Leapset brings disruptive innovation to Sri Lanka

By Shanuka Tissera

“Disruptive innovation does not simply improve but creates and replaces entirely new business models,” CEO Leapset Mani Kulasooriya. The Silicon Valley software developer announced plans to expand their development centre in Sri Lanka on 25 July at the Taj.

From left: Leapset General Manager Rasika Karunatilake, Leapset Vice President of Global Delivery Shanil Fernando, Leapset Vice President of Product Jim O’Conory and Leapset CEO Mani Kulasooriya

Leapset’s product is a platform that is changing local commerce by bridging the gap between online and mobile consumers to offline merchants. It is sure to revolutionise the merchant-consumer interaction through a platform which includes a point of sale (POS) device and utilises payments, CRM, web and mobile components.

If you were to order from a restaurant, all you would have to do is take out your phone and Leapset will display a list of restaurants located in your area. It will allow you to navigate through the menus, select the items you wish and delivery will be made to your doorstep. The restaurant receives the customer’s order and customer details on their POS device and the payment is processed automatically. This is just a simple example of the different solutions that run on the Leapset platform.

The business model is based upon three factors: reducing cost, increasing revenue and increasing efficiency. In America, e-commerce accounts for a marginal 8% of total commerce. This is truly a unique opportunity for hungry men and women. Leapset Vice President of Product Jim O’Conor said that they were working to solve a trillion dollar problem and this issue spans all borders. “Sri Lanka has a huge pool of talented engineers. We need innovators, the workers here in Sri Lanka are undervalued and in actual fact are some of the best.”

The proof of Leapset’s pudding is in the recent partnership to Sysco – the largest food distributor in the US with a valuation of over $17 billion and supplying a network of over 400,000 restaurants along with Paypal, the global ecommerce giant that within one year, Leapset has grown to a value of over Rs. 3 billion.

Leapset Vice President of Global Delivery Shanil Fernando urged the professionals of Sri Lanka to step up. “This is quite in contrast to working for an offshore consulting company or BPO. We are a product development company building a revolutionary business in the United States from right here in Sri Lanka. We believe the value proposition we have is unique to Sri Lanka and will recognise Sri Lanka as a centre for technology innovation. We are not planning on hiring hundreds of typical developers but are looking for high performers who can take on the challenge of working to Silicon Valley tech standards. Working on cutting edge innovation requires the best engineers and our hiring strategy is aligned to hire only the best of the best in the country. These folk will be recognised as world class and will be rewarded accordingly.”

Though society has not accepted this change, through the use of disruptive innovation Leapset will become a norm. The hardware and cloud based software service looks to disrupt conventional thinking on merchant customer interaction including POS, payments, relationship management and online mobile purchasing. The core development of the Leapset product portfolio will be done in Sri Lanka.

The company is based around the likes of Facebook, Google, Apple and Paypal. Leapset’s Colombo based staff will take full advantage of the direct access to the latest technology and work very closely with the US team. Their training includes planned visits to the US office where they gain exposure to the Silicon Valley culture. Employees also get a unique opportunity to participate in technology conferences and training programs hosted by the top tech firms in the Valley.

CEO of Leapset – Mani Kulasooriya is confidents that by coming from Silicon Valley, Leapset has a distinctive edge. The team will have access to the latest ideas, methodologies and technologies so we are always on the cutting edge. The company has invested a great deal to extend that culture to the Sri Lankan office in order that the employees have access to a true Silicon Valley experience. Leapset’s work environment is non-hierarchical and relaxed. The Sri Lankan based staff will work very closely with the US staff and visit the US office frequently.