As part of our ongoing interview series with promising womenpreneurs, we spoke to Nishita Gogoi this week, who is the Founder/Director at Codeshala. Her startup aims at imparting coding skills to kids from a very early stage by simplifying and streamlining the coding modules.
Codeshala inculcates creative problem-solving in kids through coding from a very young which opens brighter opportunities for them in the future. Let’s read more about Nishita’s journey as a women entrepreneur so far!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Nishita:
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your startup please;
I come from a nuclear family in Guwahati, Assam. I am 27 years old. Everyone in my family is a government employee so they expected the same from me too. I never had a plan to do engineering, but somehow landed there. I completed my engineering from Maharishi Dayanand University. During my engineering years, I developed my curiosity for coding as well as started taking part in events that made me confident about my management skills. Nobody in my family or the friend circle thought that I would ever become an entrepreneur as in my earlier years I was a very shy person. But my best friend/husband (Pavan Goswami) believed in me. We started dating when we were in college. And came up with the idea of Codeshala in those years itself. Of course, it took us time to get everything together but we managed and started our company in 2016 and successfully did our first summer camp. And since then we are moving forward.
Talking about our startup, Codeshala believes that by starting to code at a younger age it opens a kids mind to creative “Problem Solving” thinking and becomes an extension of how kids can express themselves.
Our vision is that every kid in every part of this country should have the opportunity to read and write code.
We also believe that computer science should be a part of the core curriculum along with other subjects.
Team CodeShala is a dedicated team of professionals that has been teaching coding to kids for years. Our programs advance young coders from the very beginnings to the mastery of computer science and software development.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
9 to 5 is not my cup of tea. It’s not that I never tried doing a job, but trust me it wasn’t worth it. Saying that I always try to be a good boss and try to constantly keep making my team comfortable in the workplace. I also believe that I am a creative person and I did not get many opportunities in my job to show my creativity. I also realised that computer science is considered a less important subject in our country. I wanted to create awareness amongst people to spread the message that computer science is important in today’s world and that it has great scope for the kids in the future. Coding can open so many career opportunities and also helps in other required skills.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
I am very passionate about my work. I am determined to take codeshala to heights it deserves. I am constantly thinking about new things we can introduce and sometimes I get desperate to make them work.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
Every business or enterprise has some risks. Our risks are associated with the right skillset that we look for expansion in future. We already have a core niche team but I see from future expansion perspective, we would need innovative minds, with the flexible thought process. Although, with a clearly defined process, and innovative means to reach out to search resource, we are confident enough that we will mitigate it.
Tell our audience more about your failures? How should one bounce back?
I believe that failures are like stepping stones towards success. If you don’t face failure how will you rejoice success? There are difficulties and risks in every business, but I and my team are always prepared for it. I have this awesome team that has kept me motivated through difficult times. And with God’s blessing’s we have always managed to overcome them gracefully.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
I believe money is important, but calling it the most important won’t be correct. I believe both should be in a balance in your life. you cannot get too emotional while doing business nor should you run after blind money.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
The satisfaction I see in the students face when I teach them, or when they create something is beyond explanation. I and my team work day and night not just to earn money, but to provide quality education to our students. And these are the things that have always helped me in managing the stress.
What advice would you give to someone starting, particularly to aspiring women entrepreneurs?
When you are starting something focus on what you want to do. And do it with all your heart. Take the plunge, the money will follow eventually.
Where is Codeshala based? And how does it work?
CodeShala is based in South Delhi, Malviya Nagar. We provide our services all over Delhi/NCR. We provide both group classes and personal classes. Considering the kid’s schedule and the Delhi traffic, We send out instructors to people’s home for private lessons as well.
Nishita Gogoi(Founder/Director)
Pavan Goswami(Co-Founder/Director)
Address: Codeshala Pvt. Ltd. 129/B Khirki Village, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi 110017
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