What is scarier? Not getting a job and or you wasting your precious 20s doing stuff that you don’t like. Losing time is scarier. If you start a company and you fail, at least you would not regret that you didn’t try
B.E. Computer Science
CGPA: 6.94
EXPERIENCE
November 2020 - Present
StoryQube
Founder & CEO
StoryQube is a platform for immersive stories and games that kids can play on their Voice-enabled devices like Alexa, Google Home, etc
Aug 2018 – Present
VoiceQube
Founder & CEO
VoiceQube is a leading voice technology company that helps organizations build conversational applications on Alexa, Google Home, and other voice assistants. Our expertise in Voice design has helped us cater to over 35 clients from across the world in countries like the USA, UK, Singapore, Canada, and the Middle East.
Jul 2017 – Jul 2018
VoyceFirst
Head, India
VoyceFirst (previously Alexa Apps) is an enterprise technology company that builds solutions powered by Voice interfaces and robust cloud micro-services. My role was to chase problems, design solutions that are Voice First in nature.
Aug 2016 – Aug 2017
Minds Universe
Founder & CEO
Minds Universe is India's first Growth Hacking Consultancy. We helped businesses increase their revenue by optimizing their business operations.
Nov 2015 – Aug 2016
23 Yards
Founder & CEO
23 Yards is an advertising aggregate platform for businesses to advertise based on affinity of consumers.
QnA
I am working on a product, StoryQube - which can be thought of as Netflix for voice devices. It is a collection of interactive and immersive stories where kids can play as a protagonist, go on adventures and learn something new. Storytelling is one of the most effective ways of imparting knowledge. For example, I learned that spinach is good for my health through watching Popeye!
VoyceFirst was a company that I started with an investor in the US. I was responsible for everything. I was happy as my work was in terms of team building, product management, and driving the operations. It had a Human-Computer interface tech angle that was very new. I was very happy with it.
I quit VoyceFirst as I wanted to do something explore this space of Voice Tech in-depth and access international markets.
Looking back, a mistake was that I co-founded 23 Yards with my friends. I know that the thought of co-founding something with your friends sounds amazing, but it actually can be a mistake if not thought through, because there is a certain air of baggage that you carry. You can’t demand anything from your friends. Friends right out of college would definitely be a mistake. But after a few years of experience, it might be better. It is just that it is very tricky. Also, though we were highly motivated, we weren’t a team with complementary skill sets and aligned motivations for what we wanted in life. Other than that the growth curve was steep. Getting exposed to the Bangalore startup scene, interactions with other entrepreneurs and people from multiple industries have given us various insights and learnings much faster than what we could learn in a classic job setup.
Curiosity. Curiosity has driven me to work on my ideas. Confidence is something you would gain on the go. If the market rejects it, it’s of no use. You should be flexible enough to look at the market and change your product on the go. Falling in love with one idea is fatal but extremely common. Picking the right idea is based on what you’re passionate about. Pursuing your true North increases your endurance.
There were exciting as well as frightening moments, so you need to find a source for motivation. I used to write journals, I used to write down my ideas and tried to visualize them come to life. That was really motivating. A more convenient way is to watch movies like Rocky, Jobs, Social Network, and Pursuit of Happyness.
Keeping a team motivated is very difficult. I try to do it by giving them as much freedom as possible. The best way to gain trust is to trust and people will reciprocate, like how Mohit Saxena of InMobi claims. I try to put in a lot of trust in my team and I give them ample freedom. People used to go for 2-3 weeks on vacation, but because I gave them so much freedom, they used to feel that it was their own company. The other thing is you have to give them a huge compensation, and a purpose. This is sometimes a headache. Your product has to motivate the people naturally. You need to have people who are interested in your product and share your vision and passion. Then you don’t run into problems like lack of motivation. It is a huge effort in keeping yourself motivated, if you have to motivate the entire team too on a regular basis - it can become very tiresome and boring very soon.
Back then in college, I was a little over-entitled about myself, I was like, “ of course I will get a job anywhere, it won’t be a problem”. I had the confidence that I would add value to any company. I was overconfident, which led to me being foolish. What is scarier? Not getting a job or wasting your precious 20’s doing stuff that you don’t like. Well, for me losing time is scarier. If you start a company and you fail, at least won't regret that you didn’t give it shot
I don’t think any course helped. But my experience as a GenSec did. I got to understand how to manage people. I think PS2 was very helpful for me. I used to get out of my official station in the afternoon and go to a startup office and work for them. I worked with some exceptional founders, and the experience of brainstorming with them shaped a good part of my thinking. What fascinated and eased my transition into the startup world is culture. I was talking to people from IIMs who were a decade older and they were talking to me as if I was their childhood friend. Right then, I knew that this is where I want to be, a friendly yet ambitious environment. Being a small part of a whole engine gives you end-to-end insight on what goes into building a company. It is very exciting and intoxicating.
Let’s say you created a company and it did not work out, that experience itself is still immensely valuable. Startup founders have great respect for other entrepreneurs, they recognize that. Your value increases exponentially. You will be surprised that a lot of people will be asking you to join and bring your work ethic there.
I haven’t had to raise funds for earlier companies but we are actively seeking for StoryQube. Some lessons I learnt from other seniors’ mistakes are that you’ve got to pick your investor on the basis of what value they bring, not just money. Don’t get bullied by the valuations that you receive.
You are surrounded by extremely talented people. If you have an idea and you want to try it, just do it. The best way to figure out if it is right for you is to go for it.