Exadatum is a Pune based startup, founded by Divya Rakesh, Sandip and Abhijeet. This company is founded with the mission to make Big Data implementation easy and swift. Exadatum is an ISO 27001 certified organization to ensure complete Information Security of their clients.
We got an opportunity to talk with Rakesh, one of the co-founders of Exadatum. And I am sure; his story will inspire you and will help you to search the best school for your kids after reading the reviews. Let’s look at the journey and see how he and his team are working hard to help people to convert their dreams into reality.
Give a brief info about your startup?
Exadatum is one of the fastest growing companies with a mission to make Big Data implementation easy and swift. Exadatum is a one-stop shop for all your Big Data requirements including Consulting, Design, Data Management & Solution for specific data problems. Having a focused approach towards our mission, Exadatum has been able to build a team of 60+ smart engineers with key members contributing towards Open Source Projects. Exadatum is able to simplify Big Data Problems in a short span of time due to its available product suite and ready to use 70+ Accelerators thereby providing value to Fortune 500 clients and is generating an average of over 2.5 million USD in revenue each year since inception. Exadatum is an ISO 27001 certified organization to ensure complete Information Security of our clients. Having established ourselves in the space of Big Data, we are now looking towards other emerging technologies like ML and AI.
What made you start your startup and what problem does it solve?
We (all founders) have been working on Big Data projects for a long time ad with multiple clients. What we have seen is that they face similar problems across business verticals with respect to technical expertise and ability to make the correct technical choice while moving to Big Data. We embarked upon the journey to make “Big Data Implementation” simply by having our products and frameworks that can allow users to move to Big Data eco-system swiftly.
Tell us about yourself, your previous jobs/ventures? What were you doing before this startup?
Though I graduated as a Civil Engineer from NIT Warangal, I got an opportunity to shift into IT in the first year of my employment. Infosys, my first IT employer, was a fun place and it taught me a lot of things and whatever I have become in 15+ years now, a large part of it is due to my experience at Infosys. Before we started Exadatum, we had spent a lot of time in Big Data and since then we had always wanted to start something of our own in the space. Gradually things fell into place and we eventually started 2 years ago.
Where is your startup based out of? Why do you think that is the best place for you?
We are based out in Pune for various reasons, one major being that the three of us have spent a lot of time in the city and we wanted to stay here. Also, Pune has come up with a good alternative to other IT-centric cities of the country. Talent availability is good and the infrastructure is not only affordable but also comparable to any other city.
As a startup founder, what are you paranoid about? What keeps you awake at night?
Interesting question, as a founder there is not one thing that keeps me awake at night or makes me paranoid. If I have to pick top 3 then they will be (in no particular order) Growth, Employee Engagement & Exadatum Culture. We spend a lot of time in all these aspects and want to make sure that Exadatum family stays happy and together for a long time.
Who are your competitions and how are you better than them?
Big Data is a fast evolving landscape and there are many players in the same arena. Albeit what differentiates us is that we have “Of the shelf”frameworks/products that expedite the implementation of Big Data Solutions
How hard is it to have a work-life balance as a startup founder and how do you manage it?
For a Startup Founder, work-life balance is a myth, at least I feel so. Each day brings a new set of challenges and being a first-time entrepreneur we have to fight them as they come. No past experience of running an organization doesn’t make it easy, however having a blank slate gives us an opportunity to find new and innovative means to sort such situations.
Have you raised funding? If yes, then we would like to know the details. If no then please tell us if you are looking to raise.
No, we bootstrapped and looked for paying clients instead of an Investor.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about you? Why do they have that? What’s the reality?
I would say that a misconception among people for not only me but any founder is that “I am the boss and can make any decision, right or wrong, and can go unanswered”. What people don’t understand is that as a founder, we have larger responsibilities. We need to think many times before making a simple decision as we have to ensure safety & prosperity of everyone while making our choices. A simple decision like hiring someone is so important for us in order to maintain the healthy environment at work. We just can’t hire someone we want because of a random recommendation.
What gets you excited about this company?
The Team I have is my biggest reason to come to the office every day. They are such awesome people (including our ex-employees) that they make any challenge looks easy for us. I am blessed with such wonderful people at work, both technical and non-technical, that coming to office is something that I look forward to.
Tell us how a day in your life looks like? Your schedule for a day right from the time you get up till you hit the bed at night.
Usually, my day starts at around 7 am and I spend next 90 minutes updating myself on latest news around the world and in the industry. After that it’s all about office tasks which include meetings with employees, vendors, call with prospects/client, HR initiatives and other org level tasks. A typical day ends around 11:00 PM at night and I spend next 30 minutes playing games on my mobile before I go to sleep.
The meetings are ad-hoc so cant define a pattern but they pretty much take up the entire day.
Tell us about your team and how did you meet each other?
We have known each other for some time now. Sandeep & I have worked on a project in Cybage and ever since then we had built mutual admiration for each other’s knowledge and work ethic. Slowly we moved on to different opportunities in Cybage and outside but we never lost connect and eventually Sandeep met Abhijeet in Sears. As a common friend he introduced me to Abhijeet and since then the “Triumvirate” has stuck together and built our small family at Exadatum.
