Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in financial services but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sreeram Melarkode, co-founder & CTO of eMSME (Brand of AJVA Fintech), located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
At eMSME, we specialize in providing quick and one-stop solutions to aid the financial, taxation, and compliance requirements of MSMEs in India. While every client and work of ours is equally special to us, our motto is – “Simplify, Demystify, and Deliver Best Experience.” We recognize that the key problem MSMEs face is that they are not structured in terms of handling Accounting, Taxation, and other Compliances. To cater to these important requirements at various stages of the business life-cycle, eMSME’s product platform, eMSME Cart, is a one-stop solution that provides extensive services, including accounting, compliance, taxation, and more, to give its customers an edge. Adding onto the product innovation list, the launch of eMSME Saarthi, India’s first futuristic platform on Government Scheme Discovery, is supporting startups and MSMEs to gain access to scheme information provided by the Government for ease of doing business. With a mission to make startups and MSMEs more digital, credible, and bankable, eMSME takes pride in being one of India’s leading futuristic end-to-end solutions providers. eMSME Saarthi revolves and focuses around the MSME ecosystem in the purview of Government benefits. eMSME Expert, our omnibus platform for all compliance and accounting requirements of MSMEs, is the third product from our stables. Expert is a Proprietary Accounting Platform focused primarily on Micro and Small Enterprises, with a unique bank suitcase – covering diverse reports required for bank finance at multiple stages.
Tell us about yourself
I have over 25 years of experience in the technology domain, primarily in the BFSI sector, where I traversed the entire spectrum – from traditional banks, insurance organizations (life, non-life, credit insurance & insurance broking), NBFCs, capital markets, AMC, payments ecosystem, to FinTech startups. Besides, I also have some entrepreneurial experience from the last three odd years. With eMSME, I wish to fulfill my destiny and commitment to the MSME ecosystem by energizing and enabling people through tech-driven offerings in the next five years. We have put to use a state-of-the-art and robust technology stack in order to achieve this. I genuinely believe that the fantastic domain specialists and talented team members of eMSME are the torchbearers of the company’s success. We have made a conscious shift to a unique work module (replacing a warm-body dependent set of activities with standardization delivered through "Phygital," meaning a blend of physical and digital). This will streamline the company operations and help us scale in the near future.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Undoubtedly, the largest achievement to date is setting up this fantastic team of professionals and domain experts. Any organization is only as good as its people, and here I have been extremely fortunate to attract my current cohort of team members. I have worked with many of them during my career, and each one of them is excited about the idea and the vision, which acts as a huge validation for what started out as a thought.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The balancing act between steadying ship and building the backend on the one hand and growing the business through any means necessary on the other – is one of the biggest challenges we are faced with. Our mental bandwidth is limited, and both these imperatives are equally attractive. I’d like to believe we are good at either, but which one to push more and which remains is a difficult question to negotiate.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
First things first, define your vision and evaluate it to see if stands the test of time. For this, there needs to be not just a good understanding of the environment but also the trends and regulatory aspects of the industry. Secondly, collate, hire or seek help for each critical function of your business. You may not be able to possess every skill, but you may very well be able to attract them. Finally, remain flexible during the journey. In this VUCA world, with wars and recessions cropping up at random times, you should have a steady plan, a survival strategy, and an accelerated roadmap – all drawn up at once.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://emsme.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajvaemsme
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajvaemsme/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJVAeMSME
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ajvaemsme/
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.
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