As part of our relentless efforts to identify and share some of the meaningful stories from India and around the world, this week we invited Passionate Entrepreneur Aasim Sayyed for an interview with BrilliantRead Media. Aasim is the Founder of InventersCorp, SoftScribble, and Cookkar. He is the Co-Founder and COO of MyDigiSpace, MD at SoftScribble and CEO at InventersCorp. Let’s read more about his inspiring journey so far and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
Talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
I had always been a shy student I did my schooling from St Anne’s high school Bandra and further pursued engineering from Mumbai university I was fortunate enough to peruse technology entrepreneurship from Stanford university .i was a passionate individual from the beginning and always aspired to be one of the youngest achievers by delivering high performance in all walks of life, I won’t lie… there have been times when I had fallen but somehow I have stood again and started working for my goals. To add to my skills and knowledge, I also completed numerous courses I was so motivated to gain knowledge that I have completed 100+ certifications which are now very necessary in all fields of work. Speaking about my journey it had stared from my schooling days when I was passionate about inventing and in class 5th I had competed in an interschool science competition.
In-class 9th I represented the school in an international non-governmental organization science competition and stood first. In a high school diploma, I have stood first in a state-level project exhibition. During my college days, I took part in major contests and competitions since I was an all-rounder in studies & cultural activities. One of the projects that I delivered successfully was coming out etc (emergency traffic controller) which is now used in many countries.
I have always been very passionate about building something on my own that can solve daily life problems. we all know how much energy we consume every day and we have to pay huge electricity bills hence I have developed a device which can generate electricity on its own by using a few phenomena. I have also made a product which can extract static energy from humans and convert it into normal electricity which is enough to charge a mobile device.
I did a lot of research in this space and came out with an innovative and successful product in the field of rechargeable devices i.e static charge. in recent times I have been working on bone conduction technology and I am proud to say that I have successfully made an alternative to bone conduction which can be used to make hearing aid smart watches smart ring, etc…which is a product of my 3rd company i.e Vibrt I successfully established my first company under the name of “Inventerscorp” which is into research and technology inventions.”
With the success of my first firm, I started the second named SoftScribble which is a software development firm right now we have clients from different parts of the world.
My 4th company is Cookkar which is into restaurant business where anyone can work as a chef from home and can cook for us for which they will get paid.”
What is your source of motivation? What keeps you going?
My work does! I absolutely love what I do! So if you love what you do that itself is the greatest motivation for you to do something.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a corporate career?
Entrepreneurship is definitely not for everyone. I think that entrepreneurship is a mindset. sure, you can learn a set of practical skills and acquire some knowledge about how to do it. but it takes lots of personal traits and character to execute business ideas in challenging environments during college, I chose computer engineering as I always wanted to make such a product which is changes everyone’s perspective about technology and could be helpful in the field of engineering and help the clients with easy, economical and speedy.
Please share with us some of the challenges you faced in your journey;
Throughout my journey I have been underestimated by many people to a certain extent even my friends and also by the people I work with, there have been times when people have laughed on me by saying “you have gone crazy this is not possible”. I believe this was the phrase that motivated me to do something more innovative I wanted to make a difference in society.
As typical parents, they also wanted me to get a secure job but I chose to venture into uncharted territories to make my name and I am glad I did. I also draw a lot of inspiration from marvels character Tony Stark and Pranav Mistry as he is my role model.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures we have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
I work with teens and parents across the globe, so I have been working online for the longest time. The only difference is now even with my local clients, I am working online. Coaching requires empathy and action which can happen online beautifully.
What is your Business Mantra: Money or Emotions?
Money can and never will be a business mantra for me. Money is a by-product and the easiest thing to earn and lose. Building something which solves a big problem adds value to people and the economy. Once you have that focus, money follows and you make it for your investors, colleagues and yourself. As the CEO of Inventescorp, my focus is to build a problem-solving business. Going forward, we have identified more problems which we are going to solve via our products.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
When you do what you really love, the pressure and the stress are not felt. As an entrepreneur, pain is a part of the journey that has to be
experienced and enjoyed and suffering is only one’s choice so you have to embrace it. Stress, excitement and nervousness are all part of an entrepreneur’s journey. I still remember the excitement and the stress, in particular, that occurred when the first employee was hired for the firm, it was absolutely chaotic! sleepless nights! but it was fun. You learn a lot every day. From being independent to now heading four has been a beautiful journey as you get to learn so much from these people.
What has worked well for you so far?
I would say my gut feeling for doing anything and very fact that we have solved real problems for people. We have testimonials of our customers sharing their story and how my company helped them. That feeling of having made changes in people’s life has worked for us so far. Our customers keep us going, the fact that we are a tech-based company along with being pioneers in our field is something that has worked great for us. Tech has been an enabler for us to reach to the last mile and connect with customers from every corner of the country. We are going to cross boundaries soon for some of our products. We are setting our own benchmarks.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
1 – Adapting and Moving Quickly – Speed is essential to business success and agility is the ability to move and adapt fast. The faster an organization responds to a problem, a need and adapts to business curveballs, the higher the chances of its survival and success. This includes its leadership being aware of global trends, its impact on the industry as well as the challenges that lay within the landscape, thus allowing for quick decision making and actions that give necessary thrust to the business.
2 – Gaining Insights from the Present Moment – Agile leaders are known to lead their teams in the present moment. They are those who can look at the big picture, are flexible to break it down into smaller chunks and execute. They also demonstrate the ability to mould their management style to maximize the team’s productivity. They observe keenly, listen deeply, ask frequent questions to gain insights to help meet organisational goals.
3 – Inspiring Creativity – Agile leadership can inspire employees to be creative and innovative. They engage and re-engage with their teams to incorporate necessary changes in the way work gets done. They focus on the needs of others, acknowledging their perspectives, support them to meet their work and personal goals, involving them in decisions where appropriate, while building a sense of community within teams. The result is higher engagement, greater trust, and stronger relationships with team members.
They are also able to perceive and educate their team about current market conditions and inspire them to be more open to new ideas and innovations. Agility is also led by aspiration, when everyone knows what they are working towards, then employees become more creative to accomplish the vision.
4 – Being Resilient – Being flexible, open to change and growth is essential for businesses to maintain competitiveness. A leader’s resilience and adaptability towards their approach is the need of the hour in today’s dynamic business landscape. Agile leaders are also intuitive, communicate and motivate as they navigate new waters to chart new successes. They can thrive in the face of change and uncertainty by driving progressive changes in order to create business value for all stakeholders.
5 – Listening, Learning and Adapting – The world today is fast-paced and chaotic with only a few constants. While the firm may appear strong, a certain degree of versatility and malleability makes for strength that can withstand storms of time. This is key for agile leadership. The ability to listen, learn and adapt is a valuable skill that requires vulnerability and confidence. An agile leader is forever learning, be it through seniors, peers, and even their juniors. They also have an open mind to analyse different perspectives to gain real insight. This can mean questioning some of their own assumptions and expertise.
Looking at the bigger picture, the success of leadership lies in its ability to manage teams by inculcating a strong sense of ownership and promoting ‘entrepreneurial’ qualities in the team. Building closely-knit teams that function like family by being supportive and collaborative on the collective goal of the organization is of utmost importance. With a contextual setting for business constantly changing, carefully crafted strategies and a nurturing environment where people feel supported and enthused to learn will be mutually beneficial to the business and employees. This is today’s business scenarios, becomes a leader’s most important responsibility.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
