HERALD: What is your field of specialty? How is it different from your competitors?
REMMIE AZAVEDO: Our expertise spans across different domains. By far Point-of-Sale (PoS) and ERP are our core focus areas. Our billing software Swiftretail is quite popular in Goa. We have more than 120 stores using our software within and outside Goa. We also take great pride in developing customised software that requires coding from scratch. Some of the customised software we have done include lottery software, mock exam software, logistics software, franchisee software, call center software etc.
One big advantage we have over competitors especially in the billing software area is that we are a local company while most competitors are based outside Goa with local resellers. This puts us in a position to understand local conditions better and also to deliver prompt and effective customer support. Another advantage we have is we use lots of efforts to make the software very easy to use. A plus point we have is that most of the software we develop is cloud ready but at the same time it can be installed and operated locally within the premises of the organisation.
HERALD: How does your company help Goans, especially start-ups?
RA: One of the major motivations of starting FabCoders was to generate local employment. That is why till today almost my entire staff is made up of Goans. Businesswise being a start-up ourselves we help other non-technical start-ups by offering free technical consultations or giving heavy discounts on our software and services.
HERALD: Who are your major customers?
RA: We have been lucky to work with a good number of nice clients in Goa. Some of our esteemed clients include Fidalgo, Alcon Victor Group, Pan America, Norberts Gym, Nirvana T-Shirts, Planet Goa, Sunshine School etc. Besides this our restaurant software is doing quite well and we have a number of clients using it.
We feel great whenever we hear our clients telling us how our software has brought structure and organisation to their operations and helped increase their profit.
HERALD: What issues did you have to face when you thought of launching this company?
RA: A major hurdle I faced when I started was my lack of knowledge of local laws and regulations regarding software companies. Having moved abroad almost immediately after graduation, I was not aware of issues like legal permissions, ESIC etc. But over time I managed to learn these aspects. Not having a local mentor also was a big disadvantage. CIBA came up later and I commend them for helping new entrepreneurs but unfortunately I could not take advantage of their programs. Initially I struggled with getting the right people to work with us but I am extremely happy now with the team we currently have. It makes my job as a CEO much easier with the kind of dedicated and passionate team members I have at FabCoders.
HERALD: What made you work as an entrepreneur in Goa?
RA: Despite staying in a place like Norway which for many years has been number 1 in all polls of happiest places to live on earth, my heart was always set on coming back to Goa. So after thinking about this decision for long I finally decided to return back and start on my own in 2011.The lure of working in Goa and at the same time promoting and employing local Goan talent was too strong to resist. Today I am very happy that I made the decision to return back to my homeland.
HERALD: How do you see the Goan market? Are you planning to spread out?
RA: The Goan market for the domain that we are in is very limited. That is why right from the start we have focused on other geographical regions. We are happy with the fact that we have managed to have clients in Maharashtra and Karnataka besides international clients in Scandinavia, Singapore and the Middle East. We are developing a complete hotel software suite. This will have a lot of scope in Goa because of the number of hotels here.
There are still a huge number of shops in Goa that use paper billing. Our efforts continue to educate such establishments on the advantages of moving over to a billing software. We are also working with companies like Minco to turn their operation into a paperless one. This I feel, is an area that has lot of potential in Goa.
HERALD: Where do you see yourself and your company in next five years?
RA: Our plan is to extend our user base to the US and Australian market. In five years I see FabCoders employing 200+ team members and having more offices besides our current offices in Goa and Norway. In addition to consolidating our expertise in the ERP domain we will be exploring other areas such as IoT, Haptics and RFID.
