Startup of the Day - 8KMiles.com

The company of the day is 8KMiles.com, based in India. 8KMiles.com is an online ecosystem of verified professionals and companies for outsourcing of software and knowledge services over the internet. You will find below an interview with Padmanabhan Raghavan, Co-founder & Chief Evangelist of 8KMiles.com. All the best to them and congrats for being the startup of the day!

Website: www.8kmiles.com.

Interview with Padmanabhan Raghavan, Co-founder & Chief Evangelist of 8KMiles.com

Who are you?

Co-founder & Chief Evangelist, 8KMiles.com

How do you feel being the most promising ‘company of the day’ per Microsoft?

It is an amazing feeling. Any recognition for a startup is great. And Microsoft recognizing 8KMiles as a promising startup is a great motivation for all of us.

What did you do before creating your company?

All of the founding team members were into software development and services. While most of us were into engineering, one of the partners was running his software services firm in the US.

How did you get the idea? What s the genesis?

The partner who was running the software services firm in the US got requests for custom software development from many SMB’s. However, these projects were too small and subsequently the overheads were too high to be considered fit for the traditional outsourcing model. We got together and decided that we can offer a compelling outsourcing solution for SMB’s and start-ups without compromising on quality, security and control. That’s how 8KMiles was born.

What do you sell? What is your company’s mission?

8KMiles.com is an online ecosystem of verified professionals and companies for outsourcing of software and knowledge services completely over the internet. The 8KMiles ecosystem provides the people, hardware, software and tools required for outsourcing on-demand effectively enabling a no cap-ex model of “Software Development-as-a-Service”.

8KMiles provides access to quality talent as well as access to pre-built infrastructure (development / testing stacks) delivered from the cloud. Using 8KMiles, SMB’s, Start-ups and IT consulting companies can build their virtual development and testing teams and monitor and collaborate in real time with them. 8KMiles is a no cap-ex virtual outsourcing option for companies.

Mission: 8KMiles is a company that is leveraging collaboration, networking and technology to enable a new delivery model for software and other services. Our goal is to make remote service delivery easy, secure, reliable and transparent.

What is your market?

8KMiles’ solution is targeted at SMB’s, start-up businesses and IT consulting and contracting companies who are looking at a no cap-ex, cost efficient and reliable outsourcing model.

Any clients? References? Partners?

A retail library chain is building its library application with a virtual team from 8KMiles. There are other companies that leverage the 8KMiles model to bring down their development costs. We have a relationship with Microsoft (SPLA) through which we can offer licensed Microsoft software on a subscription model. We also have a partnership with a video conferencing vendor (ooVoo) and an assessment firm (Merittrac). We have built our virtual computing environment on top of the Amazon cloud. These partnerships add value to our users and make the 8KMiles offering compelling and beneficial.

Funding history? VCs? BA?

We are currently self funded.

Growth? Internationalization?

Our verified Service Provider pool is restricted to the US and India at this point. However, we are global when it comes to Service Buyers (companies / people who want to outsource on 8KMiles).

How many employees do you have? How many developers?

We are 15 people and 10 are into development.

Are you hiring? If yes, what? Where?

We leverage the 8KMiles platform for a lot of our work. We outsource some of our development and testing requirements on the 8KMiles ecosystem to freelancers and small IT companies that are registered on our platform.

Which platform are you building on? Why?

Our solution is built on Java. We use both Linux and Windows for our server needs.

Do you have any Software IP? Is there something that you’re the only one to do on the market?

We have a provisional process patent filed in the US (Process for enabling execution of a project outsourced across the Internet with an integrated computing infrastructure). The virtual model of having freelancers working remotely accessing a cloud based infrastructure is unique to 8KMiles.

Who’s your role model?

A lot of my ideas and thoughts for 8KMiles came after reading the blog posts of Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki and Marc Andreessen.

Where do you see opportunities today in the Software/internet areas?

In the current economic situation, with cost savings being a top priority, SaaS and cloud based solutions are going to be looked at more seriously than ever before. At 8KMiles, we see a lot of potential there and are building our expertise around that area.

Looking for funding? If yes, how much?

We are absolutely focused on enhancing the experience of our users. We want to make 8KMiles as the “go-to place” for cost effective and reliable outsourcing for SMB’s, start-ups and IT consulting companies. If an investor will help us achieve these objectives faster through capital and network, we will be glad to explore the possibilities.

What about the BizSpark Program? What do you think? Are you going to join? Why?

BizSpark is a fantastic program for Start-ups. Microsoft has taken a huge step forward in helping many start-ups. We are already part of the program. Many times, start-ups choose open source software only because they are not able to afford the cost of purchasing Microsoft software (free is a very attractive word for start-ups!). Now that the entire suite is available for free, I’m sure start-ups will benefit by using the reliable and highly efficient software solutions from Microsoft.

Any advice to young Software entrepreneurs?

Stay focused. Be positive. Keep learning.

Anything else you’d like to say?

We would be glad if start-ups take a look at www.8kmiles.com and explore the possibility of building their cost efficient virtual development or testing teams.