Raina Kumra is the Co-Founder of Mavin; a Silicon Valley based mobile startup focused on bringing down the cost of data in emerging markets. Raina believes the Internet is not just a business platform, but a force for bringing about change in society.
Raina oversees UX/UI, brand and marketing strategy for Mavin. Previously she founded Juggernaut, an innovative consultancy and was Co-Director of Innovation for The BBG, a US department of state, agency under the Obama administration. Prior to that she led digital strategy at Wieden Kennedy. She holds degrees from BU, NYU and Harvard University.
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Tell us a little about yourself
I was born in California and grew up there as well. Every summer we’d spend our vacations in Ludhiana with my grandparents so I have always felt very connected to India. I hold a B.S. in Film and Television from Boston University, an M.A. in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU’s ITP program and an M.Des.S. in Design Studies for Digital Applications in Urban Planning and Architecture from Harvard University. Throughout my career I worked as a technologist in media and information and spent time working as a programmer, a UX designer and as a design thinker. I founded Juggernaut, an innovative consultancy and have also worked as Co-Director of Innovation for The BBG, a federal agency under the Obama administration and participated in advisory sessions for the president on the future of media. Prior to that I led digital strategy at Wieden Kennedy. I co-founded Mavin; a Silicon Valley and Bangalore based mobile startup focused on bringing down the cost of data in emerging markets. Currently I oversee UX/UI, brand and marketing strategy for Mavin. The theme of my career has been information access and dispersal, and we formed Mavin because we genuinely believe making the internet affordable is what makes it accessible.
What led to the idea of Mavin Inc?
We recognised that internet is a necessity and is not available to two thirds of the world, and that is why we focused our energies on building a symbiotic system that allows end users to participate in the digital economy while app publishers expand their influence by bartering free data for time on an app. I believe that the Internet is not just a business platform, but a force for bringing about change in society. The digital India initiative gets so much of this right, the sheer economic opportunity that comes from communication in the networked society is a huge part of this.
Our product, Gigato, is an app only available for prepaid users. It provides free unrestricted Internet data for Android and allows users to use the apps of their choice and get megabytes recharged to their prepaid account. Comprising mostly of former Google and Microsoft executives, creative systems thinkers, designers and product ninjas, the team comprises of about ten people.
What are the primary objectives you hope to achieve through Mavin Inc?
Our main objective is to create a mobile Internet for the users where they no longer have to ration data. As internet has become a necessity, we wanted to make it accessible to everyone. People should not worry about the data usage and wait only for Wi-Fi connections for the internet. So, with Gigato we hope to reach the differentiated segments that are uncomfortable in paying for the data cost. Although it’s just an app, but overall it has a lot of potential to make the small incremental changes for end users that can be life changing, for example no longer having to top up your phone - or worry about paying for data. Small improvements to daily life, at scale, is our goal.
In the future, do you plan to expand services offered via Mavin Inc? Where do you see the company in the next 5 years?
Seeing the population of India, there’s a lot to do in the Indian market. We are just getting started as of now. After the success in India, we will target other emerging markets.
In next 5 years, we want to Gigato to become an essential app for every prepaid user. When any user buys a new phone, our app should be amongst the top five apps which they download. We want that every user should realise that Gigato is the smart way to use a smart phone.
Having a toddler and running a start up at the same time must be quite a challenge. Can you share your thoughts on this?
As the mother of a toddler and the co-founder of a 14 months old startup, I believe that having a baby and having a startup have so much in common. For example, every six weeks you have teething pains and every six months you think you have it all figured out, and quickly realise you are on the heels of another developmental growth spurt. There’s no resting on your laurels in a seed stage startup and as a parent of a young child.
What is an average work day like for you?
I have a really long busy day since we are working across two different time zones. My day begins very early –or very late depending on your defintion since that’s the best time to do conference calls with associates and my team in India. I wake up tend to kid needs, and then am on the phone usually before I can get dressed and out the door doing evening calls with clients in India. I usually get into the office around 10 or 11 most days and have tons of things to respond to, create, and design and test with the team. Occasionally I get to pop out for a lunch but we usually have team lunches to have an hour of the day where we do not talk about work. Around 5 I head out and spend some time with my son and start getting dinner organized. My husband usually gets in around 6 and we have some family time before storytime and bedtime. Once my son is down I begin my third shift of the day starting calls at 9:00am IST which is 8:40pm PST. I am often working until 1-2am so I can make myself available for our busy clients. And start it all over again the next day!
Can you share your thoughts on 'women in business'. Where do you feel the main challenges lie for women?
The challenges all entrepreneurs face, irrespective of gender are the same. Funding, Hiring, Scaling, Multitasking and Prioritizing these are challenges anyone who has founded a start-up will tell you about. Challenging stereotypes is something women in tech (and generally in the world) have to deal with all the time. I have consciously made an effort to sign women and bring as many female candidates I can.
My field, Technology doesn’t have the kind of equal representation that Human Resources or Marketing does and being a woman in this space often does mean you’re part of a minority. I make a conscious effort to hire women, collaborate with women and make sure that the men we work with also realize the unconscious bias that occurs everyday. I focus on giving back by helping other women in achieving their goals and getting started in the technology industry. I have two rules: Rule #1, I never work for free. Except in the case of rule #2, which is to mentor a fellow female, provide guidance or advice to help her get on her path to success.
Would you like to leave our readers with some inspirational thoughts?
Use your networks wisely — and always remember to give and to take. Constantly asking for things, like fund-raising and not contributing value back to your networks often leaves them exhausted.
At Gigato we believe that a connected society is a strong society and that information is for everyone and we value quality of engagement and experience for the user. Staying true to our beliefs and vision is the mantra we follow.