Tejas Dave of Avasam: From Avocation To Vocation: How I Turned My Hobby Into A Career

While working in a few different roles here in the UK, it became obvious to me that there were a lot of people in the UK eCommerce industry that needed technical support. Most of them were getting ripped off by agencies that were taking advantage of them, or they were making do with inefficient workarounds. I knew I could develop automated solutions that lots of sellers could take advantage of, so I could charge less while helping more people. It seemed like this was my calling in life — to help people by empowering them to grow their businesses and their profits.

As a part of our series about entrepreneurs who transformed something they did for fun into a full-time career, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tejas Dave, founder and CEO of Avasam and eBusiness Guru, has been helping eCommerce businesses worldwide since 2010. Avasam is a platform that allows wholesalers and sellers to collaborate. With Avasam, Tejas is revolutionising the industry to create new opportunities using technology and automation to provide solutions to eCommerce challenges.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I was very lucky to grow up in a loving, supportive family in India. My family is very religious, and helping people is one of the most important things in our lives. We have been very blessed to have been able to help so many people in so many different ways through the years, and I grew up knowing that it was important that I do the same. When I finished studying, I was able to come to the UK to work — so I could improve my English and gain work experience.

What was the catalyst from transforming your hobby or something you love into a business? Can you share the story of your “ah ha” moment with us?

Well, I studied programming at university as well as business, and finding technical solutions was something I was always playing around with. While working in a few different roles here in the UK, it became obvious to me that there were a lot of people in the UK eCommerce industry that needed technical support. Most of them were getting ripped off by agencies that were taking advantage of them, or they were making do with inefficient workarounds. I knew I could develop automated solutions that lots of sellers could take advantage of, so I could charge less while helping more people. It seemed like this was my calling in life — to help people by empowering them to grow their businesses and their profits.

There is no shortage of good ideas out there, but people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How did you overcome this challenge?

I was lucky in that I already knew quite a few of the people that I knew I could help. They had been the ones telling me about their struggles! I started working with them, and I knew that once I had been successful with developing the first of the apps that I did that once word got out, there would be a lot of companies looking for the solutions I was creating. So, at first, it was word of mouth, and then I set up a website, and so it grew from there.

What advice would you give someone who has a hobby or pastime that they absolutely love but is reluctant to do it for a living?

I absolutely love the development aspect of my businesses and creating solutions. Although I am heavily involved in the business side of the companies now, I enjoy trying to find the best solutions and sometimes will do some developing in the evening just for fun — even though I have a team that take care of a lot of it for me. What I’m trying to say is, if you have a hobby, that won’t be all you’ll be doing if you choose to make it your career — and so you’re unlikely to stop enjoying it.

It’s said that the quickest way to take the fun out of doing something is to do it for a living. How do you keep from changing something you love into something you dread? How do you keep it fresh and enjoyable?

I think you have to mix it up. I have both companies that I am overseeing now, and there are a lot of different aspects of the businesses that I have to think about. Some of my colleagues have come up with ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of, or been able to achieve by myself, so it helps that I have those things to consider.

I try and set my to-do list so I’m never working on the same thing for long. My workday tends to be very varied, between meetings, managing my inbox and general tasks. That seems to help me anyway — to keep swapping between tasks. And eCommerce never stands still, so neither can I — I must constantly be looking for opportunities to evolve. That is what helps keep things fresh for me.

What is it that you enjoy most about running your own business? What are the downsides of running your own business? Can you share what you did to overcome these drawbacks?

With my family background, I love the fact that my businesses have helped so many people, and I have such influence over how the company can help. For example, we have had clients who have needed help that the company doesn’t provide the exact service for, but I have known some of my team would be able to provide the support they needed, so we were able to help them with that issue, which is very satisfying.

In terms of downsides, well obviously once you have employees, you start to think what if this doesn’t actually work out and how they would be affected if it doesn’t. But I didn’t start taking on employees until I was certain it would, and of course, that’s why you work hard, so you can carry on growing, and so you can keep paying your employees!

Can you share what was the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

I thought at first that I would mostly be stuck in my office at home, wearing jeans and writing code most days. It soon became clear that there was marketing to be done, and that the best way to know whether our solutions would really suit the client is to go and see them to get to know their business inside out. That helps them trust you, and that they’re more likely to use your solution. Because of that, I spend quite a bit of time on the road travelling, and these days I wear a suit most days, rather than jeans and a t-shirt!

Has there ever been a moment when you thought to yourself “I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to get a “real” job? If so how did you overcome it?

I don’t think I have ever thought about quitting. In the beginning, maybe, as I was building the business and both time and funds were tight, I might have wondered if I was really doing the right thing, but not for long. I knew building my own company was right for me, and for my family. In India we are used to working long hours, and I do work long hours still, but I’m trying harder to get that balance a bit better, so I can enjoy time with my wife and son.

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?

There are so many over the years, and usually they stemmed from my knowledge of the English language and the phrases! I think I’ve picked up on most of the accidentally rude ones and learnt from them now, but I’m lucky I have some fantastic team members who catch any written ones these days!

Who has inspired or continues to inspire you to be a great leader? Why?

My faith teaches me to do my best, every day. It’s not possible to be perfect, and I don’t think you should be — if you are perfect, you’re not learning. But you have to try your best, and I continue to follow what I have learnt at the temple.

In terms of business, it might be obvious for the head of a company in eCommerce and technology to say, but I really do look up to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. I dream of that success — although I don’t expect to be in every home, I am certain that Avasam can make a huge change to the world of eCommerce.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

With Avasam, I’ve been able to empower people to create their own business and work the hours they want to work. We started developing Avasam, which is a DropShipping automation platform, around two years ago, after helping a couple of businesses to configure manual setups. It had been a tricky process for them, and it was clear to me that there should be a better way, but I couldn’t find a solution that took care of everything that they needed. So we set about designing it. We have so many success stories already, and I’m so proud of what we, and our Avasam users are achieving.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Wow, there’s so many more than five things that I have learnt through the years! Firstly, I wish I had been told not to worry so much about what people think of you. Of course, that’s really hard to do, because you want people to think well of you, but if you’re acting with the best intentions, then you shouldn’t worry so much. Worrying what people think of you is wasting your time — and life is short — we don’t have time to waste.

The second thing I think is important to know is that although you can prepare for situations, sometimes you won’t get it right, and you will mess up. Those moments are sent to teach us things — and we should take the lesson and try not to repeat it.

The third thing is that you should always have contingency time planned in. I’ve sometimes fallen short of a deadline because whatever needed to happen took much longer than I had thought it would — but again, this is something I have been careful to learn from.

You should always follow your gut instinct. Sometimes a customer has told me they don’t have use for one of the apps I have developed, but when I have talked with them a bit longer, it has turned out that they simply haven’t understood what the app does — and so getting that understanding to them is important, both for my business and for the benefit they will have from the app.

Same thing with taking on employees — just because an applicant doesn’t have a background in your field doesn’t mean they won’t be perfect for your company. If your gut tells you that they’ll be good, they will. I’ve taken chances on people that I wasn’t certain their background would translate, but it’s really paid off for me. It is important to have a great team, and appreciate them. If you appreciate your staff and take care of them, they will do a good job for you. That means you can be more free to do what you love, and trust them.

Lastly, although I knew it in the first place — it’s not about the profits. Money is important, and of course, we work to achieve the best possible outcome in terms of profits too, but honestly — having happy customers, integrity and a good reputation will take care of the profits, so you should focus on those and the profits will come.

What person wouldn’t want to work doing something they absolutely love. You are an incredible inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I think the main thing that I would like is for more people to act more thoughtfully. I try and ensure that what I do is intentionally good, and that my actions don’t have negative consequences. It’s not a groundbreaking idea — and it’s not always possible to eliminate all the possible negative consequences — but if everyone was more careful, and thoughtful, society could be much happier.

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

I think I’ve read so many that have influenced me that it’s hard to know which is the best! Certainly, I think we could all use the lesson ‘first, do no harm’ a little more than we do. I try and ensure that I apply it to my work by helping businesses to use less environmental resources and to reduce their carbon footprint by eliminating printing, and things like that. If we all take those small steps, we can all make a big difference to our world.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment 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.

Again, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to be quite predictable — I would love to meet with Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. A chat with Jack Ma of Alibaba would be incredibly interesting and potentially lucrative for both of us… Although he probably doesn’t need to worry about increasing his bank balance!

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.