PLATFORMS FOR KIDS
Growing up, Shravan and Sanjay Kumaran from Chennai idolised Steve Jobs. The way some children dream of being firefighters or pilots, they dreamed of someday creating an app for the Apple App Store.
Amused, their dad, Kumaran, a software engineer, taught them some basic computer programming. And that was all it took. By ages 11 and 10 respectively, they were reading advanced material and doing complex programming. Sanjay was still only in Class 3.
In 2011, they developed their first app — Catch Me Cop — an iOS version of the offline chor-police game. They registered their partnership firm in December 2011, and submitted their app.
“Apple has a very rigid testing procedure. If there’s one bug or it’s not visually appealing, they reject it. They take at least two weeks to get back. But they accepted our first app in a week. I still remember the day. Dad brought home a cake to celebrate,” says Shravan, grinning.
Since then, the boys have developed seven apps for iOS — gaming apps, prayer apps, helpline and emergency number apps — and three for Android. In addition to their computer, they have invested in an iPad and an Android phone.
“We treat our dad as our venture capitalist. For each device, we pitch our app ideas to him to justify the cost,” Shravan says.
It’s not just fun and games. We tried their Emergency Booth app, which promises to put you in touch with local ambulance, fire brigade and police services wherever you are. And we got a call, instantly, from a local ambulance service in Mumbai!
Their apps have had an average of 4,000 to 10,000 downloads each.
In 2015, Tamil Nadu governor Konijeti Rosaiah conferred upon them the Young Achievers Award given by Space Kidz India, a platform for young scientists.
“We gave the award to Shravan and Sanjay because they were the youngest app developers in the country. It was a delight interacting with them. They are extremely smart kinds and way mature for their age,” says Dr Srimathy Kesan, founder and CEO of Space Kidz India. New platforms are helping entrepreneurial youngsters take their ideas and turn them into companies and products.
Two of these platforms are TYE (TiE Young Entrepreneurs) and YEA! (Young Entrepreneurs Academy), both based in the US. YEA! did its first India round in 2016, in Mumbai and Delhi. Selected kids were mentored by entrepreneurs for five months and then participated in a shark tank session where they pitched their business ideas for real funding.
The TYE Indian chapter started in 2013 and here too kids are mentored, pitch an idea, and the winner goes on to compete globally for a top prize of Rs 10 lakh.
Atrio from Hyderabad in Class 9, 10 and 11 — Raghav YS, 14, Armaan Kumar, 15 and Pranavi Vegesna, 16 — won first prize in the Hyderabad leg of TiE Young Entrepreneurs with an idea called Juicerr.
“It’s a fruit powder mix that is 95% fruit and can be stored for six months,” says Raghav. “With diabetes and obesity growing, people will need a fruit mix that is actually healthy,” says Vegesna.
Raghav’s mother, Yogeeswari Perumal, a professor of pharmacy at BITS Pilani, helped them with the formula.
“The big challenge for us was time-management, because we had school assignments and exams. But that’s what entrepreneurship is all about, doing something different every day without disturbing your regular routine,” says Raghav.
The target group is health-conscious people of any age who don’t have the time to make fresh juice every day.
The team will now represent the state in an international competition to be held in California in June. So far, TiE has pledged Rs 50,000, but if they win in the US, they stand to win Rs 10 lakh.
“These three kids stood out with their focus on a physical product that brings tangible benefits to people’s health,” says Venkatesh Narasimhan, co-chair of TiE Hyderabad and senior VP at Advance Technologies – Redpine Signals.