Hola, amigos! Welcome to the last episode of Tiger Tales – the Women’s Day series. We hope you found our stories exhilarating.
Today, we are going to introduce you to one more distinctive woman of Vtiger. She is one of the oldest employees. She is a workaholic. She is Vidya!
Brace yourself for quite a progressive story!
Vidya Devaraj was born and brought up in Bangalore, India. In 2003, she completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce at Bangalore University and worked for Bhushan Corporation for a year.
In 2004, she joined Aplibase, which was the sister company of Vtiger. Back then, there were only eight employees in the company, including Vidya. She single-handedly managed hiring, finances, and administration. When Vtiger CRM was founded in 2009, Vidya became a part of it.
Woah… that’s 17 long years. Kudos to you, Vidya!
Vidya currently leads the HR team and manages responsibilities across:
- Administration – Handling day-to-day office activities, special occasions, and other administrative tasks
- Accounts and Finances – Monitoring the accounts in India and the USA, managing the company budget, paying the company taxes
- Recruitment – Taking care of the hiring process and the employees’ needs
- Billing – Invoicing the customers and providing them assistance regarding payments
Vidya is a reliable, core member of the Vtiger family. She has seen the ups and downs of the company and has worked tirelessly for its betterment.
”I remember the time Vtiger was not widely recognized. We have faced many struggles and strived to improve the CRM. As a result of our hard work, our customers have increased over the years. And today, Vtiger is globally recognized. Many prestigious institutions invite us to recruit their students”, she proudly says.
Being in the office and working for Vtiger has become Vidya’s way of life. She loves her work and says that she finds it thrilling to meet deadlines.
We asked what motivates her to go to the office every day. She says, ”Vtiger is like my home. The employees here are like my family.”
I’m sure all of us at Vtiger will agree on this – she is like a mother-figure to most of us. A person you can fall back on if you face any issue in Vtiger or in life.
Talking about her responsibilities, Vidya admits that she is always the decision-maker, but she is open to suggestions. She also wants to improve her managerial skills.
”I can delegate work to my team members, but I can’t force them to finish it on time. I try to be tough on the outside so that nobody takes advantage of me. But when somebody needs an extension, I fail to put my foot down and stand by my decision.”
We can surely relate to you, Vidya. We are humans, after all. ?
”How was working from home during quarantine?” we asked her.
”It was initially terrible because coordinating with the team was difficult. Working from home increased the workload. Tasks were delayed because of distractions, leading to backlogs. I feel that my personal and professional lives have merged. Since I am working from the office now, I have observed that work gets done faster. As our tasks have dependencies, we need to be in the office.”
Jumping into her personal life, Vidya is married to Devaraj M for the last 14 years.
”Initially, there was a little bit of friction in my marriage because I always prioritized Vtiger over everything. But things take time to settle. Marriage is also work; it needs patience and understanding from both parties. Once your partner understands your commitment and passion towards your profession, everything becomes easy.”, she reveals.
”How do you achieve a work-life balance?”
”My parents and my in-laws are very supportive, and they understand my dedication towards work. My husband never questioned me about working late or working more. He has been very co-operative. My kids have never demanded my time; instead, they push me to go to work. To be honest, my children are teenagers now, and I don’t remember being around them a lot while they grew up. I have always been there for Vtiger, day and night. I guess I’ve been lucky.”
Along with work, she also aspired to study CA, CS, or MBA. Since Vtiger has always been her first preference, she couldn’t go forward with her plan.
Hence, proved. Vidya’s dedication level = above par!
Aren’t you curious to know who inspires her? We are!
Vidya’s mother and her grandmother are her inspirations. They gave importance to education and encouraged her to be financially stable. She also looks up to Sreenivas Kanumuru (CEO of Vtiger) and Prasad A (CTO of Vtiger) as her mentors. ”Both of them have different personalities. Sreenivas is slightly lenient depending on situations, but Prasad is steadfast. I give both their examples to my children.”
”What principles did you grow up with?”
”My upbringing was very modern. My father always taught me to be strong and disciplined. He says there is nothing to worry about if you are on the right path. I personally also don’t like to draw a line between men and women. Women have the capability to do anything, without a doubt. If anyone tells me not to do something because I’m a woman, I defy it and attempt it. I don’t like to be categorized.”
Good going, Vidya! We’re proud of you.
Talking about her goals, Vidya recalls she always wished to work at an MNC.
”When I was in my early 20s, I used to see a Honeywell bus pass by my college every day. Since then, my dream was to be a part of a multinational company. Unknowingly, I have been working at one for ages. I am not sure about changing jobs because I have been in Vtiger for the longest time. I don’t know if I am ready for it. But I will work until I can.”
Vidya is also a fun-loving person. She enjoys folk music (Janapada geetegalu) and likes to play sports like badminton and kabaddi. She likes to travel to different countries once every two years. She eats whatever she wants but believes that to travel, one must be fit. So, she does Yoga every morning and goes walking in the evening. She was a part of the National Service Scheme (NSS) for five years.
Being independent and living in the present is her mantra for life. She advises everyone to be sportive and continue trying despite losing.
Vidya is friendly, confident, and assertive. She is a perfect example of how women can excel at work and manage their homes simultaneously.
Thank you for guiding, inspiring, and empowering us all the time. Keep shining! ?
This brings us to the end of the series. We hope our posts inspired you. Let us know your story in the comments below.
Until next time… Adiós, amigos!
