Let’s delve into Sonakshi's entrepreneurial journey from Microsoft to her own company, BIK, highlighting the importance of understanding the target audience, developing products based on customer feedback, maintaining an entrepreneurial mindset, and learning from successful founders, while also emphasising the need for a safety net when starting a business.

In this first of 2-part conversation, Abbhinav (123 of AI) and co-host Debayan (Microsoft) are in conversation with Sonakshi Nathani, founder of BIK, ex-Microsoft, ex-IIITH.

SONAKSHI REVEALS:

• Her family background in business - owning a shop and how her grandfather's entrepreneurial spirit inspired her from a young age
• Her journey of joining Microsoft after college - getting into the same race as her batchmates.
• Her decision to quit, and finding a problem of interest to build a company.
• The importance of having a safety net, whether financial or familial, when starting a business.
• Insights into how they identified their target audience, developed their product (Bikai), and determined pricing based on customer feedback.
• Her conversations with customers - the importance of understanding the customer's pain points and speaking their language.
• The role of mindset, passion, and perseverance in entrepreneurship, as well as the value of learning from successful founders' stories and constantly challenging oneself.

BEST MOMENTS:

"If a normal person like him can do it, then why can’t I” - Sonakshi on gaining confidence from hearing successful founders' stories.

“The only you know I think metric which can guide you if you are doing right or not is are you getting good sleep" - Sonakshi's unconventional metric for success in the early days.

"You have to fool your mind and this is not just one time job. You have to do that every day as an entrepreneur because every day is a challenge." - Sonakshi on the mindset required for entrepreneurship.

"You have to just speak with them, understand thought processes and execute." Sonakshi on the importance of understanding customers' thought processes and acting on their feedback.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Abbhinav Venkat, is the founder of 123 of AI, an ed-tech company enabling working professionals upskill in AI/ML. He is an entrepreneur, AI researcher, and podcaster. Prior to starting 123 of AI, he spent several years at multiple Silicon Valley startups as a Computer Vision Scientist. His academic career involved AI research at IIIT-H and Stanford University with several top-tier publications in BMVC, ICCV, ACPR. For his research, he was awarded Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship, felicitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, as well as invited for talks in 4 continents.

123 of AI’s official website: https://www.123ofai.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbhinavvenkat