30under30 Nominee Nidhi Kachhawa

We interviewed Significant Insights Global 30 Under 30 Nominee Nidhi Kachhawa who works at Atal Incubation Centre, JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur, India and is a Chief Operating Officer, and is an Ex-Entrepreneur and has been the part of this ecosystem for a decade now. Her mantra for success is an Albert Einstein quote “You never fail until you stop trying” Nidhi has some incredibly inspiring words for junior researchers and her story and her career journey so far is enough to get the goose bumps flowing!

Take us through your industry journey so far? How did you arrive at this point?

I was always the hustler type and did all that come to my head, like opening a tea stall or launching my own startup at the age of 20, I was always told that doing business or being independent should never be the first mission of a women, belonging to a 3 tier city of Rajasthan I was always asked to live the life like a certain way how the women are expected to live.

During the phase of launching of my startup and experimenting with my own creative ideas and taking the leap to start and being on the edge always made me feel free & independent and this startup ecosystem was developing that time and the sessions which I used to attend I used to be the only women doing the business in that room, that was the point I decided to be the part of the ecosystem and become the facilitator for the fellow entrepreneurs and explain the point to everyone that “It is entrepreneur, we are doing the mistake by prefixing it with Male or Women”.

I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to lead the project of entrepreneurial development ecosystem in Ajmer, 3tier city of Rajasthan, and coincidently the office was in my alma matter which made me little more motivated towards the project, in 2017’s the concept of startup was new to that place and people were little hesitant to even give it a shot, I used to schedule the meetings and sessions with young students and talk about the concept of startup and how it can change the directions of not only the individual but the Economy and how being an entrepreneur from the small place like Ajmer can bring the city into the map.

To get more exposure on the best practices and developed ecosystem I went to explore Gujrat startup ecosystem, where I was able to learn about the various mindsets of the entrepreneurs and the best practices of various incubators and how the community is knitted closely for the development of  startup ecosystem, those days were the most amazing learning days for me, post which I came back to Rajasthan to create the impact and start the chain of change and help startups with every inch of the knowledge I gathered, and this journey still continues.

Till date there is no day passed where I have not learned new thing, everyday is new in this ecosystem and you get to expose yourself with different perception of different people and witness how this ecosystem is developing and get to be the part of this change.

It gives me goosebumps to even think of how this ecosystem has grown and how from the initial days to the present and in future I would be the part of this ecosystem.

So, what’s so inspiring about our industry?

There is no answer to what is inspiring in this ecosystem because every stakeholder will have different take on this and that is the beauty of this ecosystem that it never fails to inspire and expose the people to new learnings and vision. I find this industry the reason that I can learn grow and dream, this Industry have given me the reason to try new things take risks and believe in myself.

The thought that everyone is equal comes in this industry because everyone here in this ecosystem are Co-Existing, Learning and competing at the same time and this we will not find in any other industry, I can’t even express in words, one should come be the part of the industry and experience it for self.

What message do you have for anyone considering a career in our industry?

I would only ask that person to keep there minds & arms open, you will learn only then, and everyday will be different and will bring different learning and different challenges with it, but if someone likes to solve the problem and hustle and create the difference and impact then this industry is the perfect place to be in.The satisfaction of doing something meaningful and worth to the direction of bringing positive change, this is very beautiful to and worth the shot.

How do very junior researchers stand out?

Every one in this industry either Junior or senior stands out with there unique quality and there unique vision, specifically the junior researchers have more enthusiasm and passion to create the change and have very fresh ideas and vision which helps the industry to keep growing and also brings out more faster and better ways in solving the problems.