At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Surashree Rahane for an exclusive interview with us. Surashree is a Leader, Keynote Speaker, Advisor, Mentor, Seasoned Entrepreneur and Change Enabler. She is the Founder and CEO of Yearbook Canvas. Let’s learn more about her inspirational journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Surashree:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I am born and brought up in a family of freedom fighters, in a small village named Bhagur in Maharashtra. Though I am physically challenged, I was never encouraged to use it as a shield. The qualities of courage, perseverance and self-motivation were inculcated in me since childhood.
I always wanted to do everything my friends and classmates did, many times strive for even more. But it was not easy. I had to face all the challenges any specially-abled girl coming from a rural background could face. Like having to travel in a public bus at 5:20 am every day for quality education in 11th and 12th grade, inaccessible places and distributing my time between my surgeries, hospitals, doctors, friends, family and education.”
I had my first surgery when I was just 15 days old. Since then, I have had 15+ surgeries. But I made sure I don’t miss school for more than 3 months top, even if it meant fighting with the doctors or my parents, or making my school’s authorities shift the classroom from a higher floor to the ground floor in a more accessible area as I was unable to walk without a walker. And I thank my younger self, for teaching me to stick to things, things I believe in because my belief created my reality.
I was always a warrior. But in grade 10th, I got a live example that being a warrior was in my blood. My father had a major paralysis attack. The doctors had given him 72 hours to live. He even asked us to call our relatives. But my father was always a warrior too.”
He survived, day after day. I was naturally disturbed and would rush to the hospital every day after school to meet him. But whenever I would talk to him he was high spirited. I didn’t realize this at that time, but I was being motivated by him, in small doses every day. And then they shifted him to a bigger hospital in another city. So, in this God-forsaken situation, I could only meet my parents once in a couple of weeks. But looking at my dad, becoming his own champion, and not a victim, I too decided to become my own champion.
Just 3 months before the exam, I started studying hard, and I not only came 1st in my school but also in the town. I then realized, how important it is to become your superhero, rather than becoming your own victim. I was awarded as an outstanding student of India and was also given the scholarship to go out of India for studies. It was an achievement of a lifetime. But I already had a dream college, and by now I somewhat knew that I followed up on my dreams. And that is how I landed in the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP).
You are a product of all your decisions, everything you think, everything you practice every single day.”
My alma mater gave me the innumerable treasure of mentors, mentors like former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Prof. Sanjay Inamdar who taught me to do more, not just related to my studies, but about life.
Being pushed by every single one of them, I participated in business competitions, was selected as a part of MIT media lab’s 1st workshop in India, was leading the business incubation centre as the student’s head and had won the leadership of the year award in the graduating year.
My entrepreneurial journey actually started from there. At 19, I was the youngest entrepreneur on NDTV Indian roots to export traditional Indian wear to countries like the USA, Canada and Germany.”
But to learn more, I opted for a job in a startup. It is a startup I got to learn a lot of things on the job, and I was able to see the business functions clearly. My interest in learning how to run a business grew, and I opted to go for higher studies. By then, my mission was clear, to learn from the best, be the best resource to the industry and give back to the society what society had given me in a meaningful way.
Meanwhile, my college friend proposed to me, and we decided to get married. We were fortunate enough to be the season finale couple on an international television show, mentored by the designer Sabyasachi.”
During my MBA from FMS, Delhi, the rebel inside me was very much on fire. I worked on a short film on the LGBTQ community because I wanted to take their unheard story to as many people as possible, won awards for the same, but also received threats for taking this sensitive topic. But most of the things I was interested in by that time, ranging from scuba diving to making such films, involved serious repercussions, so I stood up for what I believed in, even if it meant scaring the bejesus out of me.
When all of this was happening, I got the pre-placement offer from PepsiCo, which made me cry with joy, but there too I was asked if I would prefer a desk job. To which my answer was a stern no. And I don’t know what it was, my confidence or my stubbornness, they gave me the field job in sales. There I worked in India and Thailand. And with the sole purpose of rocking the job, I kept on going and won the sales manager of the month award 4 times in 12 months. Oh, what a journey! I worked with HP in my last job, leading India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh education and Chromebook market.
I believe that stories are very powerful. People connect and learn from other’s stories. So I took on the global stage and became a motivational and educational speaker on platforms like TEDx, Josh talks with 1.48 lac+ views on youtube, UNESCO, education institutes like ISB Hyderabad, University of Pennsylvania and foundations like Pi Jam foundation.”
But for the last 10 years, I was always connected to the startup ecosystem- as a mentor, an advisor, even helping with investments.
Deep down I knew that was my ultimate goal. And as I believed in the power of stories, memories and nostalgia, I partnered as an investor and advisor with Yearbook Canvas in 2018 and went through the company’s journey together with the team.”
2020 was scary, with the education institutes closing- which was our main target group and many startups going under. The entire ecosystem was shattered. But we were persistent.
We strategized to enter the space of corporate memory books. And not just survived but maintained our no.1 rank in India for yearbooks 3 years in a row. After the 1st unlock, I decided to get on board as the CEO. And the future is for us to create history.”
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
Like I shared, I was always connected to the startup ecosystem as a mentor, an advisor, even helping with investments. Deep down I knew that was my ultimate goal.
I always wanted to contribute to the ecosystem in whatever capacity and role required.”
Some of the key reasons to choose entrepreneurship are as follows:
1) Provide employment
2) Do something larger than life, bigger than myself, my family, my friends, my comfort zone
3) Impact and motivate many physically challenged girls from rural India to dream big and then work towards achieving those dreams
3) Become a philanthropist
Surashree Rahane, Founder and CEO (Left) | Abhinav Madavi, Co-Founder and COO, Yearbook Canvas (Right)
‘Yearbook Canvas’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving with the help of your startup?
The developed countries are a very big market for yearbooks and school/college merchandises. The market leaders in countries like the USA have their revenue nearing a billion dollars.
But developing countries like India don’t have this culture. And it is important to have these memorabilia as It captures memories frozen in time, learnings that happened faces that change and memories that may only be remembered again by opening the cover.
You can’t see the same things while scrolling through social media, and that is why a yearbook is actually a necessity. They will never go out of style and will always be a treat when came across, no matter how old their users grow. They will always serve their same purpose that can never be quite replicated anyplace else. So, we are developing this culture of yearbooks by working with education institutes like IIMs, IITs, NITs, FMS, ISB and multiple schools.”
We are the only company in Asia to have a mobile application exclusively for yearbooks. Also, the tech platform and app we have reduces the time required for data collection and coordination by 70%.
Institutes don’t have emotional data and information to engage alumni. With yearbooks, they can have the data on hand and can engage alums better.
During the pandemic, corporates were finding it difficult to maintain their employee’s motivation and keep them engaged. So our corporate memory books served as a great employee engagement and happiness tool, which will continue to serve not just the same, but much bigger engagement and record purpose always.
We have a campus ambassador program by the name of Futurepreneur where students are given sessions and tasks related to entrepreneurship so the startup ecosystem can develop on the campus. We are also developing a customized Futurepreneur program for students with disability in the medium they are most comfortable in.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
a) Getting the right team, mentors, investors
b) Operational excellence
c) Transparency
d) Speed
e) Scale
f) Don’t let the money run out
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I am a Warrior. Having gone through so much in life, I know how to keep myself motivated. My purpose itself is my driving force.
Plus, gratitude towards everything- the universe, higher power and the people around me- friends, family, team, mentors, all stakeholders, the society with all its ups and downs. Everything that has shaped me is what keeps me going.
I am also my biggest cheerleader. Because if I won’t believe in myself, who else would?”
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
Trusting the team and giving them the freedom
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
Emotionally connecting with our customers and investors has worked for us. As this is a highly experiential process of filling a yearbook, and the outcome is very nostalgic lifetime memorabilia with many functional benefits as well, the customers connect with us emotionally.
And with our great customer support, their experience is enhanced. Investors too love the idea, as one of our first investors was a school owner who we met as a customer.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned building your startup?
~ Aligning is as important as hustling
~ Becoming a part of the right startup ecosystem boosts the confidence
~ Great talent comes at a price
In your opinion, what is more necessary: An idea or a good team for a successful startup?
In my opinion, a great team backed by a good idea is necessary.
A great team to achieve speed and a good idea to scale are the two most important factors according to me for a successful startup.”
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
Many women entrepreneurs believe that to break the glass ceiling they have to thoroughly follow other successful entrepreneurs. But what should be done is to be authentic.
Being authentic is fresh and you are more confident in your own skin. Have your own journey rather than blindly follow someone else. This does not mean not having mentors. I would suggest you to have many mentors actually. But listen to everyone’s opinions, learn from them and take your own decisions.
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.
