Interviews at The Entrepreneur Center @NVTC

An Interview with Prashanth "PV" Boccasam, CEO, Approva
July 31, 2006

You might have thought Prashanth Boccasam's company would be doomed when he opened the doors nearly five years ago. Approva was launched a month after 9/11, when the economy was at a low point and before a large market existed for the company's software, which helps companies automate their financial controls to comply with corporate governance rules. But since Approva's launch in 2001, it has raised $30 million in venture capital from firms like Novak Biddle, Columbia Capital, and New Enterprise Associates and attracted large clients like Procter & Gamble and Microsoft. While the 200-employee company doesn't release revenue figures, Boccasam says it has grown in double digits every quarter since its launch. The 38-year-old has had some success in entrepreneurship. He launched Entevo Corp., in 1995 and sold it in January 2000 for $125 million to BindView Corp. Previously, he spent more than seven years at Microsoft, developing and managing projects in the company's systems division and later in its worldwide consulting groups. Originally from India, Boccasam came to the Washington area in 1995.  Approva was a finalist in NVTC's Hot Ticket Awards for Hottest Buzz. 

Tania Anderson, for Bisnow on Business:  How did your company make that Buzz list?
I have no idea. I could guess given that we've got VCs here in the region that know us.  

How important is “buzz” for a company like yours?
I think buzz builds employee camaraderie. The day I opened shop at Approva, we were on the front page of The Washington Post. The article was about how do you take an idea and create an industry. That was my starting position--before Sarbanes Oxley was created. It helps create a level of excitement around the company, and helps introduce the company to the public. 

How involved are you in the way your company is discussed in the media?
I used to be pretty involved in shaping the Approva brand to what it is today from everything to what the logo looks like to the way we talk about our business. Now we have a great marketing department.  

It seems like buzz would be hard to control sometimes. Have you found any smart ways to control what is said about your company?
Staying true to your core and what you're about is the only way you can control what can be said about your company. In my opinion, the best way to control what is said about your company is the company you keep. For example, we have on our board not only the four top investors, we have Harvey Pitt, the former SEC chairman, and we've got an outstanding advisory board. 

What's your elevator pitch for what Approva does?
We're at the intersection of where good corporate governance meets good corporate performance. We keep CFOs and CEOs out of jail. But more importantly we help CFOs and chief compliance officers and CEOs to really give shareholders and investors the confidence that they have the right controls in place. We provide insight on how things could go horribly wrong and how things could be better.  

What drives your revenue?
Sarbanes Oxley has been a key driver for us. So are failed financial audits and companies like MCI and Global Crossing that haven't been able to produce their financial results on time for investors. The other key drivers are massive ERP upgrades as well as large M&A transactions like MCI Verizon.

Who are your customers?
We typically focus on global 1000 companies across every vertical. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a big customer. We have eight of the 10 recognizable pharmaceutical companies in the world. We have eight of the top 10 brand names in the world like Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Intel, Washington Post, SE Johnson, Haliburton, Siemens.  

What's the biggest challenge of running a company like Approva?
It's really about scaling the company to be $100 million in the next two to three years. Putting the right people, the right processes, having the right technologies to scale the company. 

How would you like Approva to be perceived?
I want Approva to be the good housekeeping seal for every company that wants to produce clean, auditable financial results.  

What do you think makes a good leader?
I was asking my 14-year-old nephew the same question. He said it's the ability to inspire people. I thought it was pretty cool for a 14 year old to grasp that. A leader also needs to be a root in the plant. The root's job is to provide a solid foundation and a framework and to provide all the nutrients so he can bear fruit. If you have a strong root, you'll have a strong trunk. If you have a strong trunk then you'll have great branches. Great branches produce great leaves and great leaves produce great fruits. Unlike being on top of the pyramid, my view of being a leader is that I should be at the root to build a solid foundation. The true fruit bearers are the front line employees, people doing customer support, sales people.  

Are there certain aspects of good leadership that you personally are still working on?
Patience with people. Learning that not everybody runs at the same pace or has a full picture all the time. 

What got you interested in business, specifically technology?
I'm the only businessman in my entire family. They're either engineers or doctors. While I have both my graduate and undergraduate degrees in computer science, my experience at Microsoft gave me exposure to understanding how a business is run end to end. I saw Microsoft grow from 3,000 to 30,000 employees. It was an amazing thing to see happen. I thought that I could use that experience to launch products on my own. I'm a bit of a risk taker. I was fairly young when I started my first company. I was 26 then. It's an important part of the learning process where you begin to learn to take risks and manage those risks properly. It's a fun part of being in business.  

What was your first experience with technology?
It's probably the Commodore 64. I think I probably wrote my first computer program in the 7th grade. Ever since then I was hooked. I wasn't a big computer gaming player. I was into creating end user experiences. It was exhilarating and frustrating at the same time. My lifelong quest was to make technology ubiquitous but friendly.  

Do you stay connected to India?
I speak seven Indian languages. I'm finally putting it to use as globalization spreads. As I meet people from my own country, they all speak different languages. I can relate to a lot more people. It helps to break the ice a little bit. There are 34 official languages in India and about 108 different dialects.

What do you do in your free time?
I've got a lovely 4½ year old daughter. She's 4½ going on 14. I spend as much free time with her as possible. She practices her Spanish on me and I on her. I help my wife who runs a bilingual school. I helped her get the entrepreneurial bug to start her own preschool that teaches language to children. She teaches Spanish, Mandarin, French and Arabic to kids from 1 through 5. If you focus on niche markets, there's such tremendous potential.  I'm also a very early riser. I'm up at 5:30. I get out on the golf course at 6:15. I do 9 holes before 9 a.m.  :)