What are you doing now?

I currently oversee two companies – Lock&Stock, a wellness tech startup that aims to help people live healthier, more productive lives, and SecureMyScholarship, an edtech startup whose mission is to make access to higher education more accessible and affordable for all students. Aside from being co-founder of both startups, I am currently acting CEO and oversee day-to-day operations, finance, and overall strategy. 

How did you reach or stumble upon your current profession?

I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart – I launched my first company at 14 years old while still in high school and my second company at 19 while in my third year of college. Lock&Stock came to life in 2017 and was the third company I played a role in launching, and SecureMyScholarship, launched in 2021, was the fourth.

I guess you can say that two things really drive me as an individual – solving problems and helping make the world a better place. If I can play a role in bringing forth a solution that achieves the two aforementioned goals, then I’m all in.

To do this, I had to be a bit unconventional when it came to planning my higher education. While most people choose to specialize, I actually did the opposite – hyper diversification. I wanted to learn as much as I could about as many different subject areas as possible. When I graduated university in 2017, I had a bachelors degree in Economics, and minors in Political Science, International Relations, Mass Communication and Business Administration. If I had stayed in university for just one more semester, I’d have minors in Religious Studies and Finance as well.

I structured my pre-Lock&Stock career along the same lines. By the time I graduated, I had worked in some capacity in sales, marketing, finance, growth, fundraising, HR and business development. These varied roles came while working in companies of all sizes, from local businesses, to regional powerhouses, to multinationals, to non-profits and startups, in geographies as far apart as the USA, the UAE and India.

All of the above allowed me to gain the requisite knowledge needed to run a successful startup. As a founder or entrepreneur, you need to wear many hats, and everyday brings with it new challenges. My education and work experience helped prepare me for this, and without it I do not think we’d have enjoyed the same success that we’ve seen in these past 5 years. 

Is this your ultimate dream career or just a vocation? Are you still in the search mode?

I’d say I’m living the dream. I truly love building products that help make people’s lives better, and as long as I’m doing that, I’m perfect. If I can make a buck along the way, that’s great too.

Did you find your calling? If yes, how?

I do not know how the next 5 to 10 years will play out, but I can promise you that I’ll always be playing a role to build products that have the potential to change the world. That’s my calling. 

Best market trends and practices in your current profession

I do not think there’s ever been a better time to launch a tech startup. Over the past 15 years, social media has made distribution of content virtually free, canva has democratized access to professional-quality designs, no-code builders have allowed anybody with a laptop to build a product from their bedroom, and AWS allows makers to host at nominal costs. Venture capitalists and angel investors are everywhere, and are ready and willing to invest in young entrepreneurs and bright individuals with nothing but an MVP and a dream.

If you’ve got an idea, and you have the dedication and desire to bring it to life, the time’s never been better.