MachineMax took to the stage at the world’s largest technology conference in Portugal to champion female technologists and share tips on how to thrive as a tech start-up.

More than 70,000 people (46.3% of those are women), 2,150 start-ups and 1,200 tech investors from around the world gathered at the Web Summit in Lisbon over four days, bringing together people and companies redefining the global tech industry.

High-profile speakers from the likes of Google, Amazon and Uber were also in attendance.

MachineMax, which was established in April 2018,  is a global company providing an innovative equipment management platform for off-highway heavy equipment users to track and maximise the productivity and profitability of every machine in their fleet.

CEO Amit Rai addressed an audience at the Growth Summit pavilion on Thursday in which he shared his experiences of how to survive and thrive within a fast-growing tech startup. Amit said: “It was fantastic to be able to share my thoughts on how to be a CEO and succeed within a tech company.

“A lot of people who want to be a tech CEO think it’s rosy but that’s not always the case, you do have to put in a lot of hard work.

“There are so many things to be aware of when starting out as a CEO for a start-up company.

“You end up juggling a lot of tasks and being a jack of all trades, carrying out other things including accounting, bookkeeping and taxation.”

Meanwhile, MachineMax CPO Shweta Saxena led a roundtable discussion as part of the Women in Tech mentor programme.

Shweta said: “It was fantastic to share my experiences of being a technologist with women who are either in or aspire to get into the tech industry.

“When I used to be a product manager almost ten years ago, I used to be the only person in the room as a woman but now, taking an example of MachineMax, we have two engineers in a team of seven to eight who are women. One is a data scientist, the other a backend engineer.

“So, over a period of time, things have changed and women do see having a career in technology as an option now. There is also a move against differentiating between what a girl or boy should do.

“However, there is still a lot more to be done.

Shweta adds: “My advice for anyone who wants to be a technologist, is to understand the role you want to do.

“Not just the first layer but the second and third. Know how it works and have the confidence to go out and do it.

“For example, at MachineMax, we have a data scientist who is very clear that she does not want to do the business analytics side of it, she is a hardcore data scientist. She looks at algorithms and the statistical details.”

MachineMax offers an equipment management platform that is designed for off-highway vehicles located anywhere in the world. It is powered by an easy-to-install, wireless smart sensor that fits near the engine of any off-highway fleet vehicle.

Using artificial intelligence, it can quickly create a unique machine signature to track vehicles, measure idling and generate other utilisation analytics. Cloud computing is used to deliver all-in-one real-time data and analysis to operators and site managers with an easy to use interface that can help them optimise their fleet operations and preventative maintenance programs.

MachineMax combines rich data sets with the right data analytics to enable companies to anticipate problems and adapt quickly, make the most of their existing fleet and avoid buying or renting new machines.