ePoise is an interview automation and analytics product. By making the interview asynchronous and with best-in-class features, it drives marked efficiency and quality improvement in the initial rounds of interviewing. Deep analytics empowers constant improvement in the hiring process. In a remotely administered interview, when large number of candidates across geographies apply for a position, system capability and integrity of the interview are of paramount importance. ePoise addresses these with advanced features such as proctoring, bandwidth management, outage management and applicant history.

Key differentiator: It has best-in-class features & process flow, which is validated by global consulting firm, which evaluated similar products globally and recommended ePoise to their client. It was selected by NHRD as technology partner to conduct nationwide interviews and assessments and has a comprehensive proctoring capability. It is the most robust interview engine in the world and has an intelligent bandwidth manager. It has been positioned as a complete recruitment solution for SMBs and an enterprise grade design for large companies with roles, permissions, security and APIs for integration. The founder’s experience, strong industry network and global experience has helped the company gain significantly faster traction and also have the ability to leverage NASSCOM & NHRD affiliations.

Source of inspiration: Our own experience as hiring managers where we spent huge amount of time and effort to build teams inspired us to create this product.

Spotlight Awards to you means: It will be a huge validation of an idea whose time has come and of the team behind it. We expect the visibility and support to significantly accelerate our go-to-market.

Biggest challenges & key learnings: Our first entrepreneurial gig was a web based mentoring and career guidance platform for b-school students, a venture which gained good traction but had serious monetization challenges. Looking back on that and the current venture, in terms of challenges - the most important one has been in terms of sales. Who will pay, Why? for what value? - these Qs need to be answered well - not just with a survey, but a working prototype - before you invest in building the product or service. What seems obvious may not be the case. For instance, in our first gig, we realized that our largest target customer base did not even have the maturity to appreciate the value of our offering.

The other challenge is also related to sales but I want to point it out specifically in the context of companies building B2B products. Sales cycles in India are long and marred with indecision, lack of communication of intent and confusion around who the decision maker is. My 2 cents on this would be to plan for this, explore other markets, explore multiple channels, especially partners and realize that that ‘persistence’ may well be your biggest virtue as an entrepreneur.

Future of technology in HR: The HR tech space is fairly disruptive with the onset of social, digital and mobility. This product is a good example of a major change in the hiring process, enabled by technology. There is no escaping from the impact of technology as employees will expect to extend their personal way of life to their workplace as well - a trend articulated by the phrase, “consumerization of IT”.

Message for the HR community: Technology is an enabler. It will never replace human judgment but can augment it in several beneficial ways. Be early adopters. Your adoption will help Indian companies create world-class enterprise products as we have done with IT services.

ePoise Systems Private Ltd. is a participant in the Spotlight Awards 2014, which will be held on 22nd August, 2014.