As the state tries to find a way to get out of the financial mess it is in, the important task of generating jobs and creating wealth is an important function that now seems to be increasingly a task of the private sector. One such company Androcid Media Pvt Ltd is an engineering firm which is focused on building apps. Prajyot Mainkar, director in the company spoke to Ajit John about his company and of his determination to stay in Goa and make it work successfully.
Herald: Why business and not government service as is the norm in the state?
Prajyot Mainkar: My parents are in the cashew business for over 25 years and I am used to the cyclical nature of it. I studied in Goa completed my project management degree from IIT Delhi and worked for a software company in Pune with a very clear objective in mind, I wanted to save up on money to buy computers and furniture for the office. My father had an office so I could shift in. It was always going to be business and five years ago I started though three years ago we registered as a Pvt Ltd company.
Herald: How was it in the early years of the company?
PM: we were focused on mobile app development and Goa as a market was not developed for such concepts so we did web designs and other applications. We started doing mobile applications in android and our work was featured on NDTV and CNBC. I can say we are an app engineering company based out of Goa which focus on building apps. We work with Android Wearable, Android TV and Google Glass Recently one of the product we did for a client in Delhi – Curofy, was featured as the top 5 finalist at CNBC’s Tie The Knot summit in 2014
Herald: Was it easy to get people to work for your company?
PM: It was very difficult to get people to work for us because people in Goa were not aware of what we were doing. Later when it came down to android apps yes people began to understand and accept our offer. Another problem is that people in the state don’t really know that there are 200 It companies of various shapes and sizes in the state. When I asked students at an interaction they could name just five and yes their parents wanted them to get out of the state and work in Bengaluru or Hyderabad or Pune where they could make more money. I am very clear that in the development cell here in Goa, I would like to employ only Goans to help give back to my state.
Herald: What are the other obstacles you face?
PM: Goa is not a IT centre and as people who were part of a start up it was really tough making people understand what it is we were doing. The connect between education and industry is very weak and educationist have to understand what it is we need. The kind of skills that is required. It is difficult to get people who are employable. I am helping out with a course in Android and the students are encouraged. Another thing is the concept of internship in the state is not understood. There is a three week internship for engineering guys which is inadequate. It takes you that long to understand what it is the company is all about. I would like to see the final semester of the MCS course to be spent in companies. It will help everyone.
Herald: What are your plans?
PM: We want to cater to the service market and develop new apps and yes in April, Androcid will showcase its products at RiseConf 2015 in Hong Kong. A summit that attracts over 20,000 attendees from around the world.
