In our latest interview, we spoke to Rituu Srivastav to understand more about her startup and her journey as a women entrepreneur. She is the c0-founder of award winning startup Wiwitan Solutions India Pvt. Ltd, an educational startup nurturing entrepreneurship around the globe. Wiwitan Solution is the winner of India 500 Startup awards 2019 & Most innovative Company of the year award at International Inspirational Women Awards (IIWA) 2020, An Initiative by GISR Foundation. Let’s read more!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Rituu Srivastav:
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey, please;
I co-founded Wiwitan Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., An Educational Startup whose vision is to nurture entrepreneurship at grass root level globally through its innovative and world’s 1st game based entrepreneurship development program “HEURISTIC”, conceived and developed by me and Kunnwar Vijay Parmar who is the founder & CEO and also a social entrepreneur running multiple social projects like setting up India’s first Farm Tourism Project “BannI Khera Farm”
Before kick-starting my startup, I worked with the renowned architectural and real-estate developers heading the design. So, I am an architect by profession and a creative soul, I always wanted to do something beyond just architecture and make a social impact on society. Nothing can be more fulfilling and meaningful than nurturing future entrepreneurs.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
I have been on the other side of the road for a long time. Being an Architect I was already inclined towards turning ideas into reality and that’s the essence of any entrepreneurial venture or a startup. After spending a long time with corporate real estate firms, I decided to switch over and entered into the world of entrepreneurship. Being an architect and having design sensibilities helped me in the development of game and game-based program.
I believe that the skills of an entrepreneur help not only in a startup but also to become a good employee as well as help you to become a better and humble human being.
The entrepreneurial journey is a somewhat simulation of real-life experiences. I also wanted to challenge myself to leave the comfort zone and enter into the phase of uncertainty which is an essential part of your entrepreneurial pursuit at the initial stage. That dynamism and uncertainty of a startup give an exciting and a lifetime experience like no other“
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
I think it won’t be appropriate to call it an industry moreover it’s an upcoming ecosystem with stakeholders from all industries whether private or government and each plays a crucial rule to strengthen it and we were a social and educational startup so our role is to offer something more impactful and innovative to make the ecosystem more vibrant and dynamic. Through our game-based EDP, we strongly believe we are going in the right direction and adding significant value to the ecosystem.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
“Dream is not what you see in sleep, is the thing which doesn’t let you sleep”. – APJ Abdul Kalam
HEURISTIC as a game based entrepreneurship program is not only a startup but a revolutionary change and need of the hour, not only in India but around the world, especially in developing countries. Starting something from scratch and creating something out of nothing and getting recognition for the same is the most fulfilling experience, which doesn’t let you sleep even. Another interesting motivation is when few people think that it’s a huge mistake to become an entrepreneur due to its uncertainty, prone to failure and risk.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
Oh! don’t ask me; it’s really a challenging journey and I have to encounter new challenges at every step I put ahead. It happens with all futuristic ideas and same happened with us. Initially, it was quite hard to make decision-makers and stakeholders understand the need of the entrepreneurship per se and more difficult on Game-Based Learning module, especially to introduce it at school level but with our persistence and the value we deliver through our programme, things started turning positive and now we are working with top government organisations from MHRD Innovation Cell to State Government Education Departments.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
I think we have a wrong notion of what comes first. Actually, a wise entrepreneur will always look at it from a balanced approach and so is the case with me. I believe Money is like the fuel and Passion/Emotions are like an engine which adds quality and power to the entire machine.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
So pressure and stress is like a ‘Shark’ in my fish tank which keeps me alive and running. Hope you have heard of the Japanese fisherman strategy to keep fishes alive by putting a shark in the tank.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
During my startup journey, I have experienced that willingness to learn, ability to listen and perseverance helped me grew. Being in a startup I can be more creative, can do more experiments, can fail and learn and recreate.
Most importantly to unlearn which is tougher than learning. It’s really important to break out the shells that we so far believe are to protect us. And I keep saying “Entrepreneurship is the journey and resilience is the fuel.”
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
I don’t want to get into the success trap. For me, success is to enjoy the journey throughout and not to reach a point, irrespective of the outcome. I have realised that entrepreneurship is a journey which opens up your mind, leads to fresh outlook towards the world and defiantly leads to exponential self-growth.
What advice would you give to someone starting out particularly women?
Taking this plunge is always a fight because of our mindset to be in a safe comfort zone, which resists any change.
Time is never right. Conditions are never perfect. List of pros and cons won’t help. Excel sheet calculation won’t let you do it ever. And most importantly the fear of failure will hold you back.
I would say if you have an idea and the right balance of skill and passion, take the plunge, success is not guaranteed but the experience is worth.
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