Amarsh Chaturvedi & Ashwani Rawat — Transerve Technologies
It would be safe to say that Amarsh Chaturvedi would have laughed off the idea of becoming his own startup’s chief salesman and administrator. Amarsh would not only have found the idea of starting up incredible but the idea of him doing sales was risible. But that is what entrepreneurship entails — doing everything that you could never foresee yourself doing. Both Amarsh and his partner, Ashwani Rawat, have found the experience of leading Transerve Technologies for the last 10 years extremely fulfilling and surprising in equal measure.
Amarsh and Ashwani, classmates, had first considered pursuing entrepreneurship during their second year of Civil Engineering at IIT Kanpur, but they weren’t sure of what exactly to do. A compulsory internship at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) helped them formulate an idea as they were presented with a challenging task of solving a technological problem that had not been tackled earlier. Opting to gain some corporate experience, build up sufficient funds, and test the waters before starting out, they both joined prominent real estate firms. However, their passion did not let them be. In 2009, they founded Transerve Technologies, which provides data collection tools, smart city solutions, and hyperlocal information solutions.
“Adversities have made us thick-skinned. We now can take any challenge head on.”
Across their journey, both of them felt crippled by the dearth of resources and the lack of support from the industry. Getting payments from clients for their innovative proposals turned to be tougher than what they had expected. Setting up a bank account itself took them three months. Amarsh chuckles, “Fortunately, those days cheques were valid for six months.” Soon, a global recession hit the market. Barely a year into the business, they saw their funds drying up and were forced to downsize. Letting go of their team members was a pain they hadn’t imagined facing earlier. They still shudder at the thought of it. But they persevered and soon launched Transerve 2.0, focusing more on small projects and converging on Korea and Europe as their market.
Amarsh, once a hardcore techie, now assumes multiple roles. He has embraced the fact that travel is a part of his job and loves exploring the places he visits on business trips. Ashwani, now, has time only for work and sleep, his brain buzzing with ideas and solutions to the inevitable problems that pop up every now and then. Today, the pair, work hard to keep abreast of the changing needs of the industry and consistently provide quality service to customers. Their ideas have translated into better waste management, cleaner drinking water and more adequate power supplies for cities — a matter of great pride for both of them.
Amarsh and Ashwani are now going places! Toughened by their hardships, they are now ready to tackle any challenge thrown at them.
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