DARE reconnects with Beerud Sheth to trace the journey of his enterprise
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| Beerud Sheth Co-founder & CEO, SMSGupShup |
THEN: While getting off the plane in Mumbai after a long flight from Silicon Valley, Beerud Sheth was struck by a simple question: how does one deliver content-rich communication and commerce via the lowest-end handset to benefit billions of users in worldwide. To answer his own question, he launched Webaroo in the year 2009. Then came his signature brand SMSGupShup, allowing users to create mobile communities and broadcast messages using group SMS services. At that time the company had no revenues to quote, but yes, they had 100 strong employees and just one office in Powai, Mumbai.
NOW: The entrepreneur says “Sky is the limit” as they have touched a 100 crore turnover, with 400 employees and 6 offices.
SMARTEST MOVE: Obsessive focus on customer needs, coupled with an insistence on hiring the best people.
KEY MARKETING/BRANDING STRATEGY THAT SET THEM APART: We have built viral products that people want to share with others. We’ve grown to over 50 million users and growing rapidly. All our growth has been viral, i.e., through word-of-mouth without any advertising.
ABOUT BEERUD SHETH: A serial entrepreneur, Beerud founded Elance (www.elance.com) in 1998, in Silicon Valley. Prior to launching Elance, Beerud worked at Merrill Lynch and at Citicorp Securities. Beerud is an M.S. in computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology & a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Mumbai, where he won the Institute's Silver Medal. He believes he is a practical problem solver, and an ambitious man. He loves to innovate, and enjoys working with bright people.
BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED ALONG THE WAY: “Innovate, get market feedback, refine. Repeat.”
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