EP #135: Siva Balakrishnan - Indian-Based Entrepreneur (Founder of Vserve Ebusiness Solutions) & Angel Investor

Siva Balakrishnan is the Indian-based Founder Of Vserve Ebusiness Solutions ( @vserveebusiness ) and Angel Investor with the Mumbai Angels Network.He joins Ara on this episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss how observing the scarcity mindset around him while growing up in India taught him to come up with solutions on the fly, why your first customer is always buying you as the founder (not the product/service), the state of AI being more probabilistic that deterministic at the moment, finding value in failing fast, living by the belief that the journey is the reward, and so much more.Follow Siva:- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/siva-balakrishnan-38216b1/)   Timestamps00:19: Ara introduces this week’s guest, Siva Balakrishnan00:49: How growing up in India shaped Siva’s solution-oriented mindset03:02: Early entrepreneurship; being a mechanical engineer, outsourcing a web developer gig05:01: Seeing a gap and capitalizing to launch Vserve; hiring a browsing centre06:37: The evolution of Vserve; from what it was to what it is08:21: How entrepreneurs can secure a first customer and find their niche10:59: Balancing offering white glove customer service while being cost competitive14:10: Maintaining company culture as the CEO of a distributor outsource workforce17:28: Siva’s view on AI now and looking forward21:25: What’s the next phase of life after 20 years into his journey?23:11: How Siva decides what he is willing to put money behind as an angel investor25:43: Other South Indian Tamil entrepreneurs making waves26:56: The role Siva’s family plays in the choices he makes28:48: The importance of failing fast; a past learning lesson from his journey30:37: Advice he would give his 16-year-old self31:47: The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for and the value of compounding36:51: Creator Confessions49:02: The Wrap Up  Intro MusicProduced And Mixed By:- The Tamil Creator- YanchanWritten By:- Aravinthan Ehamparam- Yanchan Rajmohan    Support the show