There comes a night in every founder's life when he sits down at 2:00 in the night and thinks, what am I doing in my life? But what does he do? Closes his laptop in the morning. Someone sends an email to his team and he himself does not know at times what he has emailed. Is he thinking about that email? Generally, I have seen my founder not thinking before sending an email. With me is Saurav Vijayvargiya who is our founder. And today there is a person among us who needs no introduction. But still I would like to take his name, Mr. Ritesh Agarwal, who is the founder of O Prism. Now, we would like to know about all these things, what is his perspective, these thoughts that come in between day and day out, what you think about your work, what did we do wrong, what did we do right, what is the thought process as a founder. So to know about the same, we would like to know from you people in this session. So welcome Ritesh. But then in between I forgot to give my introduction, which is subcent I think because it is important for me to introduce myself. Hi guys, myself Aman Vijay, I am Sales Representative for Altus. So welcome everyone, welcome Saurabh, welcome Ritesh. So thank you. So Ritesh, firstly thanks a lot you joined the session with us. We were after you for a long time. Now there are few things which I want to know from you about your journey, about your life, about your day and layout routine. So we have divided this entire session into some sessions. There are some segments in between which they will ask you all about your journey. And then a bit of questions about rapid fire sort of thing and then yes of course a feedback about how else was part of your journey. So to start with first and foremost, when our last in 2023 we started with you. And then there was a day where you gave your time and we connected. So, there is a thought in my mind from then till now that whenever you get involved in such a partnership, do you, as an Indian, like we were involved with an Indian vendor, do you come to such sessions at such times to know the philosophy of the founder or was there an option that yes, I will save money, that was your thought process. What is your take on this?
First of all, thank you for inviting me with you. We had talked, as you were just telling me, right in December 2023 and that day I had committed that together we will talk about the story of the work we do and I am happy that after one and a half years we are getting the opportunity. It's late but I think it's right. My perspective in general is that a large company and a startup can be as big or as small as you want to look at it. There is a difference. Right? My view in a big company is that one partner or one software does not make much difference to your business, positively or negatively. But no matter how big a startup becomes, it always has in its mindset that every specific decision can change its future. Positively or negatively. I asked for your time and I am very happy that we had a very good conversation and since then, whatever projects we have done with you, that is, since then no one else has done our Oracle implementation. We worked with you guys. The reason for this is that three things happen. First of all, are we thinking of a tactical partnership here or are we thinking of a strategic partnership because if I tell you the numbers in December 23, from that time till today our business has grown very disruptively. If we did not have such a relationship, we would have to re-scope and re-create the process every specific time we had to find a new partner. We still do that. But at least it is clear in our mindset that our preference is that we have a long term history with you. We have worked together. We know your founders and you have seen that I request reports from you many times. At a very significant level of detail. I often reach out for specific issues. Because once that comfort is created, you know it's no more just one be yes correct. We are genuine companions in happiness and sorrow. Sometimes you will be happy, we will be sad, sometimes we will be happy, you will be sad but that partnership will remain. So for that reason I had asked for that time from you all and I really enjoyed meeting you all and I felt good talking to you all and I think that your promise is very significant because I remember you all were telling the story that at night you still told that we remain engaged the whole night. There are many desks in our office where people are working day and night to release their features. So I thought that it was not about the timing but the commitment you people put in your work, that was special doing. Thank you.
Glad we heard this from you and on top of that, as you said, we are committed to the team. We are together. So that's my feeling about it, like right now, we're supporting Oracle for you. But then it happened that the Altus team and the same Oyo team which is now Prism. So now people are working as a team. They are going towards the same goal in terms of there are a lot of plans regarding you or the system. So we are going in that direction. So Preetish is a strategic partnership of our SU Sir, but for any new partner when you onboard, what exactly is mattering most to us, means it is a price intent or a quality work that they can deliver, what exactly you look after?
See, I look for four things. The first one is whether they have any history with us because today the company is so big that some partner must have done some small work with us, so that history is very valuable for us. It is not that history should always be good. Sometimes even if it is wrong, there may be some context behind it but I prefer that if there is some good history then it is helpful. The second thing is needed a lot. Are they as interested in having a strategic relationship with us as we are? Because many people say that we have to have a strategic relationship. But very few people recognize the effort that comes with it. Whether it's specific feature requests, whether it's release timings, whether it's talking to Oracle a lot of the time because a lot of the end of the day underlying framework is built with them. Thirdly, of course, whether a fair price is being set with us is also very crucial for us. And fourth and in my mind the most recent executive access we mean maybe we are not talking regularly. But you know if you ever need me, I am available. We and I know that whenever I need you, you are available. Absolutely, according to me, that fourth one is a very unspoken thing. It is neither in the contract nor in the emails. But if that comfort is created then you know that your service quality will be high.
Okay, because we connected with you with Oracle Applications. So we would like to know from you how Oracle achieved success in its journey. Also, you read Why You Choose the Oracle? Meaning there are many ERP applications. So what was the reason behind the Oracle Application?
So Oracle was the first thing we implemented here, before this we had some other finance ERP. We converted it to Oracle probably around 2017. I think Oracle gave us two or three big benefits. The first is the ease of integration. All of our current internal software systems are built in-house. Whether it's reservation systems, property management software, seamless integration of those types of internal systems. Right? Similarly, host to host integration of bank softwares also. We get very significant benefits from it. The second software is very robust. We, that is, you know that if Oracle is down, it means some calamity has happened in the world. Otherwise, Oracle remains a fairly stable system. And secondly, since Oracle has come out with their native cloud, I think it's a huge benefit because you know, they have frameworks already built into their cloud, right, that help you integrate and launch. Along with these three, I think working with you guys and also those of us who work with Oracle, just as I told you that we have a strategic relationship, similarly we have a strategic relationship with Oracle. Recently they had a global conference in Las Vegas where I went and I got a chance to meet all their senior leaders there and we also talked about many other opportunities with Oracle, so I think these were the three reasons why we chose Oracle as our potential partner.
That's very glad to hear. One, there are large scale rollouts and now you are working across the continents, so what challenges did you face when you adopted the Oracle ERP, so as you said that you should use another finance system, for sure the practices are different and the moment you said that 2017 which is almost like an eight year down the line. So what challenges did you face when you moved to Oracle ERP?
So let me tell you that there was a slight difference in context in India and abroad. When we moved from other ERP to Oracle in India, I believe that a good platform is as good as your implementation partner because the platform is the same for everyone but some people have a very good experience. Some are just good. But I think implementation partners play a big role in that. So all our teams treated the implementation partners almost like our internal team. I discussed all the problems, opportunities and challenges with him openly and transparently and kept checking in with him regularly. What happens many times is that the company starts such a project and then expects that everything will be done. We too have thought this many times. Right? And whenever I have thought like that, it has only caused pain. So that's why I think a good partner is important. We have very significant people abroad because the integration in technology that is possible in India is not that easy if you want to do it in 10 countries. So, getting the integration done quickly is a struggle because all the integration is already done in your previous ERP. We are a large company and have significant corporate governance requirements. So overtime we want to have all our numbers in a single ERP system so that reporting and consolidation of numbers becomes very easy. We are very focused on that.
Thank you so much. It seems that you are quite happy with Oracle. This is about Oracle. Now let's move. Why do you like Oracle so much?
Because I was a Chartered Accountant and the moment we started our career. I always felt that I wanted to do a system oriented working. And India inside the auditing and everything the kind of a behavior. So when we started, the first of the opportunities I got was for the Oracle. And when I started working in Oracle I loved the idea of how exactly it is integrated with all the systems and how deep it is having. At the same time being a Chartered Accountant you can understand how the numbers are flowing across the RP. So when I went to the business and discussed the matter with any person, I was able to understand how their business requirements were coming. Are there pen areas coming? And the best motivation I got was that I was able to deliver on that thing. I am able to deliver to them. I am able to provide some significant value. And we are able to roll out the pain areas which are related to their business. Because of the Oracle Depth and How Exactly This Is Working. And since then we have worked at Oracle. After that, the more depth I gained, I never felt like moving from Oracle. So then we work at Oracle.
Fantastic is fine. So we've talked a lot about Oracle. Let's go away from these technical things. Let's talk about more about you. So we have to know about a human behind the hustle. That's it, you are very well known for your work ethics and even today you have been working the whole day and you just said that you are going to work in the evening night also. So we would like to know some information from you in this. So we all know where you are today and what exactly you are doing. But has there ever been a moment in your life where you felt that everything was coming to an end? Things are going out of my control. I am sure this happens to you too.
Yes, yes. Every day, for some time, we feel as if we have conquered the world. Right? After some time, there comes a feeling that everything is over. So, I think this is an everyday feeling and the most exciting part of an entrepreneurial journey, I think, is that roller coaster. We are sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes up, sometimes down. I think that's an everyday story. The one who finds his happiness in it becomes an entrepreneur for life. Those who start having trouble with it, they struggle to do it for a long time. So I think this is an everyday story. And I'm telling you, we both feel it too. And I can tell you that among the top eight companies in the world, all those companies are entrepreneur led. Their founders also have the same feeling. So this is a household story as they say and I think this is the enjoyment building a new company.
Of course and see you are very young. And at this young age you are doing all this work. But there was a time when you started and you must have met the people like investors, pitching the idea and all the things. So did it happen that somewhere you went and you made a person who is having the experience of your age and then you got a notion from them that what is this kid going to do? So how exactly is your experience around this and how did you navigate through it?
So I would think of it as a broader rejection, because according to me, rejections are a regular process of entrepreneurship. We start facing rejection. The first time you go to a client. Clients say why should I work with you? We because I have more established people. Right? You go to find a team member. He says why should I work with you? I can work in an established company. We go to the investor. They say why should I invest in you? Because I have big established companies to invest in. So everybody has some reason or many reasons not to work with you. Right? There's probably a reason or two to work with you. We, and as an entrepreneur, it takes a little hard work. There is a little luck. It takes a little effort if you try. He should keep reminding you of one or two things. It takes a little luck that the other person agrees.
So what did you say about such a moment in your life that after the rejections, can you describe the feelings you had at that time, that there were so many rejections of course, I am sure that when you started, you must have faced rejections, so after that, the little happiness that you get, is that happiness that you get today, you get it every day, you get it every day because there is rejection every day, because every day you try something new, I am telling you that many times I have seen that when someone does not get a job, does not get any promotion. No incentive is given. There is no personal project that you were doing. People think everything is over. Why is this happening only to me? I am telling you that even today it is an everyday story for us that we get rejection. And that's because I try new things every day. If you don't try, you won't get any rejection. But if you try new things, there is a chance of getting rejected. So let me tell you my favorite story. I was just out of high school in that. I had just passed 12th class. I applied for a Thiel Fellowship after 12th. I watched the movie The Social Network. When I saw Peter Thiel in it, I applied. Now after the application, many interviews took place. Finally he said that you are among the top 40 candidates. The top 20 candidates will get Thiel Fellowship and we will send 40 candidates to the US. We were so happy for me, I never had a passport, I had never gone anywhere. So I thought that I never got a chance to go abroad in my life. Right now, someone is calling us abroad by mistake. Yes, whether there is a fellowship or not, if someone calls us for free, we will go. I was so happy about that. Then mother is separated from everyone, so mother went to the passport office in Bhubaneswar and she said that I will not go until our child's passport comes, only mother is separate, only she can do such things, so she got the passport made and sent it the next day, so long story short, the visa interview took place, I had never sat in a plane in my life to go abroad, so what would I know about the visa interview, so I was in half pants, my hair spread all around, I thought give me that letter and take the visa, so we reached there. We saw big people in front of us planning and preparing for interviews. So I thought that his work must be different from mine. Yes. When you are young, you have a lot of confidence. You think the whole world is wrong. I am right. Right? Your line is running. Now those people with big jackets and files are going right in front of me. As we were finally walking up to the counter, I felt something was wrong. When I went to the counter, they asked me during the interview, what is your purpose of travel to the US? I told you that we have this Thiel Fellowship. They make him drop out of it. I'm going to drop out. Good. So he got scared after hearing that. He said that he was definitely going to go there and work at the gas station. Because I thought the whole world knew who Peter Thiel was. He didn't know. So they said you cannot get the visa and we will not return your passport because we have to study. Ok. And he said you can go. I said we can't do this anymore. You will have to provide visa. We don't know. We thought he would just give us the visa. I don't think they have the authority to do that. So he called someone and said, please take him out. [laughs] Back in the day, when I lived in a raincoat in Delhi. Barsaati is like a very popular concept in Delhi that there is a house and a small room is made on top and in that, your iron or tin roof becomes the roof. So I came back and cried a lot. I mean, I cried a lot, and I wasn't sad that I didn't become a Thiel Fellow because I didn't have that confidence either. I was sad that I had a chance to go on a free trip to the US and it was not available. I cried a lot and we come from a middle class family, so I wrote a letter to them saying that if you do not cancel the flight ticket by tomorrow, you will not get a refund. Hmm, so please cancel yours because he had booked it. They refused the visa. Not giving. So he replied that we are less worried about the money for the flight ticket. We should go. Now come here. So he has written again to the embassy and they were very nice. I think I have a lot of love and respect for the US Embassy because they gave me the visa after a day or a day and a half and after that I went to the US and the Thiel Fellowship changed my life. I am saying this because, firstly, the happiness at that time was incredible that we were getting a chance to go to some foreign place. Right? Right? As an 18 year old it is life changing. More than that, in life I always think that when people get some opportunity after working hard, they always think that it is because of their hard work, but along with hard work, luck also plays a big role. If I had not got the visa at that time, perhaps life would not have been like this. Maybe if your mom hadn't brought the passport, life would have been different. So I think if you keep working hard then the chances of getting lucky increase.
True, luck is still needed but you will have to keep working hard. Correct. Now as you said that you have no idea at that time and it was just that you saw an idea and you just did it. So at that time, success probably had a different meaning for you. Today the meaning of success might have changed.
