Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-founder and CEO, Koo, and co-founder, TaxiForSure
Alma mater: IIMA
The biggest advantage that I had because of college and b-school was that I was exposed to students from every state of India. I came to know how students from different states behave and what their tastes and preferences were. When you bring that soft learning to business, it makes a whole lot of difference.
For instance, at TaxiForSure (which was acquired by Ola for $200 million in 2015) we were present in 48 cities and I could interpret how drivers in Delhi behaved when compared with drivers in Kolkata. Even with Koo, we are enabling the voices of India in local languages on the internet for the first time. I am aware about cultural nuances in each language, thanks to my exposure to different languages and cultures during my student days.
The case study approach helps you to learn the nuances of different businesses. You are put in the position of a senior manager or a CEO—a decision maker. I recall attending a marketing course by Prof Abraham Koshy at IIMA. There was a project at the end of the course. Mine was related to branding autorickshaws. It was about things like setting the right tariff and the safety of the autos. The project helped me when I started TaxiForSure.
A case study I still remember from IIMA was based on a factory and its employees going on strike and how the management had to deal with it. At TaxiForSure, there were multiple situations where drivers would agitate and go on strike. Though the situations were not exactly the same as in a factory, the basic learning from the case study helped me.
Another important factor is the network created by IIM graduates. In Koo, I have four or five fellow IIMA alumni who run important functions. For instance, our head of analytics is a good friend and batch mate of mine, our vice president of business was one year senior to me, and our head of strategic partnerships is also a batch mate. I would not have come across such awesome talent had I not studied at IIMA.
Koo is among the few businesses that started during the pandemic. We were building Koo when the pandemic hit. It would have been easy to think we should not start a business during a pandemic. The other way was to look at the opportunities (like the possibility of people being cooped up inside and having time for a new app like Koo).
The work ethic that is imparted to students at IIMA helped me tremendously. One develops a mindset that anything is possible and starts looking at the positives. At the top b-schools, one is able to study with the best talent and the best minds. It instills the confidence in students to go and conquer and believe that they are capable of achieving anything in life.
—As told to Abhinav Singh