DeveloperOnRent

Making disruptions with innovative business models
Kapil Mehta

Kapil Mehta

                 Developers on rent: making disruptions with innovative business models

Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek in an interview talked about the rent business model industry. He explained how Microsoft reached the heights, not solely because of the classic profit phenomenon but because of the rent business model. Now the industry is getting disrupted by the wave of startups that work with different models. A rental business model, though often intimidating, can provide benefits for both companies as well as customers. Customer convenience is the way of the future, and people have never been more receptive to products and services that make their lives run more smoothly. As such, savvy brands have caught onto this phenomenon and developed highly innovative IT rental services that capitalize on both cost-efficiency and ease of use. That's why this young team of professionals started DeveloperOnRent.com in Jan 2014.

Our editorial team spoke to Kapil Mehta, the founder of DeveloperOnRent to shed some light on the issues pertaining to the organization and industry. Here are the edited excerpts…

The Need

The idea of opening a firm generated when the initial stakeholders planned to build their own e-commerce product. They met various companies, and all of them submitted their quotes. Across the quotes, the pricing was different with almost similar timelines, processes, deliverables but yet no confirmation as guaranteed towards launch. Customers had to interact with at least 6 to 7 different freelancers, and yet the 'Accountability' not ensured. In our model, the customer can rent the developer from 10 days to a year or more with complete transparency. All Developers are our employees and operate in a process-driven environment. Developer on Rent has marked a niche in the tech realm by introducing a renting model for developers. Doing away with the hassles of Freelancers, Developer on Rent formed a renting model where you can hire a developer with a single click with complete accountability. Sometimes the pricing is hourly, monthly, fixed and many more. While locating these chasms in the industry, we got the idea to define a model where anyone can RENT a developer accordingly to the customer wishes and needs.

How does it sit within the digital ecosystem of India today?

The rental model is well suited with the digital ecosystem- it provides a platform to customers with choice, cost savings, commitment, someone to knock when things turn-around, sharing risk and many such factors. Many factors work to kick-start an idea such as innovation and technology investment etc. and the most important of all is to have a skilled team, adequate technological abilities, skills to deliver, proof-of-concept enablement to test it and much more. Currently, the digital world is looking for Next best alternatives, and we provide with such alternatives replacing traditional platforms, freelancers and such others.

How did you build the core team – How did you meet and how did everyone align to the idea?

As a Founder, it was really necessary for me to find the 'HANDS' that can work with me. We found Jitesh who was a family to us and shared the idea with him. At that time he was working for Infosys which provided him with great International exposure.  Jitesh leads the tech team of handful developers, delivering state-of-the-art solutions. When it comes to employees, we identified five resources which can deliver complete full stack development with hands-on experience on various technologies. We spent around three months defining every aspect and build the platform with no business. There were times when salary compensation on time became difficult, and that is when we saw great teaming and people coming together as a team. It is never easy to bring everyone on the same page with mutual goals and vision.

How do you work on your long-term relationship with your clients?

We work very closely with the customer. Areas such as Developer Feedback, new requirements, product understanding, next wave of solutions, deeper technology discussions, how as a PARTNER we are aligned with them and ensure we meet each customer on a monthly basis – F2F. In case of issues/escalations; we take these things very seriously with responsibility and ensure the same is resolved and addressed.

What kind of services and solutions does DeveloperOnRent cater? 

We provide Developers on RENT – that is the service, and we build solutions across technologies for various customers. We also provide some Pro bono services as well such as Gap Analysis, Mobile App testing, Statement of Work, Tech Identification, Web Development Service, and MVP Consulting. 

Accolades 

The firm's milestones are building a dedicated team, association with 100+ developers, 200+ customers working experience and presence in 13+ countries around the globe. The firm's revenue is closing to Four Cr. and has contributed to more than 135+ products as a whole in 20+ verticals. The firm was awarded as the Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 and added another gem as Brand of the year 2017, Mentor Chair in Symbiosis Centre of Excellence, Tech mentor in DERBI Innovation and firm's success Story published in many reputed portals and platforms.

What challenges do you see in the market?

In this dynamic market with technology and demands changing every day coping with the demand, maintaining speed and agility is the biggest challenge. Speed so that the business stay competitive and agility so that enhancements are incorporated and accepted. Finding the right developers is a better option than finding the best ones. Currently, we are still self-bootstrap. Plans for funding remains reserved for coming years.

How has the company maintained its momentum? 

We still work like a startup. It is not easy to build a team. Keeping up the passion, excitement, vision, results, driving force to manage customers and ensuring the hunger is one the major task for an entrepreneur to execute. We have put in a lot of effort and deliberation to ensure the team is delivering at par. In spite of failures and little losses, we are still standing fresh and strong as we were in the initial period. Every decision is taken after many open and candid discussions with the team. We promote internal democracy with very less emphasis on hierarchy. For developers, learning is a huge incentive when they work with various customers, on different business models and many more such areas. Learning competency and skills become everyday life at DeveloperOnRent. 

What are the values and factors that you attribute your success to? 

Integrity: We need to ensure that customers are comfortable sharing information and assets with developers. Hence, our utmost focus is maintaining integrity.

Value: We always keep ourselves unbiased when we work with the customer. We always ensure whatever we do is right for business and customers

Behaviors: Communication, Functional and Technology Knowledge, Time management, Governance and Process Methodology

Cost: Our pricing methods are transparent, open, are agreeable with the customer and infuse savings

Others: Transparency in the process, Flexibility on the model, Feedback sharing, Empowerment, and many other factors and values

Dynamic leadership

Founder

Kapil Mehta

A graduate from Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati University, Kapil holds a management post- graduation with specialization in Management Information System from IMT Ghaziabad. He is an avid reader and a self-made Entrepreneur.  He likes to drive business where great leadership thrives, providing complete ownership to the firm's employees and support them in crucial times. Kapil holds considerable experience in the Information System world. Before business, he worked for IBM and Honeywell Technology Solutions providing expert inputs on the Informational Infrastructure.

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