We caught up with the brilliant and insightful AJ Aluthwala a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

AJ , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

So KallistoTech was born out of adversity. It was a crazy risk me and my co-founder, Ravi, took when I got laid off from my job near Christmas. Looking back, starting KallistoTech when we did was a beautiful accident. My friend and I had been taking up work in our free time for around a year, designing websites and branding projects. It was a way to fuel our creative fire and bring in some extra cash for our families – we both loved it.

Maybe if we’d started sooner, we could have reaped the rewards earlier too. We could have quit our day jobs sooner – enjoyed the freedom to spend time with our loved ones on our own terms when we were younger. But honestly, the timing, as crazy as it was, ended up being perfect.

Here’s why: necessity became the mother of invention. Faced with the harsh reality of unemployment, that side hustle became our lifeline. We had the skills, a network of happy clients, and the sheer will to create a better future for ourselves and our families. KallistoTech was born not out of some grand plan, but from the raw need to turn a challenge into opportunity.

Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. The scrappiness of those early days, the pressure of making it work – that fueled our fire and our growth. We built something real, something that went from kitchen table brainstorming to a global team. So, while starting sooner might have been nice, the urgency and determination sparked by that layoff – well, that was pure magic.

AJ , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a serial entrepreneur with a passion for helping businesses win online. That passion led me to build KalllistoTech, a digital agency that acts as your growth partner. Based out of Tampa, Florida, we have another office in Canada, and we’ve worked with leaders in a number of industries.

We ditch the one-size-fits-all approach and focus on solving specific business challenges that our clients face. We offer a variety of digital solutions including crafting websites that convert visitors into customers, SEO that attracts the right audience, building custom mobile apps, and driving revenue through paid ads.

Our clients think of us as an extension to their team as we take care of all their technology requirements leaving them to focus on what they do best – running their business. Enablement through innovation is our passion and we take pride in solving our client’s business challenges through the creative use of cutting edge tech.

The thing I’m most proud of? Easily my beautiful family, but a close second is witnessing the success stories of our clients. Seeing small businesses we’ve partnered with reach new heights and crush their targets – that’s what gets me out of bed every single day.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

It all started with evenings and weekends! My friend and I, both with young families to support, wanted to make some extra cash. So, we moonlighted, designing websites and crafting brands for friends and family. It wasn’t a lot of work initially, and the income was definitely on the “ramen noodle” side of things. But, we loved the work, and the dream of building a better future for our families fueled our hustle. We figured this would be our side hustle forever.

Then, December 2016 hit. Just days before Christmas with a newborn at home, I got the dreaded news – laid off. Talk about a punch to the gut! Looking at my amazing wife, our son, and our brand-new daughter, fear choked me. How would I explain a lean Christmas?

It was during that conversation with my friend, venting about the layoff, that things took a turn. He, ever the optimist, proposed a bold idea: take control of our destinies and start our own business. We decided right there, that night, to turn this setback into an opportunity. KallistoTech was born, and that’s when the magic happened.

Our past hustle paid off big time. We had a network of happy clients who became our biggest cheerleaders. They threw us more projects, referred us to others, and our business snowballed. From that kitchen-table start-up, we’ve grown to a point where KallistoTech has now worked with leaders in a variety of industries across the United States. It’s been a wild ride, but thanks to my amazing co-founder, our team, and those initial nights designing websites, here we are.

Some key milestones along the way.

– Setting up an office in Canada

– Winning the Small Business of the Year Award from the Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce in 2020

– Expanding our team with talent from Sri Lanka, India and Philippines.

Any advice for managing a team?

Managing a team is like building a championship squad – it’s all about the right talent and fostering a winning culture. You can’t do everything, so surrounding yourself with skilled individuals who complement your strengths and augment your weaknesses (and who you can rely on!) is crucial. That’s why I focus heavily on hiring for talent and cultural fit. It’s like identifying that all-star player who not only elevates their game but lifts the entire team’s performance.

Here’s the trick: Once you’ve assembled your dream team, you need to create an environment where they can thrive. That’s where company culture comes in. Imagine you’ve recruited a world-class sculptor, but you hand them a lump of clay and tell them to get to work in a dark basement. Not exactly a recipe for success, right?

Three practices I believe help elevate my team and get them motived are:

– Clear communication: Everyone needs to know the game plan. We don’t believe in spending (wasting) time in meetings, but at the same time, especially when your team is distributed, a few strategic meetings can go a long way. All of our meetings end with action points to ensure our time is spent productively and we have concrete steps we want to take.

Recognition and appreciation: Just like any athlete thrives on praise, acknowledging a team member’s contributions, big or small, goes a long way. A simple “thank you” or a public shout-out can work wonders for morale. We use a tool called Motivosity that allows our team members to appreciate their colleagues publicly, and these callouts can also be attached to a cultural value to reinforce them further.

Empowerment and ownership: Trust your team members! Delegate tasks, provide them with the resources they need, and give them the autonomy to make decisions. We don’t believe in micromanagin our team, if the work gets done, on time to the expected quality what’s there to worry about. This fosters a sense of ownership and accountability, which gives them increased motivation to achieve their goal at the highest level.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kallistotech.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kallistotech/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kallistotech
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kallistoart
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kallistoart
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConnectTalkOfficial

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