Change is the only constant. The quote perfectly sums the survival strategy, whether life or business. One who fails to realize this call of destiny dies an unnatural but sure death. But Avijit Sarkar, Founder & CTO of Regular.li & CEO of Avifa Infotech, understood this essence since his early teen and pivoted his business accordingly for better serving his customers and simultaneously fulfilling his love for technology. Unlike several other kid-o-preneurs kick starting their entrepreneurial journey selling lemonade, Avijit sold CDs, DVDs and greeting cards while still in school, which brought him enough pocket money.While kids of his age were struggling to settle with what subject they need to focus on, Avijit already knew that his professional soul mate is technology. Hence he kept pivoting his business at the right time to ensure his business and love stays healthy. Today Avifa Infotech, an IT company, provides turnkey IT solutions & in-house tech products. Besides, Avijit brought forth a full featured mobile based attendance tracking application - Regular.li, secured with GPS, Wi-Fi and selfie verification feature to record the personnel official attendance with ease.
The Indispensable Pivots that made Avijit AVIJIT
Being career-focused, Avijit worked as freelance web designer and incepted his first venture when in first year of his computer science engineering at GMIT College, Kolkata, Avifa as a BPO company. But in no time, the venture grew to 15 members, making it a task for Avijit to balance
his full-time studies and full-time entrepreneur role. But nothing can shake a determined soul, so was Avijit. Despite being in his late teens, he hired people as young as 30 years. This is when he learnt that the mantra to manage big teams and experienced professionals was open communication that provides them the opportunity to be a part of the company and feel empowered. And he carried forward this mantra to all of his ventures."I like to take criticism, be it positive or negative. Taking everyone’s idea on the board & then comparing them has always been very helpful," asserts Avijit.
After running the BPO venture for couple of years, Avijit realized his love for technology was still under wrap and unexplored. Hence he pivoted as an IT Service provider while shutting down the BPO business. “It took courage during that time to take that pivot but I think that was the right decision,” reminisces Avijit. But a year later, he shifted the gear again to focus on making only new technology products which were mobile based or web based. Today, Regular.li is one of the most sought after product of its nature. "The idea behind Regular.li came in the early days of Avifa when we were managing about 10-15 employees & tracking time was very difficult. We had made an app back then. Today there is no other product that delivers such set of features at the same price. That is one new success in all these pivots that we had," quips Avijit.
The Secret Sauce to Success
This self-taught man has always
learnt from his mistakes, and made
them the plinth of his success.
This is when Avijit learnt that the mantra to manage big teams and experienced professionals was open communication that provides them the opportunity to be a part of the company and feel empowered
After running the BPO venture for couple of years, Avijit realized his love for technology was still under wrap and unexplored. Hence he pivoted as an IT Service provider while shutting down the BPO business. “It took courage during that time to take that pivot but I think that was the right decision,” reminisces Avijit. But a year later, he shifted the gear again to focus on making only new technology products which were mobile based or web based. Today, Regular.li is one of the most sought after product of its nature. "The idea behind Regular.li came in the early days of Avifa when we were managing about 10-15 employees & tracking time was very difficult. We had made an app back then. Today there is no other product that delivers such set of features at the same price. That is one new success in all these pivots that we had," quips Avijit.
The Secret Sauce to Success
This self-taught man has always
learnt from his mistakes, and made
them the plinth of his success.
Avijit learnt quite early that success is all about team work, proper feedback, getting everyone in loop and listening to them. “When you are leading someone then they must like you & follow you.It should not be a forceful affair,”says Avijit. Putting these words into act, he conducts early morning 15 minutes meeting daily with his team to discuss the work for the day, the strategies to undertake and how to go about it. “This is one really small example of what I have learnt and how I implement it on a daily basis,” Avijit adds.
He further adds, “As a leader, I always try to instill a sense of leadership into everyone by making them the owner of the task assigned and providing them the space to creatively come up with modifications, and feedback (negative or positive). I allow them to figure out the way to get there post giving them the overview of the end goal”. To further keep the inspiration light burning, he follows the work of Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Garry V apart from following Ted talks. Unlike other entrepreneurs looking for a holy grail for knowledge, Avijit considers learning from surroundings because mentorship is always around us. He proclaims, “The day you stop learning, you die! So I have to keep learning all the time”.
Close to Family yet Adventurous to World
Strict to his routine, Avijit wakes up at 6 AM to run in the fresh air & works between 11 AM-10 PM only. Avijit’s family has always been supportive of his decisions & motivated him during his entrepreneurial highs & lows. He elucidates, "Family is very important to have a good life. It’s not only about work or money; the support of the family & being close to them is really important for me". Avijit is an adventurous & a lively personality who loves to explore mountains, discover new things and lately participated in 10 km Marathon to elevate his passion for running. Believing in short term vision than planning for long, he aspires to offer multiple technology products & to grow Regular.li into a million dollar company within next few years.
He further adds, “As a leader, I always try to instill a sense of leadership into everyone by making them the owner of the task assigned and providing them the space to creatively come up with modifications, and feedback (negative or positive). I allow them to figure out the way to get there post giving them the overview of the end goal”. To further keep the inspiration light burning, he follows the work of Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Garry V apart from following Ted talks. Unlike other entrepreneurs looking for a holy grail for knowledge, Avijit considers learning from surroundings because mentorship is always around us. He proclaims, “The day you stop learning, you die! So I have to keep learning all the time”.
Close to Family yet Adventurous to World
Strict to his routine, Avijit wakes up at 6 AM to run in the fresh air & works between 11 AM-10 PM only. Avijit’s family has always been supportive of his decisions & motivated him during his entrepreneurial highs & lows. He elucidates, "Family is very important to have a good life. It’s not only about work or money; the support of the family & being close to them is really important for me". Avijit is an adventurous & a lively personality who loves to explore mountains, discover new things and lately participated in 10 km Marathon to elevate his passion for running. Believing in short term vision than planning for long, he aspires to offer multiple technology products & to grow Regular.li into a million dollar company within next few years.
