HERALD: What is your field of specialty?
AXEL D’SOUZA: We are design first technology company. This essentially means that we specialise in building online services that not just work great but also looks fantastic. We understand that the world wide web is a place for the masses, of which a few care about technology that is under the hood. So in this case, the book mostly gets judged by its cover and we make sure that the cover is also a work of art. The competition is getting fierce in Goa as many find Goa as a good place to work. We welcome it because it encourages us to stay ahead in the game. We try to separate ourselves from the others by constantly learning, which ranges from technology stacks, design trends, or even from our past mistakes.
HERALD:How can your company help Goans, especially start-ups?
AD: We are a company founded by two Goans, set up in a quaint village of Parra, with only Goan team of employees, so far. From a point of view of our hiring policy, we always welcome freshers, especially Goans. However, we do not discriminate between local or not. All we look is for their aptitude for the industry, work ethic and the desire to learn. As for the business side of things, we are constantly supporting Goan businesses online by reflecting the essence of their work, at concessional rates. We have experience working with start-ups, which gives us the added advantage of guiding budding Goan brands in to making good technological decisions, saving them time and keeping it economically viable.
HERALD: Who are your major customers?
AD: Our client-base is spread across the world. We have done work in the UK, US, Europe, and all over India, too. We establish healthy relations with our clients, which pay great dividends in expanding markets. Believe or not, we are yet to pay a single rupee on advertising. All our business comes from the priceless ‘word of mouth’ which speaks heaps of our quality of work.
HERALD: How do you see the Goa market?
AD: As I have already mentioned, we pretty much spread out in a few markets. It allows us to support our economic needs, compete with talent all over the world and set high standards of business. But what is great is that the Goan market is rapidly catching up. Every Goan business is beginning to understand the need to be online, to integrate with software, to start embracing IoT, which opens up the market for our industry.
HERALD: You see Goans having companies in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune etc? Why is this happening?
AD: Well, yes, that happens. But there are a ton of reasons for it. Goa is slowly evolving into an IT hub, which is very encouraging for us, since the IT industry is relatively clean, and that’s a great incentive, especially considering we are a tourist state. However, we have a long way to go to catch up with other states which have taken lead early. The IT policy seems promising and will serve as an incredible motivation to Goan companies who have left to maybe re-open their shops. The Goa government has recognised the need to ride the IT wave, and if they do deliver on what is promised, the Goan tech industry will certainly put Goa on the IT map. Also, the onset of associations like the Goa Technology Association (GTA), and Start-up Goa, the Goan tech industry is becoming a close knitted family, which is always an encouraging trend.
HERALD:With several websites emerging on the Internet to train novice people to build and create their own websites, how has this affected your business?
AD: I would not say much, because as mentioned earlier, Hash Cookies (http://hashcooki.es/) is an evolving company. We started off by building static websites, tailor made for every client, and now we specialise in developing sophisticated custom built web and mobile applications. Building your own websites comes with strings. When you hire a team of experts, you not only pay for their ability to code, but also their experience which teaches us what works, and what does not. Scaling up becomes a challenge. Services to build your own websites is one for those who are looking for a ‘one size, fits all’ deal, and that is not our client base to begin with.
HERALD:Where do you see yourself in next five years?
AD: Five years from now, I would like to have a product in the market that is used and loved by many. We have a bunch of ideas, and are really excited about it. We always want to contribute towards our community, not just with tech, but with deeds. I see us continuing our efforts in that, and hopefully on a larger scale. I also envision us to be a bigger team, but always holding strong to our ideals, which if I were to sum it up in two words, they would be ‘constantly evolving.’
