Together for thelong run

Buildsys co-founders yukti and prateek arora on constructing their life and a business with each other
Yukti and Prateek Arora
Yukti and Prateek Arora

The love story of Yukti and Prateek Arora, the co-founders of a construction productivity software company, Buildsys, is an example of how love and destiny are intertwined. The two first met as schoolmates while studying at Birla Vidya Niketan in New Delhi, but bonded only as acquaintances. After completing school in 2008, Prateek, who is a year senior to Yukti, went to the University of Illinois, US, to study aerospace engineering and computer science, while Yukti moved to Ohio State University in the US a year later to study industrial design.

During these academic highs, the two stayed in touch, meeting once a year during their summer breaks. “Our love story actually started when we both began talking on WhatsApp for no reason,” says 29-year-old Yukti to which Prateek, 30, is quick to add, “I fell for Yukti during those calls.

I would find reasons to talk to her. As we shared a common love for running, I suggested we run a marathon together. Over the next six months, we shared our running schedules, training journeys and a bit about our lives.” Prateek flew to Ohio for the marathon, after which he asked Yukti out.

“After a couple of months, she said yes,” he recalls. Apart from running, the two have common interest in sports and outdoors. “We both like hiking, snowboarding and playing squash too,” shares Prateek. After two years of dating in the US where they often flew out to each other’s cities to spend time together, the two moved back to their hometown, Delhi.

“From the beginning of our relationship, maybe even before that, our souls knew we wanted to spend our lives together,” says Prateek. As he was aware of Yukti’s love for mountains, Prateek planned a trekking trip to a mountain pass in Uttarakhand to propose to her, “at 4,500m above sea level, next to a glacier”. The two married in the mountains in December 2019.

The idea for Buildsys happened while transitioning from a previous startup. “We realised we were a great team professionally as our talents, qualifications and skills complement each other.” Yukti adds, “We wanted to make digital products that could have an impact.” They spent the second half of 2016 meeting people from different backgrounds, reading KPMG reports and doing research.

“We found the construction industry was one of the least digitised in the world, next to agriculture and one of the worst-performing ones too, in terms of productivity with frequent time delays and cost overruns. We found huge gaps in planning, coordination, and how teams managed construction projects,” shares Yukti. It was such problems that the duo decided to solve.

“We started working on the first prototypes in early 2017 and finished in January 2018. Over time, we scoped down the product and reached the sweet spot,” says Prateek.

The couple rues being unable to devote enough time to their families. “But they understand our focus and have been supportive,” says Prateek, to which his better half adds, “When you are a startup founder, there are always more things to do than the time and resources you have.”

At work, Prateek with his software engineering background runs the engineering, operations and support teams while Yukti with a product design background lays emphasis on product direction, research, brand vision and marketing aspects.

Admitting they have a lot of disagreements, mostly about the product, Yukti says, “As a team, one of us is the vision behind the product and the other is trying to make it happen. There are obviously constraints about time and what is possible with the resources we have and also, what is best for the product. There is not any one person who gives in. We always settle for what is good for the product.”

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The New Indian Express
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