NAVEEN VENKATAPATHI

FOUNDER, WAVICLE DATA SOLUTIONS

THOUGHT

Leader

AN INNOVATOR OF INDUSTRY
“LISTENING ALSO HELPS YOU GAIN TRUST AND BECOME A GO-TO-ADVISOR.”

As Featured:

LEARNING TO LISTEN WAS KEY TO WAVICLE DATA SOLUTION’S
SUCCESS AND THEIR CUSTOMERS
What we’ve learned as consultants, entrepreneurs, and leaders, is that listening and quickly learning from mistakes are two of the most important skills you can have.

As consultants in the technology space, it’s very easy for our clients and employees (and ourselves) to get swept away by the “cool” factor of the latest and greatest technology.

However, if you focus and understand what is driving a prospective client’s need for technology, then you can uncover how to deliver value to them. We’ve had to learn to ask important questions at the start of the project, not the end, like:
“What challenges do you face with your data today?”
“Who is using the data?”
“What outcomes do you hope to achieve by completing this project?”

Listening also helps you gain trust and become a go-to-advisor. When you really understand a client’s business challenges, you become more than someone who can sell or implement a solution. You become a strategic partner. When a client succeeds because of something we suggested or built, then they are more likely to trust us with their next challenge.

We’re constantly working to be more proactive when communicating with everybody — customers, our own teams, all stakeholders. It’s so important to create transparency and effective communication from day one to ensure we are all focused on the same outcomes instead of focusing on our own priorities.

The other advice we have to share is to be fearless. Failing is okay. All entrepreneurs will fail at some point so make it a positive. There are always lessons to be learned. Recognize them and quickly move on.

One quote that reminds us not to get bogged down by baggage or failure from the past is:
“The Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays.” — C.S. Lewis

It reminds us to make better use of the present in order to make good decisions. That is how we lead our teams and our business — turn yesterday’s failures into today’s successes.

Naveen Venkatapathi and Niyaz Kamookagath founded Wavicle Data Solutions, a data and analytics consultancy, in 2013. Before the went into business together, they worked together as consultants at leading retail and restaurant chains for over a decade. Both sought to utilize innovative technology and approaches to streamline the implementation of data and analytics technology, empowering their clients to make better decisions, while reducing the timelines, costs, and risk associated with large technology projects. Today, Wavicle employs over 400 people in the US, India, and Canada. It has made the Inc fastest-growing private company list for 3 years running. It has also been recognized as a Crain’s Fast 50 growing company and Chicago Tribune Top Workplace in 2021 and 2020.

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