Interview with Young Chicago Entrepreneur Nishanth Samala
How many times have wondered what’s wrong with your car? You hear a strange sound or a warning light goes on and then you take your car to a dealer or shop to put the fate of your transportation and your wallet in the hands of an automotive expert.
This happened when Nishanth Samala’s car finally reached 60,000 miles; “There was something wrong with [my car] so I took it in, and when I took it in, they gave a laundry list of other things that were wrong and needed to be fixed. And as a strapped college student, I couldn’t afford it. I still haven’t fixed whole list.”
Nishanth’s experience led him to develop Strados, a Chicago-based startup that combines a device and app using human friendly language to describe the current state of your car. When something goes wrong, Strados talks to your car to determine the cause and recommend solutions with estimated expenses. The automotive industry tends to be one-sided when it comes to knowledge and understanding, and Nishanth wanted to help protect himself and his friends from miscommunication and the potential for getting ripped off. This is where Strados comes in.
Launching a Gamechanger
Strados wasn’t built overnight. Nishanth has always played around with trying to improve his car. After working on some ideas for Strados and receiving positive feedback from his friends, Nishanth attended a hack-a-thon to test it; hosted by automotive industry leaders and design experts, they took notice in the product and wanted it in their own cars.
After gaining grassroots and industry interest, he decided to pursue it.
At the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, Strados had a soft launch to assess customer demand. Through connections, Nishanth received space at the popular show, and although their space was in the back of the event behind the bathrooms, he made the most of it. Using guerrilla marketing tactics, Nishanth along with the help of his friends, was able to generate interest in the product.
Entrepreneurial DNA
As a self-proclaimed gearhead and student at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Nishanth has always had a passion for technology, from coding robotics to aviation and transportation tech. Growing up in an entrepreneurial household and coming from a line of entrepreneurs, it’s not surprise that Strados is not his first startup.
“I’ve tried to do a lot of startups before this.”
Nishanth’s entrepreneurial tech endeavors range from a mobile app development company he tried in high school, to LineChop, a site that helps restaurant-goers get through lines quicker, to MonkeyBars, a company that hosts hack-a-thons in Chicago.
As a college student, he has switched majors twice, starting as aerospace and now computer science. His entrepreneurial involvement has given him a unique perspective to see how everything works together; “My entrepreneurial journey has helped me frame concepts from my classes differently from other people.”
How to Build a Tech Startup
Through his successes and failures, here are the top 3 lessons learned when it comes to building a tech startup:
1) RESEARCH: “Figure how to empathize with the user and see how they’re currently solving problems and why it’s currently inefficient. Don’t duplicate what’s already out there, but build something more amazing.”
2) TEST: “Build a product that people will use, not something you think people will use.”
3) BUILD THE RIGHT TEAM: “Even if you have the most amazing technology, if you don’t have the business side or value proposition, it’s not going to sell.”
If you’re a non-technical founder with a technical idea, he suggests learning and gaining some technical insight to help you with making important decisions in your venture; Nishanth advises that it’s “not that hard to dabble in technology if you really want to give it a shot.” Attend a Startup Weekend or hack-a-thon to test your idea. Not only will you gain valuable feedback and support from mentors and judges, but you’ll be able to come closer to the idea product with each iteration.
Technispiration
Nishanth contributes curiosity as being most valuable to his success. “For me, if I see new technology or see something I haven’t seen before, I say huh, how can I make my life better or how can I integrate it to make something better in the world.”
His curiosity is continuously inspired by two role models: Doug Traster, his personal mentor and the founder of Precise Path Robotics, and the renowned Elon Musk, who Nishanth describes as “an engineering genius [with] the business props to go with it.”
As Traster once told him, “All sensors lie, some more than others.” Nishanth is inspired by this message as it reminds him not only of the realities of engineering, but also that you should not hedge your bets on what’s immediately apparent.
Nishanth sees himself continuing his entrepreneurial journey, whether it’s advancing Strados or working to launch a new tech startup.
“I think I will always be starting a company here and there. It’s kind of scary, but it’s really cool, that you can chart out your own journey.”
Strados is currently pre-selling orders. Place your order at strados.co at a special discounted pre-order price.
