At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the entrepreneurship world. As part of this endeavour, we invited passionate entrepreneur – Baskar Rengaiyan for an exclusive interview with us. He is the Founder & CEO of Siddhan Intelligence Pvt Ltd based out of India and Brussels. His start up offers unique AI, IoT, & ML integrated products for the Airline Industry. Having worked and achieved many milestones in the travel industry, he is a proven Digital Transformation Leader. He is leveraging his expertise and skills through his startup. Let’s learn more about his exciting journey as an entrepreneur, his background and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
Tell us a little bit about your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
I am with the software industry since 1992. Served twice as CIO in large corporations and was heading the Travel & Transportation vertical before starting Siddhan Intelligence. I just ventured into start-up last year and this has been the most satisfying journey so far.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
Innovation is just a style statement in large corporates. I thought it doesn’t make sense to continue with lip service. Hence, I decided to leave and start my own venture. We are in operation for the last six months, with six customers, and our NCA rate is 100% and two significant products are in-making or in the lab now.
What keeps you going? What’s your source of motivation?
Great question! Siddhan Intelligence is built with a purpose. Highly committed employees are one of my sources of inspiration (though they claim it another way :). I am trying to run with the speed in which my young talents are running the system. My second source is the clarity of our business model. The beauty is the model is so dynamic the way the world changes. So, we have loaded guns.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
Short-lived Motivation. It is one of the significant challenges. People need to learn by failing fast. Failing is just another way not to do what you wanted to achieve. If you got that understanding, you would not have an issue. So, when you walk on the floor, you need to keep motivating and move. It is as good as watering the plant. Skillsets are one of the major bottlenecks. The learning cycle looks shorter, but to build superior products, you need to be classic on your skills.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
I am an emotional person. Business needs to have emotions, not personal, obviously, but business ones like concern for quality deliverables, client satisfaction, targets & roadmaps, you planned & how you will achieve it, etc. Money is obviously the priority but I believe if your value creation process is right for others, the money will automatically come as an outcome of it.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
The best way to handle your stress is to have a coffee with your colleagues and employees—the best stress buster. You will love to interact with everyone because what I have seen every human is – as good as a planet. The world for every individual is big. Just share your coffee and chat….chat. Simple. You will find a world of difference.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
In my journey so far what has helped me immensely is the Design Thinking
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Clarity on goals. Stick to your goals. Simple.
What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
I always work on a tag line ‘add value to get value’. Don’t focus primarily on money or investments but keep your focus on creating a sustainable venture & value creation. I believe rest of the things will automatically set with time. Also, if you are starting up a venture, feel free to reach out to us. You will find us a great partner or mentor to you with innovative means.
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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.
