Every business investing in technologies like Salesforce and Microsoft Stack must make sure that their investment in these technologies has been utilised to the fullest. If not, the cost-to-profit ratio might be a downgrading factor in the long run.
Again, not every tech solution can work for every business, as each business is unique. Gaurav Sengupta, the Founder and Chairman of Blueflame Labs Pvt Ltd, understands this completely.
Mr Sengupta also believes every product we use for our daily activity is unique. Hence, sometimes it can be used as it is, but we need to customise it based on our business requirements to serve our customers better and get a complete 360-degree view of them.
That is why the Blueflame Labs team is very well equipped and certified to work on different technologies like Salesforce, Microsoft, NetSuite, Conga, and open source technologies like JavaScript, AngularJS etc., to give your custom application a dynamic look and feel.
In an interview with Insights Success for its edition of “The Most Reliable Salesforce Service Providers”, Mr Sengupta spoke about how Blueflame Labs from its inception has been helping companies realise the benefits of ERP solutions and further help realise their business needs.
Below are the excerpts from the interview.
Please give us a brief overview of your journey in Blueflame Labs.
In 2017, I decided to start Blueflame to change the state of the outsourcing model in India, develop an employee-friendly company culture and provide a better platform to more budding entrepreneurs.
Blue Flame is the hottest and most intense part of a fire. Needless to say that our passion for our work is as fierce as the blue flame! And that was the inspiration behind the name.
We faced many challenges in the start, but I was surrounded by great people with amazing work ethics and the grit to make it work.
Five years down the line, I still am grateful that the people I started this journey with are still with us, and we are now a strong team of 200+ employees with a presence in the UK and USA.
Tell us more about Blueflame Labs, its vision, and the key aspects of its stronghold in the Salesforce service provider Space.
Our vision is ‘To put “companion” back in the “company” and create a company which takes care of all its clients, partners and employees. Etymologically speaking, the word company was drawn from the word companion, someone you can trust.
In the race of global advancement and to achieve our own personal goals, we have forgotten the essence of the word company. Unless your team members trust each other, you can never have a positive work culture in your company where your employees genuinely feel that the company belongs to them.
We have managed to build such a culture within our organisation where everyone promotes and helps each other to grow their skills, technical and non-technical. And this, I believe, has been a driving factor for us to be successful in the Salesforce Service Provider Space.
Because our employees choose to work with us, not out of any obligation but of their own volition, and their camaraderie and enthusiasm positively affect their quality of work and their attitude towards our clients. I can proudly say that my team takes care of our clients like their own and go out of the way to help them.
What efforts did you take during the pandemic to sustain operations and ensure the safety of your team at the same time?
Ever since we started our operations, we used to work in a hybrid model where employees had the freedom to WFH anytime they required. All our members had company configured laptops so they could continue working from home without compromising our security. When the pandemic hit, we could sustain our operations because our team was already used to WFH often.
We shut down our office operations immediately and asked our employees to stay at home until its safer to get out. As soon as the vaccinations were available, we got all our employees and their families vaccinated on priority with both doses. Our employees are working in a hybrid model where they come to the office three days a week, or as per their team’s need.
What is your opinion on the use of technologies like AI and ML?
AI and ML is the future, without a doubt. But I would prefer using these technologies to make human lives easier and better and not replacing people’s jobs and livelihoods but using AI and ML to help people get the most out of their time to earn their livelihood. There are excellent life-saving applications of AI and ML that can change the mortality rates, detect life-threatening conditions, etc.
As an established industry leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the salesforce service providers’ Space?
Never stop the hustle and never give up on yourself. People will always be around you who will tell you to play safe and not take a risk, but if you have faith in your abilities, don’t let it affect you. Always keep networking and building good relationships with people because you never know who can help you out in the future.
Also, don’t compare your entrepreneurial journey with anyone else. It would help if you grew yourself and your business at your pace. Lastly, manage your finances well and don’t dilute too much of your equity early in the industry. Prioritise your needs over your wants; for example, if you must choose between a lavish office space or three-four developers, choose the developers because that is what will help your business.
Sure, one may argue that a lavish office would attract more employees, create a buzz on social media, etc., but if you run out of cash and can’t afford your employee’s salary, they won’t stay for the lavish office. So always prioritise your people, your employees, and your partners. And don’t forget those who were there with you when you were nothing.
How do you envision further strengthening your company’s stronghold in 2022 and beyond?
We plan on creating divisions within our company with people who want to focus on one technology offering from Salesforce and create SMEs in those divisions. We believe that having one strong niche skill will benefit our employees in the long run, not only within our company but also in their future job opportunities. In conclusion, we plan to strengthen our employees to strengthen our company’s stronghold.
