Charu:
Biopatrika, your very own online science communication, brings science closer to you in so many ways. Today SciKonnect by Biopatrika welcomes all science enthusiasts to our first entrepreneurial podcast. I, Charu Gupta and my cohost Nikhil Kumar Tulsian have roped in the modern Kiran Mazumdar Shaw to talk about her startup journey.
Nikhil:
Thank you, Charu, for kind words. It’s an honor for me to introduce my friend and colleague, Dr. Viveka Kalidasan. She has pursued her Ph.D. in material science and engineering from ECE, the t National University of Singapore. So, let’s hear from herself. Viveka, can you enlighten us on your journey?
Viveka:
Okay. First of all, thank you so much. Charu and Nikhil, I think that was too much. I didn’t know how to react to it. Thank you. I’m honored to be here talking with both of you, and just quickly, I’m Viveka. I’m originally from India, but I’ve been living in Singapore for the past decade. As Nikhil mentioned, I came here to do my Ph.D. in material science and engineering. And then, I shifted fields to work on wireless bioelectronics. And now I’m completely into translation and tech commercialization. So that’s my, a very quick professional overview. And I also have tried two and exited a few tech startups. And I’m also having a mentorship-related startup called Edify. So that’s all about me.
Charu:
Yeah. I mean, that is so interesting. You’ve done so much in such a short amount of time. Viveka, when did you decide that you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
Viveka:
Oh, yeah, sure. That’s a question that I often get. Because all the friends, all the people that are very close to me, they always know that I want to be an entrepreneur, even when the jargon is not there. I remember when I was in the 8th grade, I was telling my father that one day I will do my own business, like in those days. Right. So, I guess that might be because, psychologically, my parents are doctors. We have our own nursing home back in India, so we took a lot of holidays. So, growing up, I thought if you are your own boss, you can be the key decision-maker. So, to be really very honest, that was the starting point. The reason is not exactly the same anymore. But still, I like being the decision-maker. I like being responsible for, you know, the upliftment of the life of others. So, it’s just that I like being that. And I also realized that I’ve been in the research and academic space for a long time. Being a deep tech founder, being a woman deep tech founder is something that’s really, very close to my heart. So that’s the reason why I’m in this space consistently. So, to say.
