I had the pleasure of interviewing (Dirgesh Patel, CEO of Infolob Solutions)
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
No Problem, appreciate the time. My passion for Technology at an early age had to be the prime reason. I always believed as a child that Technology would help us solve some of our the problems we face in humanity. With that in mind, I feel movement that for Computers at an early age of 7.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your company?
The ratio of failure was much higher than I thought it would be, I always watched my peers start their companies and tell me about all the success but never about the failures that led to those successes, which is an important and essential element to always remember. Without failure there isn’t great success.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Sure, I was getting ready to pitch a Cloud opportunity for a large manufacturing client. After 7 days of international travel, the only thing on my mind was making this pitch a success. During the presentation, I took my jacket off and realized there was a large hole in my dress shirt and I thought I was doomed, however, I apologized and continued to present. After the presentation, the key executive from the client side pulled me aside and said: “It’s not the shirt you wear that gives us the confidence in your work Dirgesh, but the skillset you provide”. I guess the lesson that day was (a) ensure you’re clothing is accurate before presenting and (b) all the fancy clothes in the world can’t match up to an individual with passion and skills.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Great question, I think our biggest asset is our people and the depth of knowledge they acquire in the cloud ecosystem. We at infolob have always envisioned to recruit the best talent for our clients and hence allows us to not only capture but expand our footprint.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Success in this business is a marathonmovement that is key. Planning and making strategic decisions essential for future growth. Try to be innovative in future planning to ensure you’re always ahead of the “puck” instead of following it.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Of course, I’m a firm believer in mentorship and have been graceful enough to have a few mentors in my life. My first was someone who recruited me into Hewlett Packard at the age of 16, his name is Raymond Burney Jr. After believing in me at an early age, Ray was kind enough to walk me through the corporate journey and teach me the values of working on products that help change the world. His management background allowed me to look at the corporate life in a different perspective which eventually led to my personal life maturing at a rapid pace. Ray is still very much a great friend and mentor today and I seek his counsel from time to time.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I do and have, however I must admit I can and should be doing more. I was lucky enough to have parents who went over and beyond to help others and I am very proud to call them my parents for many reasons however that is the biggest I movement that in a family where we provide assistance to anyone in-need regardless of their background.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
Certainly, I’ll have to quote Mr. Bill Gates on this “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Revolving around failure has been my greatest achievement. Learning that it’s not how many times you get knocked down but how many times you’re able to get back up, learn from the mistakes and to try never to repeat those mistakes.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started my company” and why?
Never give up – Road to success has many bumps along the way, don’t get distracted by these bumps and learn to manage the route with relying on your team and grow together
- Hire intelligent people – Try to hire individuals who uplift you and make you work harder for the company. Trust them and allow them to make intelligent decisions else you’ll be micromanaging.
- Don’t over-invest – There’s always a shiny object in the industry of technology. Don’t fall for the newest and shininest but make educated decision on our investment strategy.
- Trust the process – Rome wasn’t built in a day and most empires take time, patience and ability to thrive. Continuing to work towards the goal and push through it is key.
- Avoid Negativity – Too many people will doubt your ability, ignore those people at all causes and focus on your positive. Light will always overcome darkness.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Any movement that allows for developing countries to have access to technology for young kids. I think providing this level of technology access to young minds is key to our future in opening doors to solving problems.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
I am on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram which is the best place to follow me
IG – @Dirgesh
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirgeshpatel/
Twitter – @DirgeshP
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
No problem and thank you for having me