“A leader is always quick to adapt to change as things come their way, but will remain focused and persistent. If there is a will, there’s a way,” confidently stated by Reena Gupta, Founder and CEO of Avankia.
Avankia is a consulting company specializing in CRM solutions development, technology consulting for SasS and cloud-based applications. It provides products and services which guide its clients to adopt best practices and ways to solve their organization’s unique challenges. Avankia’s apps are built on the Salesforce.com platform––which include: TargetRecruit, a cloud-based Talent Management and human capital solution for companies to manage their entire business and workforce; DBSync, which is a leading provider of data replication and application integration for CRM’s, Accounting Packages and Databases; and AccountingBook,, which allows customers to store, manage, track, analyze and report financial data in the cloud.
Avankia is focused on helping companies leverage the latest technologies so they can run their business optimally, more profitable and successful, no matter what type of business or industry. Avankia has dedicated employees, located in various parts of North America, Europe, and South East Asia. This Nashville-headquartered company is at the forefront of today’s Software as a Service (SAAS) and Client Relationship Management (CRM) software revolution. Avankia is featured on the “Inc. 500”, and has been named one of Middle Tennessee’s 50 fastest-growing companies two years in a row.
Most Versatile Entrepreneur
Reena is not only the Founder of Avankia, but also the CEO of TargetRecruit, one of Avankia’s apps. TargetRecruit is a leading ecosystem of talent management applications built on the Force.com platform. Founding the company in 2008 as an Applicant Tracking System, Reena’s vision was to expand the platform into an ecosystem of apps that would enable companies to run every aspect of their business in the cloud.
Reena holds her Masters in Computer Applications. Before she began her career, Reena was born and raised in Danapur, Bihar, India with her family. After she married, she and her husband moved to the United States and where she began working as an IT consultant for 3 years in various roles–from developer to project manager. She then joined a startup company as a Chief Technical Architect, but was later acquired and eliminated her position. Fortunately, the newly merged company asked her to return, which motivated her to start consulting on her own. Being a mom and an entrepreneur, she rejoined part time as an independent consultant for flexible working hours. This is where she had leveraged time management to work and still be involved as a new mom.
“The key to building a foundation for my career was to identify opportunity, take advantage when it presented itself, and then start building on that. My career only evolved from there,” Reena says proudly.
Reena has been selected as one of the top executives by Business TN and has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, CRN’s Women of the Channel 5 years in a row, and also featured as a distinguished professional in her field for the New York-based publication, Women of Distinction Magazine.
Reena’s main inspiration is her Mother from whom she learnt to find out what her talents are outside of the home. Reena was from a family where there was no concept of working women, but she married and thankfully had a family that supported her career and having her own identity.”
Currently, Reena is staying in the Bay Area, California with her husband and two children. Being a family-oriented person, Reena involves herself with her kids’ project activities. In her own time, she loves to paint, enjoys watching movies, and finds joy in thrilling activities and extreme sports.
Reena’s Key Traits
According to Reena, 3 key traits, that when combined, will bring much success in any career:
First, Time management, learn to prioritize and make time for what’s most important. Second, Seize opportunities as they come to you; you never know if you will get the opportunity again. And third, Make analytical, quick decisions based on available information.
“Know that what you do each day is good enough; do the best you can.”
Reena’s biggest beliefs are in priorities and time management. “I personally don’t believe in the word balance, but many people do. If you constantly seek balance, you can become stressed and feel like you may not always get things done. Instead, what I try to do is compartmentalize each day and use that as a guide of where I need to put my focus most,” Reena shared.
Listening to Customer’s Pain Points
According to Reena, she feels the biggest lesson a business will learn is from the most unhappiest customer, at the same time be loyal to your customer. Avankia provides 24/5 support to their customers––whether that is for troubleshooting, implementation, quick questions or customization requests. They’ll do whatever it takes to ensure their clients have the best experience possible, and continue to adapt to new technologies and changes to stay competitive for long-term success and growth.
Looking for new opportunities
Avankia believes in new opportunities, which will be strategically aligned with their company and vision. They are quick to adapting to changes and run the company on an agile methodology.
With cloud technology, they see their business growing in various markets. They have carved out multiple verticals, such as the healthcare market. Also, expecting great opportunities in other areas like VMS and MSP.