CEO Insights India

The fact that greatness, however small, cannot be attained without coming out of one’s comfort zone and treading uncertain paths is a well acknowledged truth. The people who have impacted lives of millions were unassisted and individuated in their quest for purpose and had to accept the instabilities that endeavors threw in their way. The same applies to the lives of every one, albeit on a smaller scale. Payeli Ghosh (Founder & Partner, Option3 Consulting), a promising entrepreneur from Bangalore, has had her own share of insecurities to grapple with as she set out to realize her idea of bootstrapping an automation and data analytics product company five years back.

Having started her career in Tech Mahindra (then Satyam Computers) and later on joining Infosys, the experience in leading MNCs had taught Payeli about process, project and people management,a learning that she values to this day. Payeli’s entrepreneurial instincts had led her to start a boutique services company in 2007, which was acquired by an MNC on account of its success. She had grown the company from scratch to a team of 150 by taking up different roles and by putting in an extraordinary amount of hard work. This experience endowed her with a deeper perspective into the Indian software consultancy space, and the possibilities of creating smart products to tackle business challenges opened up in front of her.

These realizations coupled with her brimming passion for an entrepreneurial venture led to the inception of Option3 in 2012. The company has been empowering businesses through its intuitive and insightful products ever since.


Gritty & Determined
Option3 started off as a SCM & technology consulting firm, and made the transition to a product-based company after a year and a half, investing the profits from the first role into the second. The company then had to compete with industry giants, but Payeli’s resolve was instrumental in overcoming the hesitancies of initiation. At present, Option3’s products compete with top products which have the advantage of having been in the market for long or of being heavily funded. In retrospect, the feat that Payeli has achieved in terms of uniqueness, capabilities and prestigious clientele of the company is a matter of pride for her. Payeli’s endeavor in building the company to such a remarkable standing has been one of highs and lows. She gives credit to the successes and failures she had faced en route, as the former inspired her to adhere to the fundamentals and the latter reinforced her resolution. Even today, her journey has all the unsettling elements and excitement of a roller-coaster ride and the path is always new for her.

As an entrepreneur, Payeli has always

found her self in challenging circumstances, but has n’t faced any difficulties on the grounds of her gender. As Payeli puts it,"I don’t think there is any level of discrimination that gets dished out against any gender as long as the person playing the role is seen as adding value”. She has found that her viewpoints were always respected by her male colleagues in spite of the disagreements while working as a team. By creating the right products and choosing the right technology, Option3 has avoided shortcuts and has built credibility for its brand and from now on, it plans to invest on the sales and marketing area. With never-ending enthusiasm, Payeli looks for ways to grow her company further by foraying into other domains while continuing the present domain-based solutions.

Life & Ideologies
Payeli’s decision to start an entrepreneurial venture in 2007 had made her parents apprehensive out of concern, but was supported by her husband (who happens to be her best friend) who believed that she must follow her dream, and by her brother. As it turned out, inception of Option3 in 2012 was more challenging as the area was new to her and as she had a three-year old child to care for. But the unconditional support of her family (including the initially resistant parents and in-laws) had made it easy as they cared for her son when she went on business trips.

Payeli is an early bird who starts her day with a walk followed by Surya Namaskar and a speedy look at the mailbox subsequently. She does not spend too much time in the kitchen and has most of her morning responsibilities outsourced. Though she maintains a to-do list, no day is devoid of surprises. Payeli tries to get back home early, take a walk and spend some quality time with her son assisting him in his activities – studies, project work, or painting; and returns to her workplace tasks after his bed time. Payeli is a foodie, a Hindustani classical singer, and a trekking enthusiast in her free time.