Hitesh Patel: Indian Entrepreneur and founder of eZee Technosys Pvt. Ltd

At Sugermint Media, our aim is to bring to our entrepreneurs community some of the inspiring and motivational stories from the entrepreneurial ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Hitesh Patel for an exclusive interview with us.

Hitesh Patel is a Seasoned Entrepreneur. He is the founder of eZee Technosys Pvt. Ltd. Let’s learn more about his inspirational journey and his advice for our growing community!

This is the interview of Hitesh Patel, Successful Indian entrepreneur and founder of eZee Technosys, leading hospitality software and travel technology solution provider in India.

Tell us a little about yourself

Hitesh: After completing my Masters in Computer Applications from Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, I began my career.

I learned strategic business restructuring, and in particular, I developed an interest in marketing, sales and finance. Moving ahead,

I started my own venture known today as eZee Technosys Pvt. Ltd. Family plays a vital role in one’s life. My parents, wife and children all are my strength.

I advocate spending time on activities that make me feel happy and energetic. I often devote my leisure time to farming and gardening. It helps me connect with nature and fills my heart with positivity.

How did you get your idea or concept for the business?

Hitesh: During my tenure in ASI with Vipul Kapoor, I gained extensive knowledge and experience in the hospitality industry and apprehended hurdles of this industry’s businesses.

It was around this time when one of our friends, owning a motel in the USA, approached us to build a software application that could help him simplify the day to day operations. And the journey began.

Vipul and I decided to aid small to mid-sized hotels with the latest and robust technology. eZee is our brainchild which came into existence in 2006. Since then, we have only grown to expand our offerings to serve the distinct needs of diverse hospitality businesses. 

What service(s) or product(s) do you offer?

Hitesh: Over the years, We have been able to accommodate all the tech trends in hospitality. Our existing list of products and services include:

• eZee Frontdesk – (On-premise Hotel PMS)
• eZee Absolute – (Cloud Hotel PMS)
• eZee Centrix – (Hotel Channel Manager)
• eZee Optimus –  (Online Restaurant POS System)
• eZee BurrP! – (Restaurant Point of Sale Software)
• eZee Reservation – (Booking Engine)
• eZee Panorama – (Hotel Website Builder Solution)
• Critique – (Online Hotel Review Management Software)
• RMM – Revenue and Marketing Management Services.

These products achieve the next level of excellence through our exceptional services, 24×7 live support, product implementation and training and dedicated account managers.

What is unique about your business?

Hitesh: Consistent enhancement of processes and assessment of market needs sit in the core functions of eZee. Our efforts to identify customers’ pain points and ability to exceed their expectations makes us unique.

For instance, Our recent launch, eZee Panorama – a hotel and restaurant website builder that allows hotels to create websites with drag and drop features. Properties can go live with their websites in mere minutes.

Moreover, we see things from our customers’ perspective, the industry’s future demands, and attempt to offer suitable solutions, which reverberates our globally spread 22000+ clients in 170+ countries.

What made you choose this type of business?

Hitesh: The sheer desire for creating something of value for businesses that need powerful tech aid.

When Vipul and I figured out that small to midsize properties majorly lacked the technology to back their ventures, our collaborative journey called eZee started.

We decided to build and offer a hospitality technology ecosystem to empower the hospitality industry for seamlessly automating its intertwined operations

What was your mission at the outset?

Hitesh: It was crystal clear that we wanted to revolutionise the hospitality sector through innovative technology.

We aimed to achieve it by automating interconnected operations through intelligent software offerings. This led us to ideate, plan, develop and implement excellent software solutions.

We entered the market to bridge the gap between accessibility and utility of technology in the hospitality sector.

eZee Frontdesk – the on-premise hotel PMS was our first product, and it is, to date, as comprehensive, as robust and sophisticated as it could be. 

How many employees are there in your organization?

Hitesh: We are a team of more than 200 professionals, learning and thriving together.

What’re your company’s goals?

Hitesh: As eZee’s CEO Aeijaz Sodawala says, customer satisfaction achieved through unparalleled experience symbolises the potential of any company.

It truly resonates with what eZee is all about. Identification of the need, customer satisfaction through persistent innovation in our hospitality technology offerings and highly responsive customer support together define eZee’s goals. 

How do you build a successful customer base?

Hitesh: It works this way: we retain our existing customers while onboarding new ones. We dedicate a fair amount of time in ensuring the ultimate customer experience, which is lauded by users, partners alike. Besides, By offering diverse solutions under one roof, we create the need for our customers to stay with us.

We render new products/services that they find to be most advantageous for their businesses. We owe loyalty to our patrons, and it pays back.

What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?

Hitesh: I don’t consider missed achievements as downright failures. For me, they are learning opportunities. We recently discontinued some of our services which were no longer significant to our business.

The learning here was to craft a new strategy to recognise fundamental and yet impending issues/shortcomings that need attention and solution.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

Hitesh: It’s rather a mix of who and what. My parents and wife were and today likewise are my biggest supporters and inspirers.

I would also like to credit my spiritual journey and life itself. I draw inspiration from my people and life’s experiences.  

What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?

Hitesh: Anything that caused us business loss or any decisions that made us less relevant to what we set out for in 2006, is a mistake. 

I may have put the wrong emphasis on some areas or may have indulged in insubstantial undertakings throughout my journey as the MD and Co-founder of eZee.

However, I have always focused on the bright side. Where there are ideas, there are trails and mistakes are a part of the process. Our mistakes are proof that we are striving for perfection.

If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

Hitesh: If I may, it has to be this: Have faith in your dream, keep trying, and work upon it –  it will happen one day. Stick it out – It’s all that it takes.

Does your company help the community or society?

Hitesh: Indeed. We believe in giving back to society. By participating in various charitable events and humble endeavours we, as team eZee, try to make a difference.

The most notable activity was done in partnership with Chhanyado.org and Foodiecart to benefit a cause.

Further, we made a contribution to the PM Cares relief fund created following the Covid-19 pandemic in India. We believe in contributing to the social responsibilities to help develop an enriched society.