SL software start-ups that think on a global are needed – entrepreneur
View(s):For the Sri Lankan computer software industry to truly grow, more start-ups that think on a global scale are needed, notes dynamic young entrepreneur Chandika Jayasundara, a mainstay in local tech circles; also commenting that “we miss the dynamic network and the energy that’s usually there when you work in Silicon Valley”.
Mr. Jayasundara also opined that Sri Lankan-based software developers are additionally hindered by a lack of end user focused products since these would allow for a “general understanding among the employees and partners we work with on how to craft products that are used by thousands of people and how generally product companies work”.
Speaking to the Business Times recently, in an interview in Colombo arranged by private sector body SLASSCOM, Mr. Jayasundara said he is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Melbourne-headquartered Cinergix, which offers web-based products such as the Creately diagramming and collaboration software.
In his own words, “Creately is a diagramming and collaboration software. It helps people draw Flowcharts, Orgcharts, Mindmaps, Software UML diagrams, mockups, etc and collaborate with their team members. Creating beautiful and meaningful diagrams is really hard. And in general people hate to draw. But a good diagram is worth a 1,000 words. Creately is perfectly tuned to help people draw beautiful diagrams with the least amount of effort. No one in the market can allow people to create such great looking diagrams as easily as we do right now”.
He added, “Creately is in its 6th year as a product in the market. We right now have 800,000 users and great customers like NASA, Amazon, Salesforce, NatGeo, DHL, Pepsi, etc use it. With our focus on ‘beautiful diagrams created fast’, we hope to get to the top of the market and deliver the best possible experience in creating diagrams for users across the world”.
Elaborating further on how his business came about, Mr. Jayasundara revealed, “Creately started as a way to solve the problem of communicating on the web. At the time (2007/2008) there wasn’t anything online that could help people draw and share diagrams very well online. Yet, so many people used visuals to communicate in the real world. And the tools available to do it like Microsoft Visio were cumbersome and did not really work with the web”.
Continuing, he also said, “The company started with myself, Hiraash Thawfeek (CTO) and Nick Foster (COO) and another friend. We started off in Australia and then shortly after set things up in Sri Lanka. We started with our own funds and some friends/family/angel funds as we grew. Made a lot of mistakes in the process, and learnt and survived through it”.
Asked to make recommendations to substantially improve the growth of local tech-related sectors, Mr. Jayasundara indicated, “Policymakers: Make it ridiculously easy to do business here and then stay out of it. Things that you need are really good Internet on the cheap, good office space and easy visas for people to come in and work”.
Making observations on the Sri Lankan education system, he signalled, “In the long term, best businesses come from cross pollination of ideas from multiple disciplines. I think the US way of undergraduates touching multiple (sometimes unrelated) areas during their studies help them be more creative and innovative. Also, we need to have proper research programs in local universities. Not everyone will get in, but just having centres around advanced thinking, rubs off on the wider community. We cannot ‘fast-track’ innovation without original thinking in the long run as globalisation will mean you cannot expect to sell and defend a slightly more relevant product to your local market”.
Advising local entrepreneurs, he stated, “Ideas are quite cheap and easy. Execution is the harder part. Don’t get hung up on ideas or others copying you, as you execute you’ll figure out your position in the market. Trends to watch are Virtual Reality, Internet of Things and helpful Artificial Intelligence. Learn to code and read up on the latest things that are happening. And as someone said, ‘Build something that people want’”.