In my previous article, I spoke about the importance of a good website to promote your software startupand key factors to make it stand out from the crowd. Now, let’s consider how to get your startup moving with great content and marketing.

Set up a content calendar

A content calendar is a plan – in the format of a calendar – that your marketing team can use to execute your content-related marketing activity. The calendar format will help you visualise how (and what type of) content will be distributed throughout the year. Follow these six tips to create a content calendar that works:

1) Who is your audience? – First, identify the different audience that you want to publish content for, eg existing clients, new customers and potential employees. Then, decide the weighting of content distribution for each audience. Now, plan for and produce content that will engage these audiences.

2) Plan your content around key dates – industry events, product releases etc as this will ensure that you have your content ready in time for the go live dates.

3) Plan ahead – The further ahead you plan, the better! That will give you the best chance of producing a consistent (in terms of regularity and quality) flow of content that will help build your brand and gain recognition in the market.

4) Be flexible – You will need to maintain a degree of flexibility with your plan – to allow for sudden change in market trends and unexpected events/news items.

5) Reuse content – You don’t always need to create new content – use training materials, slides, whitepapers, customer testimonials or research data that you already have on hand and tweak them before distribution. Be creative and publish these in a variety of formats to keep it fresh – for example: publish whitepapers as a series of smaller blogs, convert a training programme with slides into a video with a voice over, create easy-to-read and colourful infographics from research data.

6) Engage the entire team – Don’t forget to include inputs from different departments (HR, marketing etc.) when putting together your content calendar.

Share content daily

In addition to the ‘big dates’ mentioned on your content calendar, also plan to publish smaller bits of content in between. This will result in content being published on a daily basis, giving your startup as much exposure as possible. Ensure that you have a presence on all the main platforms – then when you publish content on one platform, use the other platforms to promote the content. If you upload a video to YouTube, then also post a link to it on your Facebook page, if you upload a new blog, then #hashtag and promote it using Twitter.

Use your friends, family, employees (and their friends and family!), neighbours – everyone you know – to advocate your brand. This can start off as simple as getting them to ‘like’ your Facebook page, or follow you on Twitter and retweeting you – then moving on to showing them what you do and asking them to post reviews of your products on your social media profiles. It may seem like a small start, but this will give you the jumpstart to catch the eye of potential clients. Remember that each person who advocates you will have her own social circle that you will reach.

Join an industry trade association

A great way to get guidance while you are starting up is to join a trade association like Nasscom. Leverage all the opportunities such an organisation would provide to promote your business. This will also give you a great readymade platform for networking with industry experts, investors, fellow entrepreneurs, potential clients, mentors and business leaders. You will be able to tap into their knowledge base and experience, and share your insights too.

Being a member of a recognised association will also give you recognition when dealing with industry standard agencies and governments, giving you a forum to collectively share concerns that will result in a much larger voice being heard. You will be first in line to hear of any noteworthy news and developments that will affect you. It will also enhance the reputation of your startup as you will learn industry best practices. It will also ensure you meet the association’s standards putting you in line for awards, which will in turn, boost consumer confidence in your brand.

Partner with large companies

Many large organisations now provide great opportunities for software startups and provide valuable services at no charge.

The BizSpark programme, provided by Microsoft, helps software startups by giving them access to Microsoft software development tools, cloud services, technical support and connecting them with key industry players, including investors. IBM’s Global Entrepreneur Program provides ‘access to go-to-market support, business mentorship and services and technical expertise.’ Google for Entrepreneurs partners with startup communities and builds ‘Campuses’ – a platform for entrepreneurs to learn and connect with each other. Similar programmes are offered by other large companies too, such as Amazon, Oracle and SAP.

ALSO READ: Promoting your software startup with a good website — Part I

Further, you’ll have access to the organisation’s partner networks through which these programmes provide a vast array of training classes and conferences – from recruiting to backend development, from marketing to raising investment – all fantastic opportunities to learn and network.

Following these four steps will give you an excellent stage to launch your startup, build it and take it to the next level as it grows. Remember, it will be a lot of blood, sweat and tears – but don’t give up.

 

This article was originally published on http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/mukund-krishna-promoting-your-software-startup-with-a-good-website-part-ii-116020900874_1.html

It is no secret that I have a soft corner for startups. I have been there and done that, and can completely relate to the struggles and joys that building a company can bring. In the next couple of articles, I want to chronicle the steps you can take to promote your software startup —  relatively quickly and cost-efficiently.

 

First up, let us focus on getting your website right before we move on to the other weapons in themarketing arsenal.
ALSO READ: How startups can hire exceptional talent, consistently

 

A fantastic but simple website is the very basic of requisites for a startup. As software developers, we know we have the code and the knowhow to make great products, but that just isn’t good enough if we want clients. What a client really needs to see (at least at the start) is a great, professional looking website. Here are 10 things to keep in mind when designing your startup website:

 

1. Simple design patterns with simple animations

As developers, we know code and have the ability to create radical flash designs that can wow clients, but that will not be of any use if the client loses patience waiting for your home screen to load. Surveys show that 40% of the visitors will leave the site if the page takes more than 3 seconds to load. Simple is key.

 

2. Meaningful content

Using CSS (cascading style sheet) for layout, ensuring compliance with universal standards and HTML ‘validators’ may make a lot of sense to us in the software world, but it means absolutely nothing to clients who are on your website. The only thing that means anything to them is what is on that page; the pitch that will convince them to sign with you. That is why you need to dedicate a whole lot of time to the content on your website. This is the most important focus of your website design.
ALSO READ: How startups can hire exceptional talent, consistently

 

3. The importance of a mobile-friendly version cannot be overemphasised. 

With the rise of the smartphones era, the lack of a mobile version of your website can be fatal. While you are at it, ensure that it is completely flexible to other devices and browsers.

 

4. Leverage vertical scroll

A vertical navigation menu on a single page layout will save the client the load time taken to open different pages. Another advantage of the vertical scroll menu is that the content opens with the same width and height on any screen no matter the screen size, a boon for a Responsive design layout.

 

5. Simple colour patterns and simple menus

Keep your website neat and clean; infusing it with gaudy colours is a huge mistake as it detracts from your message. While looking at some 30 web designs that make use of a minimalistic three colour scheme — simple, beautiful and classy is what came to mind.

 

6. Lots of whitespace

The basic role of white space is to eliminate clutter. It is the space between elements that makes it easier for browsers to process the text and important graphics on screen. Whitespace guides the eye of the reader and brings the design together harmoniously.

 

7. Pleasing font selections

You don’t want to go for grandiose, complicated fonts. It might look imposing but is far off the target when it comes to getting your message across to the client. Keep in mind that load time applies here too; however fancy a typeface looks, it won’t be effective if it doesn’t load at lightning speed. Another thing to keep in mind is that the typeface you select should be compatible with modern web interfaces across different platforms.

 

8. Highlight your USP on every page

A strong, instantly recognisable USP is a must for any business and leveraging that USP on every page is equally important. Highlight a different benefit of your USP on each page and ensure that there is a consistent message in your overall marketing efforts.

 

9. Should be super secure; yet easy to update

Ensure that your website is secure and not subject to DoS or other attacks. On the other hand, with content becoming a major part of marketing collateral, multiple teams within your startup (HR, marketing, design, etc) should be able to upload and maintain content on your website. The easiest way to do this is through an easy to use Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress.

 

10. Encourage social sharing

Social sharing is the biggest strategy in marketing right now and your website should capitalise on this. The easiest way to do this is to add social sharing buttons on your site.  This makes it easy for people to share content, which in turn boosts traffic to your website.  At the least, the buttons should enable sharing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

A recent study by BrightEdge technologies had this interesting finding: on average, a website without a Twitter share button was mentioned four times, while a site with a tweet button was mentioned 27 times. Including a Twitter plugin button increased mentions on Twitter almost sevenfold.

 

Definitely worth adding that button. With social sharing comes the responsibility to share good and relevant content. In my next article we will talk (among other things) about this very important aspect of marketing. Stay tuned!

 

This article was originally published on http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/mukund-krishna-promoting-your-software-startup-with-a-good-website-116012000548_1.html

Hiring and retaining the best talent is as tough as it’s ever been. At Suyati, we have had our share of problems recruiting the right person for the job. However, based on our experience in hiring more than 200 A-list employees, who add their skills and talent to help promote and sell our brand in every way possible, we have worked out a three-step process that ensures great talent, consistently.

 

STEP 1 – Create a culture with the values that are right for you

First, define attributes and values that you want in your employees. These should be specific to your business model and brand. At Suyati, we look for those who believe in giving back to the community, and possess a great attitude, excellent communication and professional commitment.
ALSO READ: Mukund Krishna: Got a great product idea? Answer these questions first

 

Gratitude. It is important to remember to show appreciation for what we have and how we got here. This value translates into a great working ethic and it’s something that we regard very highly. Attitude too, makes all the difference. There have been instances when a client has loved a candidate for the job, but we have said no at the last moment as we felt that their attitude and mindset was not in line with what we believe at Suyati. We want open communication every time, all the time, and need that to start at the beginning of every new employer-employee relationship. Just like I’ve followed my dream, we encourage others also to follow their dream. I understand this means that people move on from time to time, but we focus on the level of dedication and commitment each employee shows while she is with us. This is what we expect and appreciate.

 

STEP 2 –  Be flexible for where you look for talent

Think outside the box for places to look for talent. Don’t just go for the standard ways of hiring people such as campus placements or through recruitment agencies. As a Chinese proverb says, ‘Pearls don’t live on the seashore. If you want one, you must dive for it.’

 

Hire freshers —  those with little or no experience, but with the aptitude to learn. Look for unconventional talent — those who approach problems differently.  Once you have found them, train them specifically to your organisation.

 

At Suyati, we have implemented our STEP program (Suyati Technical Education Program). This program brings in freshers with raw talent and trains them for two months. The first month consists of a series of lectures in a classroom. This covers technical processes and soft skills that are specific to the Suyati business model. The second month is hands on where each person gets to pick an area of focus (DB, .NET, Open Source etc) and work on a live project. Once the two months are over, we integrate them directly into client projects or product teams. Some of our best talent has been found this way and it’s a great way to develop an ‘always-learning’ culture in your organisation.

 

STEP 3 – Communicate your expectations

Once you have the talent, you need to keep them performing at their peak and giving their best to your organisation. We do this by maintaining open communication levels, right from the top level management through to trainees. Give straight forward, constant feedback to all employees, showing them where they can improve and what they need to work towards.

 

Frank A Clark, American writer and cartoonist once said, “Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.” Therefore, make these sessions about boosting your employees’ confidence and morale, showing appreciation for what they have achieved. Nourish them with specific points on where they can improve but ensure that the energy stays positive.

 

We encourage an open door policy where anyone is able to walk in to everyone’s office, at anytime, for a chat. This works in all directions from within the management to those in the STEP program. We are always clear and specific with new and current employees on what we expect from them. Likewise, we encourage all members of staff to be open with us on ways that we can improve to help them perform better and make their work more fulfilling. This leads to great levels of collaboration and ensures that a positive vibe always emanates from the office.

 

The result

Suyati is known for being a happy place to work at and we’ve gone out of our way to create this culture. The key is to be an attractive place where new talent will want to come and work and give their best. Don’t just stop there though, keep working to improve and attract the best of the best.

This article was originally published on http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/how-startups-can-hire-exceptional-talent-consistently-116011200585_1.html

Earlier this year, in June, I moderated a panel discussion which featured three successful IT product entrepreneurs, as part of the NASSCOM Product Conclave, Kochi.

The entrepreneurs present in the panel discussion were Sujas Ali, founder owner of AabaSoft, Ashwin Ramasamy, founder of ContractIQ and Vinod P of Sesame Software Solutions.

It was a great sharing of thoughts and ideas, and the audience was all ears. Here are the excerpts from the conversation. In case you wish to listen to the entire conversation, jump in straight here: https://youtu.be/0O2-awFHnnw

I: Sujas, Aabasoft being a Kerala-based product company, what do you think are challenges specific to this region for a software product company?

Sujas: The first challenge is manpower- related. If we’re searching for a specific skillset, we are not easily able to identify a person with that skillset.

The second challenge is related to funding. To build a software product at par with global standards, we need nearly 1 or 2 years. Till that period, how do we survive? I’m not able to identify any Venture Capitalist in Kerala. If you’re trying to get a bank loan, as a startup, it is very difficult to get one.

The third thing – there’s no opportunity to showcase our products in Kerala.
I: Let us move on to Ashwin. Ashwin has worked with several software product companies, all international ones and he’s helped them build software products. What do you think of the future of building software products out of India?

Ashwin: Over the last 3 years, there has been a significant, explicit difference in the quality of conversations that you get in India with product companies.

Positive byproduct of a lot of venture money coming into the ecosystem in the last 3 years is – there are a lot of employees from big companies who are turning into entrepreneurs. They’ve seen scale, they’ve seen metrics and they’ve been through world class processes in emerging markets in a short period of 3 years. And the result is now percolating into new product companies.

So 5 years down the lane, there’ll be more of such entrepreneurs. I think the product ecosystem is in good hands, in that sense.

I: Vinod, can you talk about 3-4 things that product builders should focus on?

Vinod:  One – Listen to your customers

Two – Identify the key pillars in the organization based on sincerity, dedication, and hard work.

Three – Increase the component of your revenue that you achieve by cross-selling to your customers.

I: You don’t need to have a product to sell. You can actually start by selling services and then kind of build your product as your market develops. Sujas’s experience shows that by starting as an IT services provider, one can make a transition to a product company. Here are a couple of valuable insights I have got from Sujas.

Firstly, find a niche that makes sense for you, based on the knowledge that you have or the chief promoters have
Secondly, be persistent
And finally, have some cash to actually fund your product business, as you wait through the process of building the product.

Workforce retention is a challenge that we all have. Vinod, one of the things that I learned after visiting you and talking to your people is that you are able to retain your employees.  How do you do that?

Vinod: There is no one-stop solution to control or to make attrition zero. Our employees are ensured that they are consistently improving in their performance. So, it is not performance appraisal, but performance improvement. We try to bring the best out of employees. Secondly, irrespective of the level in the organization, an employee is free to give his suggestion. And every suggestion is given due importance. And thirdly, when a customer faces an issue, we all work as a team, again irrespective of designations or teams or roles. I keep a personal and professional relationship with every employee.

I: That’s great! Every company needs to build a culture that really resonates themselves and their employees. So I think that is leadership by example.

Delegate: My question is related to funding. Sujas said when he started a company, funding was one of the important constraints he faced. What are the strategies that one can use to find resources?

I: To give you an idea, most of us have not taken outside funding. We’ve kind of grown organic by starting small and going for 10 to 15 customers and then build it, and use the cash flow to fund the business and product development process. But I think, however, the times are a lot better now. So for someone like you, if your idea is good, you get the first set of customers and then you can go get money. It’s not that easy, but still you know the avenues are much more open. And forums like NASSCOM and lots of other agencies give access to people that can fund your business.

Ashwin: I just want to add to that.

Don’t take very hard philosophical stances that ‘I will not raise funding’ or ‘I will raise funding’.

Because at various stages of your entrepreneurship journey, you’d realize when you want to raise money or don’t want to raise money. So just watch out.

I: Before we wrap up, could you share with us your quick parting thoughts.

Sujas: There’s no shortage of business opportunities in India. We are one of the fastest growing countries in the world. So, huge opportunities are there.

Ashwin: Just want to say 3 points:

1st is – We are very optimistic people, that’s why we started as entrepreneurs. But let that not cloud your vision on what you’re good at and what you’re not good at.

2nd thing is inertia. When you see something working, you settle back into a comfort zone. So consciously look for inertia.  There’s a point where some companies stagnate. That is because of the comfort zone that is building.

3rd point is – don’t shy away from spending money if you’ve to spend money.

Vinod: Have courage. We’ll have failures. Actually I don’t want to term them as failures. These are learning exercises.  And whatever you do should be ethical.

Loved the conversation? Send your feedback or suggestions to hello@mukundkrishna.com or tweet to me @kmukund7. I’m all ears.

You can listen to the entire discussion here: https://youtu.be/0O2-awFHnnw

Flipkart raises $700 million in fresh funds. Policy Bazaar is in advanced talks to raise $40 million from Venture Capitalists.

Open any morning daily, and headlines like these are bound to catch your attention. Venture Capitalists and Angel investors are betting high on markets like India. Biggies like Infosys, Make My Trip and Accel Partners are earmarking huge sums of money exclusively for Indian startups.

But is there moolah for an aspiring tech entrepreneur on the street?

The general impression is – there isn’t.

I get to meet a lot of engineers during my talks in various Indian Universities and organizations like NASSCOM and TIE. Again, as part of my work, I get a chance to interact with some of the brightest IT brains. Many of them have loads of ideas churning in their heads about developing new Apps or tech products. But the common refrain among them is –Angel funding is hard to get. I need to have the right set of contacts for Angel funders to notice me. People like you and me won’t get money to start a tech company.

So then, why not crowdsource money or crowdfund your idea, I ask them.

The Crowd Puller According to the World Bank, by 2025, the crowdfunding market potential will be more than $90 billion globally, roughly 1.8 times the size of venture capital industry. In 2014, Kickstarter, a leading crowdfunding platform had more than $1,000 pledged every minute. The same platform had $125 million being pledged to technology solutions last year, the highest for any category. On Wishberry, a popular crowdfunding platform in India, 70% of projects have met their funding targets.

Over the last two decades, I have had the opportunity to serve in entrepreneurial and management roles in various companies across the globe. Also, I had the fortune to start and lead a host of tech ventures in the last 6 years. I feel that I may be in a position to help ambitious and aspiring tech businesspersons get off to a good start to their entrepreneurial dreams, through crowdsourcing their initial capital requirements. And this was how the idea of a blog series on crowdfunding sprouted in my mind.

Over the weeks (and articles) ahead, I will try to ‘demystify’ crowdfunding for you. I will try to help you with tips and strategies to get access to quality crowdfunding for your idea(s). Keep watching this space.

Feel free to tweet your questions on crowdfunding to @kmukund7. You can also e-mail me your queries at hello@mukundkrishna.com.

Give wings to your dreams,

Mukund

As part of the steering committee for the NASSCOM 10000 Startups Initiative in Kerala, and while participating in entrepreneurial meetups, I get to interact with young charged-up minds. They have a lot of entrepreneurial ideas churning around in their brains, and seem restless to take their ideas and products to the marketplace.

I always tell them a piece of wisdom from David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather. “In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker, unless you can also sell what you create.” 

So here are a few things that you should evaluate before you take your entrepreneurial plunge. I have taken inspiration from Paul Graham, the famed investor of Dropbox and Airbnb, to make this list.

Can you find 5 – 10 people who can pay for your product now?

If not, think again.

A year back, we developed an IT product for amplifying a person’s brand on social media. We got amazing reviews, and had a lot of users. But when it came to paying for the product, people backed out. So, we hit the drawing boards again and redeveloped it for enterprise users. Now we have paying customers.

Are you ready to spend the next 3 years of your life to your idea/ product?

Some of the people pitch their products passionately in front of me. But when I ask them this simple question, I sense hesitation.

So, do you believe in your own product or idea? Will you personally buy or use your product? Will you give up your current job and dedicate yourself to your idea for the next 3 years? Proceed only if you answer ‘Yes’ to these 3 questions. Entrepreneurship is more about perseverance, energy and conviction in the initial days and less about venture capital funding.

How painful is the problem you intend to solve?

You have to answer this not from your gut feelings or from friends’ advice. Do the research, get the first-hand experience and then come to a conclusion. One of my friends, before starting an IT healthcare company, spent days and weeks visiting diagnostic labs to know in person the challenges they face.

Once you understand how the customer addresses the problem today, you might know what you can do to make your product different and useful to them. You will also know for sure what your target market is, and whether it is good enough to have a good scalable business.

Can you cobble together a team?

Once you realise that your idea can be turned into a profitable business, it is time to recruit employees.

A startup is not just about the founder. It’s also about the founding team and the initial set of workforce. Sell your vision to your future employees. Expound on how your product or idea will change the industry dynamics. Don’t recruit people who haggle for salaries, however good or qualified they might be. Onboard people who are enthused by your energy, idea and future prospects.

(As appeared on http://www.business-standard.com on Oct 24, 2015)

From aamchi Mumbai and Bangaluru’s Basavangudi, to America’s Motown City and the upscale suburbs of Indianapolis, and now at Infopark Kochi, the journey of Mukund Krishna, Founder and CEO of Suyati Technologies, has been as colourful and diverse as his entrepreneurship dreams.

SoCXO (www.socxo.com), the latest offering from Suyati Technologies, made news when it had a host of companies operating out of Technopark signing up for the product. And we thought it was time TechnoparkToday.com catch up with Mukund Krishna to take a sneak peek into his life, company and dreams for the years ahead. Last week, we spoke to Mukund at his Infopark Kochi office. Here are the excerpts from the conversation:

Technopark Today: Congrats Mukund. Now, SoCXO has become the leading all-in-one employee advocacy platform in India.

Mukund: Thanks. I give the entire credit for this to my team. They have been working hard over the last 2 years to create a world-class social employee advocacy platform.

Technopark Today: What do you feel as your biggest achievement in your career spanning 25 years?

Mukund: I would rather say that there have been two major achievements in my career.

The first one – my stint in Powerway Inc, a leading e-commerce supplier chain management software company based out of the U.S. My stint as Director, Product program management in the company saw me leading multiple project teams with budgets exceeding US$ 4 million. I turned around ‘make or break’ projects, managed the aggressive ramp-up of an off-shore development team with budget of more than US$ 2 million and managed and mentored Program Managers to assume leadership roles.

The other biggest achievement has of course been Suyati. Right from planting the seeds of the company 6 years back to now being one of the leading marketing technology service providers – the journey has been a highly satisfying one. And of course, I feel that nothing can beat the happiness and satisfaction that comes with interacting and exchanging ideas with a 200+ highly talented workforce.

Technopark Today: From employee to entrepreneur – how has been the transition?

To be honest, it was a tough transition. I had given up a job offer with a hefty pay packet in Bangalore and Pune to start Suyati. In the initial days, I often had niggling feelings as to whether this decision was right. The only thing that kept me going was the trust my team, family and my initial set of clients placed on me.

Technopark Today: What made you choose Kerala as the destination to start Suyati?

Mukund: I was working as Country manager to Sigma Micro, a US based technology company, and when they wound up their operations in Kochi in 2009 due to recession back home, I decided to take over the facility, and they became my first client for Suyati Technologies.

As to what made us choose Kochi for Ind-Sigma, it was a combination of practical and personal reasons. I wanted a tier-2 city that offers great standard of living without the pollution and the congestion of a metro. It also had to have a highly trained workforce that could work on top-notch global projects. Kochi satisfied all these. Plus my wife is from Kochi, and whenever we travelled to Kochi during our holidays, I found myself falling in love with the greenery and the relaxed atmosphere. And the Kerala sadhya!

Technopark Today: Now, coming again to Suyati’s offering, SoCXO. Can you briefly describe what it is all about?

Mukund: SoCXO stands for Social Chief Officer. The platform drives brand ambassadorship among employees by enabling them to share curated, pre-approved brand content to their network on social media. The content could range from offers, infographics, newsletters, case studies to press releases and even marketing videos. In other words, SoCXO enables the workforce to be a part of the company’s corporate communications in a fun, easy and rewarding manner.

Technopark Today: Why should an organization use SoCXO?

Mukund: All of us know that the reach of a brand’s page on major social media platforms is taking a southward dip with every passing year. A few years back, Facebook said in one of its official posts that company pages organically reach only about 16% of fans. But of late, some brands have been saying that their posts reach no more than 5% of their fan base. SoCXO can help an organization easily breach this barrier. Through SoCXO, employees can effortlessly share company content to their personal feeds and reach a bigger base of people.

And a very important reason why an organization should use SoCXO. Many studies have shown that the trust which a person has on a company or its senior management is much less than the trust they have on its employees. By using SoCXO, an organization can convert this challenge into an opportunity. When your employees voluntarily engage with your content and then share it to their friends and followers, the trust for your brand on social media becomes greater.

Our clients have also reported 3X times organic web traffic and leads and increased brand awareness by having their workforce use SoCXO. The HR teams of our clients have benefitted out of SoCXO too. They were able to step up social recruiting and increase job referrals with the help of the platform.

Technopark Today: Is SoCXO helpful for an employee?

Mukund: Yes, why not? By sharing relevant content on to social media, an employee is able to brand himself as a thought leader. SoCXO makes this social sharing easier. The platform also makes it effortless for an employee to suggest relevant content too, thus giving him/ her more visibility in the organization.

With SoCXO, employee ambassadors need not just share what is curated and given to them. They can add their comments to company content before social sharing, thus adding a personal flavour to the posts.

With the help of real-time leaderboard on SoCXO, some of our clients have implemented reward programs for their active and passionate employee ambassadors too.

Technopark Today: What made you think of developing a product like SoCXO?

Mukund: I am an avid social media user. Also, I believe in sharing more relevant information to my followers and friends on social media. Till a few years back, I used to spend more than an hour daily browsing various news portals and other websites to understand what is happening in my areas of interest. I used to then curate the content and further share them with my friends on social media.

So it just struck me one day – why not make this process easier and less time consuming for people like me? Why not a platform where one person can curate interesting and relevant content at one place for many people?

With SoCXO, an employee just needs to login to read what is relevant to him. And if he is interested, at the tap of a button or a click of the mouse, he can share that piece of information on all the social media platforms where he has a presence.

Yes, initially, SoCXO was developed as a personal branding tool for corporate executives and professionals. But later on when we understood the potential that companies can unlock through SoCXO, we started selling it to organizations too.

Technopark Today: What is your dream for SoCXO in 5 years?

Mukund: If I can sum up my dream for SoCXO in 5 years, it will be – ubiquitous advocacy People are getting more and more attached to brands they like. What more! They are becoming more vocal about that too. So, in 5 years, I want to empower a person to voice his liking for a brand from anywhere, anytime and from any device.

Technopark Today: Apart from the application SoCXO, do you engage in any activities that spreads the word in India about brand advocacy and the best practices associated with it?

Mukund: Of course, we do. We have regular podcasts featuring the best minds in social selling and employee advocacy. Over the past 2 months, we have had social media greats like Neal Schaffer, Chad Pollitt and Mark Schaefer holding forth on the tips and strategies to get the best out of employee advocacy. We also publish blogs and articles written by eminent social media personalities. We have also brought out e-books to help you start employee advocacy in your organization and sustain it in top gear over a long horizon. You can tweet to @kmukund7 for a copy of the e-book.

Technopark Today: To sum up the interview, can you list your biggest passion outside work?

Mukund: Mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs and budding engineers, and teaching children about financial planning.

You can also read the interview here: http://www.technoparktoday.com/interview-mukund-krishna-socxo/