Meet Shivansh Shalabh, DPS Ruby Park class 12 student with 2 startups to his name already

An 18-year old high school student from Kolkata. A budding entrepreneur heading 2 start-ups as well as a full-stack web developer. Wondering what’s common between these two people?

Well - they aren’t two people, but in fact the same person. Meet Shivansh Shalabh, who has already impacted hundreds of lives and received national recognition in his 2 year-long entrepreneurial journey. Shivansh’s two startups are running at micro levels in the field of education and social good and he actively engages with youth to educate them as he believes they are our future. In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph Online Edugraph, Shivansh shares his journey. Read on…

What drives you towards technopreneurship and volunteering?

I am driven by the idea of creating something meaningful and impactful, which pushes me to go beyond my comfort zone and embrace challenges. Technology, in particular, appeals to me as a powerful tool to reach a larger audience and make a broader impact. It allows me to combine my passion for technology with my goal of making a difference in the world. This is one of the prominent reasons why I have chosen the path of technopreneurship. Volunteering also plays a crucial role in fulfilling this purpose, as it enables me to directly engage with communities and contribute to their well-being in a hands-on way.

What kind of change do you want to create in society and why?

Since my early engagement in hackathons, I've come to realise the immense power of ideas and innovation. My profound passion lies in developing technological solutions that enhance people's lives, making them easier and more efficient. I aim to establish my own firm in the future, similar to Google, offering a diverse range of solutions, all designed to simplify the lives of the masses. Furthermore, I am also determined to address pressing issues of our society, such as meeting the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and surging cyber-crime incidents. My aspiration is to drive positive and impactful changes that can benefit people on a larger scale.

How did you start your start-up?

My entrepreneurial journey started when I was in the tenth grade. Driven by my profound passion for technology and an insatiable curiosity to explore new horizons, I embarked on a journey to create innovative solutions for people. When the world came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself with an abundance of free time, which I seized as an opportunity to hone my skills. I participated in numerous competitions, and it was during this period that I chanced upon Youth Ideathon 2021. Embracing the challenge, I participated in the competition and was selected as one of the top 500 finalists.

Being a part of the finalist cohort, I attended insightful workshops conducted by celebrated entrepreneurs, where they generously shared their personal stories and experiences. Those sessions helped me understand the immense potential of startups. Later, I began brainstorming innovative ideas that could address significant problems and, with these ideas in mind, I started developing prototypes. Gradually, I progressed to Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), and currently, I am testing them on a smaller scale to gather valuable feedback and make my solutions user-friendly. It has been an exciting journey so far, and I am thrilled to see where this path of entrepreneurship will take me.

What kind of ideology did you have in mind before starting your 2 startups?

Before founding my two startups, I had a strong ideology centred around creating a positive domino effect in our society through changemaking ventures. I firmly believed that if one startup succeeded in addressing critical issues, it would inspire others with similar ideas to enter the market, working collectively toward the same cause. With this vision in mind, I wanted to start ventures that could effectively tackle pressing problems in our country. Putting myself in the shoes of the users was a fundamental principle I followed throughout my startup journey.

My first startup, Jagriti Foundation, aims to assist the less fortunate ones by providing donations and aid, while also educating them about government schemes. The inspiration for this arose from years of witnessing poverty in our society. My second startup, EduAI, was born out of my first-hand experience as a school student during the lockdown. It focuses on creating safe and secure AI-enabled smart virtual classrooms to address the challenges of online learning. Both startups are close to my heart, and I am committed to making a positive impact on society through these ventures.

How did you end up receiving national recognition from Google?

When I was in the 10th grade, I had an exciting opportunity to participate in the Google India Code to Learn Contest. The contest encouraged school students to come up with ideas using no or low-code tools like Scratch and Google Cloud Services. While it was originally an ideation competition, I decided to take it up as a challenge and go beyond expectations. I was determined to build a fully functional app, integrating the Google Cloud API, rather than just developing an AI model using their services and presenting it. To begin with, I searched for problems around me that could be solved with technology and identified the challenges of students not actively participating in online classes, keeping their videos off. Taking inspiration from this, I embarked on the journey of creating an AI-powered video chat application that could monitor student engagement.

However, as the ideation process progressed, I realised there were more challenges in the e-Learning ecosystem, such as generating meeting links daily, sharing them repeatedly, and manually taking attendance for each class, which was time-consuming and tedious. Thus, I developed a comprehensive solution called "Attentive" to address all these issues in one go. To train the Google Cloud AI model, I searched for datasets and found a suitable one containing around 13,000 images, achieving an impressive precision of 97.1% during training.

After months of dedication, I successfully submitted my video presentation along with the source code of my app. My efforts paid off when I was announced as one of the winners of the prestigious Google India Code to Learn Contest 2021, earning national recognition for my months-long project.

Tell us something about your upcoming book Kavi Nimantran.

My upcoming book, Kavi Nimantran, holds a special place in my heart as it represents the culmination of my love for Hindi Literature. It all began in grade 7th when I drafted my first poem, and since then, with the unwavering encouragement and support from the Hindi department of my school, I continued to compose numerous poems. I drew inspiration from the timeless works of great poets like Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan Ji and Mirza Ghalib, particularly admiring Mr Bachchan’s collection — Meri Shresth Kavitaye, and Nisha Nimantran — along with the profound depth in Mirza Ghalib's verses.

To share my poetic expressions with the world, I decided to launch Kavi Nimantran, a book that encompasses a diverse range of poems, each reflecting various emotions and human experiences. It is my way of connecting with readers through the power of words and emotions captured in each verse.

Lastly, what do you wish to be when you grow up?

As I contemplate the future, my ultimate aspiration is to emerge as a successful entrepreneur and a changemaker. My vision revolves around harnessing the immense power of technology to tackle a diverse range of pressing issues and create a profound impact on society. Inspired by innovative solutions like UPI and ChatGPT, I have also been part of the advisory board at YuWaah at UNICEF as a Young People's Action Team Member and have witnessed how young people can co-create impact.

Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I aim to leave behind a lasting and meaningful legacy by merging my passion for technology with a relentless drive to make a difference. Through persistent efforts and determination, I strive to bring about positive change and contribute to a better world for all.

The Telegraph Online Edugraph wishes Shivansh Shalabh all the very best for his future endeavours.