By K Ashwin Mobile: 09920183006 Email:indianshowbusiness@gmail.com
With the highest number of honorees on this year’s 30 Under 30 Asia list – 65 in total – young Indians are storming the startup scene, excelling in a diverse array of occupations.
Given the current median age in the country is just 27 years old, this should be of little surprise. However what does surprise is that this is a group of Indians who are focused on giving back to their country through their endeavors, in whatever way they can.
Targeting the millennial market
Bobble Keyboard’s 26-year-old cofounder Ankit Prasad is one of the list honorees looking at the millennial market. Determined to make the mobile texting experience more individual, visual and expressive, he created the Bobble Keyboard along with cofounder Mohd Wassem. Download the app, take a selfie, and the technology will create a cartoon image of you to apply to the keyboard’s database of stickers, GIFs, fonts, emojis, and comics — all for you to share with friends. They say their app has been downloaded around 10 million times to date.
As sustainability sets a trend, 28-year-old Rahul Gayam, CTO of Gayam Motor Works, joined brother Raja in creating electric auto-rickshaws and bikes for the Indian market. They’ve partnered with domestic taxi company Ola and with the government of Andhra Pradesh state on a fleet of electric vehicles.
There’s also Bala Sarda, the 26-year-old founder and CEO of Vahdam Teas. While there’s no shortage of homegrown tea brands in India, Sarda has raised $2 million in funding to operate a direct-to-consumer business. His model, designed to support domestic farmers, emphasizes freshness as they process, pack, and ship teas directly to the consumer within 24-72 hours of production.
Famous faces
While India is considered the birthplace of the game of polo as it is played today, the sport had largely lapsed into the arms of the army until the 19-year-old Royal, the titular Maharaja of Jaipur, Padmanabh Singh, an avid sportsman, took up its cause. Not only captaining the first Indian polo team to head to England in 20 years, the NYU-student was also the youngest Indian member of a World Cup polo team — and the youngest ever winner of the Indian Open Polo Cup. And that’s not all, Singh also takes his responsibilities as the King of Jaipur seriously, ensuring all traditional functions continue to be carried out, and keeping a hand in managing the family’s heritage properties across the city. Read more
