How This Entrepreneur Scaled up by Developing a High-Performance Team

Umer Nawab is a resilient and visionary leader, co-founder, and Chief Technology Officer of Intelligenes, a global software solutions provider. With a passion for technology and marketing, Umer has worked hard to establish Intelligenes as a reputable and trustworthy provider in the competitive software solutions' global market. The brand ventured into Fin-Tech, where it aims to establish itself as a leading provider of remittance management, internet banking, e-statements, and corporate cash management solutions for banks.

His hard work, determination and the innovative problem-solving mindset have marked his journey in the industry. He faced numerous challenges and developed effective solutions to overcome them. Working with banks presented its challenges as it was not aligned with the company's values.

Umer devised a plan to exit the banking sector within two years. He spearheaded this pivot and elevated Intelligenes tech teams adopt cloud-based tech stacks & cutting-edge low-code and no-code app development platforms. Today, Intelligenes is steadily growing its footprint in the North American market and breaking new records. One significant challenge Umer encountered was the high turnover of human resources due to intense competition in the market. While addressing this issue his business scaled up rapidly. He introduced multiple learning pathways that enabled junior-level resources to progress and helped them prepare for the next phase. This investment in his team's growth and development paved the way for a more stable and skilled workforce.

Another challenge Umer identified was the absence of a clear career path projection for the tech team. He recognized the importance of providing guidance and mentoring. He developed a comprehensive career ladder and evaluation mechanism. This framework provided the team with a clear career path, fostering higher job satisfaction and commitment levels.

In today's world, you can not scale up your business without innovation. So the next problem in line was the fixed mindset of his team.

He launched the "Accelerate" program for his in-house team which ultimately created an environment of learning and collaboration. He encouraged them to explore new technologies and discuss innovative solutions in the regular company's brainstorming sessions and discussions. This approach ignited creativity among employees, ensuring that Intelligenes remained at the forefront of innovation. Intelligenes has also faced bankruptcy after an acquisition attempt failed, resulting in excessive cash outflows due to the induction of new resources. He did what other entrepreneurs don't do and he survived. He did not fire anyone but implemented other measures to reduce costs and figured out the steps needed to increase the organizational productivity. To take control on the cashflows, the next logical step was to add multiple revenue streams into the system. Umer started teaching API testing courses at Udemy, and currently 11,000 students are enrolled in his course.

Great teams produce great results. Teams provide answers; teams provide the cheapest solutions available to the entrepreneur. And the process starts by assuming that the requisite knowledge, skill and competence is already in place and it just needs to be mobilized and harnessed in an effective direction. A blend of innovation and team work can transform any startup into a global company. We just have to think out of the box. As we continue to adopt collaborative technologies, we can build teams and work across geographies.

Umer's entrepreneurial journey is a story of resilience, innovation, and team work. His ability to overcome challenges and building a strong team underscores his remarkable contributions to the industry. If you too want to scale up; innovate and build a high-performance team.