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Let's Talk Small Business

Month: May 2015

Manish Madan with Systel Technology Services

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LTSB

In this edition of Let’s Talk Small Business we speak with Manish Madan. His successful minority business enterprise, Systel, a certified MBE for 3 years, joins us to dialogue about IT in the highly competitive Georgia market. Being a GMSDC member for 3 years, Madan testifies, has been an immense help in growing and providing guidance for his business. The Mentor Protégé Connection, a program Madan is also part of, is another program that provides invaluable tutelage and tools for small businesses to scale their capacity and form partnerships in Georgia.

Staying relevant is another focus for Systel. Madan’s many projects all revolve around this precept. Amongst those, a B2B network for minority businesses is in the pipeline, a digital content platform for celebrities, and creating the next “Uber for Staffing” is all part of the exciting line of innovative solutions he currently is working on. You have to stay abreast of the market’s needs, and anticipate, anticipate, anticipate!

Some take-aways from this segment are:

  • Understanding the “Internet of Things”
  • Disruption is a step in evolution—embrace it
  • Focus on 3 main tenets in your business (e.g. employee satisfaction, customer focus, and innovation)

Ultimately, Manish’s story is not only a segment that sheds light on how a small business can set itself apart from the fray in a saturated market and field, but is a personal testament to how a small business can leverage in-state programming, and the support of one of the best minority council’s in the nation.

Manish Madan / Systel Technology Services

Systel Technology Services is an IT services company providing IT Services and Staffing solutions to some of the largest System Integrators and Fortune 1000 companies. With over 500 employees globally, Systel prides itself in long tenured relationships with its clients. IT Staffing continues to be the core foot in the door strategy for US clients, helping Systel to gradually move up the value chain to IT Services. Systel plans to invest and grow in the Media & Entertainment vertical, and the Healthcare vertical, with its Staffing, Services and Product & Platform investments. With disruption being the way of life today, Systel recognizes the need for evolution in its industries and is now also focused on building disruptive business models supported by technology driven platforms.

In its staffing business Systel focuses on staying abreast with building a talent pool proactively that its customers would need in the near future. Systel also differentiates itself by focusing on client relations, and it has successfully adopted a philosophy of a few and deep rooted relations.

In the IT Services space, Systel recently completed an e-Governance project implementation digitizing all government services through a common web-front for the citizens of a state. This has won them several accolades, and Systel is now proposing to rollout the same integrated e-Governance platforms in several countries in Asia and Africa.

In the product & platform space Systel recently beta launched a digital content delivery platform for celebrities to build and manage their brands that can be monetized. Systel believes disruption is the only way to progress, and continues to find ways to disrupt the as-is in its space.

Systel was recognized last year as the Supplier of the Year, at the prestigious Spirit of Alliance awards of GMSDC. Manish Madan, the CEO of Systel, also graduated out of the very coveted Georgia Mentor Protégé Program last year, and was recognized for his “Winning Spirit” during the program.

Manish and Systel love Georgia and have made it home after moving here almost a decade ago. They are actively involved in the community, and support other MBEs and the MBE ecosystem.

 

 

Geoff Kho with Supreme Resources

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This interview with Geoff Kho is a case study in a company that thrives in a niche market through meticulous execution, thoughtful approach and, as Mr. Kho says, “Work[ing] on your company, not in your company.” This interview touches on market innovation, product differentiation and staying true to your company’s end-goal.

Innovation is something that Mr. Kho has lots of experience in as well, which is made evident throughout the interview with comments that both encourage and advise. “Stick close to your knitting,” and, “Don’t innovate too far beyond what you know in 1 giant step.” Innovation, he warns, must also make sense for a company.

Product differentiation, Mr. Kho proffers, is yet another imperative to any successful company. Starbucks, he claims, is a prime example. How did Starbucks differentiate itself in a throng of coffee shops? “It created a Piazza.” It branded itself as a true boutique coffee shop that offered those amenities (such as wi-fi) that went hand-in-hand with coffee, and they brought all of these complimentary elements together under one roof. This, amongst several other things, brought a level of convenience, differentiation, and, of course, success that set it apart from every other coffee shop out there.

An advocate for small businesses, Kho identifies what he sees are the challenges and solutions for small businesses moving forward. Namely:

Challenges being: human capital, money, tyranny of customization, and competition. Solutions: education, connections, and access to capital.

Kho is an advocate of small business education, and the proprietor of an innovative chemical manufacturing company that started in 1988, which has since grown by leaps and bounds. An inspirational interview with an MBE who has made more than chemistry a science—but has made success one, as well.

Geoff Kho / Supreme Resources, Inc.