Vishal Singhal, Founder, CellStrat

The mobile services sector undergoes frequent changes, with newer technology, newer models and newer services being added in the blink of an eye. For a company to succeed in this field, it is essential that it has effective management and marketing strategies — two services that are offered by CellStrat, a company formed by young entrepreneur Vishal Singhal in January 2008.

CellStrat is a management consulting and system integration firm that provides services in the areas of mobile strategy and marketing, and mobile applications. In addition, the company helps its clients in the mobile enablement of their workforce, and implementing mobile banking and payment solutions.

“We are primarily into mobile market research and system integration. We advise clients on mobile media formats that they should adopt, mobile strategy, and the budgets required to satisfy their needs with regard to mobile automation,” said Singhal, an MBA graduate. CellStrat has a large number of representatives in the market who collect data and conduct research, and report back to it. Currently, the company has three full-time and 14 part-time employees, with its headquarters located in the US and a branch in India.

Besides hospitality and education, the field of mobile services was the only one unaffected by the recessionary trends across the world. And with the rate at which newer business models are arising in the field, operators, carriers, the media and vast companies require newer research. “This is what we provide,” says Singhal, who aims to make CellStrat the top firm active in the area of mobile market research.

Singhal started CellStrat with funding from his family. “I shut down my first venture, an e-commerce business, too soon. That was four years ago. What I learnt from that is that if I had held on for some more time, the cash flow would have been positive by now,” says Singhal. “Things do go wrong, but that is part of an entrepreneur’s life. Bad situations arise, but they fade away equally fast,” he says.

Singhal says that today, the only nine-to-five jobs around are in the government sector. “When one has to work well beyond these hours, why not work for oneself and create jobs for others? Those who stick to jobs remain employees and work for others their entire lives, whereas entrepreneurs create wealth for themselves and their families for generations to come,” he says.

Singhal believes that entrepreneurship brings discipline and teaches a person to think from the perspective of another. “In the case of the mobile consulting business, I strongly believed that it would eventually succeed,” he says. Overcoming the challenge for finding a team as passionate as he is, Singhal says that CellStrat has already been recognised for its work by premier educational institutions, who have recommended the company as a preferred employer of their students.

Today, the company’s main revenue comes from mobile media campaigns for its customers in the healthcare sector. “Signing up a large hospital as a customer, as part of our first big deal was an achievement,” says Singhal, whose vision for the future is to ensure positive cash flow and have good employees on the rolls.

For Singhal, starting CellStrat was him following his dream, one that YourStory applauds. “Always do what you like best, so that later on in life you do not regret not trying out your ideas,” he says. Failure is not the end for him. “If you fail, at least you will be satisfied that it was your decision to do something,” says Singhal candidly, who feels that everyone in the world should try entrepreneurship at least once in life.

We at YourStory commend this young tech entrepreneur and wish him success in all his endeavours.