Tel K. Ganesan is a testament to entrepreneurism and the American Dream. He is the Founder and Chairman of Kyyba Inc., a Michigan based global IT company that originally started as a staffing and outsourcing firm prior to getting hit by the Great Recession. Kyyba responded by diversifying into other industries, setting the stage for growth.
Today Kyyba has close to 900 employees globally and Kyyba’s portfolio of companies includes Staffing, Emerging Technologies, R&D to advance innovation, Health & Wellness and Entertainment (Film Production & Distribution; Music); as well as a foundation that include: Kyyba Innovations, Kyyba Wellness, Kyyba Music, Kyyba Films and, Kyyba Kidz Foundation which promotes education and provides job skills for the most deprived group of children.
What were the top 3 mistakes you made as an entrepreneur, and if you could start over what would you do differently?
Technology
When I first started Kyyba, there were a lot of missed opportunities and our ability to handle growth was limited by the lack of the right tools and technology. I quickly learned that what was working when I started the business obviously did not work and serve us well at later stages of growth. There were a lot of costly growing pains as a result of not having the right scalable tools and technology in place. I found that this applies to all areas of business all the way from accounting to sales and marketing. Having a longer runway with the technology helps the companies to scale and grow in the marketplace as opposed to constantly putting out fires internally which has no value to either the customers we serve or the bottom line. Putting in the right tools and technology at the beginning can save a lot of time and stress. It’s easy to think about what you need at the time you are embarking on your entrepreneurial journey; it’s a bit harder, especially if you are initially self-funding or bootstrapping a start-up, to be strategic and envision what your needs for scalability will be as you move grow.
Diversification
We got hit hard with the “Great Recession” of 2007-2008. We were too reliant on one geographic market, one major customer and one industry vertical. We were headquartered in the Detroit area and I had a background in the automotive industry, so we were focused on the Detroit market and on the automotive vertical. It was one of the biggest mistakes we could make. As one of our major customers went into bankruptcy, Kyyba went to the brink of bankruptcy. Simultaneously, the City of Detroit went into bankruptcy. It was as if Detroit sneezed and we caught a cold. The big lesson, as the saying goes, was to not put all our eggs in one basket. As we turned to diversification, both geographically and expansion of the industries we served and services we offered, we were able to turn the company around and put ourselves on the road to growth and profitability.
People
One of the biggest lessons learned is that when a business is starting out, it’s easy to hire who you know and who’s available, instead of focusing on hiring the right people to fit your culture, goals, and vision. In an entrepreneurial-driven organization like Kyyba, I found that even people who had played bigger roles working in major corporations could not produce results because they didn’t understand the culture or mindset of an entrepreneurial environment. I found that in order for people to be successful they need to be able to contribute and thrive in that environment with a focus on helping grow the company. For an organization to truly prosper and grow, you need to hire people smarter than you with the right attitude that can fit into the entrepreneurial mindset. Another key to having the right people is knowing and anticipating when to hire managers vs leaders.
Tel K. Ganesan Founder of Kyyba Inc.
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