“This brave-heart from Aurangabad, is blessed with a killer combination of superior intelligence, intuitive thinking and discipline and a will to serve. He understood the need of the hour, and dared to go against the flow to grab opportunities that knocked the door. In the events like Y2K, the launch of iPhone, and the recent danger of data swamp, Anand saw opportunities. This extremely industrious, multiple award winner is the founder of Boston-based ‘Findability Sciences’ which has a notable presence in Toronto, Tokyo and his home town- Aurangabad!”

We live in the age of information, where data is more valuable than gold. The recent exposés into how social media platforms gather and utilize user data provide sufficient evidence of this fact. It follows that the more data a company collects, the more valuable it can potentially become.

But companies, while good at collecting and storing data, are not often skilled at utilizing it. They often have no plan in place with regards to how they are going to utilize it, resulting in vast collections of unstructured data that continue to grow at alarming rates. It presents an opportunity for solutions that assist such data-swamped companies make the most of their information.

The ‘Findability Platform’ is a solution that fits in this gap perfectly. The platform is AI-based and functions automatically. Unsurprisingly, this award-winning solution has carved out a niche for itself in this competitive and cutting-edge world of Big Data, Cognitive Computing, and Artificial Intelligence, and is a feather in the cap of its developer, the Boston-based company Findability Sciences, founded by entrepreneur Anand Mahurkar.

Born in a middle-class Maharashtrian family, Anand was raised by his parents, Prabhakar and Tara Mahurkar. As a college principal and teacher, his parents taught him hard work, focus, and responsibility — values that he maintained throughout his career.

Anand completed 12 years of education in Ambejogai entirely in Marathi and demonstrated great aptitude in Math and Science. His academics, as well as support from his older brother, led him to study engineering. Admission into the reputable Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad, Maharashtra was extremely competitive and a credit to Anand’s academic skills. Moving from the small town of Ambejogai to the considerably larger city of Aurangabad was a formative experience in Anand’s life. Around the same time, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) was actively promoting the growth and development of industries in Aurangabad, and Anand was able to see the rise of many industries and companies during his time at college. Which inspired him to start his own business one day. Anand completed his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering in 1990 from the Government Engineering College, Aurangabad.

From then on, Anand built his career from working in the factory at Bharat Forge to becoming the Founder-CEO of Findability Sciences. At his first job at Bharat Forge, Anand realized his ambitions to be in managerial positions, started developing an interest in computer engineering, and began dreaming of starting his own company.

Seeing the opportunities available, Anand continued his education with an executive MBA in Marketing & Finance in 1994 while working at Garware Polyester and Videocon Industries. At Videocon, Anand was promoted to a management position, which widened his horizons. He gained international work experience and successfully managed teams and product development. Later at Kale Consultants, Anand rose to become Regional Manager. At the turn of the century, the software industry was hit by the Y2K problem. Recognizing the need of the hour and the opportunities presented, Anand led the team through the challenge and developed an entirely new skill-set that provided a boost for his future growth.

Driven by his philosophy of always aiming “one step up”, Anand joined Datamatics Technologies in Mumbai as Vice President. He is credited with establishing and nurturing the WorkFlow Management Solutions group through aggressive business development and excellent people management skills. The group grew from its infancy to maturity under his able guidance.

In 2003, Anand was asked to relocate to the United States to oversee the acquisition of a small company in Billerica, Massachusetts. Along with his wife and daughter, he traveled to the United States with the plan of returning to India in a few years. While in Billerica, his primary role was to support the sales team from the pre-sales technology side. But he expanded his role and started developing business, getting new customers, and growing business. He had great success, managing large teams of employees and customers, and making several acquisitions as well. In 2009, he was promoted to President of Datamatics Technologies, USA, and was handling business across North America and Europe.

Although he had great success in his career, Anand’s dream of starting his own company remained with him. After getting feedback from customers about their challenges with data warehousing technology, Anand thought of a concept — Findability, the ability to find information. In 2010, Anand took the bold decision to quit his job and start Findability Sciences
— a company with technology to help business utilize their data and find the important information they need. Right as Anand started Findability Sciences, a global recession hit the world, which added to the many challenges a new company faces. However, Anand was determined to make his dream a reality and worked to grow Findability Sciences with no external funding or loans. Within six months of founding, Findability Sciences had its first customer, and in six years, Findability Sciences had over 60 team members around the world.

When making the important decision of choosing a location for recruitment and offices, Anand knew it had to be Aurangabad. After residing in the city for nearly a decade of school and work, Aurangabad holds a special place in Anand’s life. Anand chose to give back to the community by creating employment and recruiting local talent.

From working in the factory at Bharat Forge to becoming the Founder-CEO of Findability Sciences has been an unfettered trajectory studded with superlative performance and relentless achievement. The company’s unique products have gained immense recognition in the fields of AI and cognitive computing. The success, especially of the award-winning Findability Platform, has resulted in recognition for Anand from his industry peers. Anand has been nominated for the New England Innovation Award twice (2012, 2014). He has also been felicitated by the Technology and Research Association (TARA) with its Special Recognition Award in 2012. In 2013, Anand was inducted as a member of the IBM Big Data Advisory Council and in 2014, joined the IBM Watson Advisory Board. He was also named ‘IBM Big Data & Analytics Hero’ in 2014 and invited to present at TEDx Lowell. In 2015, Findability Sciences was named in the list of Most Promising Software Development Companies.

All this recognition was bound to attract investors, and in this sector, investors don’t come any bigger than Softbank Corp, the telecommunications subsidiary of the Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank Group. The resultant Joint Venture, formed in 2017, extends the market of the Findability Platform to Japan.

Harnessing the unique positioning of his product, and his talented and hard-working teams in Boston, Aurangabad, Tokyo, and Toronto, Anand has succeeded in growing Findability Sciences by leaps and bounds. In 2018, he became a member of the prestigious Forbes Technology Council, a community that fosters collaboration among senior-level technology executives. In 2019, Findability Sciences constructed an AI that was able to write a chapter on Artificial Intelligence in the book The Tech Whisperer by Jaspreet Bindra. In 2020, Findability Sciences was ranked as one of the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies.

It was and has always been, focused hard work matched with forward-thinking and calculated risk-taking which helped Anand make his dream of being an entrepreneur come true. To this day, Anand continues to routinely put in 18-hour workdays. This is in great part due to the support and understanding of his family — his wife Prachi (the Director of Administration at Findability Sciences) and their daughters Ketaki and Revati. For a senior-level executive to quit a stable job at a CMMi Level 5 company during the global financial crisis and start an entirely new company based on an entirely new paradigm was risky but ultimately extremely rewarding. Anand strongly believes that there are many more individuals with great, untapped potential. He hopes people find reassurance in his journey and dare to dream big.