[100 Emerging Women Leaders] How Payal Nambiar’s Nambiar Group is forging ahead on its ‘Make in India’ mission

Payal Nambiar’s journey into entrepreneurship began with a single spark amid the dotcom boom in the early 2000s, when she started a small business with her husband, PKD Nambiar, a software professional. 

This venture would lay the foundation for the B Square Group–an information technology-focussed company that offers customer service and products ranging from IT to ERP solutions.

Nambiar grew up in Jagraon, a small town near Ludhiana, and later pursued an MBA from Newport University in California. After her return to India, she joined the Sanghi group of companies in Hyderabad, where she met her husband.

“Mr Nambiar was building his own company, and wanted a presentation for a project and I contributed to it. I joined him to start a dotcom company as an initial foray into the sector. In 2000, we teamed together to start B-Square Solutions,” she says.

They started with two computers, with Payal pitching in with her expertise in marketing and communications and Nambiar focusing on software development. Parallely, they started another company, Flags Communications, a marketing communications company that has been creating successful brands for the past 20 years.

Expansion of businesses

In 2017, Payal started Movguru, an online services platform based in the Middle East,  to help people and entire businesses move across the country, cross-country, or across the globe and also offer storage services.

“We have partners in the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain and are well-known in these countries as logistics partners for diverse operations. It also gave me exposure to international markets and I learned a lot,” she adds. 

By then, B Square Solutions had diversified from CRM into multiple applications and a wide range of software solutions for small and medium sized businesses, automotive companies, manufacturing industries, car management software, ERP software for startups, and more. 

One of the company’s flagship products is Pothera ERP, made for small and mid-sized businesses.

“By deploying Pothera on the cloud or as an on-premise solution, it automates every aspect from procurement to human resources and provides real-time insights for quick, profitable expansion,” she says. 

Meanwhile, Pothera Lite offers comprehensive solutions for distributors and wholesalers to manage everything from accounting and financials to purchasing, inventory, sales, customer relationships, warehouse management, and also analytics and reporting.

For the telecommunications industry, B Square Solutions created 3S, a product that systemises service and maintenance.

In 2021, Nambiar moved to B Square and became fully involved in its operations. Some of its biggest clients include Surya Group from Zambia, German-based Durlum, and Indian companies like AOV and Shri Tirupati Steelcast, and others.

“Our team is our biggest asset. Our people have taken on every challenge and performed it to the best of their abilities. As the company kept evolving, the team did too, to cater to diverse industries. Our organisation is completely system-driven. We made sure they grew technologically, and in their careers,” Nambiar says.

Running a business of this size came with its own set of challenges. 

“Scaling the team and hiring more people was a challenge initially. Thankfully, those who joined remained with us, and we have added more people. We also had to work hard to market our products,” she adds.

She lost her husband to cancer in February this year, and has now taken over the reins of the company, which she says is in continuous expansion mode.

Homegrown innovation 

Nambiar believes in emulating the government’s “Make in India” policy to drive the company to newer heights. “This philosophy is at the core of what we do. We focus extensively on the manufacturing sector, working on industry-specific solutions. Whether it’s auto components, surgical equipment, we are making sure to reach every manufacturer to move their businesses forward,” she explains.

Nambiar admits to being a workaholic and believes if you give 100% to your work, people will only look at that, irrespective of gender. Though she took a break after the birth of her second child due to health issues, she says she is thankful she was able to come back to the company. But the 100% focus part is important, she reiterates.

“You need to continuously challenge yourself, and believe in your capabilities. Commitment is equally important as passion. You have to be the best version of yourself,” she concludes.