Interview: San Banerjee, Co-Founder & CEO of ADDA, community and housing society management platform

An interview with San Banerjee, Co-Founder & CEO of ADDA, community and housing society management platform

In an insightful interview with San Banerjee, Co-Founder & CEO of ADDA, a pioneering platform revolutionizing community and housing society management, we explore her innovative journey and the platform’s transformative impact.

San Banerjee’s leadership has reshaped how communities interact and manage their affairs, leveraging technology to enhance efficiency and connectivity.

Can you share the inspiration behind ADDA? What gap in the market did you aim to address with your platform?

San Banerjee: I’ve lived in apartment buildings since I was ten years old. From Madison, Baton Rouge, Chicago, to cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai.

I was astounded by how closely-knit these residential communities are and how they affect not only the residents but also the workers, local businesses, and local government. I came to see that these communities may have a constructive influence on the government as well.

Later when I became an Owner of a Community in Bangalore, I also developed immense respect for the Owners Committee members, who spent their scarce personal time in community work, trying to build that dream neighborhood! 

ADDA was born with an aim to make these residential societies connected for better collaboration, empowering a convenient and secure living experience. In the hands of the Management Committee members we wanted to provide a software which would help them manage the Community in a Transparent, and Efficient manner.

As we expanded in overseas markets, we found that not only in India, but even in advanced markets like USA, there is lack of a comprehensive Community Management & Accounting product, which combines a robust backend product for the Community Managers & Accountants, and a Delightful App for Owners/Residents. This is why we call ADDA – The Accounting Dynamo + Delightful App (A.D.D.A).

ADDA has features like Facility Management, Security and Accounting. My partner and present CTO Venkat Kandaswamy has been with me at every step.

ADDA has grown significantly since its inception. What do you attribute this growth to, and what challenges did you encounter along the way?

San Banerjee: ADDA users are the creme de la creme across the globe, comprising HNIs, CXOs, Business Magnates, Sportsmen and other successful people from various sectors. At ADDA we have always kept our users at the core of every step we take. With Residents/Owners, Committee Members, Security Guards, as the end users, we have continuously worked towards making the product feature rich as well as user friendly for them.

We have built an ecosystem which provides holistic solutions to all requirements of these users around apartment complex management and accounting. ADDA is the only company with dedicated divisions growing a Quality Ecosystem of Accountants and Managers trained in ADDA and Apartment Management Best Practices.

As a result, our customers are always ensured of continuous supply of trained resources who can operate the Data Entry or Facility Management utilizing their ADDA platform.

We have 15+ years of experience in the Apartment Management domain, thus we can confidently say that no one understands the unique needs of residential communities and their residents better than us.This has majorly been possible because of Continuous Innovation and focus on R&D.

How has the concept of community management evolved since ADDA’s founding? What trends do you foresee shaping this sector in the next 5-10 years?

San Banerjee: When ADDA was founded in 2009, with focus on Treasurers and Managers, we for the first time provided a serious Community management platform – along with a paid subscription model and still succeeded in creating a niche.

In the Indian market, over the last few years however, some disturbing market trends have been started by some housing society software companies. One trend is to offer freebies and allied benefits to Apartment Owners Associations to get their product adopted. This is actually equivalent to bribing.

The market is in a transition where Owners Associations are realizing the need for an Ad-free serious ERP tool. Popularity of Ad based Community Tools are going down, especially because they compromise on the security. Associations are preferring software with a clean business model, like ADDA, whose 100% business is Software Subscription, thus eliminating risks of Cybercrime.

We feel over the next 5-10 years, the housing society segment will become more organized. Clean business models will become the norm.

Collaboration and communication are crucial in community management. How does ADDA facilitate better interaction among residents and management committees?

San Banerjee: In housing societies there is always a need for communication between RWA members as well as Management Committee members. The ADDA Community Super App really powers this collaboration.

Everything from Community Guidelines to details of Maintenance Dues, Society’s AGM minutes can be made available in this App, resulting in an elevated resident living experience.

ADDA’s Clean Zero Ad/Spam App makes sure that communication between residents and management committees are not getting missed, and meaningful conversations and decisions are being made.

It becomes a private social networking app for apartment owners, tenants, association members where one can share photos, notice, polls, and also discuss burning issues. Using ADDA’s AI powered Community Helpdesk residents can raise requests, lodge complaints and give suggestions to Management Committee or Resident Welfare Association.

Data security and privacy are hot topics today. How does ADDA ensure the security of residents’ data while providing a seamless user experience?

San Banerjee: There has been a surge in cyber-crimes in the past few years. Ad Platform based community apps inadvertently end up risking the committee members, as they become prone to legal cases being filed by them by the residents who become victims.

ADDA’s 100% business is Software Subscription and hence is trusted in India, Dubai, Singapore, USA. The biggest differentiator for ADDA is the fact that we are Ad-free and we have a zero spam policy. ADDA can be accessed via comprehensive ERP on the online portal along with the app for ease of access.

Managing diverse communities can be challenging. How does ADDA cater to the specific needs and preferences of different types of housing societies?

San Banerjee:Each Residential Community is unique in their own way. However, the basic tenets of Community Management and Accounting are almost the same globally. As we interact with more and more Housing Societies, we get new insights.

These insights gets converted to newer features which keeps getting added to the ADDA product. Existing users constantly benefit from this evolving product.

For many needs of housing societies, there are no set byelaws or government guidelines which guides the course of action for a Community or Management Committee. ADDA studies the compliances, best practices across all Indian states, and also overseas markets like USA, Dubai, Singapore etc and builds it into the product. Hence, users of ADDA are at peace of mind that they are always covered from compliance perspective.

Maharashtra is the only state in India which has well laid out Govt. defined By-Laws for Societies. We look forward to the Indian Government creating robust National level Societies Act and detailed By-Laws which can remove many ambiguities that exist in Society Accounting, Dispute Management etc.

San Banerjee’s vision for ADDA illuminates a future where community management blends seamlessly with digital innovation. Her dedication to empowering neighborhoods underscores ADDA’s role in fostering cohesive and efficient living environments, promising continued advancements in community engagement and management solutions.

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