Vivek Sharanappa
Co-Founder and CEO
As part of our persistent efforts here in VictoryTales to identify and share some of the meaningful stories from India and around the world, we have invited Mr Vivek Sharanappa, Co Founder & CEO of BuymyEV for an interview with us.
Vivek Sharanappa is basically an engineer with almost 20 years of working experience in the software industry. Vivek started his career as an associate at Polaris Software Labs, Chennai and his last job was at Hewlett Packard Enterprises before opening his venture BuymyEV.
The idea to be an entrepreneur came as Vivek, had to commute to work from his home to office located at mahadevapura in Bengaluru everyday and there was no metro rail on his route. This tiresome journey was quite a challenge for him everyday. Specially spending long hours commuting was always forcing him to look for alternatives. Since he is an avid cyclist and even he tried cycling twice a week to reach his office(~20 kms one side) but had to give up due to air pollution affecting his health. So that's what encouraged me to look for alternative commute options that were economical, eco-friendly and perhaps the root cause or the idea to start an option for commute means in EV space was thus born.
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Know more about
BuymyEv
BuymyEV is a company that manufactures electric eScoot. BuymyEv comprises a bunch of enthusiasts trying hard to make the urban commute fun and also trying to provide the best foldable eScoot from the globe to the urban population so that they can enjoy the ride as well as contribute to nature by zero air/noise pollution and eco-friendly drive.
eScoot is an electric Personal Mobility Device that makes Urban commute simplified. eScoot is a mobility solution that can be used as a moving device to go to the office for work, coffee shop, gym, and literally everywhere. To know more about BuymyEV you can visit the website: https://www.buymyev.in/. Even if you need to know more about eScoot please get in touch through email: support@buymyev.in
Where did the idea to start something like this come from? Please also talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur;
I am basically an engineer with close to a double decade experience in the software industry. I started my career as an associate at Polaris Software Labs, Chennai and my last longest stint was at Hewlett Packard Enterprises. While I had to commute to work from home to office located at mahadevapura in Bengaluru before the introduction of metro rails it was quite a challenge. Specially spending long hours commuting was always forcing me to look for alternatives. Since I am an avid cyclist I even tried cycling twice a week to the office(~20 kms one side) but had to give up due to air pollution affecting my health. With Metro although it was a little breather the last mile/first mile commute was still a challenge so that’s what encouraged me to look for alternative commute options that were economical, eco-friendly and perhaps the root cause or the idea to start option for commute means in EV space was thus born.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
Well to start with I did not have any choices as such to pick either a job or entrepreneurship. I was doing good at the job and perhaps you may even say in a comfort zone. But, the basic instinct of problem-solving got a new dimension when I started exploring the possible solutions for the short mile commute option. This is where I guess the turning point from a job to be an entrepreneur happened.
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
When I started exploring the solution it was a new skill that i had started developing that kept me pushing through a lot of learning with EV Technology. This new learning that I started implementing became a key driving force to become an entrepreneur.
What’s your source of motivation?
So when I realized that my solution could make a distinct difference to the lines of people as an entrepreneur, I realized that wealth creation in this way is much more satisfactory to me as a person and this is my biggest motivation.
How many hours a day do you work on average?
I work for about 12-15 hours on average in a day although my schedule is very dynamic and flexible.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
I am active with one or the other physical activity. I go for a run early in the morning 2-3 times a week, or go on long cycling trails over the weekend(depending on my schedule). For the everyday stress buster I look forward to playing with my son. Off late due to COVID19 restrictions I have learned some cooking skills to impress my teen daughter & spouse. That is also a new way of stress buster.
What is the uniqueness of your startup?
Our mission is to make hyperlocal commute clean, green and tech enabled through our electric bikes. We want to achieve this at a scale where it is a lifestyle change rather than a mere commercial short term engagement. As part of this plan we have attractive subscriptions that are light on the consumer pocket. This makes us standout.
How do you generate new ideas?
That is a very non formula based question :). Ideas are part of your thought process that is always running on your mind. Infact every human will have this as an individual. You don't explicitly dedicate a window for it especially in a startup. Once you are in the skin, they keep coming to you and how well you articulate, plan and execute and bring that idea to life is a different ball game.
How did you come up with the name for your company?
We wanted to build a platform for all the niche EV’s in India specifically for the hyperlocal market and that’s how we coined up the name as BUYMYEV.
What piece of advice would you give to college graduates who want to become entrepreneurs?
That is a very tricky one :). While I do suggest them to get their hands on, on all that experiments they want to conclude, I would like to say as much that work experience before being an entrepreneur is more important, since this gives you an advantage to understand a lot about your human behavior which ultimately is a requirement when you would like to start something which none have tried earlier.
