Preet Raj has made waves in the tech industry, changing the way businesses engage, connect and interact with their consumers online. Named one of the Top 10 CTOs to Watch in 2022 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Preet has always been in the driving seat of technology innovation and has been working with Web Security, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning since his early undergraduate days, for which he possesses multiple patents. He's an industry speaker, a mentor and advisor to many technology startups, and an active member of many communities for startup founders where he lends his expertise and experience in building products, scaling technology, and teams.
We contacted Bakstage CTO & Founder, Preet Raj, for more info on his journey and the platform, who went on to speak about Bakstage, big social media, the importance of building communities, and how businesses need to adapt to the changing consumer behavior. We talked about his journey in tech, and his rise to where he is today.
Hello Preet, how are you today? We would love to learn more about you and your journey before digging into our other questions.
"I'm doing great! Thanks so much for asking."
"So, I came to the States in 2011 to pursue my Master's in Computer Science. Since then, I've worked for top investment banks on Wall Street like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley & J.P Morgan, leading and building products, and teams, and contributing to building culture."
"My constant drive to be in the driving seat of innovation and tech advancements helped me join and build products at some amazing startups after my journey at these amazing corporations. I was fortunate enough to have had these opportunities to drive innovation, head engineering, build some world-class tech teams and build products that generate multi-million in revenue."
"Many of them became award-winning platforms. For instance, I led the development of FLYX to be one of the Best Apps of 2020 at the Google PlayStore. FX Hedge Pool also received numerous awards and acclaim. I also pride myself for being able to assemble kickass teams in these ventures. I wanted to take that success and learnings while building Bakstage."
"Overall, I'd say that my journey as an immigrant founder has been a lot of fun with many ups and downs and I'm happy for all the opportunities I've created for myself and others during this journey."
Wow! That is quite the resume you've got! Can you tell us a bit about your company and What your mission is?
"We started Bakstage with the sole purpose of empowering businesses by helping them adapt to the changing consumer behavior and take their customer experiences to a whole new level all while gaining 1st Party consented data. The average attention span of a user is less than 10 seconds, so a brand has at most 10 seconds to convert the user into a customer. That's where we come in, we personalize and humanize the customer experience using our 2-way live streaming which is smart enough to deliver amazing engaging content to users at the right time thereby boosting conversion."
That is very interesting! What does your typical day look like?
"Normally my day begins early in the morning around 7:30 - 8 am catching up with team members. After that, I need my daily coffee before I get on with the rest of my day. Then I try to spend about 20-30 mins catching up with general news or news related to my industry. I get some quiet time in the morning that I use for catching up on emails, organizing my day, and prepping for any meetings in the day."
"Most of the day is talking to clients and potential clients learning about their needs and how I can be helpful to them, meetings with the team to catch up on tech and product roadmaps and routine catchup with my co-founder on company priorities, brainstorming ideas and decisions."
What has been your favorite part of your Entrepreneurial Journey?
"The favorite and most exciting part of my journey has to be the amazing team that we were able to assemble. I'm a strong believer that a strong and amazing team can take any idea and make it successful but not necessarily the other way around."
Tell us about your team?
"Our team consists of experts in ad-tech, design, data, and content. We are innovators and builders who understand the changing consumer behavior, importance of owning consumer data, and the future of consumer privacy, and are on a mission to help brands build deeper relationships with their consumers. We have one of the best leadership teams that any startup can hope for. We compliment each other in the best possible way, "
What's next for Bakstage, Preet?
"For brands and businesses, I think we'll become the obvious choice for digital consumer engagement that truly caters to changing consumer behavior. For users, when they see "Powered By Bakstage" on any website it should automatically instill trust and authenticity in their minds. We want Bakstage to reflect that."
Preet Raj is on track to break new ground with Bakstage, as brands begin to desire a greater level of engagement with their customers. As Preet Raj works to add more features and widgets to enrich the experience, it's obvious that brands will undoubtedly flock to the no-code live engagement platform.
