Surat: At a special 'Ask Me Anything' event organized by the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) and Integrity Network, Dr. Anand Deshpande, founder and chairman of Persistent Systems, interacted with entrepreneurs having an annual turnover of over 50 crore rupees. The event was also attended by the chamber's honorary treasurer Atul Patel, Dr. Anil Sarawagi, and Dr. Vijay Radadiya.
Entrepreneurs from the IT, software, SaaS, and artificial intelligence sectors received guidance on business expansion, leadership, and future challenges. Dr. Deshpande emphasized that to elevate any company to new heights, clear goals, market leadership, team-centric thinking, and strong corporate governance are essential. He advised entrepreneurs to identify niche markets where they can establish leadership by capturing a 20 percent market share, rather than chasing small portions of large markets.
He stated that founders should adopt a perspective of 'our company' instead of 'my company' for business growth. Employees should be developed not just as staff but as partners, and options like ESOP should be considered to make them stakeholders in the company's success. Discussing the growing impact of artificial intelligence, Dr. Deshpande noted that AI is rapidly challenging human capabilities in tasks like coding and data analysis.
Consequently, IT companies that remain limited to 'selling man-hours' or coding services may face challenges in the future. He mentioned that companies will need to adopt outcome-based pricing models instead of focusing on working hours. Additionally, due to the increasing need for data security, there will be a significant rise in demand for secure AI models and AI agents based on private data.
In response to a question about expanding into foreign markets, Dr. Deshpande referred to the 'Buffalo Strategy,' suggesting that new companies should become part of established global platforms like Salesforce, Microsoft, and AWS, rather than spending resources to create new markets. This approach facilitates easier access to millions of existing customers and accelerates the process of international expansion. During the event, three companies from Surat were specially honored for achieving tenfold (10X) growth in their businesses over the past four years.
The honored companies included Vasundhara Infotech, DesignWiz, and a leading e-commerce aggregator. The founders of these companies also shared their experiences, providing insights into business challenges and success strategies. The event organizers stated that such platforms play a crucial role in connecting Gujarat's entrepreneurs with global thinking, modern technology, and innovation.
High-level programs will continue to be organized in the future to strengthen Surat's IT and technology ecosystem. The successful event's organizers, including Chetan Patel, Puneet Gajera, Amar Panchal, Nirav Alagiya, Saumish Kakadia, and Ganpat Dhameliya, expressed that this is a long-term effort by the chamber to connect Gujarat's entrepreneurs with the power of global thinking and modern technology, and such high-level programs will continue uninterrupted in the future to make Surat's IT hub globally competitive.
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