Jayesh Bajaj, Volga Infotech: Web 2.0 development using Microsoft technologies

YourStory in conversation with entrepreneur Jayesh Bajaj on the business idea behind Volga Infotech

Jayesh, please tell us what Volga Infotech is all about.

Volga Infotech offers efficient and effective software development services that keep businesses one step ahead. We specialize in Web 2.0 development, business application development and software outsourcing, thus helping overseas software companies build their dedicated software development units in India.

How is Volga Infotech different from other IT firms.

Well, Volga Infotech is Microsoft-centric. But we differ in the fact that we work on the latest in Microsoft technology. In a short while, we have already worked and delivered products using top CMSes such as Sitecore, Sitefinity, DNN, Kentico, N2CMS, Umbraco and Kooboo. We have worked on e-commerce stores using the nopCommerce and ASP.Net StoreFront frameworks, developed intranet portals for corporations using Sharepoint and even built customized enterprise solutions using ASP.Net MVC and Silverlight.

Apart from that, we do a lot of research projects in house. These research projects are based on our client’s potential requirements as well our market study of their feasibility as a commercial product. Bizhands.com, a B2B networking site and Snapble.com , an android based photo tagging application are some of our flagship solutions.

How did the business idea for Volga Infotech come about? How much capital was required to implement the idea?

In January 2007, when I was working in the US, I started building a product for the Indian stock market community calledmyfuturestock.com. It was a huge product and had more than 80 forms with loads of mathematical calculations. I used to work on it after my job till the wee hours of the morning.  The product was taking way too long to develop. So, I decided to look for a software company in India to outsource my work. That’s when things got really frustrating.

At times, my requirements were not understood properly. The developer working on my project would not be contactable.  The company that I outsourced my work to was hit by attrition.  The quality of work I received was very ordinary and had to be re-done by me.

I got in touch with my friends in San Diego who were software offshore coordinators in their companies. They too seemed to be very unhappy with their Indian vendors and were facing the same issues.  It seemed that outsourcing worked well for the big guns. But the smaller firms had to do with the ordinary work.So, in March 2008, we formed Volga Infotech with the vision of delivering stable software solutions and to fill in the hole of mediocre work with some quality stuff.

Tell us about your background.

Before Volga Infotech, I worked at Qualcomm Inc. at San Diego, USA. During my tenure at Qualcomm, I worked closely with several mobile phone manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola, Sanyo, Hitachi, HTC, LG to deliver multimedia solutions for their high-end market phones. I was also part of Qualcomm's team working with Google on their first commercial release of the Android platform. I am a graduate of USC (University of Southern California), with a Masters degree in Computer Science.

What is Volga Infotech revenue model?

The main revenue model is software services and it is self -funded. We were financially sorted as I had saved up enough from my investments in the US and had a good family backing.

What are the challenges that you faced while developing your solutions?

Volga Infotech was started in 2008, which was the start of the recession. But I guess we focused on our vision which is to deliver the most effective solution using the latest in technology.  Recession helped us to get really good professionals to join us. A lot of companies overseas were at a threshold then - to either shut down or lower their cost by outsourcing even their core development. I think that’s where we came in and got lucky.

How big is the team behind Volga Infotech? Are you looking at hiring?

We are a total of 20 people, with 18 software engineers.  All engineers have Bachelors degrees and come in with a minimum of 4 years’ experience in Microsoft technologies. Yes, we are hiring and we have close to 20 openings.

Let us know about your expansion plans.

Well, I am definitely looking at scaling up, maybe to a 80-100 member company. Since most of our revenues come in from our overseas clients (specifically the US), it will involve the setting up a regional office out there, either in collaboration or in partnership.

In terms of technology, Volga Infotech would have its own enterprise products. Also, concentration would be more on cloud and mobile platforms, which might even mean diversification from Microsoft technologies as well.

We at YourStory.in wish Jayesh and Volga Infotech much success. To know more about this venture, check out http://volgainfotech.com/. Also, do let us know your views on this story by writing to us at [email protected].