Talisma Corp: Some e-CRM Magic

Six

years ago, Aditi Technologies, be came a forerunner in e-CRM by providing remote

support to a group of Microsoft developers and customers. Later, the company

went on to develop an electronic relationship management product called Talisma.

In September 1999, it went a step further and spun off its e-services division

as a new company, also called Talisma Corp–India’s first global e-CRM

company.

All this, thanks to Pradeep Singh, an electrical engineer from IIT Delhi and

an MBA from the Harvard School of Business, who had the foresight to identify

the opportunity that came his way after the Microsoft project. This opportunity

was to cash in on the globe-shrinking powers of the Internet by establishing

Internet-based support centers in India to serve the needs of large corporations

in the West.

The edge that Talisma has over other global e-CRM companies, few if any of

which are based in India, is the cost differential. Talisma can employ

professionals at its Bangalore center at a salary of $3,000 to $4,000 a year–for

a total cost of about $15,000 to $20,000 instead of $50,000—140,000 in the Bay

Area or in North Dakota. This not only means more profits for the company, it

also means that Talisma would be able to offer the most competitive price to its

customers. The company has plans to grow to a 1,100-people strong entity by

end-2001 from the current strength of 550.

Today, this Seattle-based company with offices in Europe,

Asia, Australia and 15 cities across the US, has a rapidly growing list of over

300 customers including Real Networks, Exodus, Lowe’s Hardware, MSNBC,

NetGrocer.com, Advertising.com and BlueNile.com.

The company completed in October 2000 its first round of

private equity financing, totaling $31.5 million, led by Oak Investment

Partners. Madrona Venture Group, The Carlyle Group, SeaPoint Ventures and Cedar

Grove Investments also participated in that round of financing. It is likely to

go for a second round funding by the end of 2001. This means that Talisma will

have the resources to expand its customer base. It will be targeting a huge

market as companies try to leverage the Internet and related solutions (read e-CRM)

as part of their business strategies. And needless to say, it does enjoy the

first mover’s advantage in this space. DQ