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Everyone has a story waiting to be heard. We’re highlighting some of the amazing stories from within CleverTap — from our very own CTzen’s — because we believe in the amazing people we work with everyday and want to share the exciting work culture that we’ve built together. Presenting: the CTzen’s of CleverTap.
I firmly believe you are never too old to learn something new or too young to know too much, and I have followed this maxim since childhood. With a background in Electronics Engineering, I got a well-paid job at TCS in 2014. My parents were thrilled, and I looked forward to it. I had no reason to complain.
At TCS, I was handling international clients and getting diverse exposure. But two years in, I began to feel that the work was monotonous. My role provided me no challenges, and I felt demotivated. I have always believed in giving 100% to whatever I do and thus couldn’t continue as long as my mind was not engaged. I needed something to inspire me every morning, and the moment I realized this, I quit.
After some detailed research and pondering different ideas with some friends, we discovered an opportunity where we thought we could make a difference. Most school students traveled to and from school on school buses. After speaking to many parents, we realized that the safety of their children was a prime concern and that buses were the transportation they most trusted. But, as we investigated, we identified a number of gaps where we used technology to create an improved experience.
My friends and I tested many apps that were offering similar services, such as Uber for School, but every app fell short in terms of their accuracy. That gave birth to the idea of our application, “Dhundoo.” The application would help parents track their children’s whereabouts, thus helping assure their safety and giving parents valuable peace of mind.
We launched the first phase of the app in 2016. When I joined, just the two of us—my partner and I—worked as the two developers. I began developing the app for the Android platform, and the results were visibly encouraging. Once that was launched successfully, I built the iOS application from scratch. It was nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time.
After launching the app, we started doing research to support our marketing strategy, starting with finding a database of schools to target. Then, we began calling every school and pitching our app to them. Two months after the launch, an Indian school in Gujarat signed up for our service. There was much to do, but we handled every parent query and addressed any issues.
The response to the app and feedback from parents was terrific. I remember one time when a parent called just to express their gratitude. She said they were working parents, and the app gave them a safety cushion and assurance that their child was safe. I was thrilled with the call. It was a humbling feeling, and I was happy that we had made a difference.
We had around 200 buses and vans catering to our device, and configuring the devices with the GPS was a huge challenge. The team had to travel across India for onboarding devices and installations. After handling this ourselves initially, we then had a vendor take over the onboarding process.
During this time, I married my partner. As both of us were a part of the founding team of Dhundoo, we decided to hand it over to another team and started working for a client from Hyderabad. I was always hungry to learn more, and we ended up doing several new projects with a Hyderabad firm as well as a significant project for Kia Motors.
During our married life, we realized that one of us needed to have a stable job. So, I joined CleverTap in 2022 and have completed one month here. The work culture here is fantastic, and the team is skilled and efficient. They have patiently accommodated me, and I am getting a broad exposure to new technologies.
So, I want to send one message to everyone: Never be afraid to follow your dreams because you will never succeed if you don’t try.
Ready to help build the future of mobile? Check out the career opportunities at CleverTap.
