Image via Kudos to Ohile, our Featured Story, for starting a family-oriented venture. We interview the founders here:
Name of Entrepreneur / Venture and Company Motto
Ohile: The Complete Family Portal
Brief Profile of Entrepreneur
"Shalini V Nair - MD, an alumnus of Executive General Management from IIM-Bangalore has over 9 years of experience in carrying out different roles & responsibilities in the IT industry. She is in charge of planning the vision and direction of the company as well as its management. She guides the company towards the vision of becoming the “Family Portal - a one-stop solution to all family needs” with her strong sense of responsibility, keeping the team motivated and giving their best outputs.
Ramakrishnan Nair brings with him vital experience of being part of an MNC and interacting with clients across the world, providing software solutions. He is in charge of devising strategies and setting guidelines for the smooth functioning of the project. He graduated from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum with a B.Tech degree
Arun has more than 5 years of experience in designing embedded systems in Telecom and Data Acquisition. He is in charge of spotting emerging technologies which can take the company ahead. He graduated in B.E (Electronics & Communication) from Cochin University in 2004.
Manu Raj has six years of experience in Designing/Developing products in embedded environment. Currently looks after Business development. He has strong strategic management perspective in defining organization direction. By constantly challenging the way things are done combined with the organizational refocusing programs has been the key factors in obtaining the results. He graduated in B.E (Electronics & Communication). He is a certificate Holder in Global IT management from U21 global.
Something Different about each of us:
Shalini V Nair: Revived Prajna Foundation, an NGO based in Delhi working with the Youth & Children of Sudhar Camp, a major slum in Kalkaji, New Delhi.
Ramakrishnan Nair: As a loyal follower of Ramakrishna mission, he has been an active part of their social activities and coordinator of ‘Bhaktha sammelanam’, yearly get together of devotees.
Arun S S: Besides a technocrat, he is a scholar in history. In a foregathering of people with similar taste, he has been the lead speaker and authoritative last word on matters of contention.
Manu Raj L S: Played a major role in formation of a company in US, in health care domain called icuro, inc (www.icuro.com). He also played a major role in setting up operations of Yazata Consulting (www. yazataconsulting.com) in Thiruvananthapuram. He leveraged both his technical and start up experience to guide them.
Friends since school days, growing up in the town of Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala, we diverged while at college and during professional life and missed lot of ‘family functions’. During every get-together we had, we discussed this ‘disconnect’ and yearned for a solution to recapture the warmth. Our quest resulted in the prototype of www.ohile.com."
What's new, interesting, or different about what your company does?*
"Our unique idea spectrum of a media to emote, share and cherish transcending modes of access does not exist in market right now and has the potential to rewrite the market trend. Redefining ways of connecting people is our USP. A private and secured way of sharing and managing your family space!
• Ohile extends the ‘emotional connect’ of family to the virtual space. We provide features facilitating users to connect, share and experience family moments transcending digital divide.
• We believe every individual needs to connect with his family, uninterruptedly. This connection is manifested primarily through his lineage; family tree thus becomes the core of our portal.
Users need a private space or ‘family space’ - which is unaddressed in the internet/mobile space presently, which forms the cornerstone of our USP!
The mix of features being unique, www.ohile.com is in a different plane in itself.
We face competition from fragmented players in the market. All players have divergent approaches and don’t follow our entirety.
"
Given 20-20 hindsight, what would you do differently?
Passion, Persistance and intuitive understanding of the target market and their needs. Market Study & Research.
What is your most memorable fund-raising experience?
Self funded till now, the experience of selling our idea to friends who never pull a punch can be exciting and harrowing as none other. "Flagship product: www.ohile.com
What do you do or make?
Vesta, Roman Goddess of the home and hearth brings warmth to households, both as a temperature and as an emotion. Ohile is built to be the Vesta of the virtual world, epitomizing family life and its continuum ‘online’.
Our idea is to present a quilted embroidery of all family related services / utilities under Ohile aegis. There is more to a family than shared ancestry.
Our focus is more on the family as a totality; it's needs and preferences- Holistic approach to map your family timeline.
Enterprise Solutions: We are in the process of customizing the Ohile.com framework for mapping corporate structure and knowledge sharing projects.
Mobile Solutions:
Several of our Applications are already released into the Nokia OVI Store with few more at QA and in Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Android Marketplaces.
Applications fall under Productivity tools, Utility applications, Religious content apps and News & Info.
Links: www.ohile.com
Mobile Apps at OVI Store: http://store.ovi.com/publisher/Ohile+Tech/
Explain how the company will make money?
" "The revenue model consists of three aspects:
1. Information on ‘retail offers’
2. Transaction model targeting ‘kirana shops’
3. Custom merchandise aligned with www.ohile.com portal
We already have a stream of Mobile Apps in the app stores and mobile enterprise solutions as a revenue stream. Additionally, The framework is replicated across organizational requirements which is a revenue stream for the company. "
Why is the addressable market you are targetting interesting?
"The target market: We have two markets identified
1. The regular internet users who are a part of the global nomadic culture - who miss the warmth of the hearth and cherished family bonding, on the move. They need the family ambience with them wherever they happen to be. Geography and demographics are purely subjective in this market.
2. The larger and ever growing mobile users - where the other networking sites provide plugins to their sites, we propose a seamless mobile experience to mesmerise this potential audience."
Why should we choose your company?
Family, the most important entity, is often forgotten in the pursuit of catering to individuals in the internet space. Family ambience needs to be extended to the web, mobile and the entire spectrum of digital media. We understand this pain point from the market study that we had undertaken at the launch of our pilot project. We are dedicated to bridge this gap and extend the family experience wherever you are.
