We got in talks with Pooja Daswani, Co-Founder of VOIZD. Pooja is a trained textile designer who is now owning the tech world. Voizd is an amazing app which allows users to express themselves freely, in quick 30 second audio bites. She shares stuff about her journey, inspiration and things that keeps her going!
Excerpts from the interview below:
1: What do you do? Did you think this was what was to become your calling?
I’m currently the Co-founder of a mobile app called VOIZD (it allows users to express themselves freely, without judgments, in quick 30 second audio bites). Did I think it was my calling? Not really, for starters, I never imagined myself in the tech industry but having worked for a mobile startup (for seven years) before VOIZD gave me the confidence to start something in partnership with another friend.
2: What was your childhood ambition, and how did you share it with family and friends? e.g. did you pay doc, play teacher, sang to any audience you could gather?
You’d be surprised to know, that, as a child I aspired to become an airhostess! But it wasn’t something that I shared with family or friends.
3: Your school, college: was it targeted towards what you hoped to be? Did you become what you 'studied' to be, or did you change course and chart a different path?
I’m actually a trained Textile designer, yes! That’s what I studied and even worked for, the first six-seven years of my career, later, I changed path and moved into the Tech (mobile apps).
4: How and when did you choose your field?
I was working as a Textile Designer and specialized in Bridal wear, but, the work was monotonous and stagnation was evident. I wanted to do something new and challenging. A friend, then, introduced me to a mobile app (RockeTalk) and asked me its feedback as a user. I gave him lots of feedback, he was impressed and introduced me to the CEO of the company for I provided much more than what was expected. Next thing I know, I get a job offered by the team and I joined them as an Evangelist and later started handling Communities & Ad campaigns.
5: How did family and friends react? What were the personal hurdles you had to cross?
Friends were very excited about the change but my family was completely against it. According to them I was “wasting” my education (something that I studied for) and secondly I forayed into something I had no knowledge about and till now was famous to be a “male domain”. Add to that, none of my siblings had ever worked for a startup so they didn’t understand the culture at all (it’s so different from that of MNC’s and my previous jobs).
6: How did your peers react to your decision? As a young educated woman, were you at an advantage, or disadvantage? How did you overcome hurdles at work?
Well there were a lot of hurdles as expected. A young girl, from a design background, no technical knowledge (except her passion for taking up new challenges, interest in mobile apps/games and connecting with people all over the space) was suddenly not only a part of the organization but was also responsible for making changes in the product as per the user needs and to create more engagement for its 22 Million users. I began as an Evangelist in RockeTalk, then moved on to handle projects/product and finally worked as a Communities and Ad campaigns manager.
7: Do women make better app founders due to higher empathy?
Definitely! I feel women tend to have a lot more varied experience in dealing with people, in their personal life, women often have to deal with a wide variety of people with different skill sets and at different levels of hierarchy! This diverse experience helps in creating greater empathy and being a better judge of people/situations/likes/what will work. I have nothing against men but yeah women are pretty high on EI (emotional intelligence), which I believe is very important.
8: What do you see changing for women professionals in India? How would you encourage young women to consider starting up as a viable profession/ vocation? Pls share your top 5 tips.
One thing that we lacked growing up was a role model that we could emulate. With women gaining visibility and reaching the level of CEOs in major MNCs women now, have a stronger foundation. The change is ongoing, but at a very high level. You can see that women have moved out of the traditional roles of being a teacher and a caregiver (doctor/nurse) to a variety of new roles. They are willing to leave their hometowns and move to larger cities for work. Work has also become a higher priority than what it used to be.
My top 5 tips:
First and foremost women need to learn the difference between a job and a career
Getting out of the comfort zone is very important. Don't be afraid of travel and working round the clock from home or remotely
Treat criticism constructively
Learning how to lead is very important but at the same time learn the difference between firm and soft. There weren’t many women leaders in workspaces but now the trend is gradually changing
It is important to have a mentor when you enter the space. It is also just as important to be a mentor to other young women that come after you
9: What inspires you, as an educated urban woman? What is your long-term goal?
Stories of other people. Not necessarily women; men and women both. People who have taken risks, lived through them, and made their dream come true, in spite of a hardship, that’s what inspires me. I make short-term goals, a year to 18 months max and then take it from there. Right now, my only plan is to take VOIZD: Voice Without Fear (my app that’s been recently launched in beta version) forward to the market and make it a success. If there was an award for the Best Audio Mobile Social App, I want VOIZD to win it!
10: How do you manage a work and play balance? What are your tips for others trying to achieve ‘the balance’?
Haha! I’m yet to balance that even after eight years of being in the startup industry and an overall of 14 years of work experience! There isn’t a mantra honestly. You just go with the flow, when there’s work I don’t mind slogging it out for 18 hours too. One knows when it’s a lull period and that’s when you can either continue to brood over your work or take a step back and mix with people (friends and family). The breaks in between are really important, because if you are just slogging at work, the brain stops giving you fresh ideas! Especially, when you are building a social space for people, you need to be aware of your surroundings and people’s thoughts.
Tips for people:
Startups don’t have defined working hours, so even if you are working from home at night, you can always take a break and be with family. Trust me, it only helps in reenergizing you
People need to learn to think for themselves - make their own decisions and not what is best for their society/family
Be ready to give at-least 3 years to your project, do your homework, but you don't need a perfect solution just a working solution. That way you can plan your personal life too since you know your professional plans