This week Dr. Praveen Tiwari talks with a 26 year old young dynamic entrepreneur, Anshul Sharma, founder of ‘FLUPER’ Mobile Application Development Company about his journey from a 2 employee company to 200
- How you started Fluper and where did you get the idea?
-Fluper actually was not my idea, it was an idea of my college alumni and I was never a leader I was a follower and till now I consider myself as a follower.
Fluper is made of two words that are Fluid and Performance, Fluper was started as a tech forum initially we were in web applications but soon we shifted to mobile applications.
- How is Fluper performing as an enterprise, and how much time it took to grow?
-Initially, we started Fluper with two employees and now we have around 200, and past year the turnover was 8 crore, and when compared to last year performance we are growing at more than at 150 % rate. We are currently in the international market; In UAE we are having maximum clients and considered as the number one App Making company there. At an age of 21 I started Fluper and since then every ups and downs have given me something fruitful.
- What were the mistakes that you think made you realize that this has to be avoided?
I always think of 5 mistakes of my life
- I should not have started under my father’s secured ubrella. I started my first office under him in Jhandewalan. The reason I consider it as a mistake is that it is not necessary that your father will see with the same vision as you are seeing. This could be applied to any security or guidance you are seeking because of the lack of confidence.
- I think of the lack of experience, I started everything without gaining any ground experience and without any business roadmap of seeing myself after 10 years. I worked as intern in many companies without any salary just to gain experience and learn how the market works.
- The most important point was lack of connections, which still I am facing because one must have connections to extend their business. I was not even aware that what am I doing, why will people come to me?
- My choices were good but I was never adamant to them, that’s why I failed initially. Even today there is always a sense of fear in me.
- Another mistake was that I started everything without a team, even after making a team I didn’t give them a vision and without vision their potential was useless. Instead of creating a production team first, one must work on the core managerial team. Like minded people strengthen your vision and make everything possible.
But the most important thing was that I learned from those mistakes and never did twice.
Q-Initially you started Fluper and then you closed it, what you learned during that break?
-That was the worst phase of my life because it made my mother’s tears fall off her eyes, you can say that, that was the suicidal phase of my life.
It all happened because I was not able to generate any revenue out of it; if somehow I would have generated some revenue then I would have proved myself in front of my parents at that time. A Startup is only a Startup when it gives some revenue and has the potential to become an organization in the future. Doesn’t matter how much you are earning but you must increase your revenues from the very first step.
Q-How you identified your core potential?
-I believe Mentor is one of the main switch, which enlightens you, it can be anyone a friend, family member, or even your seniors. I was from a technical background but I never wanted to sit in front of an electronic box because that was not my skill, rather that was my education, my skill was sales and so I did. I asked myself, do I have to do it now or should I wait for 10 more years, because my next generation will follow me and what am I giving to them, a vision or a predetermined path.
Q- What do you think of the necessity of marketing skills?
-My punch line is that a company runs on sales, which many don’t recognize. Every aspect is important but whatever you develop or produce is useless until it reaches the consumer and to make it reachable to consumers marketing and sales are necessary.
Q-What were the things that you applied in your company, which you learned during your job days?
-The companies where I have worked are holding their head in their hand. I have seen companies who are doing well but they are not ready to expand themselves, there are companies that are not paying timely to their employees they are always thinking of exploiting them not of nurturing them, thus I have learned that, I will never exploit any of my employee and touch wood I haven’t received any resignation till now, this is I believe is a great achievement for me.
Q- What will be your advice to upcoming Startups?
-I can only share my experience, I can only suggest that you have to be an addict of your Innovation.
And secondly, you must find that whether your idea is practically solving something to someone or not, you must see the vision of your idea that where it will stand in coming 10-20 years, and most importantly whether your idea is satisfying yourself emotionally and financially or not.