Borrowed from SAMPADA old editions – for the 10th Anniversary Special Issue – Interviews section. This one is of Meghana Narayana, 1999 CSE.
Team Sampada had the delight interacting with Meghana Narayana, UVCE Alumnus—Batch of 1999 CSE. She is an acclaimed International Swimmer and a proud Alumnus of Harvard School of Business. In line with our theme, here is the interview on her experience.
Team Sampada: Taking a page from the previous edition of Sampada, which catered to higher education, please share with us your experience at Harvard.
Meghana: I have had the wonderful opportunity to study at both the University of Oxford and Harvard Business School. What sets these institutions apart is the peer group of both students and teachers. The best of the world come to these schools and you feel it every day both in and out of the classroom. These institutions is where cutting edge and innovative research happens which is what attracts the brightest minds.
Team Sampada: You were representing India in Swimming at International level when you were studying at UVCE. Can you please recollect those days? How easy/tough was it to manage both studies and swimming?
Meghana: My UVCE years were among the best years of my swimming career. I made many friends for life who supported me through what was a very busy time then. I think I was so driven to represent my country that it did not feel the pressure rather it was just something that I had to do. I was lucky to find people at UVCE such as Sonia De lemos, Raghava Kashyapa, Anant Ligamneni, Tarana Damania and Boppana P who were as excited about my dreams as I was and looked out for me always!
Team Sampada: Now, you have become an entrepreneur. Please share some details about this journey and experience with our readers.
Meghana: Both Shauravi Malik and I felt there was a gap of healthy eating options in the children’s food category in India especially when we failed to find high-quality packaged food for our own children. On doing some research, we found that some of the organic products that are available abroad source ingredients from India. Both of us could not understand why there were products that are not suitable for children in India with the ingredients one gets here. Particularly traditional ingredients like Millets. The fact is that there is variety and diversity in the traditional way of eating; India has one of the most amazing food cultures of the world. Around the same time, Shauravi started to read up on food voraciously and watched the movie Food Inc. She then made me and everyone she knows watch it! This sparked a journey where both of us started to change how we eat in own homes. Healthier, more mindful and lots more time cooking! We created Slurrp Farm to help parents like us feed their children and families better. We make tasty, healthy and easy to make or ready to eat products that help parents put better options on the table for their families.
Team Sampada: What suggestion would you give young enthusiasts (both boys and girls, but girls in particular) who want to venture out and start their own business?
Meghana: I would like to share the following three messages with you all.
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Execution! Execution! Execution! – The people and companies that win are the ones that will be able to out execute the others.
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Get ready to learn a lot and have patience because building an institution takes time!
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Find yourself a good co-founder. Entrepreneurship is a very long journey so find a friend who can laugh with on the good days and bad days.
Team Sampada: What would your suggestion be for the alumni community for UVCE to reclaim its legacy?
Meghana: The magic of any community is in the members. Many of the UVCE alumni have accomplished wonderful things in their careers and we wish to hear more stories about them and their achievements in these various sectors.
– Meghana Narayana, Sampada-111
