Manoj Kumar Shastrula: Empowering SMEs & Startups with Data Compliance
Manoj Kumar Shastrula
Founder & Director
As an elite alumnus of SRM University who has been setting new benchmarks in the tech-business ecosystem through his strong business acumen and technological skills. Right from the beginning of his career, leadership & mettle were deep rooted within him. Starting his professional journey with Amazon to founding SOCLY.io, Manoj explored a unique journey in various roles.
Honoring Manoj's journey, CEO Insights engages in an exclusive interaction to explore his expedition. We sincerely hope that our endeavor will be able to motivate several youngsters.
"We empower companies to become business ready with zero hassle and zero delay"
Tell us about your professional background and experiences.
After completing my engineering in Electronics and Communication Engineering from SRM University Chennai, I joined Amazon as a Risk management intern in 2014. That marked the beginning of my career and in over three years, my position scaled as a Senior Risk investigator. At Amazon, my experience was mostly around the buyer/customer experience and saving bad debts for the company through analysis. Post which, I pursued my MBA (PGPM) from the Great Lakes Institute of Management and got the opportunity to work with HCL Technologies as a Presales Consultant and then Network Science as a Sales Manager, before starting my own business.
What inspired you to establish SOCLY.io?
I strongly believe that observation and experiences are the pillars of several innovations. Indeed, SOCLY. io is a brainchild of experiences or
learnings I have been through. In my previous roles I understood how crucial was regulatory compliance and accreditations like SOC2, GDPR, ISO27001 while signing a sales deal. Getting these compliance certifications and attestations becomes extremely difficult for SMEs; oftentimes leading to dropping off the deal because it is difficult to understand and tedious to get those done. I initially began my research on these credentials to prepare myself for the meetings. The deeper I dug into the why’s and what’s, I understood the seriousness of the issue and how it is a major business blocker for several budding companies. In order to address this gap, I founded SOCLY.io an automated IT solution empowering startups and SMEs with compliance.
What motivating factor drives your routine as a leader or entrepreneur?
Honestly, I have always wanted to be successful by doing something big for myself. I never wanted to settle down working somewhere but loved to see things growing big from scratch. I always enjoyed the vibrancy of startups, for instance, even Amazon was a startup for me as my team was very small when I joined them. Moreover, there was this neverfaded urge to do something on my own, and I took the opportunity to my hand when I noticed the compliance issues. In short, I would say the driving factors initially were the desire to make something big in life, solve a problem, and help startups. Eventually, after a couple of months, we were funded by some of my friends and family. And now, the motivation was to retain their trust and provide good returns. Further, when the team grew to over 10 talents, their paycheck and confidence in us as employers became the major pivoting factor of my routine.
Walk us through your college life. Walk about the learnings and experiences that you acquired from SRM University. What impact did those experiences have on the way you developed as a leader?
I hail from a small town called Siddipet; almost 100 km away from the city of Hyderabad. I grew up in a setting with limited facilities and less exposure but my mom has always supported to me to move out and explore the world. I still recall her adieu while shedding tears while I left for SRM Chennai to pursue engineering. New city, new people, different language, different food, hostel life! Everything was strange. However, if SRM didn’t happen, I would not have been what I am today because the institution is the foundation that prepared me to face everything and talk to anyone with confidence.
It is a war and you will have unique battles every day
What motivating factor drives your routine as a leader or entrepreneur?
Honestly, I have always wanted to be successful by doing something big for myself. I never wanted to settle down working somewhere but loved to see things growing big from scratch. I always enjoyed the vibrancy of startups, for instance, even Amazon was a startup for me as my team was very small when I joined them. Moreover, there was this neverfaded urge to do something on my own, and I took the opportunity to my hand when I noticed the compliance issues. In short, I would say the driving factors initially were the desire to make something big in life, solve a problem, and help startups. Eventually, after a couple of months, we were funded by some of my friends and family. And now, the motivation was to retain their trust and provide good returns. Further, when the team grew to over 10 talents, their paycheck and confidence in us as employers became the major pivoting factor of my routine.
Walk us through your college life. Walk about the learnings and experiences that you acquired from SRM University. What impact did those experiences have on the way you developed as a leader?
I hail from a small town called Siddipet; almost 100 km away from the city of Hyderabad. I grew up in a setting with limited facilities and less exposure but my mom has always supported to me to move out and explore the world. I still recall her adieu while shedding tears while I left for SRM Chennai to pursue engineering. New city, new people, different language, different food, hostel life! Everything was strange. However, if SRM didn’t happen, I would not have been what I am today because the institution is the foundation that prepared me to face everything and talk to anyone with confidence.
How would you define SOCLY.io as an organization and its position in the market?
SOCLY.io is a SaaS platform powered by automation and integrations to help businesses with SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, VAPT, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. We empower companies to become business ready with Zero Hassle & Zero Delay, at 80 percent reduced time and cost.
Despite being a burgeoning business with very little funding, SOCLY.io has been able to surpass the thump of several contemporaries, which are almost in the unicorn stage. We were able to get our product into the market within a short period of launch, with very less money in comparison and I am extremely proud of it. We have tried, tested, and proved our product excellence in the Indian market. At present, we focus on expanding into new markets at par with the global players.
What has been the leadership approach that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
Our values can be summarized as H&H, R&R, and T&T; which stands for Health & Happiness of all, Rights & Respect for all, and Trust & Transparency by all. I am personally a family-driven person and people mean a lot to me. Also, I value the family time of our team members and have designed an open leave policy at our company; meaning, they can take leave on days that mean to them like a Wedding day instead of staying at home on festivals they do not celebrate.
In light of your strong experience, what advice would you give to budding leaders in the same industry?
For any entrepreneur, research and validation would be the cornerstones of a business journey. I personally took over six months only to research and validate, just to make sure that my decision or idea is right. Because a single mistake can have a huge impact on several lives and it is in the leader's hands to take the right steps.
Secondly, you will need strong mentorship and support from an expert in your field and business in general. A guide to direct you and control your actions or decision will definitely help for good. This apart, remember that the journey is not going to be a smooth sail. It is a war and you will have unique battles every day; dealing with it together is the key to sustenance. Do not hesitate to share the lows with your family or close ones.
Manoj Kumar Shastrula, Founder & Director, Socly.Io
A startup enthusiast and a risk taker, Manoj Kumar loves adventures both personally and professionally. In his leisure, he enjoys spending time with family, likes travelling, and goes on paragliding, bungee jumping, and trekking.
SOCLY.io is a SaaS platform powered by automation and integrations to help businesses with SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, VAPT, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. We empower companies to become business ready with Zero Hassle & Zero Delay, at 80 percent reduced time and cost.
Despite being a burgeoning business with very little funding, SOCLY.io has been able to surpass the thump of several contemporaries, which are almost in the unicorn stage. We were able to get our product into the market within a short period of launch, with very less money in comparison and I am extremely proud of it. We have tried, tested, and proved our product excellence in the Indian market. At present, we focus on expanding into new markets at par with the global players.
What has been the leadership approach that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
Our values can be summarized as H&H, R&R, and T&T; which stands for Health & Happiness of all, Rights & Respect for all, and Trust & Transparency by all. I am personally a family-driven person and people mean a lot to me. Also, I value the family time of our team members and have designed an open leave policy at our company; meaning, they can take leave on days that mean to them like a Wedding day instead of staying at home on festivals they do not celebrate.
In light of your strong experience, what advice would you give to budding leaders in the same industry?
For any entrepreneur, research and validation would be the cornerstones of a business journey. I personally took over six months only to research and validate, just to make sure that my decision or idea is right. Because a single mistake can have a huge impact on several lives and it is in the leader's hands to take the right steps.
Secondly, you will need strong mentorship and support from an expert in your field and business in general. A guide to direct you and control your actions or decision will definitely help for good. This apart, remember that the journey is not going to be a smooth sail. It is a war and you will have unique battles every day; dealing with it together is the key to sustenance. Do not hesitate to share the lows with your family or close ones.
Manoj Kumar Shastrula, Founder & Director, Socly.Io
A startup enthusiast and a risk taker, Manoj Kumar loves adventures both personally and professionally. In his leisure, he enjoys spending time with family, likes travelling, and goes on paragliding, bungee jumping, and trekking.