EP #42: Kartik Bala - CEO & Co-Founder of SnapSmile, AI-Driven Oral Health Monitoring App

Kartik Bala is the Co-founder and CEO of SnapSmile (@snapsmile), a tech app that utilizes Artificial Intelligence to monitor your oral health from health while acting as your personal AI dental coach. He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss his early entrepreneurial hustles, receiving CAD $25,000 in funding for his company through Next AI - A NEXT Canada Program (@next_canada), why he tries to take more risks now (spoiler: because we don’t live forever), and much more.Follow Kartik:- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kartikbalasundaram/) - Twitter (https://twitter.com/karti_bal) Timestamps00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Kartik Bala02:59 - Kartik’s first hustles; drop shipping phone cases and clothing customization05:33 - How did the entrepreneurial bug bite Kartik?07:24 - How his parents feel about him leaving behind ‘more secure’ opportunities09:00 - Kartik shows love to Ryerson University and its offerings11:57 - SnapSmile’s admittance into Next AI - A NEXT Canada Program13:42 - Why Kartik started SnapSmile16:53 - Income generation strategy (at-home monitoring20:05 - Who are SnapSmile’s competitors?22:02 - Kartik’s vision for the company in the next 3-5 years23:38 - How SnapSmile secured funding (bootstrapping vs. fundraising)25:53 - The background of SnapSmile’s three co-founders28:14 - SnapSmile’s biggest challenges and how they overcame them30:05 - How Kartik balances the demands of a start-up and his personal interests31:29 - How COVID affected Kartik from a professional and personal standpoint32:47 - Books/podcasts that Kartik has learned from during the pandemic35:04 - Kartik’s epiphany; realizing we don’t live forever36:15 - The legacy Kartik wants to leave behind - how he wants friends/family to remember him37:40 - How has the Toronto-Tamil community affected Kartik on a personal and professional level39:11 - Who inspires Kartik?41:52 - Advice Kartik has for other aspiring Tamil creators48:06 - Would You Rather52:46 - The Wrap UpIntro MusicProduced And Mixed By:- The Tamil Creator- YanchanWritten By:- Aravinthan Ehamparam- Yanchan Rajmohan  Support the show