Prashant Gupta is the CEO, Founder of the company. He has got over 25 years of experience in Banking & Finance services across India, the UK & US and he has begun his career with Arthur & Anderson where he worked for 6 years. His last job was as Senior Director in Credit Suisse where he had global leadership roles of managing the team in Poland, Switzerland & India.

Prashant is responsible for the Business Development and New Client Acquisition in the company. He also plays an active role working with the CXOs of Clients and helping them with the Innovation Agenda, Strategic Initiative, and Human Capital Agenda.

He is a member of the Advisory Board of several startups and early growth companies and also the Chief Strategist for ProDocs Solutions, India for the growth of their F&A practices. He is also the strategic advisor for Mind Valley Hospital- A proposed 200 beds hospital in Thane. Apart from that Prashant is also the mentor to several startups. In the space of EdTech Startup, he is mentoring Golden Bird Education and in Customer goods, he is the mentor to Merakee Cosmetics. Prashant is also the Chief Advisor of Mozart Auto.

The other two directors of the company are Rohit Joon & Dhiraj Swarup. Rohit is the key influencer and mentor for the startup clients and manages the CSR agenda for our client network. He is actively engaged in the MSME sector in various trade and industry associations. Dhiraj is a professional banker and manages the enterprise risk agenda of our clients including the fundraising and back-end operation of the firm.

About Caerus3 Advisors & Think-Tank

Caerus3 Advisors is a Boutique Advisory Firm and Think Tank.  They are experts in assisting start-ups to get the requisite Funding (both Equity and Debt) and mentor them through the initial years of their growth. They have actively engaged in Transactional Advisory; Impact Post Covid-19; Organization Design and Enterprise Risk Management. 

Think Tank and Venture Philanthropy Foundation – PraRit Cares Foundation acts as a catalyst for the development of the Socio-Economic Agenda for our Clients and the Ecosystem at large. They are involved in the Human Capital Agenda and believe that People are Core to every Organization, Society at large.  The Learning & Development Center of Excellence Caerus3 GuruCool works towards developing the soft skills and sensitivity training curriculum.

A small interview session with the company CEO has helped us to take a sneak-peak in their journey to success.

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome ?

We are a Pandemic baby…(laughs) we started in May 2020 and yes hiring a Team, creating a presence, and getting Clients were not easy, especially with the lockdown and wave 1 and then wave 2.

We partnered very closely with our clients. Our team implemented a successful Work from the home strategy which will be till the next quarter 1 of next year.

Not having face-to-face interaction and brainstorming sessions were the main challenges in our operations.

We are perhaps a few firms that grew and operations during the pandemic. We also provided free food to over 3,000 homeless migrant workers during the two lockdowns.

Which one thing do you wish you’d done differently/ what style did you adopt ?

When I look back, the last 2 years have been challenging across the globe. As an organization and as an individual we have been emphatic towards our team, clients, and society at large.

As a leader, you have to lead from the front and be open to change.  If I had to take the clock back, the key challenge would be managing resources and being more agile to meet the demands of Work from Home in these challenging times.

What does revolution mean to you?

For us, revolution is adapting to change and delivering the best. Revolution can be experienced daily with this changing world. Revolution for me is changing for us. Change is the only thing constant. Adaption and acceptance are the Keynotes. Revolution is required to get rid of old remittances and mental blocks. In an organization important to re-energize and refocus.

How has the industry changed over the years?

If we talk about the change in Industry, we have come across from writing physical mails to now e-mails. The last 3 decades have been revolutionary in terms of technological changes and moreover people’s ability and desire to change.

Be it the equipment, instruments, machinery, technologies, or even the mindsets of the people, the industry standards have been kept on changing year by year. However, the biggest change which we can experience in today’s world is people’s ability to think beyond their capabilities to solve the world’s problem.

Tell us about the client base.

Our clientele adds:

Start-Ups & Early growth companies in different sectors like:

• EdTech
• Fintech
• Entertainment
• Logistics
• Data Science
• Technology & AI Robotics
• Health Care
• Fast Moving Consumer Goods
• Shared Financial Services
• Human Capital Agenda

When it comes to the company, what are you most proud of ?

My young Millennial Team, yes, we have lost to share our experiences with them and more importantly lots to learn from them.  I am proud that with the exception of my Partners the average age of our Team is 25 years and I am proud of the fact that despite the Pandemic we have a good Clientele and are doing good Business.

What do you see as the most difficult task in being in your Industry?

In this new world, changing the mindset of people and convincing them to think out of the box and accept the new normal. It feels good to see people passionate about their companies. However, getting them to think in a more practical and realistic manner sometimes becomes a challenge.

What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?

Managing the team and clients in the horrific Wave 2 of the Pandemic.

During wave 2, the world was surrounded by negativity and unhappiness. There was a day when all the team members were, and clients were down with COVID. Providing medical help to some and financial aid to some was critical at that moment.

This was the time when my decision-making ability was tested in a very big and critical way

How do you encourage creative thinking within your organization ?

As an organization, we closely work in the growth of every member and make sure they are appreciated and rewarded for their every successful task completion.

We firmly believe that every human comes with their own expertise and perhaps we help them to recognize their strength which not only creates a positive impact on our firm but also helps them to build their confidence for future challenges.

What are some of your future endeavors?

We are planning to expand in a big way, planning to open offices in NYC and London in coming years.  We remain focused on the start-up ecosystem and our socio-economic agenda through our Think Tank and Foundation.

What is the best advice you can give to our readers ?

Be open to change, embrace change, and more importantly be prepared for any disruptive event and technology which can cost the people and economy.

Grab every opportunity by the horns no matter how small it is and keep up your learning curves.

3 Mantras of business – Flexibility, Change & Learning.