“From a very young age, I trained myself to become an effective leader with a global view,” says Ran Rachlin. He is Ubertesters’ Co-Founder and CEO, as well as an accomplished, well-rounded senior executive with substantial global expertise in a variety of sectors.
Ran’s first job was a sales position in a Hi-tech Israeli company that sold products globally.
He moved to the USA so he could live and study in the ‘center’ of where things actually happen. He advanced in roles, holding several high-profile management positions, doing business in all 6 continents and different industries, and with several large companies.
In 2013, Ran decided to leave the “safety” of corporate life and co-founded Ubertesters, a startup in the field of software testing. He says, “The challenge was how to ‘create something from nothing’ with no initial funding, no immediate salary to support my family, and no future guarantees. It all started with an idea based on a true “pain” I had, and a few years later, that dream became a reality with hundreds of clients, many employees, and a profitable company. ”
Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Ran Rachlin.
Describe Ubertesters’ offerings that address the needs of your customers.
Ubertesters offers a complete, end-to-end, software testing solution for digital products to help organisations beta test their digital products prior to launching them. The holistic solution includes: (1) a SaaS product—a robust platform to manage the entire mobile beta testing process and teams; (2) a crowd testing service of global, professional testers for hire with devices (like ‘LYFT’ but for QA experts) for the most flexible and cost effective global testing under real-life conditions; and (3) offshore outsourcing services of remote QA experts on a full-time basis based in the company’s East European facilities.
Thus, any organisation with a need for software testing can find the right solution with us to help them launch their product with confidence.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in this industry through your expertise in the industry?
I’m a great believer in the “sharing economy” (or gig economy) term that allows companies to use available resources to benefit clients, while allowing the resources to earn money. I helped implement this within the software testing segment. One of the major changes we do is providing the opportunity for young, inexperienced QA people who just finished their QA education, to gain experience in the QA and testing world. We work with many QA schools around the world and allow the recent graduates to get their first testing experience by working for us as freelance testers. It allows them to earn money during their free time, but more importantly, it allows them to gain the needed testing experience and put this experience on their resume while looking for their first job opportunity in the IT world.
What people, what books, what life factors have influenced and impacted you?
My favourite book is still a book I read early on when I was in undergraduate school. It’s called How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It really shaped my life and helped me to better understand people and human nature in general. I strongly believe that it made me a better sales person and relate to people throughout my career.
As for people, I must name two people that have impacted me the most: Steve Jobs and Richard Branson. Steve Jobs changed the entire electronics world. From inventing the apple back in the ’70s to introducing the Apple iPhone in 2007, no one has changed the game more than Steve Jobs has. And Richard Branson is a passionate serial entrepreneur that truly inspired me.
Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organisation to sustain operations and ensure the safety of your employees at the same time?
There are two main aspects of change. The human aspect and the technology/logistics aspect. From the technology aspect, we needed to improve our automation of processes and digitalization, improve our virtual meetings capabilities (better tools, adapt to new ways of communications), add body temperature measurement equipment at the office entrance, allow online access to products and services, etc. However, the human and leadership aspects are even more challenging. Our team needs to adjust to working remotely from home. This means a different (and more difficult) work environment, but also more flexibility because employees are now available almost 24/7.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drive Ubertesters.
We believe that our core values shape our work culture, and inspire our employees to do more for our customers, and as a result, they are better motivated. Our work culture puts the customer, and superior customer service at the true center. This is our DNA as a company and it starts with me as the CEO. Further, we believe in accountability and recognition. All employees must be accountable for achieving their goals and the company goals. As the leader, I follow their work and either hold them accountable when underperforming or recognise a job well done.
What do you envision yourself being in the long run and what are your future goals for Ubertesters?
As for my own personal plans, I see myself continuing to develop my company, Ubertesters, and making sure it continues to grow.
As for Ubertesters, we aspire to become the #1 global player in the field of crowdsourced testing within the next 3 years.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs?
The most important advice is “take Care of Your Team”. Have conviction in your team and let them shine, but also be prepared to accept responsibility when things don’t go as planned. Help your employees advance their careers and always respect them.
As a leader, maintain the ‘personal touch’ and speak often to your team. Especially with the global shift to remote work, it’s easy for them to lose the sense of loyalty and commitment to the organization. Make sure you keep strong ties with your team, otherwise they will leave when offered just a bit more by others.
Quote: “We help our clients sleep better knowing they can launch their digital product with confidence, convinced it was well tested by real users, in their actual target market and it’s bug-free”
