Business

In talks with Smita Apsigekar: COO/Director of YITSOL Technologies

With 13 years with various good companies, like Rallies, Lupin, PALL, Aurobindo etc, Mrs. Smita is now the director of Yitsol Technologies, a fast growing technology startup having Head office at USA and development center in Hyderabad.

About YITSOL Technologies

YITSOL is a Technology Consulting Services Company wholly committed to provide state-of-the-art Technology Solutions, including Oracle Applications, Mobility Solutions, as well as custom enterprise application development experiences that can positively impact businesses.

What or who has been your greatest influence in business and why?

Ans: My life, my ethics and my philosophy of the life is strongly influenced by my parents; my roots. My mother is a strong lady who strongly believe in woman’s strength. She is so disciplined and operational. My father is a hard core ethical person who taught me to stay calm and assess the situation and manage with the hand you’re dealt. I hope that over the years of watching him do that, a little bit of that’s rubbed off on me.

IndraNooyi is one whom about I like to read about. As a successful woman CEO, she influenced my life in many ways. I see her as tough leader, honest employee, hardworking woman, caring mother and a balanced person.

What would you say is your greatest professional accomplishment to date?

Ans: My biggest professional accomplishment of was growing the company from 10 to 123 people while keeping YITSOL’s culture intact and healthy.

I believe that there is nothing more important that COO does than building a right team. Customers are won and products are built by great team members. Any strategic mistake can be caught and fixed by good people.

Growing fast while staying bootstrap and maintaining our great culture is our greatest accomplishment of last three.

What’s the best advice you have received in business that you wish to pass on to our readers?

Ans: In IT industries especially, teams are central to the work.

Many times people fail to recognize that only two or more people working together doesn’t automatically constitute a ‘team.’ And only formation of TEAM that’s not enough to effect the magic that genuine teamwork can produce.

In YITSOL, we assembled teams to take on each assignment and were careful to include a diversity of skills and backgrounds. YITSOL, strongly believes whatever may be the situation that we need to work together as a Team.

‘ TOUGH TIME DOESN’T LAST, BUT TOUGH TEAM DOES.’

What has been the most effective marketing initiatives or programs you have used to promote your business?

Ans: For Bootstrap start-ups, financial management is one of the key area, where you need to concentrate and keep control all the time. Effective cost saving in each every area is very important for the growing companies.

By keeping all these factors in the mind, we started more focused digital marketing.

I find that companies doesn’t get amazing results from DIGITAL MARKETING without a digital strategy, where they have a clear strategic goal for what they want to achieve online in terms of gaining new customers or building stronger relationships with existing ones.

If you look at the top online brands like Amazon, Dell, Google they’re all dynamically trialing new approaches to gain or keep their online customers

This is what YITSOL found as a powerful reasons for creating a digital strategy and transforming our marketing which we can use to persuade our colleagues and clients.

Are there any resources or tools you’d like to share with other small business owners that have helped you run your business?

Ans: I personally believe that tools helps us to build the systems and brings systematic approach to the organizations.

Being a start up, we started with Microsoft Excel for our project management. Eventually we started using JIRA and ZOHO for project management and lead management.

What do you do for fun/relaxation?

Ans: A person cannot create big things unless and until he/she enjoy doing it. Working with YITSOL team is itself a fun. We eat together, do outings, and celebrate festivals and lot more. We all work together, and dream together. That’s the most enjoyable part of my life.

Yes! As a person I love to spend a quality time with my family. I love to explore new places with my family.

My most favorite relaxation is spending a day aloof, by reading Agatha Christie’s novel with lot of coffee.