KADAPA: Neither lack of family support nor fear of career change deter this 21-year-old youngster from nurturing his dream of entrepreneurship. Taking challenges in strides and overcoming all obstacles, he has proved that passion to succeed can defy all the odds.
Johnny Basha, the Founder and CEO of Study Comrade, has always been inclined towards business since childhood. While pursuing computer science engineering, he carved a path of success by choosing to become an entrepreneur. Basha, who hails from Chittoor, believes, “You are never too young to start an empire and never too old to create a new dream.”
For the uninitiated, Study Comrade is a start-up that encourages peer learning. “It all started with the idea of building career along with friends. Study Comrade is a platform for students to learn from professionals, track their progress as well as allows to have interactive sessions with peers,” says Johnny Basha. “It introduces the co-learning friendly packages to enhance student’s learning abilities and keep them interested throughout the course.” The start-up, which was launched in December last year, has workspaces at Soft Tech Parks of India in Vijayawada and RGUKT, RK Valley. It has trained over 1,000 students just in a year.
The 21-year-old conceived the idea after peer learning in virtual mode became difficult during his CAT coaching. Basha was in his second year of engineering when he started conceptualising about the start-up. And just in a year, he floated his first company. Basha has won accolades for his determination to follow his dream. Receiving ‘the Youngest Entrepreneur Award’ this year from the Indian Achievers Forum has added another feather to his cap.
Countering challenges
However, Basha had to face a slew of challenges. Born into a middle class family, the young entrepreneur had to struggle initially. Financial crisis though posed a major hurdle, the encouragement and never-ending support of his family made him stronger and kept him going.
Despite being offered `60 lakh to sell his idea to an existing company, Basha refused to compromise.
It is this perseverance in the face of adversity that has helped him being recognised by Startup India.
“This has led to my dream of becoming a TEDx speaker in future and get into the list of Forbes 30 under 30,” Basha asserted.
Expanding business
Speaking on expanding his business, the 21-year-old said that raising a series of funds within a year while expanding tutorial points in the next three months, and launching Artificial Intelligence with the best features with great user experience are his key focus.
In a message to the aspiring youths, Johnny Basha says, “Commitment and hard work are the keys to success. You need to be good at everything, just focus on your passion and keep adding life to it. As students, it is our responsibility to empower the country through our exceptional works. It’s neither too late nor too early to start anything big.”