"Never be complacent."
Venkatesh C.R. is a serial entrepreneur who is passionate about ensuring that websites reach their full potential. As an early adopter of mobile application technology, Venkatesh’s flagship company, Dot Com Infoway (DCI), grew to become one of the world’s leading digital marketing, internet, and mobile app development and marketing companies.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Venkatesh C.R.: I’m C.R. Venkatesh, and I’ve been an entrepreneur for most of my professional life. I founded Dot Com Infoway in 2000. DCI is more of an all-inclusive tech company that combines services related to mobile app development, digital marketing, web development, web design, digital business consultation, among others.
We’re really a jack-of-all-trades IT company from a certain point of view, even if we’re known more for our mobile app development and digital marketing services. We’re always seizing opportunities, after all. And I guess my being a big fan of innovative tech (however redundant that may sound) is to blame as well.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Venkatesh C.R.: The pandemic has indeed limited a lot of industries, even IT, which most people readily construe as mainly operating in a digital landscape. I think the biggest lesson that the pandemic taught us is that opportunities never really die, they just spring out in some other form – oftentimes, quite ironically, induced by the problem that caused the deaths of the former.
We can see this in the increased demand for software that will help overcome the limitations of the pandemic. And that’s just one example among the many.
Another insight I’ve gained is that effective solutions to pressing challenges can be delivered in a relatively short amount of time – as long as everyone’s efforts are concerted. That could mainly be due to our collective survival instincts kicking in.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Venkatesh C.R.: We can’t deny the elephants in the room: there’s definitely uncertainty and disruptions are almost everywhere. I think, first and foremost, the public and private sectors should continue to work together.
I mean just look at what we achieved through vaccine development and deployment. Secondly, we need to continue to adapt to this changing world, especially in how we do our work and how we can optimize it.
Lastly, we need to be constantly on the lookout for opportunities, exercise our creativity, and, in the process, alleviate and address the most serious issues we’re facing.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Venkatesh C.R.: Fortunately, the good still overshadows the bad, since the demand for apps in most major industries only increased. The pandemic has definitely forced the industry as a whole to become better, and I like to think that the same has happened to my company.
It only doubled if not tripled my drive to continue looking for solutions and ways to ensure that our team’s productivity will remain high. Most of my team have been working remotely before, so there’s really not much change in that regard, but there’s definitely a palpable increase in motivation to overcome these new challenges and succeed.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Venkatesh C.R.: Never be complacent.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Venkatesh C.R.: That these trends will continue, while new ones will spring up. We’ll start to notice a certain degree of recovery as the world continues to open up.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Venkatesh C.R.: At least 14 hours. This total includes both personal and professional undertakings. I think that’s fairly average for a CEO in the tech industry.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Venkatesh C.R.: Our storytelling involves a 3 step process. First, we start with an introduction, proceed with a conflict and end with a resolution. We use real characters to convey the message clearly and effectively.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Venkatesh C.R.: The fact that there’s more uncertainty now than ever. We’re also in a situation where executives are really put to the test, particularly, how we can keep our companies afloat. Still, it’s a challenge that enlivens the adventurer and innovator in all of us.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Venkatesh C.R.: I’m definitely leaning toward crypto and NFTs. I’ve even launched an NFT marketplace focusing on local celebrities in India recently, so I guess I’m already past the interest stage when it comes to that niche. I see a lot of potential in it.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Venkatesh C.R.: I think plenty of leaders definitely have that blind mindset. This trend wouldn’t be happening at all otherwise.
Companies really have to start taking their HR seriously. More importantly, leaders have to exert effort in connecting with their employees.
For example, I’m always open to mentoring. I believe in helping people become better versions of themselves. One of the main reasons of employee ennui is because they feel stuck and aren’t growing. Leaders need to see that and lend a genuine, generous ear to their concerns.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Venkatesh C.R.: If I had a superpower of cloning I would clone the best people on the team so that the entire team would be efficient.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Venkatesh C.R.: Success would be 100% customer satisfaction in business. Whereas in personal it would involve a perfect work-life balance. These are admittedly long-term goals that will undoubtedly go beyond 2022, because, to me, genuine success is rarely a short-term thing.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Venkatesh C.R. for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Venkatesh C.R. or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
