Technology Startups of Sumith Kumar Puri - The Entrepreneur
  
From April 2008 until June 2018, I have run 3 Startups, but with almost No Success. The Most Notable Reason for discontinuing the Startup(s) was my Inability to Secure Funding. I operated all of these Startup(s) using my Personal Savings and sometimes went back and forth between Employment and the Startup. All of the 3 Startups were Sole Proprietorship Entities (MSME Registered*) and were registered in either Bangalore or Gurgaon. The Details of these Startup(s) are:

1. TechArmy Technologies, Gurgaon (April 2008 - March 2012, Service Tax Registered, CA Registration Letter, Current Bank Account) [Last Legal Day: 30/March/2012]
2. Vajrin Software, Bangalore (February 2017 - June 2018, MSME Registered, GST Registered, Current Bank Account) [Last Legal Day: 30/June/2018]
3. Java Shiksha, Bangalore (February 2017 - June 2018, MSME Registered, Wholly Dependent on Vajrin Software, Bangalore) [Last Legal Day: 30/June/2018]

This heading 'Technology Startups' is quite a misnomer. Taking one startup to success and maximum potential becomes a challenge, is the reality of this world. Each of the ideas and products that I envision, infact, forms part of a larger jigsaw puzzle of products and is capable of being an individual startup. But there are two business names under which I ran business for a staggered period of four years. One of them is 'Sumsoft Technologies' and the second name is 'TechArmy Technologies'. They had web presence at http://www.sumsoft.co.in and http://www.techarmy.co.in. The last day of existence of the final merged entity, TechArmy Technologies, was 30th of March, 2012.

I have learnt the nuances of a sole proprietorship business entity, via practice, in India and the associated advantages and disadvantages. My recommendation is that if you are a very confident Indian software entrepreneur, who has a kickass idea that can change the world and some basic venture capital - then get ahead with a sole proprietorship. But almost all of the times, a private limited company or limited liability partnership represents the more professional side of entrepreneurship in India. The biggest advantage of a sole proprietor is that you need no partner, by law. The following practices are very important for any sole proprietorship entity that is in the business of packaged software development or even information technology services:

1. Service Tax Registration Certificate (Replaced by MSME/GST Registration)
2. Current Business Bank Account
3. Chartered Accountant Certificate
4. Company Seals and Stamps
5. Notarized Affidavit of Declarations
6. Tax Deduction Account Number
7. Permanent Account Number
8. Company Letterhead and Envelopes
9. Shops and Establishments Certificate
X. Trademarks, Patents and Copyrights
Y. Internet Domain (.co.in)  and Email Ids
Z. NASSCOM and NSR Registration
A. Value Added Tax Registration (Replaced by GST)
B. Central Excise Registration (Replaced by GST)

I had followed all the items highlighted and was in the process of obtaining items 9 and Z, but eventually had to close down operations due to multiple reasons. Items A and B are irrelevant until you are ready to ship out the first product. It is also good to subscribe to the best online digital libraries and professional societies. One may also additionally print and issue useful general or personalized stationery like company holograms, stickers, notepads, pens and bags.


If all things go well, my pending patents, incomplete research and devlopment continued from earlier time should materialize into another startup. The blueprint in my head, as a long term goal, is for these nine organisations with all of them based on the software developed by the primary and central concern, Sumsoft Software Development. Sumsoft Software Development again should branch out into a tree of organisations - which have numerous interconnections, based on sales, marketing and technology; in short a suite of startups or products. Each of them should be a separate Private Limited Company, but internally affiliated to a larger organisation called 'Sumsoft Corporation'. By the way, Sumsoft Technologies is a shorter form of Sumith's Software Technologies. The Self-Imposed Entry Barrier, after my repeated bitter experiences, for Opening/Running a  startup again, is Personal Savings of USD 3.5+ Million(!)