June 1, 2005, 8 years ago, I  started a small start-up called ‘DCKAP‘. I wasn’t tensed, it was exciting and we wanted to recruit 2 new hires. I wanted at least one of the two people we hired to stay with DCKAP at-least for one year and that was the first goal I set to myself. My gut feel was that if I was able to achieve the first goal, I can certainly sustain the years to come and grow the company. Yes. We did it and the new hire was with us for over 2 years and it has been no looking back ever since.
I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of these 8 years (good/bad) and tough challenges only make us smarter and wiser. I have learnt to live with cash, without cash , good people, bad people, good days, bad days and more. One thing I am proud of, ‘we have sustained and grown the business in the last 8 years’. 8 years ago, we had no office , no people, no furniture, no hr policy, no big 5 customers, no business bank account, no no and no. 8 years later, we have our headquarters in Fremont, CA, we have operations in UK, Germany, we expanded into our second development center in Korattur, Chennai, we have a HR policy which we adhere to, we do not tolerate nonsense, we have a great team of people and experienced talent, Comcast, CBS, VIZIO, Stanford, Easton as our customers, we have workgoal, our workforce management product, we have our casino social game. It has definitely taken us time to get here (we were bootstrapped).
Some of my lessons learnt:
Work only with smart people.
Hire ONLY the best, If in doubt, put them aside.
You never know what works, be brave to try.
Keep your eyes and ears open.
Be receptive to feedback and change.
ok to make mistakes, identify the problems when they are young.
Make decisions and do not look back
Don’t burn the bridges.
Live with the nonsense attitude of some folks who come and go, just focus on growth which will be the best answer to most of the problems.
Content is King
Cash is King
I want to thank each one of you, our customers, well-wishers, employees, employees who used to work with us (&still follow us) and everyone who have supported us to get here. I want to thank my wife and kids, my parents who have been of tremendous support.The last few months heading into our 9th year have been very tough . We can only move forward and we are motivated and prepared to do what it takes to scale the company bigger and bigger. We always look for new opportunities, we always look for people we want to work with, we always want to get better at execution and be one of the best places to work! It is easier written than done and it takes time. Patience, Persistence and Perseverance are three P’s I have learnt in the last 8 years and with the great team we have on board, waiting and getting prepared all the time to get there. Every day can only get better and we move an inch closer as we are giving our heart and soul out to make this a success.
Thank you!
Founder & CEO
