Kathmandu, November 25, 2016: Technorio was kick-started when the mega-earthquake shook the nation on the very same day i.e. April 25, 2015. Five friends, 3 engineering and 2 management students co-founded the company. They started the company as they were more focused on creating jobs than seeking jobs. The technical team had knowledge on what and how they can produce on software and IT sector, while the management team had knowledge on how to take these products in the market to generate revenue. It was started as a symbiosis of ideas of people from two different fields.
The company was started with no other initial investment than their own laptops to work on.
In the beginning days, they were more focused on web and mobile apps. At the time of the earthquake, communication was a major problem. Though all the ISPs made it free to use internet, people didn’t know how to use it. Even Viber was made free but it was also a difficult task for people to communicate through the medium. They developed an app that could connect together all the people who are connected in a single network. They used the app to facilitate communication among their circle, a solution to the communication problem of their own, making entrepreneurship more meaningful.
As students themselves, they were challenged to keep the pace of work and balancing studies. “We had a real dedication and passion towards the work and the company though we didn’t have a strict work calendar. Though the office time is only till 5:30, we have no records of returning home before 7 in the evening. For us, Technorio is the one and only priority, and also a hangout place,” says Nidesh Maskey, a web-app developer and one of the co-founder of the company.
Currently, a team of around 30 developers/programmers is working with them, while the core-team mainly looks after the internal management of the company and long term projects. “The common vision for the progress of the company is all that has helped the growth of the company,” shares Maskey.
Our only priority for now is taking those who don’t have any experiences and train them, making them capable to work in a professional working environment.
Though the company is into existence since the last one and half years, they have not opened job vacancies yet. Â The interns learn to work in the real world, and perform short-term projects. As soon as the internship duration is over, Technorio recommends them to various other companies for jobs.
Most of those who completed internship at Technorio have been currently working in various other reputed IT companies. “They acknowledge our efforts on helping them reach be wherever they are now and on whatever they are doing now. This motivates us to continue in the similar way,” reminisces Maskey.
Sharing more about the challenges they faced in kick-starting the company, they feel that company registration itself is a tedious process in Nepal. The lack of payment policy in Nepal imposed by Nepal Rastra Bank, that one can’t send money abroad, and transactions can’t take place online, has hit the IT companies hard as per Maskey.
Most of the clients with them are from their own public relation and network. They also feel gratitude towards their satisfied clients who have shared the words about the company and its services among their peers. “We now feel that quality service itself is a marketing tool, as we haven’t needed to invest any amount of money on the marketing aspect,” says Maskey.
Till the date, the company has worked on the projects from the local clients and local market only.
Talking about the challenges in the sector, Maskey shares that IT sector in Nepal lacks quality human resources. “We are needing to take interns and train them as it’s extremely hard to find qualified and experienced people. A second strata of human resources is being generated in Nepali IT market as many of the companies charge too much amount of money for their services, making the clients feel that it’s cost-effective if they learn to do IT works on it on their own. This costs the work quality for sure.”
Sharing good times from starting the company, Maskey says, “As we take a new batch of interns every three months after the old cohort of interns goes to the market, the company seems like reborn, with the new team and new projects. Also, when our products are launched in market and people start to use them, we feel that as a moment to cherish.”
Coming this far in a very short duration of time, they have now planned to grow further in the domestic market and also slowly start working for foreign clients, and utilize the money thus earned in R&D to further develop Nepali IT sector.
Sharing message to the aspiring entrepreneurs, Maskey says, “Starting a company is not a major problem, but handling and succcessfully running it is. Before launching any company, first you need to understand about the market.” To all the students out there, he suggests, “Probably none will hire you for a job if you go searching for it only after completing a degree. The market is much different than the college and study. Degree alone won’t help you. So start working, or at least join for an internship in your student life itself.”
Startups for a better Nepal!
Presented By: Basanta Kumar Dhakal
