Focus on the business problem, not tech: Licious CTPO Ajit Narayanan

In the early stages of growth, startups should focus on solving business problems rather than becoming overly fixated on technology, said Ajit Narayanan, Chief Technology and Product Officer (CTPO) at Licious.

Speaking at the 15th edition of TechSparks 2024 in Bengaluru, Narayanan stressed the importance of identifying business challenges first, establishing product-market fit, and then implementing the right technology to support growth.

“For anybody who's trying to build a new business, the first problem is not to think about

technology, you should think about the business problem. Once you've identified the business problem, you identify the solution to it, figure out your product market fit, test your hypothesis, and roll out whatever tech that works. This is the way to look at technology in your initial phases of your [company] growth,” he explained.

During a panel discussion titled Under the Hood: Indian Tech Innovators Driving AI Use Cases, moderated by YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma, Narayanan advised entrepreneurs to find the right partner with the know-how to build a tech stack that suits their business needs.

Narayanan, who joined the Bengaluru-based startup in 2022, said, “Let not technology drive your business, but rather business drive your technology. And that's not only just true for the initial phases of the business, but it holds true at all points in time.”

He emphasised the need for startups to have a strong technical partner from the outset. “Get an extremely talented tech partner to start your business with… you can call them CTO, engineer… any fancy title doesn’t matter. But I think somebody who understands what technology pieces to put together to craft your solution, that’s important.”

He also highlighted how several companies have “crashed” by focusing on technology without aligning it with business needs.

“I have seen a lot of people make mistakes by imagining technology first, then trying to find the nail because you got a hammer. Everything starts to look like a nail to you, and then it doesn't work at all. I have seen companies crash,” he warned.

The panel also featured Krishnendu Majumdar, CPTO of Yubi, and Madhusudhan Rao, CTO of Swiggy, who shared insights on integrating AI into their tech stacks and how automation is driving innovation in India’s tech ecosystem.

“Complexity will come as a part of growing business fast. Agility is something you need to figure a way out of, because business moves fast," Narayanan said. "So you have to adapt your processes, your technology pieces, the choice of the stacks that you make to drive that outcome. Because things around you change that rapidly... you need to have technology stacks that fit that need. That's the way to think about it."