Leadership Transition Unfolds at Bangalore-Based Startup SamsuPro

Bengaluru: NIC (Nurul Islam Choudhury) has recently concluded his tenure with the startup SamsuPro. NIC has divested his entire 100% equity stake to Satrasala Kumar and Nisha Shekar at an undisclosed price. NIC originally held 99.9% of the company’s equity. NIC has formally resigned from his positions as CEO and board member. NIC (Nurul Islam Choudhury) is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. It is not clear to us why NIC has taken such decision.

Samsu Pro Consulting Solutions Private Limited, commonly known as SamsuPro, was founded by Nurul Islam Choudhury (also known as NIC) on July 2, 2012. The company aimed to deliver cost-effective solutions in the IT service sector. For a brief period, NIC managed the company. However, due to a shortage of projects, NIC decided to join Mphasis Ltd as a Solution Architect. In 2013, Dr. Ismat Ara Hussain assumed the role of CEO for Samsu Pro Consulting Solutions Private Limited.

Under the leadership of Dr. Ismat Ara Hussain the company did launch a martimony platform saathya.com. The platform aimed to offer free matrimony services to Indian match finder for marriage. However, despite efforts, it failed to sustain in the market. Rita Chaki played a vital role in building the platform. During this timeframe NIC was heading PT. Mphasis Indonesia to establish its presence in the Indonesian market, along with Mphasis Singapore’s Country Head.

NIC assumed the role of CEO at SamsuPro in April 2019. In May 2019, the company secured two contracts with Vietnamese-based companies, contributing to a promising pipeline of USD 250K. During the initial six months, the company successfully generated INR 15L in revenue, first time the company was moving towards making profit. However, the onset of the pandemic in January 2020 resulted in the suspension of all ongoing projects. In the same year NIC started to build a project named SamsuBot was initiated to address challenges within the contact center environment. The objective was to develop a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform utilizing Artificial Intelligence to enhance the caller/customer experience, decrease the need for human agents, and reduce average call times. SamsuBot aimed to serve as a subscription-based solution for existing contact centers or call centers, focusing on improving customer interactions through AI technology. Unfortunately, due to resource constraints(funds), the project had to be temporarily put on hold.

In 2021, NIC observed the landscape of “Made In India” product manufacturers and made the strategic decision to establish an eCommerce platform called HoppingShopping, dedicated to buying and selling “Made In India” products. Within three months, he successfully launched the platform, engaging in travel across three Indian states and onboarding approximately 35 sellers. The platform witnessed an encouraging start, with sales reaching around INR 10K per month within the initial period, but he failed to get the required investment to scaleup. The eCommerce platform went live in a record time and at a minimal cost.

However, under NIC’s leadership, few consulting projects were successfully completed, but the company failed to meet its vision. NIC told us that, prior to the pandemic, he had a well-defined plan to achieve the company’s vision. However, when the pandemic hit, he was unprepared, and his strategies proved ineffective in navigating the challenges posed by the post-pandemic market.