We invited Gaurav Sharma, Co-founder & CTO of Wattt Electromotives for an interview with Most Popular Stories to know more about his entrepreneurial journey.
Wattt Electromotives is an ambitious startup that builds Electric Vehicles for the people, With utmost priority given to safety, sustainability & efficiency. They are pushing to make this dream a reality.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey as an entrepreneur
That’s me on the right, wearing the loose pink shirt. I belong to a middle-class family in
Punjab. Since my childhood, I was always mesmerized by the world of machines, was
always curious to understand their inner workings and not only that I also always wondered
how large organizations worked and always dreamt of being a part of such an organization
which could put technology to good use and bring change to society, I also wanted to
do my bit.
But, like most engineers I too was figuring out the future after graduation. Then, I took the decision to pursue masters. There I met Abhishek (on my left, in black shirt), my co-
founder. As the final semester approached, we both knew we wouldn’t be able to fulfil our dreams at a regular office job. So, we used to travel a lot by auto-rickshaws, whose
condition was not good by any means. The experience of harmful emissions, jampacked
autos and nearly meeting with an accident, rung like a bell in our minds, we knew this was
our calling and we set sail on this beautiful journey. Now we are a team of 6 passionate
members.
- Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
It is a well-known fact that very few conventional jobs offer an employee the freedom to
break away from the chain and think differently or actually do things differently. Theirs a
very little chance that your change bringing idea would be entertained by executives.
Basically, life gets boring pretty fast. I always wanted to do something meaningful and
exciting and I am really passionate about making a positive impact which, I truly believe
we would be able to do with this start-up.
- What was the vision behind it?
We started with the vision that every human being should be able to utilize the latest and
greatest technological advancements. One way of doing that is to put it within the reach
of the masses. Simply put, our products should be affordable by the majority of people, only then the impact would be significant enough for the humankind to reap the benefits.
- Describe the services that Wattt Electromotives offer to customers and in what way are they unique?
Primarily, we offer hardware products but, we are a technology company at heart. Because
it’s not just the vehicle that matters, there are many things involved like, tracking,
navigation, theft protection and most importantly charging infrastructure, to name a few.
We truly believe in the concept of shared mobility and will offer bespoke products for that.
We are open to partnerships and graciously invite players in the shared-mobility space to
collaborate with us, so that a solution could be devised to better fulfill the needs.
We have a consumer-oriented design process, everything that goes into it should enhance
the user experience. We strictly refrain from adding features just for the sake of adding
features and increase the selling price. The form should be functional as well and that greatly enhances the product’s value for the customers.
For example, our early e-auto prototype (design patented) code-named M3V (pictured below), is an all-electric multi-purpose three-wheeler which is designed to do many jobs. It could become anything you want, for example, passenger carrier, load carrier, delivery van, etc. all in one package.
It offers excellent operational flexibility. It is designed to impress and engineered to perform. With imposing front & aerodynamic side profile are guaranteed to turn a few heads around, in turn attracting more customers for our e-auto owners.
- What difficulties which you have faced or you are facing?
Personally speaking, I am not great at communicating so, it’s been hard to make people see
what you see especially, the investors, and being a fresher doesn’t help either. I was a really shy kid and one of those who would be chosen last for the sports team. But it was not always bad, whenever my friends needed technical advice, they would approach me and that really boosted morale.
As on the business end, choosing unconventional approach is like stepping into the
unknown, you never know what will come your way next and that is quite a challenge in
itself but, you know theirs light at the end of the tunnel and, challenges are part of the
journey it makes the result more enjoyable.
- How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Whenever I feel stuck, and my brain refuses to do its job, I get up and start walking. This
really helps shake things up and get those neurons firing again. Engaging in physical
activity enhances positive emotions and builds confidence.
Another way is to gain knowledge, it empowers you then you could make informed decisions instead of stressing on it.
- What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
Thinking ahead and planning your day is a good way to get going for the day. It gives you
direction and helps set realistic goals for the day. So, for example, if I have a big task at
hand, I look at the goal and break it down into smaller tasks.
This really helps me focus and utilize the resources more efficiently. At the end of the day it is the joy of achieving something that helps you grow as a person.
- How your company is helping India to grow?
We will enter the market soon with our first product which is an e-bike for the youth and
city dwellers. Below is the stylized concept of our e-bike. We haven’t finalized its name
yet, so I invite the readers to suggest a name.
We are focused on in-house development of key technological components like the battery,
motor, and inverter and we are willing to license them to any OEM who wishes to enter the
market. This will not only assure quality but also reduce India’s reliance on the east.
- In your opinion what are the keys to success?
One sure-shot way of succeeding is to fail and learn. You fail once then you modify your
approach and try even harder.
The key here is to identify the mistakes and rectifying them fast.
- What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
I still have a lot to learn. But I would like to say two things. First, understand your customer. Just identifying the problem or devising a plausible solution may not work. In order to improve your odds of winning, bring in your customer early into the development phase.
Talk to them, do surveys, and let them experience the early prototype. Advise of your
customer is important. That is what Microsoft did with their insider program for Windows10.
The second point, is to believe in yourself. See, if you yourself don’t believe in your idea or vision, how will you make others believe in you?
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