CloudKrate: Tackling Supply Challenges in Indian Life Science Research
In the age of fast home delivery of goods to food, the lack of timely delivery of life science supplies and lack of tracking seems like an obvious gap that pushes research back in developing countries like India on the timeline that developed countries follow. So, what would you do if you are facing the most common problem of material supply faced by almost every Indian scientist and researcher?
This was the situation faced by Dr. Shambhavi Naik, when she moved from the University of Leicester to pursue her cancer research in India. Baffled by the slow supply of basic life science material, she collaborated with her most trusted partner—her husband, Pushkar Potdar, a mechanical engineer and supply chain professional. His work focussed on using technology solutions to make goods move faster in the supply chain across the world. Together, they came up with a solution called CloudKrate to tackle this long-standing problem in life science research in India.
Listen to this SciKonnect podcast by BioPatrika to follow the inspiring journey of this power couple in entrepreneurship. Indulge in the functioning of this life science-based start-up with our hosts Charu and Nikhil.
An Inspiring Journey of Dr. Shambhavi Naik & Pushkar Potdar
Charu: Your very own online science communication brings science closer to you in so many ways. Today SciKonnect by Biopatrika welcomes all science enthusiasts to a career highlight podcast. I, Charu Gupta, my co-host Nikhil Kumar Tulsian and our amazing podcast intern Parvathy, have been given the honor to trace the story of an entrepreneurial couple who started walking different roads to ultimately walk the same one hand in hand.
Nikhil:
For our third episode, we have an enterprising power couple. Dr. Shambhavi Naik and Pushkar Potdar with us. Pushkar, an engineer by training, moved to India after completing his ME degree from Cornell and worked with GEP and Accenture. Dr. Shambhavi, a PhD from University of Leicester, was chasing a cure to breast cancer, and in 2016, they both decided on something even bigger. Let’s hear their story in their own words.
Shambhavi:
Hi, I’m Shambhavi. I did a PhD from the University of Leicester in cancer biology and moved to India, where I spent three years as a postdoc. Over ten years I tried to kill cancers in a petri dish. Until I realized that there were a lot more difficulties in doing cancer research in India compared to the UK, and access to supplies was one of them. That’s when Pushkar and I decided to put our brains together and see if we could try and come up with a solution, which led to the birth of CloudKrate.
Pushkar:
I’m a mechanical engineer by training but worked as a supply chain professional for nine years before CloudKrate. A lot of my work involved using technology solutions to make goods move faster across global supply chains. When Shambhavi brought me the problem of delayed lab supplies, I applied my experience from supply chain design worldwide to help Indian life sciences. That was the starting point for CloudKrate.
Charu:
Was there a specific incident that triggered CloudKrate?
Shambhavi:
The idea was always there. Even at NCBS, a premier institute, we had to wait weeks for supplies. I remember ordering HPLC grade water that took nine months to arrive. My immediate reaction was: people have babies quicker! That was the trigger—we just couldn’t accept this as normal.
Pushkar:
Around 2016–2017, startups like Swiggy and Uber showed how technology could transform everyday experiences. Swiggy’s live order tracking fascinated me—it solved the “Where is my food?” problem. My eureka moment was: if technology can tell you where your food is, why can’t it track and deliver research supplies faster?
Credits
Hosts: Charu, Nikhil, Parvathy
Editing: Samriti Sharma, Nikhil Tulsian, Virender Singh, Salma, Disha, Albertha Joseph-Alexander
Social: Charu Gupta, Salma, Albertha Joseph-Alexander
Music by: Aditya Sutar
Meet the Hosts
Charu Gupta – LinkedIn
Expert in hematological diseases and malignancies, Dr. Charu Gupta is dedicated to improving the quality of patient life. This multi-talented cancer researcher also runs a food blog “The Indian Food Explorer”, and enjoys travel, horse riding, and swimming.
Nikhil Tulsian – LinkedIn
Dr. Nikhil Tulsian is a postdoctoral researcher working on infectious diseases, antibody characterization, virus dynamics, and regulation. Hosting the SciKonnect podcast allows him to share his passion for science communication.
Parvathy Venkateswaran – LinkedIn
A B.Tech Biotechnology student at SASTRA University, Parvathy is passionate about molecular biology and science communication. She also contributes as an intern with SciKonnect Biopatrika.
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