Eeshan Arun, born in a family of Doctors and Government Servants, chose a different path for himself, when he decided to take up Bachelors in Media and Communication, from Jain University, CMS. He started of as a Photographer, and went on to train under Craig D Forrest, who is a renowned film director. He has also done his PostGraduation in Cyber Law from National Law School, and has been a designer as well. Only during his work in a startup for a year, he realised that Business was his true calling, and went on to Warwick University, to complete his Masters in International Business. There, in the UK, getting trained from industry experts like Kamel Mellahi, Michael Synott, etc. he has learned the different strategies which businesses adopt. He also holds the Fourth rank in International Business Strategy, in Warwick University. Only after getting knowledge and experience from varied backgrounds, he has finally got into full fledged business, with big dreams and aspirations and now is the Founder & CEO at NativeCreativ Communications Private Limited.
1.When did you decide to make entrepreneurship as your career?
As a child, like every other, I always wanted to be everything, from a Doctor, Pilot, Scientist and even an Air Force fighter. It was my Math tutor, who during my 10th grade, made me realize the business acumen in me. He made me realize that I have the potential to identify gaps in any existing ecosystem and convert it into a business opportunity. I started my first business when I was in 11 th grade, where I helped students get tuitions. It all started after Salman Khan released Dabangg, and I got so inspired to get those Ray Ban shades that I had to arrange money from somewhere or the other. After my dad refused to buy it for me, I was forced to arrange money myself, and that led to my first entrepreneurial experience. The feeling I got after I bought the shades, was the moment where I realized I want to be an entrepreneur.
2. What made you opt for Media and Communication despite of being a Science student?
I come from a family of doctors. My grandfather, father, guardian, everyone are doctors. I had always been surrounded by them and that was one reason why I was initially inclined to be a doctor when I was a kid. But, slowly as I grew up, I understood that being a doctor is not an easy job. When I saw the kind of books my family had studied, and the fact that they had to study for a good 10 – 12 years, made me realize that it might not be my cup of tea. Over a career discussion with my family, I realized that my family chose the medical field, because the ‘Wellness’ industry is the biggest in the world. And, that is when I decided that I would go to the industry which is the second biggest in the world – Media.
3.What all companies have you been a part of till now, and what is your current venture about?
The first organization I was involved in, was a social venture under Telangana Medical Foundation. After that, I have been a part of 3 other startups, which were all in very different domains like – Mobile and Web app development, Home Automation and Designing. My latest venture is a Design LED Communication Company called NativeCreativ. I started this with two other friends of mine who all have been exposed to the startup world since more than half a decade, right from their college days. What we do at NativeCreativ, is consult and tie up with companies and startups, understand their business and then give them the best possible design solutions and communication to help them build a brand out of their product or service.
3. According to you, which part of your whole education was the most beneficial?
My family lays a huge emphasis on education and I have always been lucky to get support from them. This is one reason why I have followed the ideology of adding a new feather to my hat every year. I make sure I learn something new every year. A lot of people question me on this and believe that I am confused in life and still figuring out what to do. But, I believe that it is important to have diverse knowledge, in order to get a wider perspective. Talking about the best part of my education life, it would be hard to pick just one. But, in terms of the exposure and practical experience I have gotten, I would rate my Warwick Experience as the best. The reason behind me choosing Warwick, would be the education system. We were taught by the best in the field and the industry professionals.
4. Who has been your inspiration, someone you look up to?
In general I try taking inspirations from any and everywhere. I believe everything has a positive side, from where we can learn a lot. My family and my parents, have always inspired and supported me in everything. But, if I have to choose one person who has inspired me all along my life, it would be Dr. Nalin Chaudhary. He is my mom’s elder brother, and like a father figure to me. His age is nearing 60 and he takes pride in the fact that he has close to 60 degrees and certificates, a national gold medal in MBBS, and has a pharmaceutical company of his own, apart from practicing neuro-medicine. Even when I was a kid, and someone asked me what I wanted to become, if he was there beside me, he would say – “Eeshan will become a good human being first, and then anything else.” In fact, the first exposure I got to proper business, was with him, in Telangana Medical Foundation. It is a Non Profit organization, which adopts families and sponsors the education of kids, who are suffering from learning spectrum disorder and autism. One thing I have always learnt from him, is to be a good human being before anything else and I wish to impart this to as many people who get associated with me in future.
5. How do you feel on getting success at a young age?
Success as a term, according to me, is a very subjective. What I have done till now, either in terms of education or venturing into start-ups, are only small milestones for me. The aim I have set for myself, is very big and I still have a long way to go to be able to see those dreams come to reality. But yes, it does feel good when I am valued for who and what I am. I don’t know if it is the human nature in general or just me, but even if I had a Mercedes S Class, I would not be that happy, and rather wish for buying the entire store. Same even in this case; I long for a lot more and I am working towards it. Let’s see where the road is headed.
6. How does your family take your success?
My Family, as I have established till now, has been my backbone in everything I have done till now and I would have been nothing without them. But, one thing which is a stereotype in India, is Indian parents, and along with them, comes the desire of seeing their son or daughter in a government job. My parents still wish for me to become an IAS officer, rather than doing business, but after continuous persuasion, they have understood that I might not be fit for that. They are very happy seeing me and what I do, but one flip side of the coin is that because I do so much and this is just the initial stage, where I am just setting up businesses, I am not able to give enough time to my family. So, I would say they are happy externally but might be a little worried internally because they don’t get to talk to me much.
7. What is the one key event, which changed your life completely?
I always take pride in the fact that I am more mature than most of the people of my age. The entire credit of this, goes to my life and the way God has planned it. I have had such experiences in life, that I was forced to be mature and was left with no choice. The one experience that completely changed my life, was when I lost my elder sister. One person with whom I had spent 20 long years of my life, and one fine morning she decides not to wake up. That shook me up to such an extent that today, nothing bad can have an effect on me, because I keep telling myself that I have seen worse. Also, it is only after this incident, that I started to get more serious in life, because I realized the fact that, my entire family would now place their expectations only on me. This scared me initially, but made me stronger with time and this is one major motivating factor in my life.
8. What is your message for people who wish to have their own startups?
Startup life is very interesting, mainly because it is unplanned to a certain extent and you never know when, what hits you from where. Life becomes a little difficult and the number of sacrifices which will have to be done, are many. For anyone else who wishes to have their own startup, I would say that it is a good experience, but venture into it only once you are ready for it. Startup phase is more mental strain than anything else. You will have to be thinking on your feet every moment and iterating plans which takes up a lot of internal energy and requires high levels of intrinsic motivation. Added to that, I would also suggest that before even thinking of a startup, please have command over at least one subject or thing. One specialty which you can associate to yourself and are a master in. Because in startups, when you are pitching to a client or an investor, they don’t invest or get sold on the idea, but rather on the person and his / her passion. So, having a sound knowledge and being able to communicate the passion, is very important.
