Happy almost Friday! It's Thursday, August 10th, and today I had the opportunity to interview one of the most well-spoken, and experienced entrepreneurs I have ever met. His name is Ashwin Pushpala, and after being exposed to research in high school, he went on to the prestigious University of Pennsylvania to focus on Bioengineering. While there, he found he had the entrepreneurial bug, and he experimented by creating several businesses on campus. Though many of these failed, he fell in love with the process of controlling a product's or technology's destiny through business.
Following a masters program at UPenn, Ashwin worked at a healthcare technologies company. Soon, he was using their lab space after hours to work on his own research. He and his roommate came to the realization that the healthcare industry had neglected to advance the way glucose was monitored. Using his background in alternative deliveries of medicine from Penn, he went all in on his vision of a non-intrusive glucose monitor. Since then, he grew the company significantly, sold it, and has branched out into the venture capital space, where he can help other companies solve problems, and continue to learn on his own. His firm controls roughly 5 billion in assets.
While Ashwin's experiences are very unique, across the interview I found a few key takeaways for anyone who wants to impact an industry the way he did.
- Love learning. Much of Ashwin's job was to continuously learn how to solve problems and move the company forward, then use his knowledge to train someone to take over that role. He'd then repeat the cycle, going to address a new problem or area of business. Part of what made him successful was the passion he seemed to have for this process, as he genuinely enjoyed the learning that was required for him to succeed in the market.
- Understand the markets and the finances. Early in the interview, Ashwin stressed that as much as the actual service or product itself, knowing how to get the product into the hands of customers was important. He now helps other companies with great potential for success with that step, as he's learned how to work within the markets to help companies succeed.
- Understand the industry. Ashwin recommended being completely involved in an industry and understanding it, especially for anyone who hoped to make in impact in that same industry. Ashwin did this by interning at healthcare companies, studying and creating the essential technologies for his idea, and finding backing from established players in his industry. To anyone else, he recommends doing something similar, understanding why customers in that industry buy, what they like, what has a future, and more.
- Be naïve. While Ashwin didn't say this, he did characterize his younger self as this. He noted that he may not have taken the journey if he understood how many challenges would be involved, yet he is extremely grateful he did. Often, entrepreneurs become too worried about the possible failures and mistakes they will make. Certainly they will happen, but to be successful you need to approach your journey with a positive mindset, and then learn to love overcoming the challenges you find.
- Have an exit plan in mind. Although it doesn't need to be an exit, Ashwin recommends that companies think about their future early on, and understand where it is headed. For Ashwin, that was merging with a customer of his to vertically integrate. This process was sudden for Ashwin, and though it went well, he suggests that other companies start thinking about that along the way, and earlier than he did.
These are the personal takeaways I got from the interview, and the ones I plan to apply to my own life as I explore my career down the line. That being said, Ashwin's eloquence is unmatched by my writing, and I highly encourage you to check out the actual interview, especially the first half. Ashwin is truly inspirational and intelligent, and I have no doubt that he will continue to change the landscape of industries in the future.
Watch the interview here!
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