“Casepoint has hit its stride since undergoing a name and brand change from Legal Discovery in 2017,” says CEO Haresh Bhungalia, who is moving forward in his own right. “There’s been a renewed energy internally, and we’ve been gaining market momentum.”
Now that the massive rebranding has caught on for the litigation software company, Casepoint, which currently employs about 200 individuals worldwide, has shifted its focus toward growth. The company is revamping its technology platform to drive more efficiency, and leaders are working to drive the historically private sector focus deeper into public sector work. There are also plans for international expansion within the next two to three years.
Transitioning from 2020 Company, LLC
Bhungalia rose to prominence as a young entrepreneur who, with a cousin, co-founded 2020 Company, LLC, going from literally nothing and, at one point, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, to a successful leader known for more than just his business acumen. Bhungalia continues to work at Casepoint with some of his old colleagues from 2020.
“There are a number of folks that are legacy 2020 that I work with,” he said. “In addition, Casepoint as a company was something we invested in while we were running 2020. We’ve been a part of the business from the beginning.
Ask anyone who has been successful to describe their career highlights, and most will point to a period of time with a certain company, specific growth achievements or perhaps starting their own company. Bhungalia’s top experiences are a little less tangible.
“One thing we cherish the most is the ability to be a part of so many fantastic lives,” he said. “As an entrepreneur, you have the great honor of being a part of one’s life journey. We’ve had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people and witness their life events — marriages, the birth of a child, home purchases, children going off to college and everything in between. It’s so humbling to be part of those experiences in an ingrained environment.”
Bhungalia also acknowledged his family has been fortunate.
“There are those who work as hard or harder and don’t have the same results to show for it,” he said. “We feel very fortunate to be living the life we live.”
Growing Up
Bhungalia’s parents migrated from India when he was 3. He got his first job at 12 delivering newspapers. At 15, he was hired as a busboy, and at 16, he began working retail. His early work experience also included a summer job at his father’s manufacturing plant where he put in 12-hour days, seven days a week.
After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in economics, Bhungalia joined human resources management consulting firm Hewitt Associates. Within a few years, he had stepped through a handful of jobs to learn accounting, technology, consulting and leadership. At age 25, he began yearning for something more.
Out of that desire was born 2020, the company he co-founded with his cousin Paresh Ghelani.
For the first four years, they didn’t make a single penny, despite having resigned from his day job to focus on the company. During that time, he burned through his savings and took out personal loans from friends and family. Bhungalia said he and his wife were fully committed from the beginning to making 2020 work. They were either going to succeed or fail completely.
“There was always a backstop plan (moving in with family until we could work off the debt) that my wife and I kept,” he said. “We were all in, and we didn’t really think of the worst-case scenario because we had a plan in the event that that happened.”
As 2020 began attracting federal clients, the Bhungalias moved from their home in Chicago to D.C. in 2004. As time went on, 2020 grew to a 650-person company and found success in the health IT niche. From the beginning, Bhungalia had planned to eventually sell the company. It sold in March 2012, but leaving was still a transition. There was a bit of a down point when they first exited from 2020, Bhungalia said, but that has shifted.
“As we’ve progressed now with Casepoint and things are coming together, I think personally we’ve been able to fill that void,” Bhungalia said.
Moving Forward
Bhungalia doesn’t plan on ever completely retiring, but he does have goals he hopes to reach before the end of his career.
“One of the things we want to do is be in a position to be able to build these organizations to help people achieve their personal and professional goals,” he said. “That’s the most rewarding thing that we do. We want to be in a position where we can have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.”
He and his wife Alpa have three children: a 15-year-old son, and two daughters, ages 13 and 10. For many years, Bhungalia’s wife has focused her efforts on raising their three children. Now, he’s supporting her new efforts surrounding politics and philanthropy. That includes her role as gala chair for Pratham, which supports educational efforts in India.
The family focus on philanthropy is an important shift in their lives, Bhungalia said, and one they’re able to focus on now that they’ve had their own successes.
“I think that’s an important dynamic of who we are today versus who we were a few years ago,” he said.
In his spare time, Bhungalia enjoys traveling and just relaxing with his family either at their home in Virginia or their place in Miami. They especially enjoying traveling internationally and exposing their children to different cultures. They also look forward to their annual ski trips.
Bhungalia’s mother’s side of the family lives in India, and they continue to visit there frequently. Casepoint also has an office in India.
He recently finished reading “The Growth Mindset,” which discusses how individuals look at opportunities for personal, professional and academic growth.
“’The Growth Mindset’ is really about being open to those changes and realizing that we as individuals don’t have fixed capabilities,” he said.