Anurag Pandey, PFM 2007-09, currently serving as the Director at AVIK Automation. Despite the unexpected nature of venturing into entrepreneurship, he took the leap and established his own business in Varanasi. AVIK Automation, operating since 2018, has been at the forefront of delivering intelligent solutions to the Eastern UP region. He fondly associates AVIK Automation with the notion of being a “Little Potato in the world of Entrepreneurship” when viewed from the outside world.
Linkedin: Anurag Pandey
FB: Anurag Avik
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A. It has been a dream ride to get to the point where I am today. It all started for me on 20th June, 2007, when I first landed at IIFM. After 21 months of roller coaster ride bagged SKS Microfinance as first job in 2009. It was a great experience to work with rural India females in Bihar aspiring to become entrepreneurs with the support of SKS. After that,I joined Nielsen India in Jan 2011 and spent the majority of my employment time there handling a variety of roles, but primarily focusing on innovation for South Asia.
At this point in my life, I thought though it came unexpectedly to start my own business in Varanasi, and that’s when AVIK Automation came into the picture, providing smart solutions to Eastern UP since 2018.
We are an IoT company which develops, designs, manufactures and markets our product. The panoramic idea revolves around creating a smart ecosystem with endless possibilities of connecting and controlling your appliances on the go, all of which is supported by a smart home platform that is ready for tomorrow. We aim to cater our customer’s security needs in the most sophisticated manner to ensure that safety of your home is in right hands and you can have the perfect peace of mind.
Technically, we give our customer an intelligent home and smarter living by creating software, fabricating hardware and combing through terabytes of data.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. Some key milestone and learnings which I can highlight are:
1. Getting selected for SKS was a turning point as it gave me a lot of confidence and working with them somewhat acted as an incubator.
2. “You become what you surround yourself with” – I believe that IIFM provided me with an environment, with great people around me, which inculcated the feeling of self-improvement.
3. “Lapak Lo” – in English, it means “Catch it” – is something I learned: to grab the opportunity coming your way and learn the solution to the hardships in the journey.
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A. “BYOB” – Be Your Own Boss
This is not easy, but it satisfies you like nothing else, as every effort you are putting in is for your own company. It makes you proud when you are in the market, and people recognize your company more than you. Though there is still a long way to go, small wins give a lot of satisfaction.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Definitely.
You will hear a lot of times that bookish knowledge is not helpful in the practical world, and I somewhat agree with that. But, at the same time, people around you, such as the esteemed faculties at IIFM and highly focused friends with lots of assignment pressure, create a mindset to survive in the real world of deadlines (I’m pretty sure that you understand what I’m saying 😛).
On the funny side, having breakfast, reaching the classroom on time, completing assignments, giving exams, attending parties, fresher’s events, farewells, etc., makes us great jugglers, and actually, it helps us a lot in jobs as well as in business.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?
A. Family and friends are always the booster dose of confidence and support. IIFM alumni like Ranjit Panda Sir and many others created a supportive ecosystem that helped us survive in the competitive world of market research and so on. Also, it is a boon to get a boss like Mr. Anthony (Tony) in Nielsen, who supported and shaped my career with sufficient freedom and required leash.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. It can’t be described in a few words but I will try to summarize.
GBM – I can’t forget those late-night parliament sessions with a lot of “shorgul” and fun, but it was really the best way to come to a decision in a much more democratic way.
Kalpataru, freshers party and farewell parties with the Year book concept etc. still bring a smile on my face.
Outings of Nehru nagar, Habibganj, Fruity restaurant (although a bit confused with the name) for Aloo paranthas etc with Munish, Dhaval, Pai Sushant etc.
I was the Mess secretary and there’s no need to further elaborate as this role itself will tell you the memories one has and can be backed by an existing mess secretary.
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, and alumni. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. I am writing this for myself that IIFM gives you a broad-minded approach towards society, the environment, and work. For a person like me, coming from Varanasi in 2007, who completed his engineering from Jaunpur (no offense, as I am from Jaunpur 😃) in a very orthodox way, IIFM gave me the boost to think beyond problems and focus on solutions. Everyone faces problems, but success will only come to those who focus on solutions.
I want all the faculties of IIFM to push us to the limit from where we started, to recognize our own potential. One thing I learned from this is that one can do anything by just overcoming the hardest part, which is “To Start.” Special thanks to CSR Sir, CVRS Sir, MMY Sir, and Suparva Ma’am for their kind support 😃.
Q. The best friends / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share.
A. CSR sir gave me “Good” once in one of my answer sheets and I can say that I was over the moon for whole month 😛.
MMY Sir forced me to sit in the exam hall for the entire 3 hours though my maximum time for any paper was 1.5 hours in IIFM history 😛.
Q. As an alumnus, what is your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. My advice to freshers is to get involved and take initiative for roles like CR, Secretary, etc., which actually helps in dealing with people and finding new ways for consensus which goes a long way in helping us in our professional life. The residential campus helps you make the most out of faculties and facilities available on campus.
Decide early on about your passion and start working on it. I have seen many IIFMites cracking UPSC and other exams as they decided early on. You have your alumni working even with NASA and many other usual and unusual Organisations/role; you name it and an IIFM’ite will be there!
Q. What is your typical day at the office?
A. The first thing in the office is to review the team’s work from the previous day and plan for the day ahead.
Meeting with clients for new projects and following up on ongoing sites.
Meetings and negotiations with vendors, as saving 1 Rs. in purchase translates to a 1 Rs. increase in profit.
Fun time with the team in the evening, resolving issues and having some “Daant Dapat” as well 😛.
Planning for the future is a daily routine.
Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add.
A. Weekends are a luxury for new businesses and therefore, right now, I can’t be of much help on this 😛.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors.
A. Book – “World is Flat”
Movie – “Pursuit of Happyness”
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni students?
A. I have experience in Microfinance, Market Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I am available for any support that IIFM needs from my side based on my experience.
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?
A. Change is inevitable and it will happen. The new generation and new administration will always have a new outlook and therefore answers will be revealed in the future 😃.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. Abhinav Shekhar Sir
Dhaval Negandhi