Tushar Bhatnagar – Research Scientist – A.I. | Research Collaborator at EBRAINS
Co-Founder and CEO Alpha AI, Tripsero Pvt. Ltd. | Co-Founder and CTO vidBoard.ai
Q1. Did you always want to become a consultant or did you fall into the role?
I never had a goal of becoming an entrepreneur or running a business. What I had as my goal was to create an impact. I always like to call myself an innovator over a researcher because this is why I decided to have my venture. Research is the backbone behind any new technology and it really is the reflection of our needs, but if we only research, I believe we would only be able to fill our minds. My vision is to take the research we do at Alpha AI to mass. This is definitely not something I can do alone and I believe my vision can only echo by tapping different industries globally. As mentioned earlier, my drive to start my venture largely came from my hunger to grow. I always say this that to grow one must try faster, fail harder, create. This is fairly what even I have done until now.
Besides my childhood, where I would re-assemble almost everything I’d get and home appliances being my ‘best friends’, I started my first venture as a sophomore in my Bachelors. Some of the notable ventures that I initiated are as follows:
- INNVOS LABS
- HEALWELL
- PayGo
After trying out these ventures, I decided to have a structured corporate environment and taking up a job as a Systems Engineer. Within a year I could actually see the tasks being monotonous and not adding value to my career and that is when I went ahead for a Masters in AI. I continued to experiment and explore by launching start-ups and build prototypes across the digital automation and artificial intelligence space.
After coming back to India and while I was waiting eagerly to return back in my already developed network with NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, COVID19 escalated in India and I had to stay put. Nevertheless I wouldn’t stop and continued as a CTO in a venture based on Artificial Intelligence driven video analytics called AIOTIZE. With any of the engagements I would have, I wouldn’t halt my research and this is how ideas for Alpha AI started to pour in.
Timing did it’s play and I ended my engagement with the firm I was CTO at and decided to register my own venture. I decided to give Alpha AI as the name to my reflection. Alpha AI is the umbrella for all my projects now and the research we do.
Q2. What makes a good consultant?
Well, this question is highly subjective but, in my opinion, and in my area of work, I could state that one’s Ability to design, build and deploy predictive and prescriptive models using statistical modelling, machine learning, and optimization along with their ability to use structured decision- making to complete projects are amongst the most important aspects that make one a good consultant. To further add to this, their ability to manage an entire project from business issue identification, data audit to model maintenance in production is one of the well sought qualities within a good consultant.
Q3. Do you feel you manage yourself well or is it a case of ‘the cobbler’s shoes’?
Well, it would be dishonest if I said there haven’t been any times when I had everything under control. The process and stages every venture goes through remains the same except when it happens. There have been times when I haven’t been able to manage my situation well and fortunately, at the moment, everything seems to be totally under control thus affirming that I have been able to manage myself well.
Q4. Are there enough hours in your day?
In my personal opinion, “Not at all”. Since I started out with my venture, I have not been able to come to
terms with this fact that there are mere 24 hours in a day. Given I stay curious at times regarding the work we do and the things I want to learn, I always end up feeling I wish I could spare more time today to look into those activities and grasp as much as possible for a highly productive tomorrow.
Q5. If you could magically stop your clients from making one mistake – what would that be?
Well, mistakes are a part and parcel of any business. Be it from my end or from my client’s end. Although there is one major concern I would like to address and that is for the clients to follow the following process while working on any product or services that is to, “Think, Ideate, Design and Create”
Q6. What do you find is the best way to market yourself?
I always believe that one’s work and their clients are the best way to brand and market oneself but unfortunately in today’s would it ends up being way more than that. One needs to establish a fast growth- oriented network of likeminded individuals, setup virtual meetups, follow through with digital marketing campaigns and promote all the client testimonials.
Q7. What do you do to unwind?
It is not superficial that I do for unwinding. It is simply listening to music and going out for a long walk in
the evening.
Q8. What advice would you give a starting consultant?
Being a consultant is not an easy task, one needs to be mentally strong and be ready to put in lots and lots of hours and hard work into establishing yourself within the industry.
Q9. What’s your guilty pleasure?
Playing video games at pretty odd hours
Q10. What’s your goal for next year?
My goal for the next year is to increase my client acquisition by 20% and revenue by 40%. Given this pandemic, staging one’s growth for the coming years needs to be thoroughly planned and executed.