Sushant Das - It Is Not the Motivation but Discipline and Consistency That Will Matter (Co-Founder - Eduonix)

Nothing can prepare you for the actual thing so the best time to start was yesterday. It is ok to make mistakes and don't be too hard on yourself.

Tell us about your background, journey, and upbringing. 

I am a first-generation entrepreneur and opted to work in a startup rather than a traditional IT company straight after completing my Engineering. It was a risky move but I was excited to work on large equity and a small salary. 

It was a mobile gaming company and it was fun and exciting while it lasted. I completed an executive MBA from NMIMS to get a better understanding of business other than technology which was my main focus in my job. Once the startup failed I decided to bring together two of my passions - Teaching and Technology together to form Eduonix with two of my colleagues.

When and how did you get clarity on what you wanted to do? 

I always loved teaching and use to help my neighboring kids with their classes. Before I left for college I use to teach almost 20-25 students from grade 8 to 12th. Many of them still remember my classes. 

While working as CTO in our mobile startup I created training programs for all new trainees and enjoyed building learning pedagogies. Once the mobile startup started to fail I felt it was time to try out the venture in a way I wanted to do. 

I learned a lot from the failure and hope to apply the lessons in the next venture. Luckily for us, our products were quickly accepted and we turned profitable in the second year itself.


What does your typical workday look like? 

I primarily handle Content, products, and technology so my day begins with a quick sprint meeting with relevant managers. There is also a management meeting every alternate day to overlook the strategy implementation. I also spend time talking to our clients and attending sales calls if required.

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Several global companies have come out and thrown their support behind not needing a formal education. What is your opinion about this? 

Absolutely yes. Our whole business is about providing skills that will help you thrive and succeed even without a formal education. I believe everything I learned from business is from my first startup and actually doing things and learning on the job.

How do you handle someone who has lied on their resume? 

It is difficult to continue working with someone who is not sincere. It is ok to fail and make mistakes but to lie is not cool.


What are some of your typical challenges and how have they evolved over time? 

We compete with global edtech companies and our major challenge is to bring quality products to our customers at a value. It is difficult to build high-quality processes in a distributive product creation business like ours.

                                   


What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs or those eyeing the top job?

Nothing can prepare you for the actual thing so the best time to start was yesterday. It is ok to make mistakes and don't be too hard on yourself. It is not the motivation but discipline and consistency that will matter.

Which is your favorite book and why? 

If I have to choose one book which really changed me It is "Fooled by Randomness" By Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It changed my whole outlook on life and made me the person I am today. 

Randomness and chance play a major role in our lives but if we can keep it simple and focus on what we have to do and disconnect it from the results we get there is magic that happens