At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some of the meaningful and powerful stories from around the world to empower and motivate our growing community of entrepreneurs, investors, management students and aspiring entrepreneurs. This week we invited Ritu Raj Das for an interview with us to know more about his startup and the way forward. He is a seasoned corporate leader and an entrepreneur with over 15 years of domain expertise. He is currently the Director – Technology and Operations Transformation with Deloitte Australia and is also the co-founder of SkillProdigy. SkillProdigy is an interview prep app that gives users the confidence and expertise to improve their communication and interviewing skills. He co-founded the venture along with Neeraj Puntambekar (Co-Founder) and Anu Bansal (Chief Marketing Officer). Let’s learn more!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Ritu Raj:
Talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur so far, please;
I was born in a small town called Jorhat in the north-east state of Assam. Primary schooling started there and we moved to Kanpur before settling in Delhi where I completed my schooling and my Bachelors’s in Information Technology from the University of Delhi.
I then moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2003 to pursue my Masters in IT from La Trobe and Melbourne has been my home since.
To further broaden my skills I completed my MBA from Melbourne Business School (MBS) and this is where the entrepreneurial bug bit me.”
I met Neeraj (Co-Founder, Skill Prodigy) at MBS and we shared the same goals – starting something on our own but more importantly solving a real problem – that’s how Skill Prodigy was born.
Neeraj is a certified Scrum Master with 10+ years of diverse experience in multiple IT consultation roles.
Why entrepreneurship over a corporate career?
For me personally it is about freedom and following your passion – it is the ability to bring a change without the fear of failing. It is about designing something from scratch and the satisfaction that comes with it when things start to take shape. Entrepreneurship is about constant learning, things change by the minute and you wear multiple hats throughout the day.
We are still in our corporate careers and this makes it even more interesting as you can apply the skills across both worlds interchangeably.”
How is your product different from traditional products? Tell us more about your product and your startup’s journey this far?
There aren’t a lot of apps/services in the market that provide a community-based platform for improving your communication skills. This is our differentiator – the concept is pretty simple. Good communication skills are a massive problem in India especially in tier 2 & 3 cities. Skill Prodigy is an Android App that helps students and professionals improve their communication skills by providing them a platform to practice potential interview questions that are reviewed by their peers and mentors/trainers. In summary, it’s a self-paced in your pocket digital learning partner.
We started our journey in Sep 2018 and have been boot-strapping Skill Prodigy since.
It’s a small team of three including Anu Bansal (Chief Marketing Officer).
We developed a MVP and went live in March 2019 and over the last 15 months we have had approximately 14k downloads and 800+ answers uploaded by users. This has allowed us to understand the market better and introduce new features in an updated version which will be released in June 2020.
Please share with us some of the challenges you faced in your journey;
Challenges are a part and parcel for every entrepreneur. It becomes the norm after a while. For us the biggest challenge is introducing a product in India being based out of Australia. Not to mention the time zone differences and challenges of getting development and support done from India. The other challenge is finding the right team, we have learned our lessons the hard way but nevertheless this is what this journey is about – learn every day and have your sights on the end goal.
What is your Business Mantra: Money or Emotions?
Neither, our Mantra is working hard, challenge the status quo, and success will follow. Money is not what drives us, it will follow if you have done the due diligence properly.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
You have to learn to deal with it. It’s important to remember that there is life outside your day job and Skill Prodigy. We have our families and friends who need our time. Planning the week ahead in advance is the key and having certain pockets during the day where you switch is critical in keeping you focussed. Moreover, there is nothing that a good chat can’t resolve.
What has worked well for you so far?
It’s having the right team, mentors, and support from family and friends. We have had our fair share of ups and downs but we have ensured that Skill Prodigy is not impacted due to any of this.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Success is subjective – it means different things to different people. For me personally success is the feeling of contentment and keys are pretty simple – sheer hard work and perseverance. It’s about being honest to yourself and the team and bringing your best to the table.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
Be like water, prepare for setbacks but learn from them. Good things don’t happen overnight, they take time. Listen to your gut; surround yourself with like-minded people who bring the same level of passion as you, if not more. Start small but dream big.
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