As part of our relentless efforts to identify and share some of the meaningful stories from India and around the world, this weekend we invited Sarthak Goel for an interview with us. He is the Co-Founder of inVOID. They are on a mission to automate identity verification workflows for enterprises across India. Let’s read more about his astonishing 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 have lived in multiple cities while growing up which has given me an opportunity to get exposed to a lot of different environments. These have helped me realise what are basic things which affect people’s daily lives no matter where & how they live.
When I started my engineering degree, I faced a problem in the first semester of my college itself and while I solved it, I started my first venture. However, due to the attention it demanded, I decided to shut the shop & concentrate on building my skill set. The bug again bit me when I sold a product to the Government of India in my final year. This gave me some confidence about how I could consider entrepreneurship as a career choice.
By the time I was passing out of my college, I got selected in the MIT Innovation & Entrepreneurship coursework. This was where I got international exposure through a prestigious opportunity. I came back from the coursework & decided to quit my job. This is where inVOID started.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a corporate career?
Corporate career has its own merits & some brilliant organizations also believe in corporate entrepreneurship. However, in my case, I felt that I was better suited for an entrepreneurial career than a corporate career.
I was determined to build something which I was the owner of incomplete sense. It does take everything you have to start up but it was one journey I definitely wanted to try.
Creating a product which could affect masses and solve a critical problem was something which I dreamt of. The learnings that I have as an entrepreneur, it might have taken me several years to gather in case of a corporate career. There is still a long way to go.
Please share with us some of the challenges you faced in your journey;
There are challenges every day. One challenge that I faced earlier in inVOID’s journey was a major pivot. For the first few months, we were selling a product in an industry where the willingness to buy was very low. We had a product but we were struggling to find the right market fit.
The only option to move ahead was to pivot. We had to convince our investors & mentors about a new market & a new product which was not related to our idea for which we got them on board. We were going to pitch to a newer market which we had no prior experience of. It was challenging but gave us an opportunity to learn.
What is your business mantra: Money or Emotions?
In terms of business, it has to be money. Revenue is the most important metric to focus on. Emotions do drive our decisions as humans but if used in the proper direction can propel our efforts towards creating value in whatever we are building.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
To be honest this is still a big challenge in front of me. I believe that pressure & stress are important to go on & push one’s limit.
“Coal must wait, through pressures and extreme stress, to achieve its ultimate goal. The pursuit of success in our lives is often a similar process.”
I am still far from achieving this, it’s something which needs to be made peace with.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Success is very subjective and has a lot of definitions, which keep changing at different times during our lifetime.
It’s too difficult to say if a particular key would work or not but I feel execution is highly underrated & should be practised more often.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
It’s a very tough journey. It might turn your life upside down for good or bad so one should be absolutely sure before taking this up.
Research & consult thoroughly before you finally give up the comfort of your life!
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.
