Questions: Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Answer: Teqtivity provides an IT Asset Management solution to help businesses of all sizes from start ups to enterprise level in managing their IT inventory.
The business is located in Cerritos, CA (Los Angeles)
Questions: Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Answer:
Education:
2004 – Graduated with honors from University of Advancing Technology with a BA in Multimedia (emphasis in Web Design).
My background is in web/graphic design, web development. I started out working for an agency in Bakersfield CA out of college
Business Background:
• Started my first business in 2007. Guerrilla Design & Advertising in Bakersfield, CA.
• 2012 – Started Blackstorm, Inc – an agency based in LA that helped businesses with web dev, digital marketing, graphic design, branding
• 2016 – started the idea of the TeQube Smart Locker, which led into development of Teqtivity.
Questions: What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Answer: The business idea started in 2016 with TeQube. We wanted to provide a solution that helped software developers loan mobile devices in a quick and efficient way vs. having to visit an IT support desk to request a device.
The TeQube Locker allows IT to automate the pickup/dropoff process for IT Assets. As the idea grew, I saw a need for a robust backend for the locker reporting. The more we researched and brainstormed, the more we noticed that we could offer a full blown ITAM solution to compliment the locker – this is how Teqtivity started. There are a lot of customizable and feature heavy products in the market – but with a high price tag. The lower cost products were not as flexible or feature heavy. Our goal was to be in the middle area where we could provide a feature rich product with the option to customize at an affordable price.
Questions: What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Answer:
1. Take failures as a way to grow – whether it’s with the initial product launch, feedback from clients, or losing deals, always use it as a way to improve and get better. Don’t dwell on the failures / losses.
2. Create a plan – without a detailed business plan you’ll be unorganized, wasting money, and time. Get an understanding of your objectives, goals, target audience, and competition.
3. Launch! Don’t wait for the product to be perfect. Your product will grow and pivot over time, so it’ll never be “complete”. The only way to get feedback and to grow your product is to get real life feedback from customers.
Questions: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer:
1. Communication – whether a small or large team, being able to communicate is important
2. Time management / Organizational skill – being able to focus on the small and large tasks at hand to meet the company’s goals.
3. Creative / Critical thinking – being able to think outside of the box to analyze information to help make decisions
Questions: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Answer: 10-12
Questions: To what do you most attribute your success?
Answer: From a team standpoint – having a solid development team that was able to build the initial product, learn ITAM along the way, and improve the product with little friction
From a personal standpoint – having the self-drive, patience and discipline to see this through.
Questions: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Answer: Word of mouth / referrals have been the most effective lead source for us. People who have used the tool have either recommended us to other companies, or brought the tool into their new jobs.
Other marketing includes Google Ads and attending conferences related to ITAM
Questions: Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Answer: The company is 100% self funded.
Questions: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Answer:
Define your goals
Stick to your plan (however don’t be afraid to make some changes along the way as you learn)
Be patient
Create a positive culture with your team
Don’t focus 100% on the money
Questions: Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Answer: We’re hoping to be a recognizable brand name in the ITAM industry.
The company will be at least 4 times the size with a larger product team, sales team, management etc
Questions: How important have good employees been to your success?
Answer: Our employees are the key to our success. Without our development team we would not have a product.
Having a good team of employees whether in the engineering or sales department will be the biggest reasons for our company’s success and growth.
Questions: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Answer: Depending on the idea, the timeline will vary. All of our ideals, whether related to product, growth, marketing sales etc are evaluated to ensure they’re directly related to our goals – if the idea fits the plan but doesn’t show result, we’ll evaluate on a weekly, monthly basis and determine if we need to pivot or shift gears.
Questions: What motivates you?
Answer:
• seeing our product grow with more features
• positive feedback from our customers
• positive feedback / validation of our product from other industry leaders
Questions: How do you generate new ideas?
Answer:
• research (market and competitor)
• feedback from clients
• industry news
Questions: How do you define success?
Answer:
from a company/team perspective:
• building a company with a great culture – i want everyone to be happy when they start and end work
from a product perspective:
• getting to a place where we are a recognized company in the ITAM space
• being valued and getting positive feedback from all customers throughout their use of our product
Questions: How do you build a successful customer base?
Answer: Provide excellent support. You can have a great product, but I feel you also need to provide great customer service, support and ongoing communication to build a relationship with your customers.
Questions: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Answer: Seeing a product grow from the initial planning to launch
Questions: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Answer: The moment we signed our first customer and became a player in the ITAM space
Questions: What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Answer: I feel the major difference is that entrepreneurs take more risks.
Questions: What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Answer: I am working towards building an open culture where people can freely express themselves, work independently and grow personally and professionally. When your employees and teams are happy, they will be more productive and naturally help the organization grow
Questions: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Answer: passionate
Questions: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Answer: I have been volunteering for the HDSA (Huntington’s Disease Society of America) Los Angeles Chapter since 2011, currently the Chapter President. I spend a lot of time volunteering with planning events, board development and management. A little more about my story: https://greaterla.hdsa.org/news/-letstalkabouthd-with-hiren-patel
Questions: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer: the job security of getting a paycheck every 2 weeks from an employer
