Rewarded as a Promising Entrepreneur of India by The Times of India, Shawez Shaikh is providing software services to startups and big clients. He is also into social service running road safety awareness campaigns and helping old-age homes. His is a riveting story.

Shawez Shaikh is a dynamic Entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Maven Cluster Software Pvt. Ltd. in Indore.

With a strong vision for digital transformation, he has led the company to become a trusted name in web and mobile application development. Alongside his entrepreneurial pursuits, Shawez is also committed to social causes, actively running campaigns to promote traffic safety awareness.

Entrepreneur Shawez Shaikh established Maven Cluster eight years ago, which has grown into a leading software development firm, collaborating with renowned clients such as Swiggy, Deloitte, McLaren, and Infosys. The company is also deeply invested in supporting startups, helping them scale their businesses through innovative digital solutions.

With expertise in E-commerce, Healthcare, and Agriculture, Maven Cluster specializes in SaaS-based products and services, offering cutting-edge technology solutions to meet diverse industry needs.

Shawez Shaikh’s entrepreneurial life is marked by significant milestones. In 2020, he was honored with the "Promising Entrepreneur of India" award by The Times of India, recognizing his contributions to the tech industry and the startup ecosystem.

Beyond awards, one of Shawez’s greatest achievements is to establish Maven Cluster as a credible and reliable brand in the market. He takes pride in the fact that major corporations like Deloitte not only work with them but also refer their clients to Maven Cluster.

Shawez Shaikh highlights that Maven Cluster’s success is largely driven by organic growth and effective digital marketing strategies. By leveraging data-driven insights and targeted marketing, the company attracts a high volume of client inquiries, allowing customers to directly share their development needs and business goals. With a passion for technology, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility, Shawez Shaikh continues to push boundaries, helping businesses and startups turn their digital visions into reality.

Shawez Shaikh was born in Sarangpur, Madhya Pradesh a small city with a distance of around 130 km from Indore, where he completed his schooling up to the 10th grade. He later shifted to Indore for his further studies. Reflecting on his academic life, Shaikh shares that he was not particularly strong in studies and often scored low marks.

Shaikh describes himself as an introvert during his early years. However, after relocating to Indore, he recognized the importance of communication and interpersonal skills in personal and professional success. This realization became a turning point, motivating him to actively work on self-improvement by developing strong communication abilities and interpersonal skills, qualities that later played a crucial role in shaping his entrepreneurial life.

Shaikh’s professional life began early when he started working at a café while he was in 11th grade. With a strong desire to improve his communication skills, he later joined an international BPO, where he worked without a salary for six months. This experience allowed him to hone his communication skills, but he realized he needed more exposure to people and opportunities.

Determined to push his limits, Shawez actively searched for jobs through newspapers and attended over 100 interviews, only to face constant rejection. However, instead of being discouraged, he focused on self-improvement, refining his skills and approach.

Initially, Shawez Shaikh had planned to limit his education to a graduation degree. However, with encouragement from his family, he decided to pursue post-graduation. During that phase, he realized the importance of academics and started focusing on his studies, ultimately securing 1st rank in post graduation. This achievement significantly boosted his confidence and motivation.

After completing his post-graduation, Shawez began his career in the field of HR Management in Gurgaon. However, he felt that the growth opportunities in the field of HRM were limited. Motivated towards greater challenges and career expansion, Shawez decided to switch to Marketing.

Alongside his job, Shawez Shaikh also ventured into teaching Personality Development and Communication Skills. Shaikh shares that while teaching others, he was also learning and refining his own skills, which played a crucial role in his personal and professional growth.

Talking about the process of entrepreneurship, Shawez Shaikh, highlights that after closely observing market trends, he realized that most businesses were shifting towards product-based models. However, he decided to venture into a service-based business, understanding that while both product and service-based businesses generate revenue, product-based businesses require initial investment before revenue grows over time, whereas service-based businesses can provide quicker returns.

CEO Shawez Shaikh further explains that he analysed the market to identify the demands and requirements of the industry. With this understanding, he started a business that provided tech support to established companies. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of his clients’ products were discontinued, leading to project closures for his company.

Despite the challenges, the company successfully rebounded post-pandemic by dividing its business into two major categories. The first is staff augmentation, where Maven Cluster provides dedicated resources to startups and large enterprises based on a monthly service model. The second category focuses on fixed-price product development, where the company delivers complete end-to-end solutions, developing products from scratch to final implementation for clients.

After gaining insights from other startups, Shawez Shaikh and his team are now gearing up to launch a new venture called Egg Express. The idea behind this product stems from the daily needs of fitness enthusiasts and gym-goers who require boiled eggs as part of their diet early in the morning. Egg Express aims to provide a hassle-free solution, ensuring easy access to fresh, ready-to-eat boiled eggs.

With a clear vision and strategic roadmap, Shaikh plans to scale this concept from a B2C (Business-to-Consumer) model to a B2B (Business-to-Business) approach, allowing them to collaborate with gyms, fitness centers, and other businesses in the health and nutrition sector.

Founder of Maven Cluster, Shawez Shaikh shares some crucial lessons which he got from the mistakes he made along the way. One of the major errors he acknowledges is his over-excitement in the early stages of his business, which led him to hire a larger team despite having low revenue. He believed that a bigger team would signify success and bring recognition. However, this approach didn’t generate enough revenue, and he struggled to manage the business effectively.

Tech Entrepreneur Shawez Shaikh also highlights another mistake: taking on big projects without fully understanding the complexities of timely project delivery. This led to delays, causing payments to be blocked and ultimately making it difficult for the company to pay its employees on time.

In addition, Shawez Shaikh also emphasizes the importance of creating a clear project blueprint. He advises that every project should be divided into two distinct phases. The first phase should focus on designing the layout and conducting a thorough analysis, ensuring the client has ample time for review and cross-checking. Only after receiving the client's confirmation, you should proceed with the second phase, which is the development phase. This approach helps ensure clarity, reduces the risk of errors, and improves client satisfaction.

Furthermore, Shawez Shaikh also cautions against the mistake of rapidly expanding your business in correlation with the growing revenue. While the revenue growth seemed promising, the unforeseen impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to scale back operations. Recognizing the need for a more sustainable approach, Shawez shifted the company’s focus toward staff augmentation, ensuring smooth operations and more consistent revenue to support ongoing business activities.

Additionally, Shawez realized that contract-based work was not sufficient, as contracts have limited time periods. To address this, they started focusing on fixed-price projects. Currently, the company is working on a number of high-profile projects, including one in Jordan and another for Netflix. Shawez emphasizes that mistakes provide essential learnings, which ultimately help in growing and enhancing the business.

Advising the young generation, Shaikh states that the startup ecosystem can often be a bubble, and warns not to fall into that trap. He further suggests that before starting any business, you must work in a company for at least 5-6 years to understand how a business operates. He emphasizes that a successful startup is one that can solve a problem, whether small or big, in the market.

Shaikh also advises against blindly following or running behind investors. He explains that bringing in investors can increase the number of stakeholders in the company, which may reduce the decision-making power. Instead, he encourages individuals to build and set up a business in such a way that it does not rely on external investors for growth and sustainability.

Talking about role models, Shawez Shaikh states that for him, his parents are the biggest role models and sources of inspiration. His family has always been a strong pillar of support throughout his professional life. Additionally, he finds inspiration in figures like Mark Zuckerberg and the founder of McDonald's, admiring their entrepreneurial spirit and achievements.

Apart from these individuals, Shawez Shaikh also draws inspiration from books. He recently read a book that shaped his understanding of wealth creation. Reflecting on the lessons from the book, he emphasizes that a luxurious lifestyle is generated through extra income, not just from regular income. This insight has played a significant role in his approach to entrepreneurship and personal growth.

He further shares that he also learns from his clients, such as Dhananjay from the US, who has been a great source of knowledge and inspiration. In addition, he learns from other founders of IT companies, like Mitesh Sir from Infomeal. Shawez refers to these individuals as "silent mentors" from whom he continuously learns and draws motivation. He believes that inspiration can come from everywhere, and anything or anyone that inspires you can be considered a mentorship.

Shawez Shaikh finds happiness in a variety of activities, and his joy is often reflected in how others feel around him. Currently, he is actively engaging in social causes, running campaigns to raise awareness about traffic rules and to discourage people from spitting on roads. In addition, he enjoys visiting old-age homes to listen to the stories of elderly residents, finding inspiration in their experiences.

Shawez Shaikh also takes pleasure in helping students by providing internships to give them opportunities to learn and grow in their careers. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a happy, positive, and excited outlook on life. His advice to others is to always remain happy and to enjoy every moment. He believes in the power of self-love, stressing that personal growth is vital, whether it's improving one's appearance or professionally enhancing oneself.