Honoured to have been invited as a Speaker at Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra
What was supposed to be a talk turned into a two-way conversation and honestly, I walked away more inspired than when I walked in.
I got the chance to interact with students working on some seriously impressive entrepreneurial projects. The ideas, the execution, the hunger to build something real, it was all there.
And here's what truly surprised me, the level of innovation coming out of colleges in Jaipur is remarkable. These aren't just classroom projects. Students here are solving real problems, thinking like founders, and shipping products while still in college.
During my session, I shared how we built getgabs into one of India's leading WhatsApp Business API platforms and what it really takes to grow a SaaS product from the ground up — the failures, the pivots, and the small wins that keep you going.
We talked about:
→ The messy, real side of building a SaaS startup in India
→ Why the WhatsApp ecosystem is a massive opportunity most people are sleeping on
→ How to think like a founder, not just an engineer
→ Starting before you feel ready, because you'll never feel ready
But the most amazing and feel-good moment? When one of the professors came up to me and said:
"I really appreciate the way you talked about Character and Innovation something that is being forgotten nowadays."
That hit different. Because at the end of the day, skills can be learned, tools can be mastered but character is what separates good founders from great ones. Innovation without integrity doesn't last. And I'm glad that message landed.
To Piyush Khandelwal and every student I met at BIT Mesra, keep building. The energy I saw in that room is exactly what India's startup ecosystem needs. Don't wait for permission. Don't wait for the "right time." Just start.
Jaipur's student founders are building something special. Pay attention.
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