Inspirational Women Leaders Of Tech: Chaitra Vedullapalli of Meylah and Women In Cloud On The Five Things You Need To Know In Order To Create A Highly Successful Tech Company

Foster a culture of innovation: Successful tech companies are built on a foundation of continuous innovation, and a culture that encourages and supports new ideas and experimentation. For example, Google has a long history of encouraging its employees to spend 20% of their time working on projects of their own choosing, which has led to the creation of many of the company’s most successful products and initiatives.

As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women Leaders in Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chaitra Vedullapalli.

Chaitra Vedullapalli is the Co-Founder and President of Women In Cloud and Co-Founder and CMO of Meylah. A purpose-driven, strategic high-growth leader, Chaitra bridges business and technology to globally scale companies and drive digital economic development. Formerly driving billion-dollar expansions for both Microsoft and Oracle, she combines her diverse expertise in AI, IoT, SaaS, and cyber security with in-depth market insight.

Recognized with the Forbes 1000 Next Entrepreneur title, Ideagen Global Leadership Award, and Microsoft Women’s Leadership Award, Chaitra is listed as one of 100 Most Innovative MarTech Leaders by World Marketing Congress.

As a thought-leader, she has presented before the United Nations and Microsoft Inspire and contributed to publications such as Forbes and Entrepreneur. Her mission is to generate $1B in new net economic access for women entrepreneurs and professionals by 2030 through global partnerships with corporations, community leaders, and policy makers.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I began by studying Electrical Engineering in RV college of engineering in Bangalore, India. After that I moved to the United States after an arranged marriage. Once in the States, I wanted to explore getting a Masters in Music to see if I could “fit in” there; ultimately I decided to explore emerging tech, which was inspired by the Microsoft 95 Windows launch.

I rolled my sleeves up and got to work, taking computer classes in databases. I joined Oracle as an entry level consultant which led to me becoming the youngest Director in 6 years. During my time there, I worked in Consulting, Licensing, Global Pricing and WW Partnership Group.

After my time at Oracle, I joined Microsoft as a Sr. Director, leading worldwide partner product management team. After Microsoft, I became the Co-Founder and CMO of Meylah. Becoming a Tech B2B Founder, I became acutely aware of the challenges of acquiring B2B customers and as a result started Women In Cloud.

Women In Cloud is a community led economic development organization and movement aimed to generate $1Billion in economic access by 2023. Powered by Global Partnerships with Fortune Brands, B2b Women Founders and WIT Professional and Executives, our current community includes around 70K members across 65 countries.

Our latest initiative, #MxW Ventures is focused on how stories about Tech Professions are told in Hollywood. This is the first Hollywood Fund led by Women in the Tech Ecosystem aimed to fund films by leveraging cause based entertainment models.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?

Without a doubt it would be meeting Patti Dobrowski. Sixteen years ago when I moved to Microsoft, I had to pull together a strategic technology roadmap to support 450K partners to effectively do business with Microsoft. They needed access to new tech solutions, funding, customers and account managers. It looks simple when you look at the 100,000 foot level. There were 46 partner programs that needed to be consolidated.

After all the executive leaders were in the room everyone wanted to have their own version of the vision and I quickly realized that if we don’t develop a singular collective vision for creating impact we would not achieve the outcome.

Thankfully Visioning Tools and Change Leadership frameworks came to my rescue. I was introduced to Patti Dobrowolski, four time TEDx & Keynote Speaker, Live Illustrator, Author & Founder of Up Your Creative Genius. Patti helped me architect workshops that allowed us to build Collective Vision and illustrated how everyone can be part of creating it without conflict. It was magical.

Since then, I have continued my Vision Board experience for the last 16 years and as a result I feel I can navigate life and business with ease. The framework, the mindset, and tools are incredible. In fact, I was so inspired by how Vision Boarding had impacted my life that this year (2023) Women In Cloud hosted an official Guinness World Record attempt to create the most vision boards in a single setting with Patti. It was amazing to host such a powerful event with her and create that same magical impact for our 70K+ growing Women In Cloud community.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

While it may sound like a strange “mistake”, I have been known to be generous with access to information and people. Growing up, I was taught to be kind and generous as essential character traits. However, working in the corporate world I realized that access to information, money, and people has to be extremely strategic. Not having the strategic point of view on access cost me the trust of a few people.

So, the lessons I have learned through many mistakes are:

1) Access creation is strategic so before unlocking it, ensure you have done your homework first.
2) Lead with trust first, then unlock access. Building Trust and Access creation are tightly connected.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

I have faced many hard times in life, from being bullied in school to various workplace scenarios. All have had the same effect: you question your existence on this planet and your belonging.

The great news is that I am blessed with amazing parents. My dad was an Army officer, something I learned from him was “Do or Die” in any mission you choose. I choose to “Do” something rather than die inside, this mantra has served me really well. As a result, it’s difficult to knock me down easily and I’ve cultivated resilience.

To address the challenges, my go-to-framework is activating collective action, power and influence to navigate the complex human nature. It has served me very well.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

One of my favorite life lesson quotes is, “I don’t care what I think of myself. I don’t care what you think of me. I do care what you think I think about myself.” It helped me understand human nature more than reading hundreds of books. I recently saw this quote again in Jay Shetty’s Book ‘Think Like A Monk’ and it validated how people think and engage with you. Why is it relevant to me? It helped me to show up authentically when engaging with people. As a result the imposter syndrome is easily avoided knowing this fact of life.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. We’d love to learn a bit about your company. What is the pain point that your company is helping to address?

Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies are crucial for tech companies as they determine how they will reach their target customers and bring their products or services to market. The majority of the tech companies in the world struggle with building and implementing digital GTM plans with their partners.

At Meylah, our goal is to empower sales and marketing organizations and leaders to provide world class Go-To-Market Solutions to accelerate GTM execution and automate demand generation workflows. We specialize in helping companies of all sizes grow their customer base through advisory, strategic consulting, GTM solution implementation, and automating marketing workflows with cloud and AI apps.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

A study by IDC estimates that by 2023 (this year), there will be $7.1 trillion invested in digital transformation (DX) across the globe. It is estimated that companies co-selling with cloud hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Google, AWS and others are expected to be over $300 billion!

Co-sell marketing with hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Google and AWS is extremely complex and difficult for the majority of companies in their ecosystem.

Meylah is positioned as a World Class GTM solution provider for mid to enterprise brands to accelerate their co-sell GTM engagement and implementation.

In fact, Meylah was invited to design #Buildfor2030 initiative, a strategic GTM play aimed at empowering and equipping people and organizations around the world to use technology to solve the world’s most pressing challenges by the year 2030. The initiative is based on the belief that technology has the potential to transform lives and create positive change, and that everyone should have access to the tools and skills needed to participate in the digital economy. We work to support diverse business owners to be prepared to be part of this strategic initiative.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I believe that stories have the power to change perspectives because they have the ability to engage people on an emotional level and connect with them in a way that facts and figures alone cannot.

When people hear a story they are able to relate to the characters and experiences, which can evoke empathy and understanding and ultimately can lead to a shift in perspective and a greater willingness to consider new ideas and ways of thinking.

One of the most important perceptions that I believe film has the power to change is in creating positive perceptions by increasing representation and inclusion in film at every level. By featuring more diverse characters, storylines, and creators, film can help normalize and celebrate our differences and promote greater acceptance and understanding.

At Women In Cloud, we’re currently building a powerful GTM engine that leverages Hollywood Movies as a platform to change perceptions of DEI in tech, ESG, and local economic development.

Let’s zoom out a bit and talk in more broad terms. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in Tech? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?

Despite progress in recent years, women continue to be underrepresented in the technology industry, and face significant barriers to advancement, including a lack of diversity in tech companies, unequal pay and promotion opportunities, and a hostile work environment.

To change the status quo and promote greater equality and diversity in the tech industry, several specific changes are needed, including:

1. Building Tech Policy Advocacy: A community of women who can champion tech policy changes in data privacy, AI Biases, Broadband Access and More.
2. Integration DEI and Corporate ESG Scorecard: To ensure executives are compensated based on the progress made on diverse workforce, compensation equity, providing flexible work arrangement, and promoting women into leadership roles.
3. Addressing Harassment and Discrimination: Companies should have strong policies in place to address harassment and discrimination and should take swift action to address any incidents that occur.
4. Unlocking Access: To supplier contracts, funding, and partnerships for women tech founders.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?

There are three core challenges that I believe we face:

1. Lack of Access: To opportunities for professional growth and advancement, including mentorship programs and leadership development initiatives.
2. Lack of representation: Women are underrepresented in the technology industry, and this lack of representation can make it difficult for women to find role models and mentorship opportunities.
3. Connections: Women are often expected to take on a greater share of the domestic and caregiving responsibilities, which can make it difficult for them to balance their professional and personal lives. This impacts the quality of networking and building connections.

What would you advise to another tech leader who initially went through years of successive growth, but has now reached a standstill. From your experience do you have any general advice about how to boost growth or sales and “restart their engines”?

I have a perspective on this topic rather than advice: when you reach a “standstill” in your career or business, you have stopped being curious, building new ideas, and investing in your personal development. I would suggest exploring what is stopping you from being curious and building new ideas.

If your company’s growth is stagnant, invest in a strategic and data-driven approach, and be open to new ideas and opportunities to help the company restart its growth engines and achieve long-term success.

Based on your experience, can you share 3 or 4 strategies to give your customers the best possible user experience and customer service?

Absolutely, here are some strategies to explore:

1. Think Abundance: Invest in Blue Ocean Thinking.
2. Be Curious: Meet companies to understand what they are investing in and why.
3. Become an Investor: Invest in new innovations that you understand.
4. Develop Target Solution and GTM: Develop target solutions and activate Go-to-Market plans with hyperscalers in your industry.

Here is the main question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a very successful tech company? Please share a story or an example for each.

Creating a successful tech company requires a combination of strategic thinking, technical skill, and a relentless focus on delivering value to customers.

1. Identify a compelling problem to solve: Successful tech companies are built around solving a problem that is important to a large number of people. A good example of this is Slack, which was created to solve the problem of ineffective communication and collaboration within organizations.
2. Build a great team: A successful tech company requires a talented and dedicated team that is able to work together effectively and efficiently. For example, the early success of Apple was largely due to the close working relationship between Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and others, who were able to turn their vision into reality through their combined skills and effort.
3. Focus on product-market fit: The key to a successful tech company is to build a product that people want and are willing to pay for. This requires a deep understanding of the target market and a relentless focus on delivering value to customers. For example, Airbnb initially struggled to gain traction, but once it focused on delivering a more streamlined and user-friendly experience for both hosts and guests, it quickly became one of the world’s most successful tech companies.
4. Invest in Cosell GTM with Cloud Hyperscalers: Successful tech companies often establish great partnerships to execute GTM with Hyperscalers. For example, F5 and Microsoft strategic partnership allows them to dominate the security market with their joint solutions.
5. Foster a culture of innovation: Successful tech companies are built on a foundation of continuous innovation, and a culture that encourages and supports new ideas and experimentation. For example, Google has a long history of encouraging its employees to spend 20% of their time working on projects of their own choosing, which has led to the creation of many of the company’s most successful products and initiatives.

We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

I love connecting with people from different industries. Hosting my dream breakfast roundtable, I would invite Melissa Perkins (Tech), Dawn Trudeau (Sports), Oprah Winfrey (Media), Indra Nyoyi (CPG), Adam Grant (Physiologist), Shah Rukh Khan (Film Maker), Justin Trudeau (World Leader), Robert Green (Renowned Writer), Deepika Padukone (Actress) together to have an eclectic conversation that the world has yet to experience. Just thinking of this combination, I get so inspired!

Thank you so much for this. This was very inspirational, and we wish you only continued success!