Are you looking for cloud and mobile application development? Hyderabad startup Byteridge is your answer

Byteridge is a software services and solutions company based out of Hyderabad. The founder and his rock-star team have built systems that have made life easier for over 10,000 users. Zachary Zahorka caught up with the founder and managing director Vinayak Sharma to learn more.Briefly tell us a little bit about Byteridge. What products do you offer?

Byteridge is a software services and solutions company that was founded in May, 2008 in Hyderabad. Over the last 4 years, we have partnered with leading industry players in realising their product/solution/IT goals. We are experts in the following technologies:

• Mobile Application Development (Android, iOS, Blackberry, J2ME)
• Microsoft Technologies (SharePoint 2010/2007, .NET, Silverlight, Reporting Services, Dashboards)
• Rich Internet Applications (Web 2.0, AJAX/PHP, CMS based portals using Joomla, Drupal)
• Cloud Applications (Azure & AWS based Applications)

How did the idea for Byteridge come about?

I began my career in a startup and then moved on to work for big companies like Microsoft and Oracle. Both of these environments offered excellent learning and growth opportunities, and overall I had a lot of fun. While working for big companies, I would work on scalable products/services with robust architecture, all of which had the potential to touch billions of lives. In a startup, I had greater scope and responsibility. I was able to engage with customers directly, fully deliver quality solutions, and get direct feedback, which was very exciting. The kick I wanted in life was to operate with very little safety net, a tricky balancing act between several responsibilities, hence Byteridge was created and I’m enjoying it. The initial idea was to create a world-class products/service startup that was bootstrapped by providing IT Services. As we progressed, we learned that a lot of ground work is required to deliver a product/service to customers; it was an experience our team could have never gained while working for a large corporation. Whenever we have bandwidth, our team plays around with new ideas, prototypes, reinvent, and start all over again. Otherwise we ensure our customers are happy and make money, which helps us keep the light bulbs on.

How big is the team?

We are now a team of eight developers, which includes one business developer and one UI Designer. Our team has built systems that make life easier for over 10,000 users. These are small numbers, but we feel good about them because they bring us one step closer to achieving our dream of maximum impact. I think focusing on team size as a metric to measure success can be misleading. In a startup, it is more important to focus on how many lives the team has touched and the world class product or service they have created.

There are many players in the IT service space in India. What sets Byteridge apart?Honestly, I doubt if I’ll be able to say anything different then what the “ocean” of IT services companies have been saying and promising as a unique selling proposition. At Byteridge, we work with some of the world’s largest corporations as well as small and medium businesses. Simply put, our expertise is to understand requirements in an unbiased fashion and recommend approaches and technologies that best fit particular business needs. We strongly believe that technology is the means and not an end. Our endeavour is to deliver quality solution tailored to client needs that are class apart.

What is your flagship product?

Besides custom application development, we also offer following customisable solutions:

• Software Lifecycle Management Systems Integration & Dashboard Reporting
• Corporate Collaboration/Intranet/Knowledge Management Solutions
• Cloud (AWS / Azure) Solution re-architecting & prototyping
• Open Source online E-Commerce Portals

How many customers do you have? What is your target market?

We have served 25+ customers in the last four years. We are mostly focused on the Indian market as of now, but we do have many engagements in the United States and Europe which have been developed from client and partner referrals. Some of our esteemed clients include Microsoft India, Tata Strategic Management Group, Health Super Hiway, which is an Apollo Hospitals Group company, and Biogenex Life Sciences.

How does your revenue model work?

We mostly use a fixed cost/time and material model for projects with our clients. A part of the profits we earn is invested into prototyping new ideas.

What has been your biggest challenge been so far?

One major challenge has been trying to find the right partner. It is difficult to find a partner who has a complementary skill set to my own, who buys my vision, and who is trustworthy. It feels like it is too late to look for one and integrate them into the team that I have managed to build over the last few years.

Lastly, do you have any recommendations for budding IT entrepreneurs?

If you think you have it in you to build an enterprise, just go for it. The earlier you start the better. But always remember, entrepreneurship is not the ultimate thing to do. What matters most is doing what you do because you love to do it and you enjoy the process and the challenges. Even a regular job that you love at the right place is equally satisfying. Here are some good books to read on entrepreneurship:

• Re-Work by 37 Signals
• High Performance Entrepreneurs by Subroto Bagchi
• E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
• Go Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann

If you are from a pure technology background, make sure to have financial discipline and give high priority to business development as well. Folks with a background in technology often do not put enough effort into business development strategy and execution.

Go to www.byteridge.com for further details!