There is no short-cut to success, say youngsters from the recently-released Forbes list of ’30 Under 30′, a recognition conferred on the brightest stars across 15 fields under the age of 30. Rica Bhattacharyya, Anumeha Chaturvedi and Shreya Biswas spoke to four of the 450 prodigies who share an India connection.
Sayamindu Dasgupta, 29
PLACE OF BIRTH | KOLKATA
OCCUPATION | PhD student at MIT Media Lab
Dasgupta was recognised for his contribution to the Scratch project — a programming language and online community for children. The main inspiration for his research and work has been Seymour Papert, one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, as well as an inventor of the Logo programming language. “Reading his work changed how I think about education,” he says. Scratch is a research project from the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, and is used by millions of children all over the world to create and share games, interactive animations, stories, simulations and artwork. A BTech from West Bengal University of Technology and a masters in media arts and sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he visits India once a year. Over the past year, he has been involved in a pilot project by the Pratham Infotech Foundation, wherein Scratch was introduced in seven Mumbai schools. He attributes his success to mentors from his institutes.
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A lot of Dasgupta’s learning has been informal. “It takes quite a bit of grit and resilience to pursue such a path. At the same time, I have been able to participate in communities (such as the Open Source Software community in India) that have been incredibly supportive, and I still have very close friends from these,” says Dasgupta.
Megha Parekh, 28
PLACE OF BIRTH | NEW JERSEY
OCCUPATION | VP and general counsel, Jacksonville Jaguars
Parekh traces her roots to India, with both her parents moving to the US in the 1970s. At the Florida-based American football team, she is responsible for all contractual matters, personnel development, risk management and compliance. Perhaps the biggest challenge for her is that when certain people meet her initially, they are surprised by the position she is in at her age, and tend to overlook her. However, with hard work and a professional attitude, Parekh says she has been able to gain the trust and respect of colleagues and clients.
Her word of advice to young aspiring entrepreneurs: “Work to put yourself in a position so that when a position opens up, you’re the first person that is thought of.” And, she says, they must not forget to have some fun. “Every job is, at the end of the day, just a job,” adds the graduate from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
Parekh plans to continue to increase her knowledge and skill base. “I aim to be flexible in my specific goals and focus on overall improvement,” says Parekh, whose role model is Shad Khan, the owner of Jaguars (Jacksonville Jaguars). “His vision and work ethic shape the culture at Jaguars,” says Parekh.
Aditi Malhotra, 28
PLACE OF BIRTH | NEW YORK
OCCUPATION | Pastry chef and entrepreneur
Malhotra is the owner, founder and chocolatier of Tache Artisan Chocolate, formally known as CVLC — Christian Vautier Le Concept. Malhotra, who started Tache in September 2012, was voted as one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 game changers in Food & Wine for 2014. Coming from a long line of restaurateurs, Malhotra, a first-generation American, was born with an extraordinary appreciation for the culinary arts. Her family’s history dates back to the 1964 World’s Fair where her grandfather introduced Indian cuisine to America through Gaylord, a respected mainstay in Mumbai. Her parents are the owners and operators of Akbar, one of the first widely-accepted and successful Indian restaurants in New York City.
Needless to say, her family is her role model. “They inspire me to work harder, to work with passion and enthusiasm, and to always stay on top of my game! My father always says you can’t let the small stuff get to you, and when you own your business, the devil is in the detail,” says Malhotra, whose culinary secret, as expected, lies in her attention to detail.
Asked to share the secrets of her success with aspiring young businesspersons, Malhotra says, “Don’t be afraid to take risks, be fearless, passionate, and find something that truly belongs to you. And always do what you love.”
Sahil Lavingia, 21
PLACE OF BIRTH | NEW YORK
OCCUPATION | Founder/CEO, Gumroad
Among the youngest in the Forbes list of 30 under 30, Lavingia, a student of University of Southern California, started Gumroad (gumroad.com), a service that helps all types of creators earn a living selling what they make, directly to their audience.
His goal is to see Gumroad as a highly valuable, independent company creating hundreds of billions in economic value by enabling creators. “Building a great team is always a challenge and takes a lot of time. In general, things take more time than you’d think,” he says. For aspiring young entrepreneurs, his advice would be to “focus on building useful stuff, rather than building a ‘company’.”
“Find something that you find fun and happens to be valuable to the world. That’s the only way this whole starting a company thing is sustainable,” he says. On the Forbes recognition, Lavingia, whose parents are Indian, says, “Hopefully it exposes Gumroad to a few people that we could help, or could help us (by this, he means engineers, who he is looking for).”
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