Naveen Kumar: Thinking Growth For The Society At Large (Work From Hometown)
Naveen Kumar
Founder & CEO
You know how they say, a self-made individual. Hailing from a small town in Tamil Nadu, Naveen Kumar did go the extra mile to build his foundations in Data Analytics and establish Global Weconnect Technologies (GWC), before eventually setting foot in the entrepreneurship shoes. Even so, his firm understood the skill gap in the industry and continued to train individuals in the data analytics domain. Naveen Kumar, Founder & CEO of Global GWC shares his journey with us at CEO Insights, the journey that made him recognized amongst the Top 10 Under 40 CEOs.
Below are the excerpts from the interview.
Where did you start? Draw us a picture of your professional journey.
To recollect, it's been a very humble & fruitful journey and I have worked my way through several industry giants. My journey began as a Data Analyst at IBM in 2012, followed by a 1-year stint at HSBC as a Senior Data Analyst in 2015. Later, I worked as a Senior Business Analyst for TCS for another three years. I, then worked as a Senior Technical Lead for Infinite and Senior BI Manager for GSK till 2020, and now I am the Founder & CEO of GWC since 2021.
Work From Hometown Started with the vision of making employees to work from their hometowns rather they move to metropolitan areas. There are so many ways everyone would benefit out of this model.
How has been your journey so far with GWC and what drives you today?
As I mentioned earlier, besides being a fruitful one, I have had my own share of challenges throughout my career. Soon, I was joined by my like-minded friends, and we set out to start our own Analytics Company. Today, we are 80+ in 18 months with our own TeqCertify Analytics Academy. We have 24+ happy clients. We are now in partnership with DOMO, ZOHO Analytics, Snowflake and several more. We started with just one branch in Bangalore and now we have seven branches across the tier-II & tier-III cities in Tamil Nadu & Karnataka. We have plans underway to inaugurate our branch office in Malaysia as well.
If you ask me what drives me, I will
say ‘Growing Together’! This is the only way of life that is driving me until this day.I focus my energy and investments on giving opportunities to rural talents by opening offices and our TeqCertify Analytics Academy in tier- II & tier-III.
Tell us about your brainchild GWC.
We are a modern Analytics & Business Intelligence-as-a-Service provider, having certified experts team. Essentially, we excel at making sense of data and delivering sound actionable insights. Our services are based on best practices with a unique and innovative approach. We have a comprehensive range of services including Business Intelligence, Data Analytics Data Engineering, Data Science & Automation.
Data Analytics is always expensive and not affordable for MSMEs. GWC is committed to bringing down the cost and making it available for every business. We will be able to achieve it by partnering with the right tools and technologies.
What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
GWC has been working towards bridging the skill gaps in Analytics by bringing in fresh talents from tier- II & tier-III cities. We have our TeqCertify Analytics Academy which focuses on the fundamentals of the data world. It allows individuals to get industry recognized certifications to fulfill the high quality data analyst requirements that every firm requires.
Data Analytics for MSMEs is something that GWC is envisioning, and we pledge to make it happen through its unique cost-effective solutions. Reflect on some of the major challenges you have experienced in your journey to entrepreneurship.
How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
The idea and the notion that one could be anything one wishes to be, and can accomplish anything desired, is good to begin with. However, the thing that has worked for me is to remember the hard times. Life has not always been the way it used to be. I have had my own share of highs and lows and even faced many failures. But I am grateful I have had the strength to deal with the hardships. They don't look big when I know there are better reasons to enjoy. I do not wish to live anyone else's life. I have
We have our TeqCertify Analytics Academy which focuses on the fundamentals of the data world. It allows individuals to get industry recognized certifications to fulfill the highquality data analyst requirements that every firm requires
Tell us about your brainchild GWC.
We are a modern Analytics & Business Intelligence-as-a-Service provider, having certified experts team. Essentially, we excel at making sense of data and delivering sound actionable insights. Our services are based on best practices with a unique and innovative approach. We have a comprehensive range of services including Business Intelligence, Data Analytics Data Engineering, Data Science & Automation.
Data Analytics is always expensive and not affordable for MSMEs. GWC is committed to bringing down the cost and making it available for every business. We will be able to achieve it by partnering with the right tools and technologies.
What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
GWC has been working towards bridging the skill gaps in Analytics by bringing in fresh talents from tier- II & tier-III cities. We have our TeqCertify Analytics Academy which focuses on the fundamentals of the data world. It allows individuals to get industry recognized certifications to fulfill the high quality data analyst requirements that every firm requires.
Data Analytics for MSMEs is something that GWC is envisioning, and we pledge to make it happen through its unique cost-effective solutions. Reflect on some of the major challenges you have experienced in your journey to entrepreneurship.
How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
The idea and the notion that one could be anything one wishes to be, and can accomplish anything desired, is good to begin with. However, the thing that has worked for me is to remember the hard times. Life has not always been the way it used to be. I have had my own share of highs and lows and even faced many failures. But I am grateful I have had the strength to deal with the hardships. They don't look big when I know there are better reasons to enjoy. I do not wish to live anyone else's life. I have
made mistakes, but they played their part in making me what I am today. I am happy to be me. I will keep on learning from my life. I believe in pursuing my own path, building something meaningful, and enjoying the journey.
Basically, what I mean to say is that, a successful journey will always have a few blunders or mistakes. And our biggest strength is knowing our mistakes and rectifying them. Of course, as a startup, we had challenges in getting new clients or quality candidates. The only strength we have is Analytics, we started Teq Certify Analytics Academy and we produce quality experts on our own by training them, and where the quality exists, of course we get business without approaching.
As a young leader, how do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal and professional life?
When you start learning from others’ mistakes, you don’t have to fail to learn the same. I always get great support from my team and my family. Also, when you enjoy what you are doing, you need not really have to kind of balance between personal & professional life. So far, it’s already going in a balanced way.
What is the life or success mantra you live by?
I believe that ‘WE’ is more powerful than ‘ME’. At GWC, we know what we don’t know. This has been at the core of all our successful endeavors.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Data is the fuel today, and as we all know, without data none of the business can run. At GWC, we are equipped with the skills, knowledge and tool to handle huge amounts of data. We always believe in adopting new technologies. There is a massive opportunity in the data world.
In a one liner, what will be the perfect advice that you would give to the younger entrepreneurs?
To the younger entrepreneurs, I’d say, focus on what you are good at.
Naveen Kumar, Founder & CEO, Global Weconnect Technologies
Naveen is a technology entrepreneur at heart and has spent over 10 years working in all elements of Enterprise Analytics and Decision Sciences. With only three individuals on-board, GWC was developed from the ground up by Naveen. He holds an MCA and an MBA from Tamil Nadu’s Periyar University.
•Hobbies:Volleyball, Cricket, & Driving
•Favorite Cuisine:Indian
•Favorite Travel Destination: Kerala
•Awards & Recognition: ‘Entrepreneur who made Social Impact’ from Garden City University ‘Young Entrepreneur Award’ from Vendhar TV
Basically, what I mean to say is that, a successful journey will always have a few blunders or mistakes. And our biggest strength is knowing our mistakes and rectifying them. Of course, as a startup, we had challenges in getting new clients or quality candidates. The only strength we have is Analytics, we started Teq Certify Analytics Academy and we produce quality experts on our own by training them, and where the quality exists, of course we get business without approaching.
As a young leader, how do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal and professional life?
When you start learning from others’ mistakes, you don’t have to fail to learn the same. I always get great support from my team and my family. Also, when you enjoy what you are doing, you need not really have to kind of balance between personal & professional life. So far, it’s already going in a balanced way.
What is the life or success mantra you live by?
I believe that ‘WE’ is more powerful than ‘ME’. At GWC, we know what we don’t know. This has been at the core of all our successful endeavors.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Data is the fuel today, and as we all know, without data none of the business can run. At GWC, we are equipped with the skills, knowledge and tool to handle huge amounts of data. We always believe in adopting new technologies. There is a massive opportunity in the data world.
In a one liner, what will be the perfect advice that you would give to the younger entrepreneurs?
To the younger entrepreneurs, I’d say, focus on what you are good at.
Naveen Kumar, Founder & CEO, Global Weconnect Technologies
Naveen is a technology entrepreneur at heart and has spent over 10 years working in all elements of Enterprise Analytics and Decision Sciences. With only three individuals on-board, GWC was developed from the ground up by Naveen. He holds an MCA and an MBA from Tamil Nadu’s Periyar University.
•Hobbies:Volleyball, Cricket, & Driving
•Favorite Cuisine:Indian
•Favorite Travel Destination: Kerala
•Awards & Recognition: ‘Entrepreneur who made Social Impact’ from Garden City University ‘Young Entrepreneur Award’ from Vendhar TV