Innovator Speaks

Anuj Prasad: Desmania

On this episode of Innovator Speaks, we are joined by Anuj Prasad [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuj-prasad-4099b55/], a design entrepreneur, industrial designer, and innovator. With over thirty years of experience in the design industry, Anuj founded Desmania Design [https://www.desmania.com/], a leading blue-chip design house with integrated design facilities. Anuj has been a recipient of several design awards, a founding member of CII’s National Committee of Design, and a jury member for the ‘India Design Mark’. Join us as Anuj shares his passion for innovation through design thinking and doing, his experience as an entrepreneur, and his journey to pioneering new social and personal spaces.

Namita Shah: PreSolv360

In this episode, we interview the co-founder of PreSolv360 [https://www.presolv360.com/], Namita Shah [https://www.linkedin.com/in/namita-shah17/]. Namita began her career in Ernst & Young as an Article Assistant, following the same for around 5 years. During this time, she learned about the challenges a lot of small-time businesses face during disputes, especially in dispute resolution. Following this, she co-founded Legal Tech Asia [https://legaltech.asia/] as a platform that brings out articles on the latest trends in the technology and legal field. When she and her co-founders sat through a court proceeding, they were inspired to begin something new to ease mediation for disputes before they ever enter courts. And this started her journey of building PreSolv360 [https://www.presolv360.com/]. The existing ways of resolving conflicts are not conducive to the investment and business climate of the country - they are resource-heavy, time-consuming, and inefficient. Where 19th century laws still dominate dispute resolution, Presolv360 provides a 21st century solution to uproot such modern-day challenges. Presolv360 is a platform that puts into practice a unique approach to resolve commercial disputes at zero cost. They have made this possible by blending technology, human expertise, and innovation to provide a quick, effective, and enforceable outcome. Namita is a certified chartered accountant apart from having a degree in law. Her work through PreSolv360 has won them many awards and recognition, including from the Department of Justice, Government of India. Given her work and experience, Namita is mentor for Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, and The Sedibus. She is a member of Women Entrepreneurship Platform - NITI Aayog, She Breaks the Law, and Young Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration. She also has been recognized among the top 60 in the 'Women Transforming India, 2018' initiative of the Government of India. We learn about her story, the challenges she faced, and her advice for entrepreneurs. Listen in for this interesting conversation!

Shikha Pandey: BECKFriends.com | PurnaYog

In this episode, we interview Shikha Pandey [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shikhapandey/]. She is an entrepreneur, a yogini, and a podcaster. We learn about her growth over the years, her challenges, and her advice for entrepreneurship. She is the founder & chief business strategist of Gemini New Media Ventures, a co-working space that provides a conducive atmosphere for growth of startups based in Mumbai. She is the co-founder of BECKFriends.com [https://www.beckfriends.com/], a startup she began in 2016. BECKFriends.com [https://www.beckfriends.com/] is a traveler powered delivery marketplace that enables travelers to monetize their unused luggage space by carrying verified packages on their travel route. The network provides a flexible, affordable, and simple shipping solution to buyers and shippers. Apart from this, as an initiative to give back to the community, she began PurnaYog. PurnaYog was launched in June 2020, right in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic, to enable people across the globe with various age-old practices to help cope with the unprecedented times. Shikha believes that yoga is for everybody and with PurnaYog she aims to make it accessible to everybody. Making this holistic approach to life & self-accessible to everyone, PurnaYog offers a range of techniques and practices that enable you to build on the four pillars of fitness (both mental & physical) i.e. Balance, Flexibility, Strength & Stamina. We achieve these through traditional Hatha Yoga practices, Vinyasa & Power Yoga Flows, Pranayama, Mindfulness, Meditation & Inspirational Wisdom talks through their podcasts. Shikha has recently been recognized as a part of the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program for 2022. Before she became an entrepreneur, Shikha worked with various large multinational brands such as Hindustan Unilever, and Airtel in roles relevant to brand management and communication.

Henna Khan: Universe Simplified

Henna Khan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hennakhan/] is the founder & CEO of Universe Simplified Foundation [https://universesimplified.org/] (USF). Universe Simplified, a Mumbai based nonprofit, is setting up STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) based Innovation Hubs within schools for economically challenged children in rural and urban slum areas. These hubs are low cost and run on a “once a week” basis. The Innovation Hubs empower children to apply Science and Technology to address real life local and global challenges and to create opportunities for themselves. The curriculum is implemented in a hands-on, inquiry driven manner to inculcate Innovation and problem-solving skills in children. Universe Simplified has currently set up 5 Innovation Hubs in and around Mumbai, two of which are within Zilla Parishad Schools. Universe Simplified encourages and promotes an inquiry-based learning method which is very hands-on, and collaboration based. This is very much needed for children to develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovative skills. They are pioneering efforts in conducting research in such educative interventions and open sourcing the same. Their work has been recognized widely for their unique and impactful approaches in democratizing STEM education. Universe Simplified has a STEM fellowship program for individuals to participate in USF's work. The USF STEM Fellowship [https://universesimplified.org/usf-stem-fellowship/] is a full time, two-year immersive fellowship during which the fellow will take the ownership of setting up and running low cost, STEM based Innovation Hubs within low-income schools and community centers for rural and urban children. In addition to gaining an in-depth understanding of inquiry driven and hands-on STEM education, the fellows will also work on multiple social innovation projects during the fellowship. Henna is an alumni of University of Bradford with an MBA degree in Strategic Management. Before USF, Henna has worked in various roles in a corporate atmosphere.  In this episode, we get into the depths of the work done by her non-profit Universe Simplified, her motivations, and several other topics. Listen in for an interesting conversation.

Roli Pandey: Zucate | WebbTechy

Roli Pandey [https://www.linkedin.com/in/roli-p-392b751a/] is the Founder & CTO of Zucate [https://www.zucate.in/]. Her role as the CTO includes Technology Research, Developing a Tech Strategy, Tech-Market Research, Social Media Marketing and Branding. As a result of her meticulous approach to technology management, Zucate has been able to establish itself as a proven player in the AR Edtech space being a part of XR Accelerator powered by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and Unity Technologies as well as the grant winner in India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020 in the category of New Age Technologies in Augmented Reality. She is also the Founder & CTO of design, development, and digital marketing start-up WebbTechy [https://www.webbtechy.in/], which sustained well during the pandemic and has been able to prove its credibility in the IT services space with more than 50+ B2B Projects in the span of 2 years. She is an alumnus of Symbiosis International University, Pune. She is a Fellow at Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment (WEE) Foundation by SINE IIT Mumbai & NITI Aayog. She is actively involved in conducting training programs and sessions on prototyping and technology transformation for various reputed organizations like AICTE, IIIT Allahabad, Symbiosis, ESCI. She has been an active evaluator and panelist for various National Level Contests organized by AICTE, MIC such as Smart India Hackathon, National Innovation Contest. She is a mentor onboard for IIC, RDNC, Mumbai University and successfully conducted major EDPs as a sitting mentor. She has recently been selected as a Business Coach for the Business Blasters Program 2021, Government of Delhi. Zucate’s entrepreneurship penned down by her has been published in the book 'Eves Against the Odds'. The book, 'Eves Against the Odds [https://notionpress.com/read/eves-against-the-odds]' explores inspiring women entrepreneurship stories which is an initiative of the organization, Billennium Divas [https://billenniumdivas.fund/] headed by Bhavesh Kothari. Her literary works have also been published in the books 'Wanderlust' and 'A Night to Remember'. She has also been an active columnist at DIMAT news bulletin, EngiTech. She has been interviewed by various platforms where she talked about Zucate and its journey. Some of them include Facebook in US-India Business Council 2018, Roundtable on Role of Women in XR, at Unite India 2019 and Startup Sunday. In this episode, we interview Roli on her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges she faced, and several topics. Listen in to this insightful conversation!