Neelakantam Raju

Ex Air Warrior from Indian Air Force | Currently Regional Manager for Verify24x7 (Verifying the nation) by Valuepicth | Loves to travel......

[Neelakantam Raju @NeelakantamR]

@DCPSouthBCP @girinagarps Hoping to get mine as well.@yelahankantwnps

[Neelakantam Raju @NeelakantamR]

Valuepitch Brings on Krupal Parchure as Embedded Chief Strategy Officer to Drive Growth Across Its Enterprise Technology Portfolio https://t.co/SrWegKUQ0X via @CXOToday.com

[Neelakantam Raju @NeelakantamR]

ValuePitch, SMVIT unveil AI innovation & research centre to nurture India’s next wave of AI talent https://t.co/yiu8iGgpG8

[Neelakantam Raju @NeelakantamR]

ALERT: India Finds Pakistani Spy Cameras Hidden in Railway Stations https://t.co/e4DZqzrG5I via @YouTube

[Neelakantam Raju @NeelakantamR]

NthEye at Medaram Jatara: Enabling Real-Time Crowd Safety and Crime Prevention Through AI https://t.co/FWEQ6GPTrp

[Neelakantam Raju @NeelakantamR]

https://t.co/zavYIiCzM7 Is it really is .....?

[Srushtika Neelakantam @Srushtika]

Life update: I’ve joined @confluentinc as a Senior Product Manager in the Flink team 🎉

Use @ApacheFlink already or have a stream processing job at scale? Let’s talk!

[Guillaume Huin @HuinGuillaume]

Volvo posted a 3 min and 46 second ad on Instagram, shot by Hoyte Van Hoytema, the cinematographer of Interstellar and Oppenheimer.

It goes against every single rule you can think about as a social lead. Length. Format. Over-produced.

Every comment under the ad said it immediately put Volvo in their consideration set. It's fucking fantastic.

[venkat ramana @venkatvp]

Twitter or X sucks big time in getting my ad dollars. There is no way I can target my audience, the way I can do on Google, fb or LinkedIn . @elonmusk please fix this. I dont have millions of ad dollars but we are millions of advertisers with 1000s of ad dollars.

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

One way visibility tent
https://t.co/Zyu93z54CW

[CMA Partha Saradhi @partha_cma]

How we are solving the problems of CMO’s/Founders/Growth Marketers with https://t.co/7zmS2SWYYy

I recently helped many exhibitors at @GITEX_GLOBAL and @expandnorthstar with our contact buddy. Thanks @venkatvp and @NITYASAGAR5 for solving the problem.

DM me for the free trail or say “contact buddy” in the comments - I will send you a copy.

#founder #growth #GitexGlobal2024

[Neelakantam Raju @NeelakantamR]

https://t.co/Nw7OFo1UdF Growth Tools for the AI Era

Everything you need to create, manage, market your Business in the AI age.

[venkat ramana @venkatvp]

The joy of making it work!

For the past month, @NITYASAGAR5 and I have been putting in 70 hours a week to crack a seemingly small but vital part of the marketing puzzle—Reddit marketing. It sounds simple, but when people started calling it a "gold mine for leads," I was intrigued. The truth is, I had never used Reddit before. So, I had to become a user myself—immersing in infinite scrolls, adding value to conversations, and yes, having some posts taken down (embarrassing at first, but a crucial learning experience).

Reddit is unlike other platforms—self-promotion and spam are strictly prohibited, but everything else is fair game. It’s a massive forum with millions of anonymous discussions happening simultaneously. That anonymity is a huge shift from what we’re used to on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. But once you get the hang of it, you see its potential.

After weeks of testing, learning, and a lot of trial and error, we finally found a way to leverage Reddit for leads, using automation and AI to streamline the process. And here’s the best part—it’s completely industry-agnostic. Whether you run a software development firm, are a marketing consultant, or work in any other field, you can find your leads here. Reddit offers a treasure trove of opportunities if you know how to navigate it.

So, why not give it a try? It’s worth your time. And if you need help figuring it out, I’m just a message away. Let’s explore what Reddit can do for your business.

[RVCJ Media @RVCJ_FB]

A tribute to the LEGEND! #RatanTata

[venkat ramana @venkatvp]

Love Events, Hate Biz Cards Data Entry?

We attended an event 6 months ago. At the office I saw my colleague Ashutosh Mishra stare at his screen and keep typing. Asked him about the pain , he said he collected over 300 business cards from this event and needs to enter in Google sheet to start outreach. He took a week to finish the job.

Cut to August, our folks were at GFF. I saw Nikhil Fernandes (he heads sales for us) carry a bunch of cards and I recalled the pain of Ashutosh Mishra.

I told them - this time you don't need to enter these. Quickly looked up the web for an easy solution - there are solutions but not the way I would like them.

So I requested Nitya Sagar - give me a way where I can send the biz card photo to a WhatsApp number and it should give me all the details including the link to the linkedin url of the person (if exists). My idea is when i meet a person, next step can be invite on Linkedin. Felt natural.

I turned to Samir Shelar and asked him to make an api to take the pic and do OCR and give the values as asked as variables.

So two days later, when the sales meet happened, I asked Ashutosh Mishra to show me the biz cards. I took a pic of one such card and showed him what can he do. He was shocked and start showing it off with joy to other team members (he can get rid of data entry work after all)

The sales team was happy. Then I asked Samir Shelar can I get multiple cards in the same pic - I thought if I can get 3x3 - 9 cards in one pic, I can save immense amount of time. So a day later - that was done.

So this news spread internally and Partha Saradhi asked can he use in an upcoming event at Tirupati. I asked him would he give it free or charge. He said Rs 500 ($8) per 100 biz cards - I had no issues.

That event happened today and to our pleasant surprise 40 people bought and entered over 900 biz cards using the system!

Not bad for saving time of Ashutosh Mishra. What do you think I should do next with this?

#BusinessCardReader #EventTech #NetworkingMadeEasy #LeadCapture #SalesInnovation #DigitalNetworking #ContactManagement #LinkedInConnector #EventManagement #SalesEnablement #NetworkingEvents #LeadGeneration #TechForSales #SmartNetworking #BusinessCardScanner

[venkat ramana @venkatvp]

The courage to do a a boring startup?

So, I just started a boring business: Backlinks for seo.

During the lockdown, in my hometown I created a backoffice and employed over 200 people. half of them them were working on tags24x7 - a data tagging service for AI companies. When OpenAI announced 4o in April, our clients backed off and the business evaporated.

Well I couldn't take back the jobs, so needed to come up with something. Digital marketing which I had a good background looked like the right fit to try and save jobs.

Told my friend Partha Saradhi to try and get small clients in a small town - Tirupati. Seeked help of @NITYASAGAR5 Sagar to make the impossible - possible. Get the workflows ready - task creation, allocation, tracking, managing.

Everyone was sceptical. A lot them were hoping and waiting when will we shut down and wondering why I even continue funding this team. But Partha Saradhi and Nitya Sagar were always optimistic. Gave the encouragement for me to keep going, keep trying.

Nitya worked out Canvas (a platform built on ERPnext, n8n etc) and figured a way to make it all work just like a perfect orchestra. Partha got 20 clients - all from his friends and associates.

Out of 120 people, we were able to make 16 people busy by end of May 2024. I was going once a month, and when I see them in the eye, I did not have the heart to shut it down.

I read and re-read every founder story and their struggle - from @thepatwalls , @johnrush , @AlexHormozi , @thejustinwelsh , @natiakourdadze @levelsio @tibo_maker and 10s of others. Made a list of all things they suggested and the recipies of success. Must confess: Its really hard to follow, digest & implement.

I aligned, realigned and again realigned people to work and tasks, only to see only few of my colleagues at my hometown are smart or hungry to step up. The problems only worsened.

My best friend Jayachander Patti was at the base. Told him, he has to help, else people will loose their jobs. He kindly started helping me to just keep the communication better. Its just like the conversation between two people whose difference in IQ is over 75. I needed an interpreter and JD fit the bill.

I realised there are multiple entities that I run and can take help of these colleagues. Some of them stepped up, some stepped out - just for demanding they help others. Sad but I had to go through this. They will spread negative rumors about me and the company (I am ok with this). But the focus is to keep the job of many.

So, to make people busy from where I come from, I chose to serve clients who want backlinks, who want to do conversation marketing, who want to setup b2b appointments.

And so happy to share that we got 3 leads in 3 days. All from USA. I do not know if they will convert and the business grows, but am happy we are hopeful that something can work out.

Here's a story about a story in progress, not success.  If one can create employment by boring business, so be it!

#boringbusiness #aiforgood

[venkat ramana @venkatvp]

Don't Reinvent the Wheel: Why Founders Should Leverage Existing Solutions

I've witnessed countless founders fall into the trap of reinventing the wheel. The allure of creating something entirely new is strong, but it often leads to wasted time, resources, and missed opportunities. Today, I want to share why leveraging existing solutions is crucial and how to avoid common pitfalls.

The Costly Mistake of Starting from Scratch

Many founders mistakenly believe that building everything from the ground up is the only way to create a truly innovative product. This mindset can lead to:

Wasted time on solved problems
Misallocation of limited resources
Delayed time-to-market
Missed opportunities for strategic partnerships

Real-Life Examples of Wheel Reinvention Gone Wrong

Webvan: This online grocery delivery startup spent millions building custom warehouses and a proprietary software system, ignoring existing logistics solutions. They filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

Juicero: The company developed a complex, Wi-Fi-connected juicer when simple, manual juicers already existed. They shut down after just 16 months.

Quibi: Instead of leveraging existing streaming platforms, they built their own short-form video app from scratch. The service lasted only six months.

Better Place: This electric vehicle startup tried to create a entirely new battery-swapping infrastructure instead of working with existing charging solutions. They filed for bankruptcy in 2013.

Color: The social photo-sharing app built its own infrastructure instead of using existing cloud services, burning through $41 million before pivoting and eventually being acquired.

The Value of Slowing Down

Before jumping into development, take a step back. Research existing solutions, technologies, and platforms that could be adapted or integrated into your product. This approach can:

Accelerate development time
Reduce costs
Allow focus on your unique value proposition
Open doors to potential partnerships

Simple Steps to Avoid Premature Action

Conduct thorough market research
Identify existing solutions in your space
Evaluate potential partnerships or licensing opportunities
Focus on your unique value-add rather than reinventing every component
Seek advice from mentors or advisors with industry experience

By following these steps, you can avoid the common pitfall of reinventing the wheel and instead focus your efforts on creating true innovation where it matters most.

Remember, as founders, our job is not to create everything from scratch, but to solve problems in the most efficient and effective way possible. Sometimes, that means standing on the shoulders of giants and leveraging what already exists to build something truly revolutionary.

What existing solutions have you successfully integrated into your startup? Share your experiences in the comments below.

#StartupAdvice #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #ProductDevelopment #StartupGrowth #TechStartups #FounderMindset

[Ably Realtime @ablyrealtime]

🚀 We're #hiring! We're looking for a Senior Data Engineer to join Ably and empower teams across the business to harness the full potential of their data. Learn more and apply here: https://t.co/Fuf96yKaV5

#hiring #data #dataengineer #realtime

[Ably Realtime @ablyrealtime]

🚀 We're on the lookout for a Technical Product Manager to join our team at Ably. If you'd like to help build the infrastructure for the next generation of the internet, head over to https://t.co/Fuf96yKaV5 to learn more and apply.

#hiring #product #developertools #realtime

[Ably Realtime @ablyrealtime]

🚀 We're #hiring! We're looking for a Senior Data Engineer to join Ably and empower teams across the business to harness the full potential of their data. Learn more and apply here: https://t.co/Fuf96yKaV5

#hiring #data #dataengineer #realtime

[Ably Realtime @ablyrealtime]

When we’re talking about collaborative environments, what do we mean by component locking? And why is it useful? 🤔💭

Component locking is the capability to restrict access and editing of a certain element of a page or application to only one user at a time. 🧵👇[1/4]