The True Key Person of #BornGlobal: The Real Story of the CTO Who Built One of India's Leading Tech Teams in Three Years
“Pets are family members.” For Shiv Whorra, CTO of A'ALDA, this phrase is not just an ideal but a daily driving force.
Having gotten his first dog on his seventh birthday, Shiv grew up surrounded by various pets, nurturing a deep love for them since childhood. Since then, pets have become an indispensable part of his life.
After building his career at a silverware retail chain and educational institutions, Shiv joined A'ALDA in 2020. Meeting the founders who shared his passion for the pet industry significantly changed his life.
As the CTO of A'ALDA, he strives daily to bring technology to the veterinary industry. From scratch, he established animal hospitals in India and built the technical foundation.
He has faced the challenge of maintaining high-quality veterinary care while adapting to local cultures. Though securing top talent was challenging, he prioritized high aspirations and teamwork in hiring, building a strong development team unique to A'ALDA.
Shiv, who built a development team from scratch, shares his journey, what he values in engineering recruitment, and his efforts towards “digitization” that revolutionizes pet health management using medical data.
The Gift on My Seventh Birthday Might Have Determined My Future
I have always lived surrounded by animals since childhood. Not just dogs, but also rabbits, birds, hamsters, fish, turtles, and various other pets.
One of my clearest memories is getting my first dog as a birthday present when I was seven. Looking back, that moment might have set the course for my future.
Until then, my family and house help took care of the pets while I just played with them. In India, it's quite common to hire help for household chores, including walking the dog or taking them to the vet.
But once we got a dog, I started taking care of it myself. I had always wanted a dog, but once I got one, I developed an unprecedented attachment. In my family, dogs are considered family members, just as important as human family members.
Now, I have a rescue dog at home. We rescued it from the streets. We also have a shelter outside our home for two more dogs. Pets are an essential part of my life, and the time spent with them is irreplaceable.
However, entering the pet industry as a profession was something I never anticipated. In India, typical jobs related to animals used to be limited to zookeepers or trainers. There weren’t many options, and I didn’t have any special attachment to the pet industry.
A Heart Stirred by the Vision, Leading to the Birth of Our Core Business... All in One Interview
I was introduced to A'ALDA through a lawyer friend who was working with Ohhun Kwon (the COO). Kwon was looking for talent in India, and my friend invited me to meet him.
Honestly, I wasn’t planning to join a company at that stage. I went for the interview out of courtesy to my friend. However, I was vaguely thinking, "I want to try something new, I want a change," and my friend gave me that opportunity.
When I first met Kwon, he passionately shared the company’s vision. It felt more like a pitch from A'ALDA than an interview. At that time, there were no specific technical plans, but while discussing the challenges in the pet industry, ideas like "pet insurance" emerged. I even remember suggesting the "digitization of pet insurance."
Talking with him was simply exciting. More than anything, Kwon's vision for A'ALDA resonated deeply with me. Working together, we could make the world a better place for animals. I had never imagined such a grand dream.
I was confident in my business management and high-level leadership consulting skills as an IT engineer, but I thought it would be difficult to find fulfilling work with animals in India unless I was a veterinarian. But Kwon said, “You can do bigger things for animals.” His passion moved me.
Reflecting on it, there were three main points that resonated with me about A'ALDA. First, A'ALDA was very open to new ideas. Second, the business background was well-researched and planned. Third, I felt there were opportunities to work with animals.
Kwon explained the Indian pet market in detail. His content wasn’t a random collection of ideas but based on a solid plan. During our discussions, many ideas emerged for the future direction of the business, and he seemed excited. His open and flexible attitude made me think, "I can realize my ideas with this company." I felt I could contribute in my way without being constrained.
And most importantly, I felt the pure love for animals from the members of A'ALDA. I believed I could share the joy of working for animals with them. Such an ideal job opportunity might never come again.
Just one interview made my heart decide. Salary and other conditions were secondary; I was drawn to the vision.
Working with Animals to Contribute to Their Happiness—The Biggest Reason for Joining A'ALDA
The biggest reason for joining A'ALDA was the opportunity to work with animals and contribute to their happiness. I might have instinctively realized that A'ALDA had much larger potential than just managing animal hospitals based on a long-term vision.
Initially, we didn’t even have a plan for the SaaS business or an intuitive electronic medical record and accounting system, which are now our future-making projects. But during the interview, the conversation naturally led to "Why not digitize it?" and the "Pet Tech" project started quickly.
Positive Feedback from India: Now, It’s Time to Expand to Japan!
Combining technology and veterinary medicine presented significant challenges. This was an unprecedented endeavor in both Japan and India, meaning we had to start from scratch. There were no past examples or templates to follow, making it truly pioneering work.
When I joined A'ALDA, there were no offices or hospitals in India. I recall my first task vividly: I had to guide Dr. Theresa W. Fossum, a leading authority in American veterinary medicine, and CEO Masa (Masamichi Okuda) during their visit to India. We sat in a garden, discussing the future of veterinary medicine in India and Asia.
From there, I began hiring hospital staff. Without the luxury of relying on recruitment agencies, I personally searched for candidates, contacted them, and conducted daily interviews. Although my title is CTO now, in the first year, I had an entrepreneurial mindset, doing whatever was necessary.
I handled everything from recruitment interviews to marketing and system construction. Even setting up the call management system was done through trial and error. Preparation took 2-3 months, so the electronic medical record project started in earnest around September or October 2020.
Initially, we did not have an in-house technical team and relied on external vendors, thinking it would be faster than building it internally for a small system aimed at the Indian market. I handled everything myself, from gathering feedback to defining product requirements and planning.
I had no prior experience developing hospital management systems. Starting from understanding the operations from a business perspective and how doctors worked, we began the project in April 2020 and released it in October. The initial version had few functions, but we continued to improve, incorporating accounting mechanisms by April 2021.
After using the system in India for about 1-2 years, we started receiving positive feedback from veterinarians, staff, and users. This led to the idea of localizing it for use in Japan.
Of course, localizing it for Japan was not easy. Over more than a year, we discussed and refined the system with local staff, aiming to evolve it further into a platform that could be provided to other animal hospitals. For this, we needed an in-house development team. Thus, in December 2021, we decided to build an internal development team.
With a Good Mindset, Both People and Teams Can Evolve Significantly in Three Months
Building the initial team was a series of great challenges.
As an unknown startup with no office or equipment to boast of, finding senior engineers to work with us was extremely difficult. Almost all interviews ended in rejection. So, we decided to hire fresh junior engineers and nurture them from scratch, gradually building the team.
The IT industry in India has a high turnover rate. To maintain the team in such a fluid market, senior-level recruitment and retention are crucial. However, we started by building a team around fresh graduates.
The initial development team had about 18 members, with 7-8 engineers, all fresh graduates with skills to be developed. While nurturing them, we gradually succeeded in hiring senior engineers. We slowly transitioned from outsourcing development to in-house. As core members settled in, more experienced engineers joined, and our development capabilities improved, bringing our ideal team into view.
In recruitment, what I value most might seem like core technical skills... but that's the minimum requirement. What I particularly look for in interviews is the candidate’s attitude and personality. Technical skills are assessed in the second interview, while in the final interview, I focus more on human aspects.
For example, the willingness to learn and grow, teamwork attitude, work performance in previous jobs, and relationships with colleagues. Whether they like pets is important, but I seek people with a pure passion for work, the desire to challenge new things, and improve their skills.
It's hard to judge these qualities in interviews alone, but I’ve refined my questioning techniques to uncover the candidates' true nature, continually iterating on the PDCA cycle.
My policy is to focus on leveling up every three months. Challenges that seem difficult now will become easy to solve in three months. Continuously evolving like this is what leads to the company's growth.
Reflecting on problems that seemed significant three months ago, they now appear trivial. I discuss the importance of this mindset with Kwon. This is why I constantly question myself, never forgetting the attitude of continuous learning.
Striving towards high goals is the driving force behind A'ALDA.
As a result of this cycle, the future of the tech team, A'ALDA, and the veterinary industry looks bright. The remarkable growth A'ALDA has achieved in just 4-5 years reflects this expectation.
The company that started with a few people now has 700 members worldwide, including over 100 in India. This shows how many people resonate with our vision.
Advancing Japan’s Animal Hospitals with Digitization
Regarding the current state of animal hospitals in Japan, overall, I think they are wonderful. Even small hospitals are meticulously organized and systematized. However, I feel the response to digitization is lagging.
For instance, one hospital keeps patient records in files and folders covering an entire wall. This makes it very difficult to find and search for necessary information. Promoting digitization is a future challenge.
There are two benefits of digitization. One is improving operational efficiency. It makes it easier to manage relationships with customers and quickly retrieve patient records. Managing appointments also becomes easier.
The second is enhancing the customer experience. Many hospitals still take appointments over the phone, but with digitization, reservations can be completed with a single click. This is convenient for both pet owners and hospitals. In the future, hospitals will be able to directly share medical records with customers.
In hospitals where our system has been introduced, these changes are already emerging. Through reminder emails for appointments, they can effectively manage touchpoints with customers. Upon visiting, they can quickly retrieve necessary records with the new electronic medical record system and instantly search related past records.
In summary, the key for Japanese animal hospitals to move forward is digitization. It's important for hospitals to proactively discuss digitization and raise awareness among themselves. We believe it’s ideal for the drive for change to come from within the industry, not just from companies like us.
A Message to My Colleagues at A'ALDA and Those Who Will Join
No matter what anxieties you may have, believe in A'ALDA's vision and keep moving forward. Our goal is to create a happy world for pets. Let's work together, united in our efforts toward this ideal.
“Let's work together to improve the pets' life!”