“If you believe in the idea go for it. It does not matter if you succeed or fail, you will be much better person from the experience”
Brief introduction about your unique App sRide? sRide is an instant on the go carpooling platform to help people going in same direction connect with each other. The cars on the road are increasing but the infrastructure is still not able to keep up with the traffic. Today utilization of a car is only 4%. sRide helps people to carpool with each other increasing the utilization of cars, reduce the traffic and carbon footprint. Moreover, sRide helps people socialize while commuting.
Its Facebook of transportation + Linkeidn-on-the go. How did the simple thought of carpooling turned into such a big idea? sRide idea came out of my personal experiences. Whenever I saw traffic jams and everybody driving alone, I always thought why people don’t carpool. Do they have a way to carpool easily? I found that people do want to carpool but it’s so hard to coordinate with each other. There are some websites to help in carpooling but they are so old technology that nobody uses them.
How has been your journey been so far? Also, please share your future goals? We launched in Pune in April 2015 and since then there is no looking back. Our users are very enthusiastic about the app and it has gone viral. Our plan is to take it to 10 cities over next 12-18months. Our vision is that sRide is used in every BIG city, small city and every village of India as an alternative transportation
What all challenges did you face and what were your strategies to overcome them? A good product is very important for bringing the revolution that we are trying to bring. For a good product getting the right team is biggest challenge. We have done a pretty good job in getting the right people onboard from day 1 especially through our network
What are your views on the thought, that as compared to male counterparts, it’s harder and more struggling for females to make a mark professionally? I don’t agree with this point of view at all. Women are as capable of doing & achieving everything in life that men can do. Just because there are certain responsibilities, it should not stop anyone from doing what they want to do. If you plan well & are determined, then everything is achievable. All it takes is a strong step in life.
What piece of advice would you like to give to the aspiring youth who wish to pursue their dream of becoming an entrepreneur? One piece of advice that I would like to give is that if you believe in the idea go for it. It does not matter if you succeed or fail, you will be much better person from the experience.
According to you, is innovation & creativity an important factor in becoming a successful entrepreneur? Innovation is definitely an important factor in entrepreneurship. We see a lot of ideas been replicated across many countries but there has to be still originality in the way it is implemented. The product’s operational efficiency & marketing strategy is what separates a successful product from the others in the market
How do you manage the work life balance? When I am at work, I am totally focused at work and same when I am at home. I make sure that I spend enough quality time with my family. They are very supportive and proud of what I am doing and that’s what keeps me recharged to give my best in my professional life too.
What are your views and opinions towards the ambiguous need to promote women entrepreneurship and women empowerment in India? I don’t believe that there is need to promote women entrepreneurship as women in India are very smart, strong willed & capable of being a successful entrepreneur. What we don’t have is an environment or mindset that women can be as successful as men & that is the change we need to encourage in India.
