My Story

Intro

India continues to be the most preferred destination for companies looking to offshore their IT and back-office functions. In the past year many global players have emerged from the subcontinent and an emerging player to watch is Mathews’ company BlueLabs Technology Solutions.

About Me

I am a native of Kochi, Kerala. Although I am a trained Software engineer, I was always interested in building my own business. But it was not an easy entry into the business world. There were no other entrepreneurs in my family, and it was very hard to find capital for running a business. I managed to strike some good deals in real estate and after one year or so I came back to IT sector when outsourcing was booming in India. I started my first venture with a co-partner and learned the `dos and don’ts’ of running an IT company. I registered BlueLabs in ‘08 with one client and one HR manager, within two weeks our team strength was 10 and after that there was no looking back. My strategy was to give maximum publicity to BlueLabs, we did a lot of branding for the company. It has helped us a lot in attracting talented IT experts from across the globe.

Well, it may sound crazy but I am passionate about taking risks. For example, it was a big risk for BlueLabs to attend CeBIT Australia 08, taking a stall there meant a huge crunch in my savings. CeBIT gave us around 10 small clients and 3 major clients, who are still with us. When I compare the revenue generated from these clients, the cost of CeBIT is nothing.

When things get too steamy in office, I treat myself a trip to some secluded place to collect my thoughts or cool it off with a swim in the pool. Whenever possible I also try to find time to spend with the little kids at the orphanage that my Rotary Club has adopted.

My Venture

I am a first generation entrepreneur, who got into business due to the sheer passion for doing something on my own. I started an IT company with a co-partner first and thus learned some practical lessons on business and management. This experience also gave me a lot of novel ideas which I wanted to implement. Hence I started BlueLabs Technology Solutions in 2008, to put into practice new ideas and to experiment with the emerging opportunities in the web world.

Within a year of its establishment, the company has grown to an emerging leader in the IT services sector. The company is headquartered at Infopark, Kochi and has sales offices spread across the globe. We have managed to service a wide spectrum of clients ranging from ISVs to financial institutions, across Australia, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, USA and other countries. The company employs more than 130 professionals and has two fully fledged delivery centers in India, a sales office in Stockholm, Sweden and a customer support and sales office in Sydney, Australia. BlueLabs offers a complete range of IT services that help our customers align their IT investments with corporate goals.

The gamut of services extends from Enterprise Solutions development (CRM, ERP and SCM) to remote infrastructure management. We follow industry best practices and adhere to proven methodologies to provide high quality IT services to our customers.

I have a long-term vision for my company and I want to see BlueLabs emerging as a giant global player in the IT services industry with offices across all major countries. I also expect to go public in 2013 and to be listed in major stock exchanges. Another plan on the anvil is opening a sales office in Ireland to develop our business in Europe. I am also planning to open an IT finishing school, BlueLabs MaxIT, and create IT-ready professionals out of IT graduates by training them in emerging technologies. The school will be inaugurated in the first week of November.

It is not only the IT and business that I am interested in. I believe in the social commitment of each person and want my employees and myself to be more creatively involved in social activities. BlueLabs Foundation, is such an attempt to reinvest in the society and it is my search for ways to better the lives of less lucky ones.