HERALD: What is your company’s field of specialty?
PRANAV PAI VERNEKAR: Our company operates in the ‘Internet of Things’ space. Internet of Things (IoT) is about connecting physical devices and sensors to the Internet so that we could control them and receive data to take smart decisions. For example when you leave your gym your phone can send a command to automatically start your water heater based on your change in GPS location.
We are currently working on NetPlug which is an Internet of Things platform that lets businesses build smartphone app based remote controls. The manufacturers can embed the NetPlug hardware in their product, develop a custom UI and then their users can control their products using the NetPlug app.
NetPlug works on pay as you go basis. Which means the manufacturers have no capital investments to get app based remotes for their products. This enables even small scale players to build IoT enabled products and services.
We also conduct trainings and workshops for various organisations. Till date we have trained employees of Intel, IBM, applied materials etc and have conducted these workshops across the globe in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
HERALD: How does your company help Goans?
PPV: A classic case of NetPlug usage was when Fr D’Costa who is the principal of Don Bosco, Quepem developed an IoT School Bell where the headmaster or clerk can simply enter the timetable via a smartphone app and the bell will automatically ring at the right time. This bell is changing the way schools communicate with their students. Fr D’Costa was able to achieve this as there was no cost towards R&D. It helped him solve his local problem which no MNC would have looked at. These are the things that make us happy at the end of the day. We hope that more Goans would come forward to build products on the NetPlug platform.
In addition to our NetPlug platform, we also conduct trainings and workshops. Till date we have trained more than 300 Goan school students on advanced topics of robotics. These students have shown excellent aptitude towards technology development and programming. Some of them have won competitions against engineering students in prestigious institutes like IITs, NITs and BITS and some of them even have their app on the play store.
We have a workshop coming up during the X’mas vacation for the school students on the topic of Internet of Things. This is one of the first workshop on IoT for school students in the world. The registrations for this workshop are now open.
HERALD: Who are your major customers?
PPV: Various companies are using the NetPlug platform for building app based controllers for their products. Mukunda Foods Pvt Ltd, a Banglore-based startup who have developed world’s first tabletop dosa maker have integrated NetPlug in their system so that the users can simply place an order via smart phone. Another interesting product on NetPlug is iSafe Alarm which crowdsources security. iSafe lets you alert your neighbours, friends and family in case you feel any danger. With a click on a smartphone, a hooter will go on to catch every ones attention.
Recently NetPlug also powered a Humanoid Robot built by Goa based Visual Juju. This robot was recently deployed at Accenture. A New York-based company ‘Be Lawn Smart’ is using NetPlug to develop smart gardening system where you can water the plant from any part of the world.
HERALD: What help did you receive from Goa government. If not, who helped you and what are your plans for Goa?
PPV: We haven’t received any specific help from Goa govt. However we have been helped by various people and organisations in the State. Puranjaya Singh of PAN Enterprise and a faculty from Goa Engineering College sit on our board of advisors. We have received a lot of support from GITIC. GCCI and GITIC are doing a fantastic job in developing the Goan entrepreneurship ecosystem. Events like ‘Tech Friday’ go a long way in bringing Goan Entrepreneurs together. I was born and brought up in Goa hence it was an obvious decision to stay in Goa. We do plan to continue our operations in Goa but are in the process of spreading our reach across the country.
HERALD: How do you rate Goa’s ecosystem for IT companies?
PPV: Goa has a good ecosystem for IT companies but there is still a long way to go. We need to improve upon our Infrastructure. Internet is a basic need of an IT company and that needs to be better. The government should define a specific IT policy and take concrete steps to promote IT in Goa. I have heard a few people say that it is difficult to get good employees in Goa but I believe that is a myth. We have a fabulous team of engineers working at Inventrom which comprises of 75% Goans.
HERALD: You were recently representing India before Indian Prime Minister in US Silicon Valley. What was it all about?
PPV: The recent US visit of the Prime Minister of India was focused on Startups and Technology. In addition to meeting various tech giants of the valley, few Indian startups were also invited to showcase their technology during the visit. It was a wonderful experience. As part of the program we were invited to pitch our technology on stage as well as showcase our work as part of the exhibition. It is great to see that the Prime Minister of India is very excited about Startups and took time to interact with us. I thank the organisers and the Prime Minister for taking steps to promote the startups of India in such a big way. Opportunities like this help us learn about startups that have already succeeded as well as understand the culture in the valley. As part of this program we visited other successful startups like Google, Facebook and Tesla. Unlike back home failure is not looked down upon but seen as a stepping stone to success. The community is very open for startups and people are open to sharing their ideas. This event will also help us grow beyond the Indian markets.
HERALD: Where do you see yourself and your company in next five years?
PPV: Last year has been quite exciting for us. We have moved our focus from Robotics to IoT. We are now looking at raising our first round of funding. We currently have a few clients in the US and are now looking to grow sales of NetPlug platform in India and the US. In five years we hope to be one of the leading companies in IoT and Robotics across the globe.
