Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering - Autonomous

A Captivating Tale in Four Sentences, Perfectly Penned with Storytelling Essence! Tough to Mimic, Simply Cherish the Magic!

Dear Readers

In this short video, I am going to share the most revered and captivating story of the Ramayana in four sentences, beautifully described in the Sundara Kanda.

These four sentences contain perfect storytelling techniques. Every Author should learn this astounding storytelling technique.

However, here are the Rules before you listen to this!!

--Let us not look at this from a religious perspective.

--Don’t judge my singing or Telugu-speaking skills, as I am neither a singer nor perfect in the language, but I am trying to elevate the essence of the beautiful narration of this historic Vedic story in four short sentences!

--All glories to the author!

--Now, listen to the song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6Ll0micArc

Thank you for your patience in listening to this 2-minute video.

Ravi Saripalle

A Captivating Tale in 4 Lines, Perfectly Penned Storytelling! Tough to Mimic, Simply Cherish Magic!

Rubik’s Cube Celebrates its 50th Anniversary, and So Do I This Year, but I'm Unfit to Solve It? Decoding the Mindset Needed to Solve this Multi-Coloured STEM Toy!

Dear Friends and Students,

2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Rubik’s Cube (1974). Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian architecture professor, created a prototype of a three-dimensional cube. In the years following, he used it to teach his students about three-dimensional spaces and patterns. In fact, he patented this Magic Cube (renamed the Rubik’s Cube) in 1975.

It is believed that it develops visual memory and hand-eye coordination as solvers learn more algorithms and instantly identify what works (The Hindu, 16-06-24). In 1982, someone solved it in 22.95 seconds. In 2017, sales touched $250 million. In 2021, the Canadian children’s entertainment company Spin Master acquired Rubik’s. In 2023, Max Park set a new single-solve world record with an astonishing time of 3.13 seconds – a long way from the 22.95-second solve 40 years prior (rubiks.com).

Can you imagine the magnanimous possibilities it has today? If one Rubik’s Cube has more than 43 quintillion possibilities and millions of Rubik’s Cubes are sold and solved every year, multiply that by 50 years, and you have... so many possibilities!

Let us decode the mindset needed to solve this. If one is good at Group Theory, and understands algorithms (sequences of steps), Pattern Recognition, Spatial Reasoning, and Logical Problem-Solving, they are best fit to solve them.

Recently, I published a simplified Career Planning Framework called the “4H-Smart Framework.” I wish this framework is used in future Skill Census projects of various governments:

1. Head-Smart (More IQ and reasonable EQ, SQ (Social), AQ (Adversity Quotient)) - Good for Research/Head-driven Jobs

2. Heart-Smart (Reasonable IQ and better EQ, SQ, AQ) - Good for Management/Business/Administration Jobs

3. Hands-Smart (Reasonable IQ-EQ-SQ-AQ) - Good for Skill-oriented Jobs

4. Heel-Smart (More PQ (Physical Quotient), reasonable IQ-EQ-SQ-AQ) - Good for Physical energy-driven jobs

Definitely, I am neither Head-Smart nor Heel-Smart. I might fall between Heart-Smart and Hands-Smart. Solving a Rubik’s Cube is a Head-Smart job!

Another interesting aspect of the Rubik’s Cube is that a professor/teacher designed this product, patented it, made millions, and now receives royalties! This is definitely an encouragement for the teaching fraternity!

However, we, being Indians, have not monetized multiple games we developed! Snakes and Ladders originated in ancient India as Moksha Patam (karma and k**a, or destiny and desire). Similarly, precursors to chess originated in India, as chaturaṅga, a battle formation mentioned in the Indian Vedic history- Mahabharata. However, we did not patent these games!

Do you know/can design any more games that can be remembered after centuries?

Ravi Saripalle

Co-Founders of a Startup! Who can be the best example to inspire you when you are on the fence or in a serious dilemma about starting your own startup?

Dear Friends and Students,

Before reading this, take a moment to look at the picture below. Did your heartbeat rate increase? As you know, "free solo" ascents, which involve scaling massive rock walls without ropes or safety gear, are considered one of the most dangerous feats in all of sports.

Alex Honnold is known for his daring free solo climbs, an extreme example of choosing the "tough way." Jimmy Chin, a photographer and filmmaker, often documents such challenging feats. Their collaboration on the documentary "Free Solo" highlights the allure of pushing boundaries.

Honnold's free solo ascent of the 3,000-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park was captured in the 2018 Oscar-winning documentary. In his interview, he says, “I don’t need to practice. It’s not that I’m gifted. Free soloing just forces me to focus naturally. It’s a by-product of being on a wall without ropes.” He emphasizes physical training and route mapping over improvisation to avoid unnecessary risks. He prepares more emotionally than by using multiple techniques, reading books on psychology. Like a chess grandmaster who can memorize the board after just a glimpse, Honnold remembers various patterns and sequences on every cliff (HBR, 2021).

Why do I refer to this example when you are in a serious dilemma about starting a new startup? Even with a complete viability or needs analysis, there are still chances of failure. One geopolitical issue, one cyclone, one irregularity without your involvement, smart copying of your idea by a competitor, your own health risk, one new regulation by the state—all these can derail your plans. Hence, out of 100 startups, maybe only one will see the light of day.

What really works? The Dopamine Effect! The brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, when we overcome a challenge. This can create a positive feedback loop that motivates us to seek out more challenges. Nobody talks about it, but in most cases, this is the real fuel!

Of course, your entire business model should be appealing, but unless someone has this kind of drive, it is not easy to start a startup in the current context. I appeal to all stakeholders to provide a safety net for individuals who fail in their respective startups. Parents should encourage their children, and girls and boys should not see this as a taboo for marriage alliances (nowadays, prospects discourage those taking such risks). Investors should not be too calculative on returns. The government should fund such risky projects without many hindrances. Students should prefer working in a startup environment rather than mature companies, at least for some time in their careers.

I am not writing as a storyteller! I experienced it—leaving a cozy job, experimenting with an idea, and failing, but catching the safety net. Of course, everything should not be seen from a financial gain perspective! Maybe I did not gain much, but I got an opportunity to teach and preach as Teacher!

Are you ready for a startup Free-Solo?

Ravi Saripalle

Have you heard about Wi-SUN? How does it differ from Wi-Fi? Should ECE departments include it in their syllabus as it represents the future?

Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) and Wi-SUN (Wireless Smart Utility Network) are both wireless communication protocols, but they serve different purposes and operate in different ways:

Wi-Fi Protocol:

Purpose: Primarily used for local area networking (LAN) in homes, businesses, and public spaces.
Range: Typically covers shorter distances, such as within a building or a small outdoor area.
Frequency: Operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.
Applications: Used for internet access, file sharing, streaming media, and other general networking applications.
Standards: Governed by the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, with variations like 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E).

Wi-SUN Protocol:

Purpose: Designed specifically for outdoor, large-scale networks such as smart grids, smart cities, and industrial IoT (Internet of Things) applications.
Range: Covers longer distances than Wi-Fi, potentially spanning several kilometers.
Frequency: Typically operates in the sub-gigahertz range, such as 868 MHz or 915 MHz.
Applications: Used for smart metering, street lighting control, environmental monitoring, and other utility and municipal infrastructure applications.
Standards: Governed by the Wi-SUN Alliance, which defines specifications based on IEEE 802.15.4g and other relevant standards.

In summary, while Wi-Fi is more commonly associated with indoor networking and internet access, Wi-SUN is tailored for outdoor, long-range, and utility-focused applications, offering robustness and reliability suitable for critical infrastructure deployments.

Ravi Saripalle

Dear Friends

Yesterday I was invited to an event called, Theatre Insights for Startups! organized jointly by WHISTLE THEATRE and THiNK-Hanger. Mr. Devendranath Sankaranarayanan, Actor, Faculty, Performance Researcher, Theatre practitioner, and acting coach has been invited to the discussion. Initially, I thought about how there would be a connection between Theatre Performance and Startup Performance!!

Drawing parallels between theater, performance, acting, and startups involves identifying the core elements common to both fields. The following concepts were found to be common for both!

Storytelling, Presentation and Presence, Improvisation and Adaptability, Collaboration and Teamwork, Audience Engagement, Risk and Innovation, and Emotional Connection

Interesting Session!
Ravi Saripalle

Unusual Times! Will current technology need to be reimagined?

Yesterday, for the first time, India recorded a temperature of 52.3 degrees Celsius. The government is examining the data. It may be an outlier or an issue with the sensor! Perhaps the sensors installed were not designed for temperatures beyond 50 degrees Celsius. While this is being debated, Nagpur recorded a staggering 56°C (TOI, 31-05-2024). After a certain threshold temperature, sensors might be behaving erroneously. Nevertheless, the point here is that we have started talking about temperatures beyond 50°C!

Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh is freezing! Kullu, Shimla, and Kangra districts are experiencing extreme cold, with Lahaul-Spiti being the coldest at a minimum temperature of 6.4°C. At the same time, Kerala has been inundated due to incessant rains and is on red alert with the monsoon's arrival!

I am not writing this post specifically about climate change, though a big call for action is needed. However, the semiconductor industry needs to rethink and redesign for the challenges posed by climate change.

Materials: The common materials used are silicon, gallium arsenide, germanium, and silicon carbide, etc. Do we need alternative materials to withstand these extreme contractions and expansions?

Purity: Extremely high purity is required for semiconductor materials. Impurities can significantly affect the performance of semiconductor devices. Are climate change actions causing any purity issues? This could be another research problem.

Doping: Controlled introduction of impurities (dopants) is used to modify the electrical properties of semiconductors. Can we solve current issues using doping? This could be another research problem.

Otherwise, photolithography (a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing that uses light to transfer a geometric pattern), etching, and deposition (techniques to remove material and add layers of materials to create the semiconductor device's structure) need alternative techniques!

This is the challenge for semiconductor industries like Intel, Samsung, NVIDIA Corporation, Broadcom Inc., Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), Infineon Technologies AG, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), etc.
Climate change is going to change every aspect of life. It will decide what you eat, what you wear, what you see, what you do, what you think, whom to marry, where to travel, and so on.

On a lighter note, when a movie revolves around the condition of having a toilet in the home, these hot, cool, or wet locations might decide whom and when to marry! Yesterday, an air conditioner caught fire in some city due to long usage! If an AC is not used for a long time, the human body burns in these heat waves. Now you can understand how deep these research and tech problems go!

Electronics and Communication Engineers, this is a call for action! There is a lot of work for you now!

Ravi Saripalle

"The Pride of Amul Goes USA: From India's Heartland to Your Homeland! What if the Indian diaspora becomes loyal and drinks only Amul Milk? How much revenue impact would it have on India?

Dear Friends and Students,

India’s largest dairy cooperative, Amul, has started selling fresh milk and other products in the USA in collaboration with the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA), targeting the East Coast and Midwest markets. It is the pride factor for all of us.

For the sake of a business case perspective, let's assume they sell across the entire USA.

Assuming the total Indian diaspora strength is around 5 million, let’s further assume that 50% of Indians buy Amul milk and milk products. If each person drinks 4 gallons (3.8 * 4 = 15 L) per month, the total number of liters consumed is 10 million liters of milk per month across the Indian diaspora.

Let’s assume each gallon (3.8 L) costs around 4 US dollars, hence each liter costs 1.05 dollars (for convenience, let’s assume 1 dollar per liter), resulting in 10 million dollars revenue per month. Assuming additionally that 50% of that amount is spent on milk products, the revenue comes to 15 million USD per month, which is almost 124.5 crore INR. The yearly revenue would be 1,494 crore INR. Assuming they have to pay 50% of that amount to the Michigan Milk Producers Association and other local taxes, it still brings 700 crore in revenue.

Friends, this business case must have 1000 assumptions and flaws in taxation and other complications. However, the real intent is to showcase how Amul has gained international trust and how the taste of Amul is going global. Amul is already present in 50 countries, serving India’s sprawling diaspora families.

The context of this article is to establish similar trust across all food products and to surpass the EtO norms (suspected ethylene oxide contamination). This method helps us to gain global acceptance across all countries. Ultimately, we need to establish traceability (farm-to-plate tracking) for all food products grown in India and establish global trust in our products. That is the true essence of the Atmanirbhar Bharat or Make in India mission.

Let’s wish Amul sets the tone for the rest of the Indian food products!

Amul: Where Every Bite Tells a Story of India!!

Dear Jayen Mehta Sir, Amul (GCMMF) Amul India Amul Dairy- Proud of you!

Ravi Saripalle"

Two Teachers, One Classroom, Simultaneous Teaching-This is the Future Classroom Setting! Interesting? Watch My Video Message

Dear Teachers and Parents,

 The Best Teacher becomes an Extraordinary Mentor with this New Model!!
 A Mediocre Teacher becomes the Best Facilitator with this New Model!
 A Common Parent becomes the Finest Enabler with this New Model!!

Fascinating Right!! Listen to My Video- https://youtu.be/NjqLMgcDJhs

Do You agree?

Ravi Saripalle

Breaking the Mold: Two Teachers, One Classroom - This is the Future Classroom Setting! Interesting? ...

My article published in the Economic Times celebrates 23 years! But... do the assertions made then align with today's reality? Let's reflect on what was written then and compare it to the present.

Dear Friends and Students,

If possible, read the above article which was published on March 15th, 2001 by the Economic Times! I was only a 3-year-experienced Senior Software Engineer, working for Finance Solutions at Wipro Technologies. It was a proud moment on that day when I saw my article published next to Prof. S Sadagopan Sir, Founding Director of IIITB from 1999 to 2021, and he taught for 25+ years at IIT Kanpur, IIM Bangalore, and IIT Madras.

While searching for some stuff today, accidentally I found this paper! Curiously, today I read again both articles—Prof. Sadagopan Sir’s and mine. How far they are true in today’s context!! Interesting, always, right?

My topic was, “Tapping In-House Business,” and Prof. Sadagopan Sir’s was “Is IT Killing other Engineering Disciplines”! By this time, you would have understood what would have been the content of both and their reflections to date. Today it is May 12th, 2024! Yes, the topic “Is IT Killing other Engineering Disciplines” is still valid, but forms are different. I will not go beyond on this topic in this story, rather I would talk more about what I wrote and where we are today!

Friends, though 2001 was a meltdown or dotcom burst year, still in 2001, the majority of Americans didn’t have the Internet. Most people got online using dial-up connections. Only 7% of Internet users worldwide had broadband. Most things purchased online were paid for by money order. On the Internet, print publications were generally navigated using blue hyperlinks. Font-sizes were rarely bigger than what you'd see in an actual paper. There were no videos. Ads were small, boxy, and static and generally looked like they were an afterthought and designed by a gold salesman (vice.com).

In India, if I remember right, the internet service, known as the Gateway Internet Access Service (GIAS), provided a speed of 9.6 kbit/s speed, was priced at ₹5,200 for 250 hours for individuals, ₹16,200 for institutional dial-up SLIP/PPP accounts, and higher for leased line services. Maybe it might have increased to 50+kbit/s!!
During that time, I wrote this article, saying, “Intranet is going to be the future tool for an IT Company’s sustenance”! Employees are internal customers. Intranet is going to be the Company Mart, essential to engage Employees in the Knowledge Industry. They are powerful communication tools. Functions like HR, Finance, Marketing, Admin, Sales, etc., should be totally automated and operated through intranets. Employee referrals, Project Management, Knowledge Management Workflows should be automated in these intranet portals.

You know what, many wrote back to me, “a fancy model”! More maturity is needed to write such stuff! Today after 23 years, what happened to this? I don’t need to justify again! Do you agree?

Now let me write further! I may or may not live that longer for another 23 years, but no human being would be involved in mundane/routine tasks - AI would drive all these functions. AI took 17 years for speech recognition, 14 years for handwriting recognition, 6 years for image recognition, 2 years for reading comprehension. But after 23 years, with this faster pace of learning, AI would handle all tasks which are done by current Engineering/Non-Engineering graduates.

Do you agree? If so, up for an upgrade, else it becomes an uphill task to survive!

Ravi Saripalle

What makes Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) Unique compared to their competitors in the next 5 Years? My Perspective. Click below!

Ravi Saripalle

Integrating Minds: Intellectual Property, Design Thinking, and Education for Sustainable Solutions; Read this fascinating story!

Dear Faculty Friends and Students,

Today, on the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day, I had the opportunity to speak at a 2-Day National Workshop on the crucial topic of how Intellectual Property and Future Research are tied up with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 UN-listed Goals and 169 Targets should not be violated by a single IP. If so, we risk opening the door to disaster! Hence, this story gains even more significance.

Let me explain in detail. You are all aware of the fascinating story of the Four Pests Campaign, an initiative launched by China in the late 1950s.

Here's a breakdown of what happened:

The Goal: Sparrows were targeted because they ate grain, including paddy rice. Estimates suggested they consumed around 6.5 kilograms of paddy per year. This can feed more than 60 thousand people happily.

The Unintended Consequences: While sparrows do eat grain, they also prey on insects that damage crops. Eradicating the sparrows (which killed more than 30 lakhs sparrows) led to a surge in these insect populations, causing even greater grain loss (which led to 4.5 crore people dying of hunger).

The Ecological Disaster: The Four Pests Campaign (Rats, Flies, Mosquitoes, Sparrows) resulted in a significant decline in sparrow populations and a rise in insect pests. This had a negative impact on agriculture and the ecosystem.
So, while the initial goal of the campaign was to improve food security, it backfired and led to ecological damage.

Food Security is only the tip of the iceberg! If we don’t properly inspire our students using Design Thinking in conjunction with the Sustainable Development Goals Philosophy, if students choose the wrong set of career/research goals and ideology, all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets would be affected.

The unwanted competition for Ranks, the declining ethics in human beings, lack of trust and commitment, ambitious targets and package goals, and fancy Lifestyle goals would affect this deep thinking.

Can we rise above like an Eagle flying beyond the cloud when the storm comes?

Design Thinking with SDGs would give that strength to the individual to fly beyond the AI storm. Do you agree?

So, what is my appeal to you today? A Special Campaign/Education is needed in the education system, especially for 8th to UG, focusing on Design Thinking (Human-Centered Approach to a particular problem) for SDGs. This combo should drive research goals for faculty and industry, projects for students, ethical teachings for school children, and so on.

Stay Tuned. I will be talking more on this topic in the future. Wishing all responsible education leaders respond to this world cause.

Dr. Ravi Saripalle

Empowering Bankers: Design Thinking for Success - Exclusive Session by Ravi Saripalle at Prism Institute, Vizianagaram, April 13, 2024

Dear Friends and Students

Yesterday I was invited as a Guest Speaker by Prism Institute, Vizianagaram as part of its 50th Year Celebrations. This institute has been producing Bankers and officers for various Competitive Exams for the last 50 years by its founder Prasad Sir, a well-known Banker from Syndicate Bank! Surprisingly, a few guests who visited yesterday were retired as General Managers of various Banks that were produced by this Institute during 1974-80.

I had the privilege to address this group of officers who recently got selected for various Banks and Aspirants.

My topic was a critical need for Design Thinking to survive in a Banking Career.

Thanks to the 5G internet usage, deeper smartphone pe*******on, expansion of digital payments, frictionless data-led digital lending, risk-mitigated secure data protection, climate-conscious sustainable goals and collaboration between banks and FinTechs, Banking career is different position altogether. The volume of industrial+retail+services credit increased from 6 trillion Rs in 2009 to 41 trillion Rs in 2023 by all banks put together.

Banks started using tech interventions like

- Gen AI- Avatar driven Virtual Assistants/chatbots,

- Gen AI + Predictive Analytics for improving risk assessment, KYC, fortifying fraud detection and credit scoring, Recognising customer behavior trends, credit decisions with automated underwriting

- Martech-AI in marketing, Bhashini AI for multilanguage support,

- IoT sensors data for accurate Agritech, industrial sensors

- Metaverse- Immersive digital experience, Virtual Branches

- Blockchain- Security and Transparency in every transaction so that no scope for any bank fraud in future

- Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are a form of digital currency issued by a country's central bank. They are similar to cryptocurrencies, except that their value is fixed by the central bank

- Frictionless credit framework- a standardized API and prioritizing swifter disbursement and scalability

- API-driven data sharing

- Open Network for Digital Commerce- ONDC will lower entry barriers for commerce participation

- Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services- Made transactions more secure

- BaaS Model- Tech-savvy neo-banking FinTechs operating on Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform with regular banks, helping Core banking services possible for traditional banks

- Data monetization- data is money

In this hour of Technology intervention, you tell me what skill a Banker needs?

My Answer is Design Thinking. Design Mindset! An empathy or Human Centred Experiential Innovations.

Do You Agree?

Ravi Saripalle

I will be taking at Two – Day National Conference on “Computational Intelligence and Sustainable Systems” 13th – 14th April 2024, Gayatri Vidya Parishad College for Degree and PG Courses, Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Dear Students

Today this topic is garnering higher significance than ever!

The time taken from Turing's paper publication on Machine Intelligence in the 1950s and the first conference at Dartmouth in 1956 to the release of Deep Blue, the first computer chess-playing system to beat a reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov in 1997 is around 40+ Years.

The time taken to witness advances in deep learning (particularly deep convolutional neural networks and recurrent neural networks) is around 60 Years!!

However, The time taken from the Google transformer architecture, Foundation Models, Open AI GPT 3 in 2020, GPT-4 in 2023, and the coming GPT-4 Turbo with Vision in June 2024 (the future GPT) is around 7 years!!

It is like the time it takes to damage the first 50% of Lungs by Infection would be exponentially longer than the next 50% damage. Sometimes the first 50% takes more than a year but the next 50% takes less than a week!

The same proliferation takes place in GPT advancement!

We all need to wake up from our traditional mindset, skills, and jobs! Hope you agree!

Ravi Saripalle

What is the Best Gift an Institution and (or) Parent can offer to Student/Son/Daughter on a Birthday (12-24 Age group)?

Dear Institutional Leaders, Parents or Responsible Relatives or a Convinced Student

Over the past 14 years, I've been exploring a fundamental question: What is the most impactful gift an institution or parent can offer to a student, son, or daughter aged 12-24? Let's evaluate various options:

1. Something Sweet - Bring them joy for an hour!
2. Dinner at a Fine Restaurant - Delights them for a day!!
3. Movie of Favourite Star- Excites them for a week!!
4. A Stylish Outfit - Keeps them happy for 10 days!!!
5. A Luxurious Gift - Ensures happiness for a year, perhaps!!!!

But do any of these gifts connect to their natural intelligence?

Do they help identify individual strengths, guide in career planning, or create hope?

Is there a gift that AI can never replace?

Yes, I propose a potential game-changer:

Gift Form: A Simple Letter

Style: Epistolatory Format Letter (a letter written in the style of a personal correspondence)

Content:
o A brief reflection on the individual's performance/status over the past year, highlighting their achievements.
o A reminder of the individual's strengths based on their natural intelligence assessment.
o An anecdote on Design Thinking or an Empathetic Situation, fostering a Design Mindset.

Impact: This gift can bring hope and happiness to the Individual for lifetime!

Super Impact: Organizing a Design Thinking workshop exclusively for the same intelligence and age group students to aid in career planning.

Do You agree? Do you have questions and comments? If you are interested, I am ready to assist you in this process.

Please read the detailed proposal at https://rb.gy/fgvvkm and write to me at [email protected]

You can also follow me on:
https://lnkd.in/g8eMd4xd
https://lnkd.in/g-migWEN
https://lnkd.in/gN5C_PZR
https://lnkd.in/gcanugN3


Dr. Ravi Saripalle

lnkd.in

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 [email protected]. 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