‘Motif should outlive its founders’

too had a predictable action plan for his career: An MS, an MBA, a cushy job in a reputed firm and a six-figure salary. “Way back in 1988, an MBA was very important for an engineering grad. My father too had done the same after he completed his engineering from LD.”

Mehta got married to his sweetheart Parul, whom he had met at LD Engineering College, and the couple settled down happily in the US. Life was bright and sunny, just as they wanted it to be. It was only when his son grew up to go to school did the couple feel he should be educated the Indian way. Coming home was a decision “taken by the heart”.

ENTERPRISING IDEA
After spending 10 years working for Silicon Valley companies like Sun Microsystems, Intel, LSI Logic and Vadem, the couple decided to bid goodbye to US and came to Ahmedabad in 1997.

Mehta had a “job offer” worth dying for, from a Bangalore tech firm. “They were offering me a place to stay and a car besides a great salary. But then, I thought, working in Bangalore was like working in Boston. I would have to fly down to meet my family. That is the time Parul and I thought of setting up our own venture using the expertise and experience we had,” said Mehta.

And that is how they started a software company named Confluence. “My wife developed software and I sold it. For two-and-a-half years, we worked that way. In 2000, the internet got deregulated. Outsourcing was a fairly new concept and we found that to be challenging. A BPO could employ a large number of people and provide services to US firms. We had a clear-cut business plan in mind. But a 2Mbps bandwidth would cost us $50,000 (Rs 22.25lakh approx) a month. How to get people to fund us, was the big question,” he said.

CHALLENGES
In the summer of 2000, the Mehtas went back to US and met colleagues and consultants to get them interested in funding their dream. Here is where Mehta learnt the most important lesson of his life: People do not invest in a business plan, they invest in you. “They first look at how trustworthy you are. You have to live with highest sense of professionalism and integrity. Next, they want to know whether the macro condition is right enough for investment. For example, I can’t get someone to make typewriters for me today.”

“We were asked: Which one will we run — software company or the BPO? We then decided make the software company a division of the BPO.”

In August 2000, they started Motif, cocking a snook at naysayers who thought it was some esoteric idea. “We were not afraid of failures. Nothing is worse than losing a loved one. And in business you only lose money,” he said.

STARTING TROUBLE
His fundamental belief was that if Silicon Valley could be transformed from orange orchards into a global technological hotbed, why can’t a BPO run successfully in Ahmedabad? “You can deliver best quality from any place. And Ahmedabad is the seventh most populous city. We can easily hire people. Also, infrastructure is very cheap compared to Mumbai,” he said.

Convincing people — not just company’s employees, but even caterers and cab drivers — to work in a 24x7 environment was the most challenging part of running the BPO. “The father of our first female employee interviewed us to understand how interesting was the job and how safe was his daughter working odd hours,” said Mehta.

In these 10 years, Motif has seen many ups and downs. But that has never dampened the morale of the employees. “In the first year of Motif, our client’s company shut down. It came as a shock to us. But through motivational exercises, we kept everyone’s spirit up. It is adversity that tests a company’s true character,” he said.

VALUE CREATION
Today Motif is present in seven countries and offers customer support and fraud prevention services to its clients. From 25 employees, it has now grown to 1500 people, who own 22.5 pc of Motif. “Our vision is to create continuous value creation for customers, employees, investors and society. We want our employees to treat the company as their own. We want the company to outlive the founders. That is possible only through value creation. In these 10 years, Motif has not lost a single client,” he said.

THE THREE ‘I’s
Mehta makes sure his team follows the rule of 3 ‘I’ s: integrity (never to indulge in anything wrong), intensity (help colleagues and clients) and intellect (challenge the status quo).

“The agents (BPO executives) are our frontline touch points. They are encouraged to not just fulfil the client requirements, but also better their processes. Deadlines are sacrosanct for them. I always tell them to handle every customer interaction with the same support and care they would provide to their mother if she calls them,” he said, adding, “that way we earn the trust of the clients who give us other businesses as well.” The company also sponsors MBA programmes for the employees.

Today, Motif has Fortune 500 clients which include the world’s top three online travel companies, the top three payment processing firms and a popular online auction company. Professional managers who have served at companies like Infosys, McKinsey and KPMG are helping take Motif forward.

Giving to society
“Our company has the lowest attrition rate when you compare BPOs in the country. The employees have developed expertise in client business because of that. We have more than sufficient cash reserves, zero debt and are running a profitable business,” he said.

Now, Motif is looking at value creation for society. “The Motif Charity Walk is all about that. We want to raise health awareness among people and also do our bit to help the underprivileged,” said Mehta.