Satya Kalyan Yerramsetti comes with hands-on experience of running a customer-funded business. In 2003, he started SMSCountry, an SMS-based business which has evolved into an enterprise communications software company in recent years. Called Telebu in its new avatar, the company offers a suite of products to enable communication via SMS, audio and videoconferencing, messaging, call centre software, etc. The company’s products are industry- and sector-agnostic, and aim to improve the way enterprises communicate both internally and externally.
“The name Telebu is an amalgam of telecommunications technology and business,” he says.
Yerramsetti wants to see Telebu grow into a billion-dollar product company based out of India. As CEO, Yerramsetti wears many different hats: he works as primary decision-maker, chief product strategist, and business strategist among other things. “I help businesses build better relationships with their customers. I believe that enterprises need to be closer to customers. And, to achieve this, communication systems need to be simple and easy to use,” he adds.
According to him, blockchain, AI and 5G are going to change the face of the telecom sector. “The trend is to provide an experience, and not a service. Also, with internet-based services becoming big, many telcos may transition into ISPs or unified communication companies,” he adds.
In terms of his management style, he sees himself more as a mentor than a boss. He likes to adopt a hands-off approach with his team members, trusting and allowing them to make their own decisions.
Yerramsetti is a mechanical engineer from Osmania University and has an MBA from the University of Western Sydney. He starts his day with a morning jog. “I lead an active life. I have recently started boxing too, which makes me feel pumped and ready to take on the day.” He counts reading as his all-time favourite leisure activity, and loves binge-watching TV series on Netflix. He is an ardent believer in the power of positivity.
He comes from a close-knit Telugu family and gets his entrepreneurial streak from his father. “Every evening conversation during my growing-up years involved discussions about business orders.”
Yerramsetti’s 12-year-old son Subhasya is a prolific gamer. “He has awakened the love for video games in me, and I really enjoy spending time with him,” he says. His wife Sabitha is a jewellery designer and runs her own enterprise.
