- Contact Raveev: rajeev.gupta AT mydbsync.com or @mydbsync.
Rajeev’s 3 tips every entrepreneur needs to know
- Don’t assume people will buy. Solve a problem first.
- Sales should always by pushed to sell outside of their hometown.
- When you’re building software, bring the sales person up front to determine why someone will buy it first.
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Jumpstart theme song “DLDN Instrumental (ft. Onlymeith, Mellotroniac)” by: St. Paul from ccMixter.
TRANSCRIPT
Dave: Welcome to Jumpstart. I am your host Dave Delaney. My guest today is Rajeev Gupta, CEO and CTO and Founder at dbsync. Hi Rajeev, how are you?
Rajeev: Hi Dave. Good, thank you.
Dave: Welcome to the show. I’m really glad you’re able to join me this evening. So let’s begin, tell me a little bit about dbsync. What is it that you do?
Rajeev: Well dbsync arose from a need that – you must have heard of about software as a service of cloud computing, starting to grow up and is estimated as going to be around $20 billion worth. And the market says there are honing for the billion dollars in the next say another 5 to 10 years. So it’s pretty rapidly growing.
Dave: Yeah.
Rajeev: A lot of business apps coming up and we said, “You know what? If things are in the cloud then integrating the system used to be in the clouds so how can I build a system for integration as a service?” And that’s how the whole thing started. It was originally started when we got incubated by salesforce.com. The first version goes out and then we took it and rewrote the whole thing as integration, as a service platform that has delivered on the cloud or even demand here. We have a hybrid model. But that’s pretty much it as if you’re buying things on the cloud and you want to connect it with the arm premise or other out cloud application, we are the folks to help you with it.
Dave: That’s great. How long have you been around now?
Rajeev: This product since 2009.
Dave: Okay.
Rajeev: We worked and we launched the first version of dbsync was 2007 or 2008 timeframe. But the new platform grows around 2009, Q3 of 2009.
Dave: And you were just recently nominated for TiE50 award?
Rajeev: Yes, TiE50 and [Inaudible – 00:02:09] award, pretty prestigious group and [Inaudible – 00:02:14] and all the big UC Prompts. It’s a high visibility.
Dave: Right.
Rajeev: We’re pretty happy because we’re kind of representing Nashville in Silicon Valley and saying, “Yeah we are here to compete.”
Dave: Yeah.
Rajeev: So we are pretty excited and we hope we’ll win that eventually.
Dave: Yeah, we hope so too and being a national base company especially. So what point in your career did you recognize the entrepreneurial bug biting you?
Rajeev: So my wife Reina, she’s pretty active in the community also. She started a bunk show in 2002 and started off as a stocking company. I was working with GE and I work for HCA and McGraw-Hill. By that time it was 4 or 5 years in 2004 I decided I want to get my MBA done from Owen. I joined Owen and got into the marketing strategy entrepreneurship track.
Dave: Right.
Rajeev: And started to see that I enjoyed every bit of it. And that’s when somewhere off my Owen days I didn’t take an internship and instead went to India to set up an office there. Things kind of started around when I joined Owen so it’s pretty much working, studying in the day and working at night and work through the 2 years setting up the business and getting more contracts. That’s how it kind of rolled in and ever since then I have not gone back to work for anyone else.
Dave: Yeah.
Rajeev: After that it’s been a fun ride since Owen.
Dave: Yeah it sounds like it. It sounds you’d use some sleep. It sounds like a lot of late nights.
Rajeev: I guess all entrepreneurs have.
Dave: Well that’s the life, right? Definitely! Was there anybody in particular, someone that inspired you that you look at and you thought, “I could do this” or someone that push you to do it yourself?
Rajeev: Well it’s certainly my wife. She has adapted it ahead so she was doing it ever since. So she certainly was a big part in getting me into this.
Dave: Yeah.
Rajeev: I was always a techy before. When I came to the U.S. and I came Nashville and stayed here. I came here ’95 to get my Masters from TSU. Being at TSU I was tinkering with software trying to build something and sell it. It didn’t quite ever happen.
Dave: Right.
Rajeev: Growing up with technology and software I mean Bill Gates was one of the guys I used to always read his books and Steve Jobs. They were great influence. So you can build software and sell it in a profitable way and take risk. So I still follow those guys and I’m pretty impressed and try to get close to them.
Dave: Why not.
Rajeev: Silicon Valley and really tech taking the opportunity and taking and running with it.
Dave: Yeah they are certainly two acts to follow for sure.
Rajeev: Right.
Dave: Is there a blog or website that you read regularly that you would recommend other entrepreneurs subscribe to?
Rajeev: Yeah man, Avankia got into 500 and 5,000 we were there like 2 to 3 years period. Ink Magazine is one that I like especially being an entrepreneur. And the other one I subscribe also is Flash Company outside of the traditional Wall Street and other stuff. Flash Company and Ink are pretty good ones that it matches what typical entrepreneur would run into and provides some good tips and other things. So I would recommend checking those out. I love reading those.
Dave: Yeah. I will definitely vouch for both of those as well. So I usually end each episode of Jumpstart asking you to provide three tips that you would recommend for any entrepreneur.
Rajeev: Yeah sure. I came from the tech background and it felt like everything was easy to do. I missed one thing which was one of the VCs I was presenting to who said, “Who buys it?” And that kind of more like my thought process. So my three tips are when you build anything don’t assume that people will buy. Do a research that have a compelling pinpoint that you are solving that you can buy.
The other thing that I enforce within my company also is whenever we build up a product usually the general tendency is, “Let me sell it to someone close in my circle I know, my friend or someone very close by.” What I say to my sales guys is you’re not supposed to sell software in the circle you are. So if you are here in Nashville I’d say, “You don’t sell in Nashville. You have to find someone outside of Nashville or Tennessee to sell.” This really pushes them outside their comfort zone to hunt for sales in ways that you normally get it. And it helps in the long run. So that’s something I got into and said, “Get out outside your immediate circle because otherwise you’ll get kind of stock into that.”
Dave: Yeah that’s really interesting. It makes sense.
Rajeev: Especially we are a SaaS company, most of the time we can sell over the phone and other things. It’s easier to do especially in our industry.
Dave: Right.
Rajeev: Third one is when you’re building software, building performers and stuff, you put in a lot of dollars around building technology and over the period of time in the last 5 to 6 years I built 7 or 8 products off which actually 3 or 4 actually worked out. Overall we’re realizing technology is easy to build. What is hard is selling it. So when you’re building you think building the sales person when you’re upfront and say, “Why would people buy this software or product of yours,” and then worry about the technology and how to deliver it. We’ve incubated in my sales force and I saw similar things happening in California where there are lots more push and selling before the product is even out. That’s something in cash flow you might very likely burn through your cash if you’re not careful. Bring sales in the forefront in technology and later think of your strategy.
Dave: Knowing who your target is and filling their needs makes tons of sense when I think about.
Rajeev: Yeah I remember once in Silicon Valley from, I wouldn’t name it, I was then they had a big web presence and a beautiful website and been rated so much buzz and I came to know later on they didn’t have a product in market and kind of pre source the license even before the product was in the market.
Dave: Gosh.
Rajeev: An example of how it works in sales can do and bring in.
Dave: Yeah.
Rajeev: Folks need to think that way too.
Dave: Yeah, definitely. Well listen, I just wanted to thank you sincerely for taking the time tonight and I know you’re busy guy. Where would people be able to find you online?
Rajeev: Yeah the best way is to go to my website mydbsync.com.
Dave: Okay.
Rajeev: And follow me at Twitter @dbsync or you can always email me at rajeev.gupta.mydbsync.com.
Dave: Great and I’ll include links to all the sites and stuff that we talked about tonight in the show notes on the blogs for those following along. You can always visit jumpstartpodcast.com for those notes. Thank you so much Rajeev, I really appreciate it.
Rajeev: Thank you very much Dave. Thank you all for listening.
Dave: Right, see you.
Rajeev: Yes.
Moderator: For show notes, links discussed in today’s podcast, and much more visit jumpstartpodcast.com. Thanks for listening.
Posted on May 15, 2011
Categories: Blog, Podcast
Tags: Bill Gates, DBSync, Fast Company, Inc Magazine, mydb Sync, Rajeev Gupta, Steve Jobs, TiE50