Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Debashis Banerjee, CEO of RIKMA, located in New York, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a management consulting, technology, and risk product company. Our focus in the technology space is on AI, Cloud, ML, and analytics. In the consulting space, we are in management consulting, enterprise risk consulting, and start-up/entrepreneur consulting. We are also in the space where we help entrepreneurs and investors and bring them together to create a marketplace where they can find each other based on their requirements. In Enterprise risk, we are in the financial risk product and financial and non-financial risk consulting. I would not like to go into more detail here as you can have all those details on our website, or you can send us an e-mail at info@rikma.net, and we can reply to you. The customers are from several industries; they operate in several countries, such as North America, the UK, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Our customers are either a start-up or mid-size and large corporates.
Tell us about yourself
We have seen the gap in the market and realized that there's not even a single company in the consulting, technology, and product that works in all the spaces seamlessly and that helps businesses to act on their issues/challenges, add value to the existing business, and help improve ROI. Existing companies at that time either provide one service to their client or a combination of two services to their client. We have not seen somebody serving their client with consulting, technology, and enterprises - all three together and supporting and helping start-ups and entrepreneurs. If we analyze the requirements of clients, we realize that if we are serving them in consulting, they may typically come to us for technical support as well and would like to know the associated enterprise risk. In another way, if the client is looking for enterprise risk services, they're also looking for consulting and technology as well. You can pick up any of the combinations, and you realize that they're not just looking for one type of service but a combination of services from one company to work seamlessly, have a synergy of the workforce, and deliver cost-effective value-added solutions. We've seen the opportunity in the market and decided that we should provide product and value-added services to the client in one place.
Let us understand that motivation is an internal state of mind. It is one thing to develop and launch innovative services and products, but the ability to help the client - add value to their business and improve ROI is another thing. We feel happy and satisfied when we see our clients moving ahead, serving their customers well using the right technology, products, and offerings, and improving their revenue, market share, and profitability.
I have many years of global experience in fortune 100 companies and start-ups. I have worked across information technology, management consulting, financial services, and enterprise risk sectors and effectively led large multicultural teams at multiple locations in the US, UK, Europe, Singapore, and Asia. I have a flair for working in the fortune 100 and entrepreneur set up both. I am presently leading the company as President and CEO. I am responsible for Organization's cost, revenue(P&L), growth, innovation, strategy execution, delivery, leadership, culture, etc. He manages stakeholders and chairs the Board of an Organizational.
I have been working in information technology, products, and consulting for many years, and the focus is now on leveraging the technology and consulting, integrating product and consulting expertise, and AI & ML, etc., in the cloud to build effective systems, analytics, and fintech products to handle the challenges faced by global organizations. I have published several innovative papers and books on strategy and execution, risk, and leadership in the last few years and helped global corporates in their approach to handling challenges effectively. I am a member of the Board and Advisory council of global organizations and institutions. I am the Lead business mentor to global start-ups in the USA and UK.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
For me, the accomplishments are three in nature first - developing and launching innovative products and services; second - helping a client achieve their business objective and ROI; and third - highly motivated, happy employees. Doing it successfully year after year is the key.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
There are several things that come to mind, and I'm not sure which one to specify here. I believe when you promote a business, or else you work in any other organization, it's all the way the same. There are several things that change, but that is obvious. There are several challenges when you work in an organization; similarly, there are several challenges as well when you launch a company and promote it. The key here is to understand the associated challenges that come with it. That's it, not more than that.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
I think one needs to answer four questions here: What's the purpose of your life and your business? Do you understand the market, competitors, and customers? Do you have access to sources of funds, and do you have the right team, business model, and execution plan? And needless to say, you should have passion, a specific talent, and resilience. Go chase your dream if you have it in you.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: http://www.therikma.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debashis-banerjee-4a740a5a/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.