Kartik Bala is the Co-founder and CEO of SnapSmile (@snapsmile), a tech app that utilizes Artificial Intelligence to monitor your oral health from health while acting as your personal AI dental coach. He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss his early entrepreneurial hustles, receiving CAD $25,000 in funding for his company through Next AI – A NEXT Canada Program (@next_canada), why he tries to take more risks now (spoiler: because we don’t live forever), and much more.
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Follow Kartik:
– LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kartikbalasundaram/)
– Twitter (https://twitter.com/karti_bal)
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Timestamps
00:19 – Ara introduces this week’s guest, Kartik Bala
02:59 – Kartik’s first hustles; drop shipping phone cases and clothing customization
05:33 – How did the entrepreneurial bug bite Kartik?
07:24 – How his parents feel about him leaving behind ‘more secure’ opportunities
09:00 – Kartik shows love to Ryerson University and its offerings
11:57 – SnapSmile’s admittance into Next AI – A NEXT Canada Program
13:42 – Why Kartik started SnapSmile
16:53 – Income generation strategy (at-home monitoring
20:05 – Who are SnapSmile’s competitors?
22:02 – Kartik’s vision for the company in the next 3-5 years
23:38 – How SnapSmile secured funding (bootstrapping vs. fundraising)
25:53 – The background of SnapSmile’s three co-founders
28:14 – SnapSmile’s biggest challenges and how they overcame them
30:05 – How Kartik balances the demands of a start-up and his personal interests
31:29 – How COVID affected Kartik from a professional and personal standpoint
32:47 – Books/podcasts that Kartik has learned from during the pandemic
35:04 – Kartik’s epiphany; realizing we don’t live forever
36:15 – The legacy Kartik wants to leave behind – how he wants friends/family to remember him
37:40 – How has the Toronto-Tamil community affected Kartik on a personal and professional level
39:11 – Who inspires Kartik?
41:52 – Advice Kartik has for other aspiring Tamil creators
48:06 – Would You Rather
52:46 – The Wrap Up
Intro Music
Produced And Mixed By:
– The Tamil Creator
– Yanchan
Written By:
– Aravinthan Ehamparam
– Yanchan Rajmohan
