Learn the art of fighting says Aditi Chaurasia founder of MotorBabu and EngineerBabu

Hers is a real story of big dreams. Aditi Chaurasia is from a small town called Garhi Malehara near Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. An entrepreneur who first launched a hand-made cards business called Titliyan and later like the butterfly jumped away to embrace new pastures and opportunities to grow more businesses. On a typical day you'll find her sitting on her workstation, driving the grind of startup life with her co-founder and team of tech experts which now form two vibrant startups MotorBabu and EngineerBabu. The journey began a little differently though. From hard financial times to the loss of her brother, and a society that penalised the idea of starting up, life wasn't a bed of roses.

Working for others never excited her

When she grew up, she wanted to be on her own, set up a business and follow her passions. Working for others never excited her. But growing up in a society that fostered glass ceilings, she faced societal pressure when she pressed on achieving her ambitions. At Garhi Malehara, the environment was such that women nearly suffered to prove their worth and identity. "At a moment in my life, I wished to be a pilot and even an astronaut. But always financial crisis at home held me back, couldn’t go for anything that is expensive. But one thing I was sure of that I cannot live a typical working life."

Route to entrepreneurship

I started to explore possibilities right from when I was in seventh standard in school. At a moment in my life, I even wished to be a pilot and even an astronaut. But a financial crisis at home held me back and so I couldn’t go for anything that was expensive. But one thing I was sure of that I wasn't made for a typical working life. When my brother passed away, I tried studying medical but couldn’t succeed. There was an inner voice always told me that there’s something else I was meant for.

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Eventually, I joined Indore IMS for MBA and got placed too. But working for another company wasn't my cup of tea. In 2013, I made a handmade birthday card for one of my friend. He then influenced me to make more such cards and set up a small startup. So I started-up Titliyan Creation and created lots of cards it till my MBA was over.

Pressure To Get A Job

Then the pressure came from my parents to go for a job, you know how the Indian system works! So the day went in the day job and the night was spent on my passions. I had to manage card creations and delivering products which I wouldn’t say was going bad by any means. And by that time my cards were delivered all over the country and I had shipped my products to three to four countries on demand already.

But later the year, the pressure was getting so intense and I was unable to cope up with huge pile of work. That's when I got in touch with one of my friends Mayank who already bitten by the startup bug. We setup EngineerBabu with aim to offer end to end IT services such as app and web development.

Initially I hid it from them and told them that I was doing a job. But in May this year, I told them about it and they were happy and are supporting me. I can now work with double the passion.

The concept behind EngineerBabu:

It provides website app-development solutions across the world. Right now we are working on our home product called MotorBabu. We are basically switching from service provider to a product company. We launched it in January 2016. MotorBabu is service centre aggregator to provide hassle free vehicle service to the users.

Challenges:

EngineerBabu is bootstrapped. We didn’t get any support from any investors or family. Also being in a conservative family, turning to entrepreneurship itself was a big challenge. I come from a small village where girls hardly go for studying. And, in the midst of that situation when a woman like me takes a big step like this, no one understands. Especially the people who have a certain mindset about females. The society mocks you and your parents are influenced by the society. If you’re not doing any job – you’re doing nothing. This changed however in May when I told my parents everything and they started to support me. Now I am able to work with double the passion.

people who have a certain mindset about females. The society mocks you and your parents are influenced by the society. If you’re not doing any job – you’re doing nothing

Traits of an entrepreneur:

Whenever I feel challenged and face family pressure, the one thing I say to myself – failure is not an option. I fail, get over with it and come back to the game. There shouldn’t be any option of going back or shutting it down.

Inspiration to startup:

I get upset whenever I go to my hometown. Seeing the state of women  there makes me think about the bigger issue. I want to change their lifestyle and how they are being treated now. I can’t wait for the government or NGOs to come and help me. I am eager to work for women to having independence and make them aware about their rights in the society.

Learn the art of fighting:

I would suggest to women who aspire to become entrepreneurs – if you are dedicated and passionate about starting-up, and then learn the art of fighting. You have to fight criticism, have to fight demotivation; mostly you have to fight with half the world. Women entrepreneurs are rising in India but are they in the rural parts of India? Do they have the same privilege as metro cities’ women do? Delhi, Bangalore or Mumbai shouldn’t be the only places to have women entrepreneurs. There is so much talent in other areas which goes unnoticed, unrecognized.