Thursday, 28 March 2024

Riding Towards Empathy: The Inspiring Journey of Divya Y (3rd Yr, CSM, GVPCE) and Comfort Bikes

Dear Friends and Students,

One year ago, a student named Divya Y approached me for specific career planning advice. Currently, she is pursuing her 3rd Year B.Tech in Computer Science Engineering (AI-ML) at GVPCE. During our conversation, I observed a lot of clarity in her thought process and career decisions. The best career planning service we can offer such individuals is often not giving any specific advice! I followed this approach with Divya.

Subsequently, she became the CEO of Team Power Infrastructure India Private Limited, a startup jointly founded by Divya and her father, Yegi Sreedhar Kumar Garu. I wouldn't have invested in writing this story if it were a regular and routine idea. However, this startup is driven by a cause, confidence, and comfort. I closely reviewed her pitch deck, for which she recently won a 3.5 Lakhs grant from Vignan TBI. It was the most elegant business pitch deck I've seen. The first slide reads, "How many of you would like to make life easier for disabled and elderly people?"

I have been championing the Design Thinking course at GVPCE for several years. The process begins with empathizing. After going through their company’s journey, I realized that they are real practitioners of Design Thinking. Divya and Sreedhar Garu started a startup named "Comfort Bikes," aiming to provide freedom for people with disabilities. Comfort Bikes can be customized, run on autopilot mode, provide gravity chairs, and ensure comfort. It's truly innovative. Initially, I thought they were only focused on personal segment, but their focus extends to healthcare (30%), travel (25%), agriculture (20%), business (15%), and personal (10%) needs. They design their machines and have accumulated established machinery. Additionally, they manufacture bikes and cycles for regular use.

While Sreedhar Garu is busy with operations, Divya, as the young CEO, takes care of business pitches, meeting investors, business promotion, and supporting R&D in finalizing features. Divya’s parents are highly supportive of her entrepreneurial aspirations!

Last year, their production started, and they have already sold 500 bikes! Initially, they aimed to manufacture comfortable cycles for handicapped and elderly individuals, and then uniquely designed bicycles and tricycles suitable for all age groups in the future. They are also working on software-driven, AI-driven features to automate simple decisions.

Appeal to Battery Investors: Currently, they are seeking empathic investors who understand this business and are interested in investing in batteries.

Business Address: Team Power Infrastructure India Private Limited, Sathivani Palam, Visakhapatnam. If you are interested in investment or inquiries, please contact them at comfortbikes9@gmail.com. Divya’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/divyayegi

Congratulations, Divya! I wish you all the best for your future and hope to see you as the most successful CEO!

I hope this story inspires many who wish to embark on Heart-Smart Careers (Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship, Risk appetite-based careers). As I mentioned, there are 4 types of jobs - Head-Smart, Heart-Smart, Hands-Smart, and Heel-Smart. I wish all students above 17 years choose their careers based on this 4H-Smart Career Planning Framework rather than market demand and societal pressure (For more about this career planning framework, please go through https://i2itm.blogspot.com/2024/03/calling-all-parents-of-children-aged-12.html).

Best Wishes,

Ravi Saripalle

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