I'm John Nolan, a chair with VISTAGE UAE, and I'm joined today by Prue Polovarapu, the founder and CEO of Quickship, an e-commerce business in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. So Prue today, we're going to talk about your story, your business and your aspirations for the future. We'll record this podcast and we'll share it with yourself and our community and this will be available for you to then use as you would like. And we'll get stuck into the conversation now. Great, thank you. Okay, so Prue, what do you do? What is the business, what's the business you're involved in, what's your exact role? I was a founder of Quickship Technologies, actually we are category like the catering and e-commerce companies. And like, we are providing solutions to e-commerce companies, like for their warehousing, for their fulfillment, for their last mile delivery, and we are providing technological services for those things. Like for an instance, everyone like wants to do cross-border, there are certain things which there doesn't know like like warehousing charges, deparate charges and all. So we are bringing everything on one platform by providing a clear technological details, like for an instance, for warehousing costing, for a fulfillment costing, and we are providing these services to e-commerce companies. Great, now is this your business, are you the owner of this business, Prue? Yes, yes, yes, I'm the owner of this business. Okay, how long has the business been operating and how many employees do you have? I have 34 people which is employed in UAE and I have another eight people which is employed in Saudi. And I was started in 2019, and it's been last four years, we are running successfully, and we have like top eight clients with us. And we are like, like we are mostly our focus is to encourage entrepreneurs, like anyone who wants to do something in e-commerce, because nowadays, like everyone who's e-commerce is booming, the only one industry which is booming, everyone knows is which is e-commerce. But many people doesn't know how to do e-commerce, how to start e-commerce. So we, I have an idea that I need to support those people, like either it's a housewife or someone who's looking for a second passive income or something like that. So we are creating an environment where anyone can sell in GCC through your little online skills with your little time. So this is how we, we, we want to place ourselves into this region. Great. Now, where are you from? I'm from, I'm from India. I'm from India. I'm from Hyderabad. I, I did my MBA in Andre University. It's like 150 years old university, one of the famous educational societies in, in India. After my MBA, Masters and Business Administration, I got selected in BHL in the campus interviews. And I, I joined in DHL in 2011. Then after a year and a half, I came out from BHL thinking that, you know, I, I can do my own business. This is what the impact, this is what the training, this is what the things like that. Yeah, I have an MBA certificate with me. Then I have a super training from DHL, Lutar. Then, oh, everything is with me. Now, no, no. I need to start my own business. This is what that, that thing, see, as I'm, and you know, the, the end people like how they things like, Oh, let's do it. Let's do it. Like I can win the world. So I started that. I used little resources from here and there and financial things and I started set up a company. Then I realized that, okay, you, when you're working for a brand, the customers are giving business for the brand, not for you, because you're working for BHL, Lutar. So that, the customers are doing business for BHL, Lutar, not for proof. So after, after, after a few months, I, I realized that, oh, so I should start creating a brand. Now I have a set up. I have a people, but there is no business. When, when, when I realized that how to, how to acquire business, yeah, I know India is the big country and there are a lot of customers. Everyone asked, why you, why you, why you, why you, this question made me to think, yes, why me, why even if, if I'm a customer, I will always think, why you, why I need to give you and take your services. This is what the question I have. And I said, yeah, it's not a right time because I need more investments to do that set set of infrastructure and that set of marketing to create those brands, brands and all. And I'm at 23 years then finishing my MBA and all then I thought, okay, let's stop it here. So I stopped that. Then I, I don't know what to do now because I came out from a company, then in family, I took money, then whatever my savings, everything gone now, I don't know what to do. Then my, one of my friends told me that come to, to buy like, like you, you, you, you have a lot of opportunities in logistics because it's an uphill logistics. You are saying that you have an ideas on logistics and career last month. Now you come to the way, but technically he's not from the logistics. He's from the banking industry. So he told me that then I said like, okay, then he told me in one good word with, okay, if you are not getting job in logistics, you are a sales guy. So you can get in any other industry. So always a lot of opportunities in the land of the vice. So you come and try your luck. So then, then the only hope at that time, I don't want to ask any financial support from my family. What I did, I have a bike which I sold it. I took that money and I, I came here in 2012, I think. So 2012 and, okay, when I landed here, it's like, it's like, see, when I was talking about it, I feel like I'm getting a goosebumps. When I landed here, then I, my friend, I'm trying to reach him. He was, he was disconnecting my call. Like he was, he was, he was saying, I'm busy, I'm busy, I'm busy. So I landed it, I think at 12 noon and I met him at evening seven. So he was saying that, see, I'm busy, I was stuck with my manager. Today only he came to office and he was asking a lot of things. So I couldn't be able to meet you. You better, you come to Metro, then I went to Metro, then I was, I don't know that, even see how things works is like, even I don't, I came, I entered, then I don't know, I should not eat in Metro. So I was eating something and then, then, then that sort of came on the first day. And he told, hi, how are you? And I said, like this, oh, this is your first day. See, this is what you need to do. You shouldn't do it. You should not eat here. I said, sorry, I don't know that, then he said, you have any issues to go out here. And I said, no, no issues. My friend is coming, no, you are here for the last three hours. Then I said, no, I'm perfectly fine. He's in contact. And he said, any help, let us know. So that made me like, okay, here, I will not be missed out. See, see, the government, the people is always observing us that whether this guy is lost or not lost, and also I feel, I feel happy. Then the first day, well, then I met him, then I took his apartment, then I seen, like, I was staying in the 26th floor where I was seen in Ticom, like, you know, the high skyscrapers and all this thing. I was thinking that whole device like this, like everything is this, like, then the next day, I don't know what to do. Then he told me to take rest for a few days. Then I was, like, two days. Then I was, like, starting, like, how to apply jobs and all. So I was applying jobs. No one called me. Then one day, one guy who is in a CFO in one company, I met him. So he told me that, true, don't apply for all the jobs what you are seen. First, you need to, you need to understand that what type of job you want to do. Like, if you are opening a knob, because many people do that mistake and I also did it those times. Like, whatever I've seen in online, I'm applying, applying, applying, applying, applying. So then he told me, okay. Now, while you have only one CV, he asked. Like, I have an resume of only one resume. Then he told, no. When you have an idea of logistics, you make an resume according to logistics. But if you want to do it in logistics, in sales, you do resume according to your sales experience with your logic. The experience will be the same. The key words you need to change, the way you doing, like, you press down more, you write down more on your expertise. Like, if you are doing a sales resume, you expect more on sales. Like, he guided me around 30 minutes. Then I really understand. Then simply, I sat down in my laptop and I was checking what all career companies there in U.E. Then I bought it, then people will always show what all the top then, okay, DHL came. Yeah, DHL cannot hire me because I already could there. Okay. Next, what FedEx is there? TNT is there. Like, I got down all the companies. Then, I started sending emails to them. So when I start sending an emails to them, they, in first flight, there's a company in Middle East who is having, like, 100 plus careers with them drivers. They're doing in reason for last 25 years. And did that HR call me? Pro, how are you? I'm good. Okay, that's my first call, right? So I was good. Then I was so excited to talk and all that time. And then she said, okay, let's do one thing, you better come to our office tomorrow morning by night. I said, okay, thank you. Then I went there and I was been waiting for, like, more than an hour. Then the manager couldn't able to come on time or something. And she said, "See, today, actually, manager have other meetings, but I feel like I need to schedule your meeting in between." So they scheduled a meeting, then I spoke to the manager. And that day, that guy asked one simple question. Pro, you don't know anything about, he asked me, "Do you know Dira?" I said, "I don't know." We know, he asked me a few areas. I said, "I don't know." Then he said, "Do you know that where the business will come in the way?" I said, "I don't know." Then he said, "How? Then how? Why you came for an interview?" Then he said, "No, I need a job." Then he said, "Okay, what job you are looking for?" I said, "Any sales job I was looking?" Then he asked about technical questions, like, "What is meant by OFT? What is meant by how the last mail will happen? How the operations? How you will connect with the flight? What is an aid fight? How do connection works? And all, how the plan, load planning and all. So these technical things, I know it and I explained. Then I asked that, "You know Dira's, but how you can sell?" That time, I don't know God given me a power to answer it in a proper way that I said, "If I can able to sell in India, I can able to sell in here also." If I can able to sell here, I can able to sell anywhere in the world. This is what the answer is. Then he smiled and he said, "Okay, you go." I don't know whether he will select or not select and all. Then the next day again, he said, "Prove, you got selected for an business development executive." So when you can join, I said immediately, "Okay, come." So from there, my journey starts from the first flight as in business development executive. From there, once I joined, many people in UAE, they are aware, but still, what my suggestion to the people who join new, they should get the license as soon as possible, driving license. Because when people think that, "Okay, they want to come here." Then they thought, "Okay, the license is around 8,000, 10,000 bucks." So they will take it once, they will save, they will take, it's not like that. So again, my blessing is that, again, my manager told me in the third month, "Prove, you're doing perfectly fine. What is your target? You are achieving it. Everything is fine, but you don't, you're traveling in Metro. It doesn't give you the boost up. So you get the license." Then I said, "Okay." Then he told me that, "Now don't think that, okay, you're getting like little money and this money you put in the license. Don't think in that way. This only give you more money than once you get the license. That's where that advice, that manager said, "Why made me to take the license within three months, I got license." Now, in every company, when you have a license when you're in sales, they automatically incentivize with your cars, plus there would be a petrol element. So my salary got increased. So then, then the things were happening well. Then suddenly, again, one day, there is a person in other branch, jibularly branch. He was not like, he got another opportunity or something like that. He wants to leave. So our team told that, "Okay, prove you go to jibularly and start working there." I was thinking that, "Okay, it's like normal things." So I went there, I started working inside jibularly with more shipping, more things were happening there. I got good clients there, and we have providing services to different, different companies. That ecosystem is developing, like most of them from China and from different countries, the people in the restaurants were coming and we are doing clearance services for them. Then we are converting into we are converting into road transport and all these things were happening. I just want to ask, when a web stage did you start thinking about opening your own business in UAE? Yeah, here. Here, when after that, I was becoming a branch manager in jibularly. So when I became a branch manager in jibularly, I finished my two years, and then the same manager who told me to take license, he came up and said, "That's true. Why can't you start a business?" When I said, "What are you asking this question? If I want to start, you will also need to start." Then he told me, "Yeah, I also have an idea of doing starting late. What do you think?" I said, "I'm okay. I have it. I want to start." Then he said, "Okay, then I said, "Okay, okay, I will resign." So I came out and I started the company, which is called DNA Express with my manager. So once I started that company, now the same thing, like here we have clients, even we have experienced people on board debt. So everything was fine, but the business, what we are getting, we couldn't able to manage. I don't have an infrastructure. I don't have in big proper warehouses. I don't have a fleet with me. There in India, I have a fleet, but I don't have a business. Well, I got in business, but I don't have a fleet. I've been able to do it. So then I understand that it's a different mechanism. Even if you can get for business, if you don't have a fleet, ultimately your KPIs will go down, your SLS will not work. So the customers will be disappointed. Then within a six months, we need to take again new term, thinking that the entrepreneurs and me, I need to stop it now, because my credit cards, my other stuff and all getting increased, the financial burden and all, then I thought like, "Okay, let's stop it." So then I joined in another company. From there, I was outsourcing to one company, all my people, because my business was high. I don't have that much fleet. That outsource, which company I given, that company only hides it as their sales head. Okay. So I feel like, see, every connection in this world, we don't know when it will come and when it will help you, when it will become a blessing. So that time, my connection with my vendors, though he asked me through, "What's your plan?" "No, we are closing down." "No, no, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't. We will support." Then I said, "No, no, I cannot run." Then they said, "Okay, you come and join with us." So I joined with them and like, that's a big company, like 250 employees was there. So it was that little bit of domestic career company. So a lot of things was changed. There I got a scope of learning a lot of things, a lot of things. We changed that company completely from like a normal company to a digitalized company, where online tracking, online login, customers will have APIs and all this stuff. Then another three years gone. Now see, the first one in India 2011, it gone. Then again 2014-15, again, the business entrepreneurship journey got stopped. So again, another three years in 2018, I think, yeah, or 2018 and I came out. Then I was, I was thinking like, okay, now again I need to do. No, because I can't, I can't stop that thing, you know, to become, to become to start my own company to provide services to that. So then, then again, I started in 2019. I told to my old boss, the owner of the company, "See, you're doing domestic. I will not harm anything. I will not work on anything domestic, but I want to give solutions for these domestic players to cross-border. Like if you're selling something in UAE, for those customers, I can give you services to sell in Saudi, to sell in Qatar, to sell in Bahrain." So these type of solutions, where there's no business conflict between you and me. And they're also happy and they said, "Yes, go on, carry on and all this time." Then I started quickly. So, you had two full starts, right? One in India, one in Dubai. And then third time around, you launched, you launched the current business, quick ship, which you're having great success with. So, like, was this, is when you were growing up, is this what you always wanted to do? Have your own business? Have your own business? I mean, when you were growing up, what did you want? Is this where you saw yourself? Yes, see, when, when I was studying it, like, I was, I have a dream of, like, you know, to create an company, which we have 400 people, 500 people. I won't, I won't, I won't, like, that stuff. I was, because my, my dad used to work for a company with 10,000 plus employees for there. So I used to see them. So I was, I was dreaming about, like, you know, we need to have a company like this where, like, you know, big, like, we should provide all the accommodation. We should, this is, this is how, like, you know, when your dad, like, when my dad is going on the bus and having all the employees, when we, they have annual days and all, when I went and see a lot of people are coming and also that, without knowingly, it came into my brain that, okay, only in business, you can grow like that. If you be an employee, you be an employee. And, and I did my MBA in a college where my professors always says that, if you, if you really wants to grow, try to, try to create a company, try to create an employment, then, then automatically success will come. This is how they used to teachers and all. So all this thing came into my mind and I thought, like, I need to do, but initially, I don't know how to do. After that, I did it, but, but it didn't, the, the math did not work. Then finally, it took me 9 to 10 years to start my own and make this become as a successful journey. Yeah, I mean, I think you've shown great tenacity and great commitment to come back again three times learning time, learning each time from the setbacks, learning from your experience, taking the wisdom. I mean, what do they say? They say it's not about failing, it's about, it's about just every time what you take, what you learn when you come back. Everything, everything, it's not saying it's failing, it's just learning, right? Yeah, but, but see, for, for, for any entrepreneur in that journey, see, now, if I become like, now, which you have 40 plus employees and which you have business and all, now, yeah, now I can able to feel like, yeah, that's a learn, but at that particular point, as an entrepreneurship journey, at that particular point, our mindset will not work in this way. We always feel like you, again, we lost, we don't have any options, we've taken, but because that time, that, that time, people have, people need a mentorship, people need someone experienced who already created a company, who already made something successful, because that time few around me mentored me properly, they told me that truth, what you said is absolutely right, that time they said, too, this is not the failure, this is the learning. So, did you have some great mentors on the way? Yes, yes, yes, I do have three people who, like, one of the, is like, FedEx X managing director, and another one is like, X known logistics director, these people are associated with me, and even the first manager of me, Mahamad, these, all the people is always, always like, you know, like, whenever I feel low, I give a call to them and say, this is what it's happening. And like, see, see, everyone thinks that, okay, everything, I know this, I know this, but it's not the fact, sometime if you really know this, but it will not click on that time. So, this is what the mentorship works. So, they will exactly guide you, because when you see things in, when your inductors, when you're, when things, you are not working, when you see, you might not see the opportunities, but when a third person, when a mentor or someone who is a third person, when they are analyzing, they can find you to ways, and they can show you the opportunities, this is what I believe. So, tell me, my understanding is you're operating across the UAE, Saudi, your future plans to expand into some of the other GCC countries. One of the biggest challenges you've faced on the journey. See, in this biggest changes, like, again, when you're creating a brand, no one will star, no one will believe you initial stage. Like, let's say I started a quick ship, and I went to a big company, it's like noon, and everyone and all these companies, and I said, like, hey, I can give you a service. Then they said, okay, thank you very much, come later. This was, this was, because they doesn't know what, what, what, because I started a company in 2019, and immediately I go them, and then they told, then I spoke to someone, and they said, see, this is what the challenge you will face. You need to create a brand. So, rather than going with the top five companies, find out the space where you create more customers with the small SMEs. So, then my focus of, you know, focusing on to get more bigger companies, I focused on SMEs. So, when SMEs, they are also startups, they are also new, they're also like, they, they want services, they want. So, when I, when I get that credibility from the SMEs, then these SMEs were referring to bigger companies, they are telling good about us. So, this is what this thing. So, when you're creating a brand, you always have a challenge of getting a refusal. No one will accept you. So, no, you have become the challenge of creating that brand awareness, that you started, you're not going to be able to get it to the biggest customers in the market, because, you know, I focused on the service first, and I was catering to SMEs, small and medium enterprises. When I feel like, yes, I can able to provide whatever solutions they're looking for, then I was started like, you know, then I was approaching to them with their references to the bigger companies. So, medium enterprises and all like that. So, one of our small SMEs, like, like who is working with us for like one one of year, the husband was working in one of the big companies. So, she told that, see, why can't you take their services? So, this is how I got an entry. Then after I got an entry into that company, then they said your services was too good, but then I said, no, I met you, one end of your back, and I told you that we can provide these services, and you said that you don't need it now. Then, then I told crew, listen one thing, if you want to create anything, so you need a time, which will not happen in a day one. Now, for me to enter, to make an agreement with you, I also need to check a lot of things. So, this is how we got entered into one of the topic most companies, and we're providing to be solutions, to be solutions. Then from there, reference starts. Now, I was saying that, oh, I worked with Amazon. So, yes, now I work with, no, yes, no, I work with 60, yes, I work with mom's soul. So, we are telling those names. Again, another place we're getting it handled. At the same way, we are not compromising in service levels. If you have bigger, big clients, but your service is not good, you cannot, you cannot push to the more clients. So, what are your biggest challenges right now, like where you, right now as a leader strategically, and as a leader of, you know, 30, 30 people, and 30 families, you're responsible for 30 families, and if you keep expanding the business, you want to grow it? Do you think that's really further? What's your biggest challenges right now? I think the biggest challenge is like, you know, when it comes to an e-commerce, e-commerce shipments, e-commerce companies, the product is not like every product haven't self-value, means you cannot work with only one product in e-commerce products, like you got my product. So, what will happen like the business is like, you know, today, it's something which we kept it in our fulfillment center, tomorrow, it will be no orders. So, now that our operations cost is getting increased day by day, day by day, day by day. So, now, I need to add that much sufficient of business, so that I can, I can give more opportunities, I can do a lot of stuff. Otherwise, this is the only challenge like, you know, the e-commerce, the products are not same. The one which is growing a top selling product of yesterday, today will be a different product. So, so bringing it from China, bringing it from different countries to make it manufacturing to get it here, then again, we are, we are working on full cycle, right, from China imports to Dubai or from China imports to this thing, then there are like customs regulations will come into the picture, they will say, okay, if it's the new product, we need to go with SaaSosa, a recipe, a lot of documentation, it's take 40 days, 50 days. So, this is how, this is how it is, like, so that's the challenge. So, we are, we are trying to overcome with like, you know, before when product is getting manufactured, save time, we are applying for necessary documents, because for any e-commerce companies, we are not asking them to provide documents. What we said, you give me a product, we will, we will create the document. So, we will apply for the SPA, we will apply for the SAA and all this things. So, this is where e-commerce companies are happy to work with us, because we even like, if any, any other company like any logistics company should give a document, they will say, I need it in was, okay, I need this, okay, I need A, B, C, D. So, what we do is, so you need A, B, C, D, we will work on the A, B, C, D, we will give a complete solution. But due to this, all this things that, yes, this was a little challenging situation because of this regulations and all this stuff. So, so what, what are your aspirations for the future, for the business, what are the next five years look like? The next five years, now this we are more focusing on last mile, right? Now, I want to create an application, where in that application, completely it will teach you how to do e-commerce, like, like, how to sell, way to sell, how to deliver. Everything will be in one single application like sourcing, I was, we have, we are working on from last one end of year of the application called quick e, it's called quick e-commerce. So, if you go to the quick application, you will see the source, product sourcing, where you can go into that and you can put, I need a profit margin of $10. So, it will show all the profit margin of $10 products. If you put, okay, I need a profit margin of $200, it will show all the profit margin of that product, then that product we will give in direct access to the supplier. So, once you click that product and you see the product cost, then we will, on the next part, we will, we will teach you how to do marketing of that product, whether you can do it in Facebook, whether you can do it in TikTok, whether you can do it in Google ads, however, what is the best way of marketing. So, once you use copy paste, copy paste, copy paste, all this thing and you can, the design is also, we are using AI tools, where you can design the post and all, even Facebook will be linked and the post will automatically generate it and all this thing. Once now, you got the product and you know how to market. Now, we will push like, to do the boosting and we will do the shipping, like we will show that, okay, which company is the better shipping services, which company have a better rates, like it's all in one platform. So, from the sourcing to till the delivery, let's say, let's say an individual sitting in home who is working and who is looking for in second passive income, can fit for in one hour, like after seven o'clock and he was doing this, if he sell a one product a day, he can make at least 30, 40 dollars a day. So, I want to create this passive income on e-commerce, within a larger scale, in an application way. So, you'll allow this, this create an opportunity for individuals to create a side hustle. So, from your from the perspective of your personal life, how do you find time for your personal life, what do you like to do in your personal life? Deep personal life was very happy because whenever the things were bad, even my wife belongs to the same industry. So, she knows that like every ship every shipment, what is the value of the each shipment, even even a smaller kilo shipment or a ten ton shipment is the same, the customer will respond the same, the customer will ask you the same way. So, she knows it, she understands, when I pick up my phone at night, she can understand that and everything going cool, but I love playing chess because from my childhood, I was playing chess, I'm like an international today player, so I used to play for tournaments. If I won't become an entrepreneur in Dubai, might I become a chess player? I used to get trained, I used to get like into tournaments and all. Then like every time when I feel so stressed, I don't know, I play chess for half another one hour, then I will get a lot of more new strategies, a lot of more things, I was learning a lot of things from such as every day, I play them more, the more things like if I'm in a problem, I play chess, this is what I do, this is how, this is how my stress is all right. Because it's very important as an entrepreneur in a fast paced environment like Dubai, it's very important to have something driven to switch off, right? Right, well look, I always like to finish with, I like to finish with this question, which is you've shown great dedication and passion through the journey of launching two businesses that didn't succeed, but third time around, you're having this great success, the future's looking really bright, you're in a very exciting market, the UAE, Saudi, the region, so what would you say to an 18 year old entrepreneur starting out now, what would your advice be to them, or even if it was your 18 year old self, what would you say to yourself, if you're 18. See, what I advise like you find out any business, any business, just you work on that business and you find out where is the gap, because many people think that business is good, no, not like that, you should find out where is the gap in that business, like with that business to the customers, is it any gap, is it any value you can add, once you find that when you can able to add that value, now stick on that, then this is the first thing, then the second thing is that if you really wants to do any sort of businesses, don't make like, you know, like you don't get a lot of money from, you don't borrow money, you don't do this thing, don't never ever take loans from someone and start a business, whatever, like if you want to start a business, like you work for one year and how much amount you want to do that, you put it as a capital and you work, this is what I suggest for it and get into business, even if you don't have money with the present situation with AIs, with the artificial intelligence, what we have, with the applications, what we have available, with the workspace as what we available, we literally don't need money, if you have a proper idea and if you know how to execute it, you can do it, like it's not about money and don't make your, like if in any entrepreneur, many entrepreneurs, I spoke when I back to India and all this thing, many people are taking loans and starting a business, I always suggest don't take any outside finances or loans to start a business, first you create, you need to understand the gap and you find out a solution for that gap and you start doing it from one, there is, there is no business, you don't need to start with 100 or 50, like you start with your one, you have the first employee, yes, you are the accountant, yes, you are the HR, yes, you are the sales, yes, this is what you need to do, you start with your one, don't look for big offices, don't look for a big team, you start with one and you try to, you try to acquire, you try to give that solution to the one customer, the first step make you, make you to become a successful entrepreneur. Super, so prove, the founder of CEO and Quickship, the e-commerce business here in Dubai, the UAE, that's a wrap, thank you for your time today, it was great chatting with you, as I mentioned, the videos and the YouTube videos will be available for you to use as you wish when they come out in a few weeks. Well, great man, thanks, John, thanks. I want to ask from you also, like, what advice you will give to your entrepreneurs of 30, 35 years, like me.
