Mir Shahrukh Islam is the Managing Director and CEO of Bondstein Applied sciences Restricted, a Dhaka-based expertise firm that has been doing fascinating work throughout telematics and connecting machines, factories, and complicated industrial techniques utilizing applied sciences like AI, ML, IoT, AR, VR, {custom} software program options, and design.
When Shahrukh first appeared in our pages in 2015, Bondstein was a fledgling telematics firm, connecting automobiles and specializing in automobile monitoring techniques. Quick ahead to 2025, and we discover a company remodeled. From a small crew of 15, the corporate has grown into an 80-person operation with a 15x income development, venturing far past its preliminary operation of telematics to attach machines, factories, and complicated industrial techniques.
On this fascinating dialog, Shahrukh displays on Bondstein’s transformative journey, detailing its evolution right into a vertically built-in Industrial IoT and AI options supplier, its distinctive strategy to product design, the strategic selections which have fueled its development and growth, and classes from his journey constructing Bondstein.
Constructing an organization is tough. That half everyone knows. However that onerous is available in levels. Going from zero to 1 is one sort of laborious—you’re striving and struggling to make sure your survival. As soon as an organization passes that stage, then comes a special sort of hard-scaling efficiently. Most firms die within the means of going from zero to 1. Some individuals put the variety of failures of early-stage firms at over 95%. Out of the small minority that survives, most by no means discover significant scale, residing in a perpetual plateau.
Each of those journeys, bringing an thought into existence and remodeling a small enterprise into a company that scales, are completely different and include their very own distinct challenges.
One in all my takeaways from this interview with Shahrukh bhai is that remodeling a company from an early-stage firm to a scalable group takes a special order of pondering, and the dialog reveals that journey with fascinating particulars and textures. To prime if off, the dialog delves deep into the product evolution of Bondstein, its organizational development, enterprise mannequin, and strategic evolution, challenges, and future plans—discussions that provide sensible insights about learn how to navigate rising a enterprise and scaling a company.
It is a fascinating learn in all its entirety. I hope you’ll take pleasure in studying it as a lot as I loved doing it. Completely happy constructing!
Ruhul Kader: Thanks for agreeing to this interview. We final spoke in 2015. Now we’re in 2025, a very long time. May you begin by giving us an summary of the adjustments from 2015 to 2025? I would prefer to deal with three features: first, the product (how a lot it has modified, new merchandise, and any developments); second, the group (how huge it’s now and the way it runs); and third, the enterprise (income development and any particulars you want to share).
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Thanks for having me. It is vitally fascinating to replicate again; it has been almost a decade, and the change has been transformational.
Product-wise, we’ve moved far past connecting simply automobiles. Again in 2015, we had been primarily targeted on telematics. Now, we join machines, factories, and enormous, complicated industrial techniques.
The core of our work at present is to generate actionable intelligence for our prospects. We’re additionally now working with Laptop Imaginative and prescient-based AI functions that our prospects use to generate pro-active insights. A key a part of that is decreasing their CAPEX by integrating their current CCTV digicam infrastructure with our proprietary AI fashions.
However that does not imply we left our origins behind. We’ve closely innovated inside our core VTS section. We have now partnered with internationally reputed vehicle producers like Eicher-Volvo and Bajaj to turn out to be their chosen telematics associate. To help this, we have upgraded our techniques with a extra scalable structure and saved our innovation working to construct Bangladesh’s first Fleet Supervisor’s AI Co-Pilot.
The influence is actual: our options have genuinely made roads in Bangladesh safer and considerably lowered fleet operations prices for our prospects.
A second main new path is connectivity infrastructure. We have now partnered with SpaceX to supply them with managed infrastructure for his or her connectivity providers in Bangladesh, guaranteeing our shoppers have a completely dependable knowledge pipeline.
On the enterprise entrance, this twin technique has fueled vital growth. We have now grown past the borders of Bangladesh.
In the present day, a serious portion of our income comes from worldwide shoppers working in numerous finish markets, which has been a key a part of our development.
First, guarantee high quality of the service that you simply present. It’s at all times tempting to chop corners. However slicing prices on the expense of decreasing your high quality is detrimental. It’s the quickest technique to break the belief you’ve got along with your prospects. Second, and that is instantly associated, is that integrity and honesty construct the trail for long-term success. This is applicable to your crew, your companions, and your prospects. Your repute is your most beneficial asset.
Ruhul Kader: Fascinating product evolution: shifting past VTS, innovating completely different use circumstances inside VTS, and exploring the whole linked business of IoT. Inform us extra concerning the product half. You could have constructed many alternative options on prime of the unique VTS. Are you able to go slightly deeper into the way you design the options, the way you handle manufacturing, distribution, and the companions/firms you’re employed with now, together with sellers and producers?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Product design is an artwork. For us, it at all times begins with speaking to our prospects. We have to deeply perceive how they’re truly capturing worth from our system, not simply how we predict they’re.
Primarily based on these conversations, we develop a number of hypotheses. We then correlate the insights from completely different customers to seek out out precisely what’s required to resolve their core issues. Typically, the reply is a straightforward UX tweak that removes friction. Different instances, it requires an entire new function launch.
A core precept for us now could be interoperability. We have now tried to make sure that we turn out to be the popular selection in our class by being the simplest to work with.
This implies our techniques can seamlessly go on knowledge to any centralized VMS (Automobile Administration System) or ERP system the client is already utilizing, whether or not it is SAP, IFS, or one other platform.
This flexibility is vital for our enterprise shoppers; they need our intelligence inside their current workflows, not siloed in a separate utility.
Ruhul Kader: It means I haven’t got to primarily go to your interface to test something?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Basically, sure and no. You’re completely proper you could get all of the core knowledge handed instantly into your system. We targeted on constructing that strong layer of APIs and a distributed system exactly for that flexibility.
If a buyer simply desires the uncooked knowledge, like what number of kilometers a automobile is driving, they’ll use our APIs to plug that straight into their very own software program.
However for deeper efficiency evaluation, you actually need to discover our functions. An ERP is usually targeted on top-level visuals, whereas our resolution is purpose-built to investigate fleet and automobile efficiency. This flexibility—providing each high-level integration and a deep-dive platform—has helped us innovate and break the business muddle.
We used this strategy when exploring options for the logistics business. They wanted to know if drivers had been deviating from pre-allocated routes. To handle driver fatigue and accidents, we introduced in Drive Mark.
We’re additionally engaged on new options utilizing video facial recognition to observe if the approved driver is working the automobile.
For credit score gross sales, our software program permits distant engine override in case of a default. We even launched a transportable tracker for rental automobiles.
This led us past simply land automobiles; we now observe water-going vessels like barges, monitoring their loading, unloading, and idle instances.
Product design is an artwork. For us, it at all times begins with speaking to our prospects. We have to deeply perceive how they’re truly capturing worth from our system, not simply how we predict they’re.
Ruhul Kader: Speak concerning the sort of prospects you now serve with VTS.
Mir Shahrukh Islam: We will distribute our prospects in a few methods. There are enterprise prospects, that are our largest section, after which there are retail prospects.
On the retail facet, customers are principally targeted on their very own automobiles. This breaks down into two teams: some use it for private automobiles, primarily for supervising their drivers.
However we have seen an enormous surge in small entrepreneurs who’re shopping for automobiles—particularly three-wheeler LPG or CNG-driven automobiles—and lending them out for hire. We see a really excessive demand for this within the South-East a part of Bangladesh.
For these house owners, our price proposition is crystal clear: they’ve a transparent want to guard their automobile from theft and precisely observe the journeys, and our resolution offers that.
Nonetheless, our largest section is enterprise. Right here, we’ve manufacturing companions—OEMs—who’re utilizing our options as a default a part of their new automobiles. They make the most of the automobile knowledge to extend their after-sales income, cut back credit score dangers, and plan their spare elements stock.
Then, in fact, there are the businesses that personal numerous automobiles, and so they use our resolution to handle their fleets correctly, optimizing for price, effectivity, and security.
Ruhul Kader: How does your VTS pricing work for enterprise shoppers?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Our pricing mannequin may be very straight-up. We’ve truly developed this over time. We used to have a number of layers of pricing based mostly on completely different options, however we discovered {that a} less complicated, extra predictable strategy works higher for our enterprise shoppers.
Now, we deal with annual or half-yearly subscription charges, with the required IoT {hardware} models bundled into the bundle.
We’re actively shifting away from a month-to-month subscription mannequin and inspiring these longer stints. We have discovered that this instantly improves our retention targets and aligns significantly better with our companions’ budgeting cycles, making a extra steady, long-term relationship.
You may train abilities, however you’ll be able to’t train that sort of drive.
Ruhul Kader: So you’re a vertically built-in VTS resolution supplier—all of the parts wanted for an end-to-end VTS resolution are completed in-house, together with manufacturing?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Sure, “ecosystem” is an effective way to place it. We offer a full end-to-end resolution utilizing our personal proprietary, in-house expertise. This contains every part from the machine that goes into the automobile to the IoT cloud, the top cell or internet utility, the alerts, and the ultimate service achievement.
Turning into a full-suite group was a really robust name for us. Most firms on this business begin by constructing the software program and simply rely on Chinese language producers for {hardware}. We truly began by designing the {hardware}.
Later, we targeted closely on constructing our software program and our proprietary IoT cloud, which now processes round 300 million knowledge factors each day. Our software program is strong, scalable, and provides over 50 completely different experiences with greater than 60 days of knowledge backup.
The secret is that whereas we’ve our personal {hardware}, our software program is device-agnostic, which means we are able to plug it into Chinese language or European {hardware} as properly. This enables us to supply prospects completely different {hardware} choices based mostly on their particular wants. And, as you mentioned, we repeatedly look to construct on prime of that ecosystem.
Ruhul Kader: Transferring to the group half. How a lot has the corporate developed? Give us an summary of the corporate.
Mir Shahrukh Islam: The evolution has been substantial. Again in 2015, we had been a small, passionate crew of about 15 individuals, all working carefully collectively. In the present day, we’ve grown to a crew of 80 colleagues.
This development in individuals has been pushed instantly by our enterprise development. Over this era, our income has grown 15x. It is a direct results of the profitable pivot to industrial IoT, our new infrastructure partnerships, and the growth of our consumer base.
To help this scale, our construction has needed to change dramatically. We now have colleagues in numerous elements of Bangladesh to handle our nationwide footprint, and importantly, we’ve international representations to service and develop our worldwide enterprise.
Ruhul Kader: Your operation has grown meaningfully complicated over time. It also needs to imply your organizational construction has modified as properly. Are you able to inform us extra about how the group is structured?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: We handle this complexity by having a really clear and accountable construction. The group is predominantly damaged down into Strategic Enterprise Models, or SBUs.
Every SBU is targeted on a core space, like VTS or Industrial IoT, and operates virtually like its personal impartial enterprise. Crucially, every SBU has its personal PNL proprietor, making them absolutely accountable for his or her profitability and development. Every SBU additionally has its personal devoted operations crew.
This SBU construction is supported by centralized normal departments like HR, Finance, and Admin.
And, in fact, on the coronary heart of every part is our Know-how Division. That is our engine for innovation. It isn’t only one monolithic division; it is distributed throughout 4 distinct groups. Every of those groups has its personal specialised expertise stack and a transparent focus, which permits us to innovate quickly and in parallel throughout all our completely different product strains.
We checked out what these firms may supply strategically. Take Runner. They’re the biggest vehicle producer in Bangladesh. We noticed that if we had been going to really scale up our VTS options, we wanted a robust associate with a deep foothold within the vehicle business.
Ruhul Kader: How do you’re employed with advisers?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: We’re very strategic about this. We usher in area specialists for extremely particular challenges or targets.
These aren’t everlasting, lifetime roles. We have interaction them as advisers with very particular, short-term agendas—usually for a 6 to 12-month targeted dash. The purpose is to resolve a concrete drawback or obtain a selected milestone.
For instance, generally it is for an R&D requirement. If our expertise division is constructing a brand new, complicated AI mannequin, we’ll usher in an adviser who has already constructed and scaled an identical system at a worldwide stage.
Different instances, it is to attain operational excellence as we have scaled. This strategy retains us agile and ensures we get world-class, targeted experience exactly the place and once we want it.
Ruhul Kader: One of many issues individuals wrestle with is constructing crew. What’s your expertise with constructing a crew that works and produces outcomes?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: You are completely proper. Constructing a crew isn’t any joke. The crew is constructed of individuals, and they’re your most beneficial belongings. Due to that, one fallacious hiring resolution will be extremely damaging, particularly to the corporate tradition.
We’re very cautious now earlier than onboarding anybody. We have now an intensive background test course of in place, not only for abilities however for cultural alignment.
However the largest lesson in constructing a crew is about what to prioritize. We have discovered to advertise people who display an actual willingness to develop and scale with the corporate. I’ve discovered that folks with real “starvation” will ultimately discover a technique to remedy issues, typically in probably the most inventive approach. You may train abilities, however you’ll be able to’t train that sort of drive.
Ruhul Kader: You could have constructed a profitable enterprise in a really complicated and troublesome market. What are some errors you desire to different founders to keep away from?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: That is an fascinating query. You see, the enterprise dynamics are altering so quick that what would possibly appear like a mistake at present could possibly be the seed of a chance tomorrow. But when I had been to share some ground-level fundamentals—the basics that do not change—I might deal with two issues.
First, it’s to make sure high quality within the service that you simply present. It’s at all times tempting to start out slicing corners. However slicing prices on the expense of decreasing your high quality is detrimental. It’s the quickest technique to break the belief you’ve got along with your prospects.
Second, and that is instantly associated, is that integrity and honesty construct the trail for long-term success. This is applicable to your crew, your companions, and your prospects. Your repute is your most beneficial asset.
Ruhul Kader: You could have a number of merchandise, and a few of them are fairly complicated in how they work and the enterprise fashions they function on. Inform us extra about what you are promoting growth methods and enterprise mannequin complexities, together with distribution, and the way you guarantee buyer retention.
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Our enterprise growth technique is definitely quite simple, and it feeds instantly into retention. The overwhelming majority of our new prospects come from referrals from our current consumer pool.
It is a direct results of our core enterprise philosophy: preserve targeted, be sincere, and really personal the issue of your buyer.
We’re extraordinarily inventive when designing an answer, and most significantly, we preserve them concerned in the whole course of. This implies they don’t seem to be simply our companions; they turn out to be resolution builders alongside us. Because of this, they honestly personal the answer, which dramatically improves adoption inside their group.
It’s true that due to this in-depth, ‘concept-to-execution’ strategy, our prices are generally increased than the typical market proposition. However our shoppers discover that they find yourself bringing of their ROI a lot sooner than anticipated as a result of the answer is custom-built, it really works, and their groups truly use it.
Ruhul Kader: On condition that rivals, together with Telcos, supply comparable options in VTS, what makes Bondstein indispensable?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: We truly love competitors. Competitors makes the market mature. It educates prospects about what’s potential and raises the bar for everybody.
We have now a really wholesome relationship with the ecosystem. In actual fact, in lots of circumstances, we’ve partnered with our rivals. We do that once we discover that complementing our price can finally assist the top buyer probably the most.
So, what makes Bondstein distinctive is not about simply being indispensable; it is our capability to assume past the common and our dedication to collaborate with anybody—even a competitor—to ship the very best end result.
Ruhul Kader: You mentioned the worldwide VTS market is $25 billion. How huge is the Bangladesh market, and the place do you assume the market goes?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Primarily based on our evaluation, the market in Bangladesh is roughly round a billion {dollars}.
The most important shift we see is that the market is strongly shifting towards Industrial IoT. This is not only a pattern; it is a necessity. On account of energy shortage and useful resource constraints, firms are being pressured to focus extra on optimization and getting extra out of their current sources. That is inconceivable with out the sort of technological intervention and deep monitoring that IoT offers.
Ruhul Kader: What could be a number of main inflection factors in Bondstein’s journey?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Bondstein has seen many inflection factors, however two, particularly, actually stand out.
The primary was our resolution to put money into the Bangabandhu Hello-Tech Park to determine our personal meeting unit. This was an enormous increase for us, and the truth that we may make it from our personal income gave us large confidence.
The second was once we partnered with Runner to develop our manufacturing partnership. This was an enormous validation of our expertise, coming from the biggest vehicle producer in Bangladesh.
Until today, we’ve been rising on our personal benefit, and these inflection factors had been key moments that confirmed our technique.
Ruhul Kader: Constructing a enterprise is difficult. How do you deal with the each day ups and downs and challenges of being an entrepreneur?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: I at all times consider that you’ll have day and you’ll have a foul day. The secret is that you simply can’t be too completely satisfied in your good day or too pissed off in your dangerous day. You must preserve a gradual line.
If you’re psychologically reactive, your total group will undergo, specializing in short-term success reasonably than sustainable development.
This philosophy extends to our enterprise selections. For instance, we cautiously preserve our margins, even when it means we lose a deal. We all know our price. It’s why a number of prospects who left Bondstein for a less expensive value have returned. They arrive again due to the worth and the 24/7 service we offer.
Ruhul Kader: You raised cash from massive firms, like Runner. You primarily did not want to boost cash. Why did you determine to boost funds, and the way did the deal come collectively?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: You are proper, we did not essentially want the cash. Our imaginative and prescient was that we wanted companions, not simply traders, to open the door for us to succeed in the subsequent stage of development.
We checked out what these firms may supply strategically. Take Runner. They’re the biggest vehicle producer in Bangladesh. We noticed that if we had been going to really scale up our VTS options, we wanted a robust associate with a deep foothold within the vehicle business.
In all circumstances, earlier than changing into traders, that they had already been our shoppers for a minimum of a 12 months to a 12 months and a half. They noticed the worth we delivered firsthand. Having these robust people and firms on our board is a testomony to our stability.
I at all times consider that you’ll have day and you’ll have a foul day. The secret is that you simply can’t be too completely satisfied in your good day or too pissed off in your dangerous day. You must preserve a gradual line.
Ruhul Kader: What are the challenges for the corporate now, and what are the rapid short-term and long-term plans?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Our largest problem proper now could be principally on the regulatory stage. The present insurance policies in Bangladesh have not saved up with rising expertise. There isn’t a clear regulation for manufacturing IoT or AI units, and the responsibility construction is difficult.
As for our short-term plan, we’re focusing extra on our blended AI options, particularly within the laptop imaginative and prescient section. We see enormous demand right here, and our plan is to construct out particular, high-value use circumstances for good factories throughout completely different industries.
In the long term, our plan is to develop internationally. We’re actively working to cater to globally main firms with our options. We have now constructed a robust, confirmed platform, and our imaginative and prescient is to take this mannequin and turn out to be a big international participant within the Industrial AI and linked infrastructure area.
Ruhul Kader: What e book would you advocate to our readers?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: I might nonetheless advocate Wealthy Dad, Poor Dad. I feel it’s a really vital learn for early-stage entrepreneurs to study cash administration, belongings, and constructing sustainable wealth.
The most important reflection is about what it means to be a “builder.” If you’re a builder, you’ll take pleasure in each little bit of it while you’re constructing it. The problem is, after getting constructed it, you simply want to maneuver on and construct the subsequent factor.
Ruhul Kader: You began the corporate whenever you had been nonetheless a scholar. Through the years, the corporate has grown from a small operation to a big participant in its vertical. How a lot have you ever modified and developed as an entrepreneur and CEO over these years?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: (Laughs) Oh, it’s been a wild experience! The one largest change is realizing simply how a lot I do not know. On daily basis is a brand new problem, and it’s a must to love the sport.
In comparison with 2016, I’ve been pressured to study and adapt continually. I’m a pure engineering man at coronary heart, however I needed to step up and lead our total finance crew and valuation course of throughout our funding.
I’ve been lucky to get some nice teaching alongside the way in which. The Stanford Graduate Faculty of Enterprise Seed Program, for example, was extremely useful in giving me new frameworks and shaping my perspective on scaling an organization. However my largest lesson is humility. I nonetheless have a lot to study true management. I am nonetheless a scholar of the sport, and truthfully, I am having fun with each minute of it.
Ruhul Kader: Largest reflections and classes out of your journey as a founder on life, work, and constructing firms.
Mir Shahrukh Islam: My largest reflection is about what it means to be a “builder.” If you’re a builder, you’ll take pleasure in each little bit of it while you’re constructing it. The problem is, after getting constructed it, you simply want to maneuver on and construct the subsequent factor.
The opposite main lesson is about influence over simply metrics. The human factor should at all times be the primary precedence. We must be interested by how our expertise is making a employee’s life safer or a driver’s life simpler. The revenue for the proprietor is only a byproduct of that constructive influence. If you happen to do not deal with coaching and serving to the employees who will likely be challenged by this new expertise, your product won’t ever be adopted within the first place.
Ruhul Kader: Three belongings you discovered actually useful in constructing Bondstein.
Mir Shahrukh Islam: You understand, it is probably not an inventory of three issues. It’s extra like a narrative with three essential characters.
The primary character is “Creativity.” That is the hero who sees a fancy drawback and would not simply see an issue, however sees a clean canvas.
However “Creativity” is usually a little bit of a daydreamer. It wants a associate. That’s the place the second character, “Starvation,” is available in. “Starvation” is the gritty, relentless one. It is the character that wakes up at 3 AM with the drive to truly construct what “Creativity” imagined.
However even these two cannot do it alone. They want a crew, and that’s the third character: “The Proper Folks.” This is not only a crowd; it is a hand-picked crew who’re simply as inventive and simply as hungry.
So, once I look again, that is the story of Bondstein. It is a story of “Creativity” and “Starvation” discovering “The Proper Folks” to go on an journey and construct one thing that issues.
My largest lesson is humility. I nonetheless have a lot to study true management. I am nonetheless a scholar of the sport, and truthfully, I am having fun with each minute of it.
Ruhul Kader: I feel this can be a good place to finish our dialog at present. Thanks for being beneficiant along with your time and insights. This has been an academic dialog for me. Any parting ideas?
Mir Shahrukh Islam: Thanks, Ruhul bhai. I feel this was an excellent session. It actually took me again to our early days and gave me an opportunity to revisit the various moments, achievements, and impacts we have had. Typically, as a founder, you are so targeted on the subsequent problem that you simply neglect to try this. It has been extremely beneficial. Thanks for having me.
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