Previous Occupation: Systems engineer - sales, Cisco Systems Inc.
Present Occupation: Co-founder, Twimo Solutions Private Limited
Sector: IT Products
Work Experience: 10 years
Interests – Professional/Personal: Design, UX, information gaps, crowd sourcing, backpacking, swimming, conservation and startups.

Can you tell us a little about your family background/history?
I grew up in Chennai, the adored daughter of an IIT alumnus-turnedindustry professional-turned professor and an Osmania-scholar-turnedbanker. Predictably, the emphasis was on academic excellenceas the path to a promising career in the private sector. In 1997, I left home to pursue my B.E. (Hons.) in computer science from BITS, Pilani.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards\special projects)
Personally, it would be my weeklong wilderness trip with the Sierra Club in 2009. The trails were remote, comforts were non-existent and the conditions did not make it easy. But the rewards weresome of the most amazing vistas in the High Sierra.

Professionally, I helped found the Startup Leadership Program’s Hyderabad Chapter last year. SLP is a highly selective, global network of founders, leaders and innovators across 20 chapters in the world. We put Hyderabad on the map with the founding class of 23 incredible Fellowsand seeded a strong entrepreneurial community in the city.

Tell us about your profile pre ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB including your career progression
I started my career with Cisco Systems developing routers for Cisco's Multiservice Switching portfolio and then moved to Cisco US Sales to sell to the company’s largest account - AT&T's backbone and enterprise VPN business – while working with the best in the industry. It was a great experience that I thought would be a hard act to follow.

ISB proved me wrong. It opened the door to an unexpected entrepreneurial foray when I co-founded Twimo. We were incubated by the Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED) as part of their Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (EDI). At Twimo, we are building a mobile platform for audience engagement.

Describe your fondest memory at ISB
Some of my best moments at ISB were spent in the company of my beloved Section D. Our theme parties (Twins, Retro & Goth) brought out the early-to-bed types and kept them up until the wee hours of the morning. Our coordinated clothing days (Red Devils & D-Blues) gave us unending Kodak moments. And I’ve never beforehad 70-odd strangersbang down my door on my birthday and then go on to become friends for life.

In your personal life, how have you changed post-ISB? Do you see yourself doing something differently because you went to ISB? What has left a lasting impression?
ISB has given me the confidence to bet on myself. I don’t think I would have ever taken the entrepreneurial plunge if I didn’t go to ISB and if I didn’t get incubated at WCED. Having an ecosystem that I could turn to for support is what probably tipped the scales in Twimo’s favour.

If you have to sum up ISB in one word:
Catalyst

What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
The people I met and got to know at ISB. They are the highlightof my year.

Word of advice for the current class?
Despite the frenetic pace of the year, ISB is a place to discover oneself. Be true to yourself, lest you discover someone else.

What was your favourite course/class at ISB and why?
I got a lot out of ENDM, taught by Prof. Arun Pereira. He had packaged it just right – interesting pre-reads the size of magazine articles, an incentive to come prepared and theory coupled with hands-on modelling. Another engaging course was Managing Complexity by Prof. Edward Rogers. The cases read like gripping thrillers – the Columbia and Challenger shuttle disasters and the 1996 Everest climbing tragedy.

What are the areas that you can contribute in to ISB?
I would like to contribute to my School in any way I can. I am still engaged with the School helping the admissions team interview candidates and market the PGP program, and participating in O-week activities. I also meet students informally during my visits to campus. I will be happy to engage more.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
The challenge of wearing all the hats in the organisation and making sure the pieces fit together to give the best odds of success.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
A trend I see in the tech startup scene in India is the emergence of product ventures, despite the inherent upfront risks that the founders incur. It is a very encouraging trend that needs to be nurtured by mentors, advisors and incubators, who understand how these models differ from more established ones and can help founders achieve product-market fit.

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