“Don’t just start a business, solve a problem.” This simple credo has defined the path to success for many entrepreneurs.

To establish a successful enterprise, you need an eye to perceive a need in the market. Then you need the will to establish a firm that makes the most of the opportunity and offers a solution. Yash Mantri embodies this very essential characteristic of an entrepreneur, to find solutions to existing problems. Yash trained as a Chartered Accountant, and then worked in the international Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) company Genpact, for a year and a half gaining on-the-job experience and honing his financial acumen. Then, and during his next stint at an IT company in Indore, he realised that there was a vacuum in the industry whereby there was a real need for KPO companies who would cater to SMEs, and their overall business needs, thereby allowing them to focus on their core activities. He channelised this insight and established Infocrest in 2014 - a KPO firm based out of Indore.

Today, Infocrest provides services in business analytics, branding and digital marketing, to companies in over 20 countries.

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL) Yash Mantri (YM) shares his business journey, the challenges he faced and his vision for the company.

GL: Tell us about your business and how it came into being.

YM: Infocrest is a global Knowledge Process Outsourcing company that was established in 2014. We provide 360 degree business solutions to small and medium enterprises. Today we work in 3 verticals: business analytics, branding and digital marketing.

In the business analytics vertical, we cover business planning, financial modelling, market research, bookkeeping & accounting and arrangement of funding.

In the branding and digital marketing segment we provide expertise in logo and brochure designing, company profile designing, packaging & label design, small web development, social media marketing and SEO.

As such, we assist our customers in every stage of their business and from there comes our motto: Since inception up till zenith. Till date, we have assisted more than 350 clients in over 20 countries. We have a diverse team consisting of expert chartered accountants, company secretaries, MBAs in finance and marketing, graphic designers, digital marketers and content writers.

In 2013 I left my job after working for a year and a half as an assistant manager in a renowned global KPO company Genpact and came to my home town Indore. After working for a year again in a fast growing IT company I realised that across the world there is a big gap to fill so that small and medium enterprises don’t have to hunt for different organisations for different solutions. They should be able to outsource their activities to the company which can provide all round services across all departments so that CEOs of these organisations can spend more time on their core activities. That was the idea that led to the creation of Infocrest. We started with providing finance expertise, as I came from a finance background and this is also one of the most critical departments of any business. After running the enterprise for a year and a half and working for more than 350 businesses, I created two more divisions, branding and digital marketing. This brought me closer to my vision. The journey is still ongoing and this is just the beginning.

GL: What are the challenges you have faced in establishing your business?

YM: Since my major target was not India, it was difficult to generate sales and convince companies remotely to rely on us. Further, as the company was bootstrapped, continuous sales generation was one of the important factors through which we met our expenses. But my educational credentials (CA and CS, All India Merit Holder -28th in CA Foundation, 2006), my fluency in English and my past experience in Genpact helped me secure clients and referrals from them.

Another major challenge was finding the right kind of talent in a Tier II city like Indore and training them on how important deadlines are for the customer and how even a simple misplaced ‘comma’ can ruin an otherwise great effort. But again, I would say, my experience of working with a US client while working in Genpact enabled me to train my staff better.

GL: What is the USP of your business?

YM: Providing complete business solutions is the USP of our business. Right from planning of new businesses, to assisting in funding, to branding and digital marketing, we have experienced teams in every department. The average experience of our team members is 5+ years.

GL: What are some of the milestones of your business?

YM: The biggest milestone is that we have clients in more than 20 countries in a short span of just 2 years. We have established a sales office in the UAE. All this was done without outside funding being involved.

GL: What role do you feel GlobalLinker plays in connecting and assisting SMEs?

YM: GlobalLinker is playing an important role and has emerged as a helping hand in today’s climate for SMEs like us. We can leverage GlobalLinker to connect with businesses across the globe very easily.

GL: What is your big business dream?

YM: My big business dream is to establish Infocrest as one of the best KPO companies across the globe. I would like to grow my business by moving ahead with targeting businesses by geography.

GL: What is your message to aspiring entrepreneurs?

YM: There is no substitute for hard work. Work hard while focusing on your goals and be patient for the results as hard work always pays. Never think that you have done your best as it will stop your growth because there is always room for improvement. Never compromise on your business ethics for short term gain.   

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