Live for a Cause and Be the Change

To win without risk is to triumph without glory.

It was as a part of MSL305, a course on New Venture Creation, that I got to know about Mr. Srinivas Adepu, a student of M.Tech, Mechanical Design, IIT Delhi. I would call it my pleasure to know this fellow entrepreneur as a part of my project as directed by Neeraj Sanan. Although, there is quite a reason I chose Srinivas Adepu since, I also have been trying to look into the product development aspects quite lately.

As in every entrepreneur's case, Srinivas's Journey also started from a really drifted place. He was just entering IIT Delhi and things collapsed on him, his health and his GPAs. But what Srinivas was good at was the practical application of what he learnt. He used build stuff quite as an engineer back during his Bachelor's Degree too. And that was inherent in him partly due to his father's work as a Mechanic.

Quickshift, Srinivas like every other student was provided a professor to work under with a project for his degree. Apparently, due to his low GPA, he got ahead with one of the strictest professors of IIT Delhi. Though professor wasn't quite satisfied with Srinivas Adepu's work initially, and tried to shift him to a much easier project, Srinivas couldn't accept the failure. He tried worked hard to prove himself and he did. He worked on it. He completed the project. Meanwhile, a bunch of his fellow college mates, present a project on a step climber which was used by disabled people. He went through the project and had checked the capabilities of it. But wasn't quite satisfied with it. He went back to the professor whom he had get sign from for his stipend and performance credits. He built a product, a better walking crutch and all this in astonishingly smaller periods of time as small as a week. The professor was quite impressed by the product and had asked him to present it in front of a bunch of PhD Scholars and Professors after physically testing out.

He also was asked to take the crutch to AIIMS Delhi and get it validated by doctors from the physiotherapy and orthopaedic departments and it was a huge success. Alongside, the placement seasons had started, and Srinivas's most aspired company Mercedes was also in for the placement season. He managed to clear the interview and bag himself a package at Mercedes. Now, final semester, he had to chill and party, so he needed money and one well established way was to participate and win events. So he gave events along with his present cofounder who were also his college mates. And he won 1.5 Lakhs in two events with the crutch as the product. Now struck confusion as to continue ahead with his career as an employee or an entrepreneur. He went back to his professor, and tried to test out and make his product better and check his opinion on his idea to start a venture. For which the professor wanted him to continue ahead with job. But as Srinivas tested his product out on a girl who is from Bihar and recently got her leg amputed. She used to meet Srinivas at AIIMS Delhi every week and give him feedbacks. And suddenly she vanished for two weeks, so Srinivas tried to visit her home in Karol Bagh. Only then, did he find out that she used that crutch to climb up stairs with flowing water and heavy algae. He spoke to her and her mom told Srinivas that she was suicidal about all her repercussions due to amputation. That was when Srinivas decided to, take a turn he went to his professor took a job as a Project Scientist and got paid Rs.45000 monthly and pursuing his product and waiting for his funding.

Fast Forward, Today, Flexmotiv has clocked 50 Lakhs in revenue, raised 1.2 Crore funding at 10 Crore valuation and is creating a revolution in their market.

Perseverance and Enthusiasm is the key. One thing I would never forget what Srinivas said is " Log Chutiya hi Bol rhe the par vo chill h ". It is good to be an idiot in the world's eye.

Had quite a lot of other discussions on my journey too. But he is quite an inspiration for an entrepreneur like me.