At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring to our community some of the meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our community. This week we invited Hitesh Taral – Founder & CEO of Databox Technologies, for an interview with us to understand more about his journey so far. He is an Author, Digital Marketer, Podcaster, Coach, and a Passionate Entrepreneur. Let’s read about his inspiring journey and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Hitesh:
Talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
It’s a super fun roller coaster ride when it comes to the journey of an entrepreneur, at least in my case. So starting with academics, I was 3 times dropped out of college and I worked in a supermarket store. I also repaired the computer hardware of a Doctor living nearby my home to earn my first paycheck of Rs.150. I believe that’s where my entrepreneurial journey began, at least in my head. It gave me the confidence to start with my first ever company Sensigo in IT/ITES services. It went down soon because I did not have enough passion and motivation for the same.
But within 3 months of that, I again started with Databox with an investment of Rs.700; that was back in June of 2013. And I realized, I need to learn so many things that ain’t taught to us, not even in any business schools or any curriculum. So I started working for this firm in Mumbai and learned the business ethics and the basics that you need to run a business successfully.”
Coming back I started working on Databox, it was my baby then. So thereafter I started with Gizmobox an e-Paper.
I frankly got into digital marketing unintendedly by promoting my own baby ventures, I started getting a little bit of recognition as a digital marketer.
And by then I started taking sessions on digital marketing and helped people grow.
I started another a company based and operated in the US called Zedexta Ventures. Being into the flow of digital marketing, I am aware of what sort of tools are required to handle social media of those who deal and earn through social media itself. I also developed an exclusive tool where content creators can plan & schedule their content for a long period.
There is one more venture Hytach that we recently introduced. Hytach is an online certification courses platform for individuals and corporates.
That is pretty much it, till now.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
Basically a job and doing your own business is the same for me. Business is to fulfil your dream and even while doing it you are fulfilling your dream, as you get the salary at the end of the month.
But I wanted to do everything by myself. So in the initial days, I was the one-man army and had to do every part of my business by myself, which was pretty interesting. Eventually, the workload increased and I had to hire people and I got used to the fact that I could keep control of everything.”
Things started falling in place and worked pretty well for me, at least till now. And about the fact that working for yourself or working for others is everybody’s personal choice to make.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
What gives you out of the bed in the morning is the fact that I never go to sleep. I rest, I take naps but I don’t sleep for 8-10 hours. My work is pretty much exciting which keeps me driving.
As I said, I never intended to start with business or anything but I just had a dream always to come home late in the night and see the bed and sleep with a suit and shoes on and wake up like the same the next morning. I always wanted a tiring day and a peaceful sleep. Seeing that dream getting fulfilled my motivation to get up and get energized every morning.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
So I never decided to be in one industry. Right from selling the coffee machines, to be in development, to be digital marketing, to being a digital marketing coach, and today, I am a growth hacker and content creator for now. And I don’t know after a couple of years I might be doing something completely different. It’s adrenaline which keeps me rushing for it.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
I never encountered any major challenges from outside. I strongly feel challenges are a part of your journey and we have to take it as opportunities. For that reason, I keep challenging myself to do different things, to unleash my true potential and to discover new things along the way.
I believe in ‘making it large’ and so my inner self challenges me for the larger things coming.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
Frankly speaking, it is basically, emotions for money.
Coming from the middle-class family where you don’t have a business background I was by default taught to value the money. Also, the surroundings tell me to value the money. As true as money is important to lead a good life, so are emotions and vice versa.”
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
I’m a big fan of Indian classical music so it always helps. Although as I said, the adrenaline rush keeps me going, hence I like doing the solo bike ride, trekking when I’m a bit tensed or distracted. It doesn’t give me a solution to the problems I’m having but it makes me realize my strengths and the powers and patience.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
So many secret strategies I have, everybody does, but the couple of them I would like to share is Hardwork and Patience is all that worked out for me pretty good to share. And the fact that I extremely believe is that a good entrepreneur is always a good learner first.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Believe in yourself and work your ass off. In entrepreneurship, you have to sacrifice ordinary life and be prepared for a life full of learning, challenges and excitement. You might get into a point where you are working sitting in a club and people around you are partying. In short, nothing else but Work hard.
What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
1) Before starting or getting into Entrepreneurship first you have to research your niche or industry.
2) Identify your competitors and keep track of them. Understand what and how they are doing.
3) Understand your audience.
4) Put yourself into your audience’s shoes and always try to add values in their lives. Also if you are starting up something feel free to reach out. I would personally like to mentor you.
Follow Hitesh At:
Website – www.hiteshtaral.in
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/hiteshtaral/
You may also like ~ Interview with Varun Ellanky | Founder of Digital Ellanky | Corporate Trainer | Speaker
_____________________________________________________________________________
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.
