IAM801- Entrepreneur Helps People Get Their Products Online

Intro 0:02
Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you’ve come to the right place, Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you’re in search of. This is the I am CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29
Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I am CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today of kanade Shan de de Romani of k star canal. It's awesome having on Show.

Kunal Chandiramani 0:40
Hey, man, thanks a lot for having me super excited.

Gresham Harkless 0:43
No problem. Super excited to have you on as well, too. And before we jumped in, I want to read a little bit more about kunaal. So you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. And couldn't I was the founder and CEO of k star and subsidiaries and an international best selling author, a three x TEDx speaker, a three times TEDx speaker and the youngest 35 under 35. Ever kenaz awesome to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the imcl? podcast? imcl community?

Kunal Chandiramani 1:07
Super excited. I just hope you don't go to everyone your special guest. Yeah, I just hope not everyone is a special guest.

Gresham Harkless 1:18
No, no, no, no, I don't say that to anybody. But don't listen to any of it is but um, awesome to have you on the committee on the on the podcast. And I wanted to kick everything off and hear a little bit more about your SEO story. And we'll let you get started with all the awesome things you're doing.

Kunal Chandiramani 1:33
Okay, so, so my senior storage. So for me, businesses always been like, a place a form of self expression. That's the self expression and business has been the most important and integral part of it. And I've been seeing it a lot more after Korean time started, because that's where it was really, really reflect about what were the core values within which led me to taking a lifestyle of an entrepreneur, and, and getting the getting the motivation to work for 18 hours a day, just I can see your change come into the world that can help make people ideas, data that make each and every hour of their lives better. So my car story probably started, when I did my first hire. And then the moment I probably got, I saw the, my first large window ahead have a massive city and I could go put my hands in my pocket and look out and have someone take the photo. I think that's when I see your stories. But, but overall, I think, I think for me, being a CEO really started when not when I had the team within within my company, or when I started my company or when I officially took up that role. That was really when I saw the change that we were creating, and then seeing the change that we were creating, and then finding my place and feeling the ability or the responsibility to not I wouldn't call it a burden, but feeling the privilege of the of the impact that we were creating and the privilege to create more of that the privilege to have our place in the world and to create more stuff to make a bigger place of our own in this massive world of opportunities, and just realizes that, that I have the ability. I have people who look up to me and I have people who work for me to make the world a better place and that and in fact, not work for me work with me to make the world a better place. And then all of a sudden these epiphanies happen. And I think that was the real moment where I realized that, yes, I am CEO. Yeah,

Gresham Harkless 3:34
absolutely love that. I know when we first connected we talked about I said hope and you said change and how important kind of being an entrepreneur and being able to kind of create things starts to create that domino effect. So I love that you've been able to kind of do that with you, obviously yourself and the people that are around you and then to work with and your team as well. So I know I touched on it a little bit when I read your bio, can you take us through a little bit more about k star exactly what you're doing with those in the subsidiaries and how you're supporting the clients you work with.

Kunal Chandiramani 4:02
So we we do anything that we can make the world a better place with. So k star majorly as the as the first line of business, we we work on independent e commerce as of now and the case dollar index the domain of fast and works into independent ecommerce. We're one of the largest in India, we work with a lot of people. So we currently boast numbers over 100,000. In terms of our user count, we work with a lot of a lot of people to help them leverage the Internet as a means of income by by selling their products online. And not in a classic way but specifically targeting a tier three market. That's a rural market, first time internet users, people who really got access to internet as a means of income only after 2017 and these are infants on the internet, really leveraging the internet in in in a way that isn't really bi directional. So what we do is we had them liberates the internet as a way for them. To be able to create change sell products online, and as a means to them to build up an income stream around the internet by selling handicrafts, hand sew and products and a lot of stuff. So basically working a lot on reviving industries that died because of transportation logistics and marketing, because they never really got the beats that they deserve. And we worked with a lot of these industries do, I began working with working with people who were somewhere in some of the winodws, where you really wouldn't know about the missing stuff that they're creating in terms of paper art, in terms of art in terms of clot in terms of movement glide in terms of designs, and more when glide, and we work with them to leverage to help them leverage the market and the internet as well. So that's what Kay Starr in its primary domain does. But additionally, we do anything that we can help create a change to it. So a couple of other stuff, which we do is one of our more. One of my favorite subsidies on the k star is and one of our more well known ones is d dogs. It's probably by now India's largest mental health community with over 350, part time, interns and volunteers who put in an effort to change the word infrastructure of how people look at mental health. So basically breaking the stigma around mental health in in a country in a developing country like India, and helping people open up about men today. So we work with tons of people, we help them feel better about themselves. And we had them fight with mental health issues. So yeah, detox, probably by now the largest and the most curated mental health community in India right now. We're constantly expanding, coming up in Turkey coming up in the police coming up in your rope America. And we've been very fortunate to have volunteers from universities like Howard, Stanford University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, or Southern California, a lot of a lot of places where we really feel but recreating the change in Edison two to three colleges in India, which reportedly hadn't heard of. So yeah, that's really, we're trying to create the most diverse change about breaking.

Gresham Harkless 7:09
Nice, I absolutely love that. And again, change where that I think is so powerful. And sometimes we forget the fact that we can have, but I love that you've been able to, on one aspect be able to kind of, I guess, make the world smaller, as you mentioned, there's so many creatives that are making phenomenal things, and don't have a way to potentially, you know, make a live and be able to get, you know, their products and their services and their creative things that they created out there. But also that mental health piece, which I think is something that is not talked about enough, and I love to hear that Howard University as a part of that as a graduate, and you being able to kind of be the change by which we start to see in so many different aspects from mental health standpoint. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce, and this could be for yourself personally, or your business or a combination of both. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart to make sure you meet?

Kunal Chandiramani 7:54
Oh, no, that's, that's a, that's a question Where do you have a baby part. So secret sauce I need I think this my secret sauce is probably finding a new one with every venture. I don't look at myself as a serial entrepreneur, or, but I really look at myself as because as soon as an entrepreneur has limits of the model ventures you can be involved in, we I just do anything where they can create change and, and I feel I need to and businesses my form of self expression. So still trying to so I think every renter gives me a new one. And then I just added to my added to my potion book and continue further but I just think you have some specific secret sauce. I think I think my secret sauce is probably by finding a finding the the ability to to create a change even in places which people think are perfect. Because until today, I found one thing common in any event serving anything, nothing is perfect. And perfection. As much as it's an illusion. It is the one thing that drives most people, because perfect new one is run for perfection, just one day hoping to catch that distant horizon called perfection. And even if you even if you were in a rocket said, it's difficult that you would ever get a gun close enough to the horizon to think that it's step away, because the horizon is always received further. And we live in a dome world of opportunities. And we're all I think that's really the thing I feel that would be one of the major secret sauces in my book of persons that looking over to chase for cheese and find something that so like a lot of people look at this as not as not the best thing about looking for something that's wrong with the most perfect thing we can imagine. But I think that's really where business starts. Because if you can, because if you can find one thing wrong, and you can find 100 things then you can find 100 things wrong with anything. And I sent that same book I was reading a few days back about, if you want to be better, if you want to replace a competitor, you need to be at least 10 times better. But if you can find something that's wrong with the competent if you can find something that's wrong, and the most perfect thing, and you can find, then you probably can find a lot of things that are wrong with that. And you and that's really where you get started with creating something that's 10 times better than what already exists, and probably overtaking it, and probably creating change. And that's probably one of it. But I think the biggest part of my secret sauce would be discerning and just really getting that again, not being as drew as focused on on one part, but being focused on the on the whole picture, and then being able to really see, like, I think, a lot of coins when I'm answering this question, I'm probably not the right person to even answer what's my secret sauce. Because it's a lot about the people who work around you really realize where you really come into the picture. Because every everyone should I do have seen such a different part of me and I make every venture I've been a part of has taught me something so important. And it's just helped me make my next one even better. And I think I just keep adding adding some more darkness a new secret sauce into my potions book. So it's definitely not a secret sauce. It's a portion smoke filled with Tabasco and ketchup. But yeah, running off to that nice,

Gresham Harkless 11:29
absolutely love the potion, the potion book with Tabasco and ketchup. Yeah, you're absolutely right. I think that, to me is one of the kind of maybe underlying themes and I definitely hear is the ability to always improve in the change in the progress. And I think that, as you said, you know, so Well, I think so many times when you're looking for how you can improve something, you can find one thing, then it starts to become more and more and more. And that can be within ourselves that can be in competitors that can be in solutions that we don't see that are fully fulfilling that perfection that we're trying to reach. But I love that change aspect that you continue to kind of speak about, because I think when you understand that, hey, this is my maybe, you know, passion word, or this is my vision word or whatever that might be. And you know that these are the tools, as you spoke to business as a way by which you're able to kind of create those solutions, I love that kind of perspective and way you're able to, to execute that. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an apple book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Kunal Chandiramani 12:27
I think if I think I'm gonna put a couple of things. But first would be there was this there was this book, I read some time back that totally that that I think is the Bible of any CEO. Because there's this is a hundreds of different problems, as as running companies, as a CEO, or motor when in any position to create to have people who are working towards the vision that you design. So that's where the difference comes within a founder, CEO and CEO. And I really found this this Bible, which listed every single problem that I faced and how to solve it. I'm not sure if you read this book, it's called the hard thing about hard things by Ben Horowitz. That's probably Yeah, I love that book. I had it in my cell phone for months, and I was dealing with tons of problems and and the moment I got a chance to read it, that's really when I realized that a lot of the problems so that's probably the only book which uncertain 99 out of hundred problems that I faced. And that's, you know, it's it's probably one of the best books for any anyone handling people running companies, or in any position as a manager, it's one of the best books, but I would all one SEO hack, I think, would be just knowing that when that there aren't any limitations. And then and then as a tool, it's probably a not keeping a very strict to do list. It's really helpful having a to do list because then you just do what you write in the to do list and and you always need to perform as a business. So

Gresham Harkless 14:01
absolutely. would you would you consider that maybe because I was gonna ask you for what I call a CEO nugget, would you consider that vision which is like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice? Would you consider having that vision at the forefront as maybe your CEO nugget as well?

Kunal Chandiramani 14:13
I think having that vision, I think it's something that fits in more on that side is about about limitations. We live in a world which constantly tells you that this is the limit. And what business is about is so like I remember throughout my school life, there was this thing that this is the border and this is where you need to be these are the limitations. And if you tried crossing those limitations you go to the principal's office, if you try doing the same in your court and you go to the dean's office, you try doing the same thing in a job you go to the I'm not gonna say CEOs office because that sounds that makes you sound really Ah, that's it give me the Why buy one I have so I have distinct that I cracked a lot of horrible jokes. So and I make a lot of making now fun Benson

Gresham Harkless 14:58
and I went ask you now for my absolute favorite question, which is a definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're open to different, quote unquote CEOs on the show. So Kanawa, what a CEO mean to you?

Kunal Chandiramani 15:07
be a CEO means to me, as opposed to do you do to express what you believe in your belief within your core values, not just your core values, but anything that you look for within yourself, and in the journey of finding yourself creating the world that that that your inner self wants to see?

Gresham Harkless 15:27
Absolutely, absolutely. So now, I wanted to pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and listeners know and of course, how best they can get ahold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

Kunal Chandiramani 15:40
Just drop me a message and I'm, I'm I love connecting with people. Human beings are the most important part in anything we do. And it makes me sound like an alien when I say that, but I'm gonna go with it. I just hope I get a call from Elon Musk after this episode releases out, hey,

Gresham Harkless 15:58
you never know, if you put it out there. A lot of times it comes back. So we will have the links and information in the show notes that everybody can follow up with you and drop you that line. But go ahead.

Kunal Chandiramani 16:07
Just Just go on and Google me you'll be able to find every single thing you need about me all right there, Edison. If you want to reach me, you can Google that too.

Gresham Harkless 16:15
All right, awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Anyway, again, we'll have the links and information in the show notes, but I appreciate it all. And I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Outro 16:21
Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at IAMCEO.CO. I am CEO is not just a phrase, it’s a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Subscribe and leave us a five-star rating. Grab CEO gear a www.CEOgear.co This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.