Some people make entrepreneurship seem so natural that you start to question if it’s in their blood. For years, thought leaders, academics, and industry experts have debated whether great entrepreneurs have something special in their genes that gives them an advantage over other people. While some believe that Elon Musk, for example, made a smooth transition into the commercial world, others maintain that genes have no bearing on this. The easy answer to the age-old question is that entrepreneurs are created not born.
Unlike other professions, such as sports, where physical skill and stamina are required from birth, entrepreneurship is just a succession of excellent decisions backed by hard work. Entrepreneurs require both academic and informal education alongside experience to be successful. Those aren’t characteristics that people are born with. We’ve all heard stories about how the offspring of the original owners ran a large corporation into the dirt. Others didn’t inherit a business or come from wealthy families, but they started from the ground up and learned how to develop a profitable company. This begs the question: if entrepreneurs aren’t born with the capacity to operate and sustain a firm, how can some succeed while others struggle?
To answer this question, let’s have a look at Ujjwal Shrestha, A former professional bike stunt rider, Teach for Nepal Alumni, public service scholar at King’s College and a serial entrepreneur, is the co-founder of multiple ventures – Art Pasa, Kala Kusha, Taja Agro Farms and Vedicares, Regalo Nepal and S.I.D.E. Project also Lecturer at the Chandbagh college, Capitol hill college and Communication lead at Changing stories Nepal ,Kapan Sekuwa Restaurant ,FUN.
Co-founder, Taja Agro Farm
Ujjwal Shrestha’s childhood was not always easy. His father had to work quite hard to pay his school costs. However, he worked hard and finally topped the school’s SLC test, received a scholarship to college, and excelled there as well. He used to take classes in the mornings and worked in the afternoons to support his family, and he persevered through ups and downs. With some savings he was able to pull together, bought a motorbike that he used for bike stunts. Through the stunts, he was able to generate money for earthquake victims, drug addicts, and differently-abled groups, all of which provided him satisfaction, happiness and inspired him to apply for Teach For Nepal.
When working as a fellow for Teach for Nepal, he left Kathmandu to start teaching at the Southern Lalitpur, Katuwa, Gimdi. He initially dreamt of eating luscious and fresh vegetables grown in the village itself, but the reality was completely different. Instead of fresh vegetables, they had to eat potatoes during the entire period of their fellowship because no other vegetables were available. So, the shortage of vegetables they saw, led them to start his first Startup, Taja Agro Farm. Basically, Taja Agro Farm solves the deeper and greater problems rooted in villages of Nepal. Through Taja Agro Farm they are not only producing fresh organic vegetables in the village of Sindhupalchowk but are also making the people in the village believe that one does not have to migrate to city areas and fly abroad to get a job and make a living.
Taja Agro Farm is an organic farm in Sindhupalchowk’s Bhote Namlang. But it’s not just a farm; there’s a lot more to it. When they started teaching children in rural Lalitpur, Sindhupalchowk, and Dhanusha as Teach for Nepal fellows, they quickly noticed that no matter how hard they worked to reduce illiteracy and promote equality, the kids just dropped out due to poor financial conditions and other factors. In pursuit of work, many then relocated to Kathmandu or the Middle East. So the main issue wasn’t a lack of education, but rather a lack of information and awareness about how to use the abilities they already had. They sought to find a solution to this more serious issue. They wanted to solve this deeper problem and started off with mushroom farming in the village.
Persuading people that their products are organic is difficult. People, we believe, have a hard time trusting their product in that regard. In addition, because of the organic producers, the prices are slightly more than those of Kathmandu-sourced vegetables. As a result, persuading consumers to comprehend why the items are a little more expensive is difficult.
In addition with Taja Farms, environmental sustainability is a top focus for them. For example, when delivering vegetables to our customers, one of the efforts they have made to reduce plastic usage is to return the plastic packing that was used the day before. In the same way, they also focus on the supply chain. By appropriately marking the veggies cultivated here, attempting to supply them to other parts of Nepal.
They also intend to enhance output in order to fully fulfill demand and are seeking local investment for this, and are also working closely with the VDC.
According to him, there isn’t a single area or industry that isn’t plagued by issues, and the solutions to those issues have allowed for global upheaval. We attempted to address our pain point of not being able to obtain fresh organic vegetables grown in communities. If you have a problem, no matter how big or minor, instead of whining, try to solve it through trial and error.
After winning the hackathon, This has made things more clear for him and help to lead the various others startup :
Art Pasa is promoting Nepalese arts and crafts while providing the marketplace and exposure for all the artists and craftsmen. Mr. Shrestha’s Enterprise, Art Pasa: believes that every creative person is an artist. The company gives a platform to all aspiring and established artists, whether they are housewives, local tailors, hotel management students, entrepreneurs or architects to promote and sell their amazing artworks in the market.
Kala Kusha is a company which was established in 2071 B.S (2015 A.D) and has been working with a group of self-motivated youths who are entirely devoted towards art for the community, increasing access and providing innovative art experiences.
Vedicares is a technology-enabled platform to provide telehealth services in Nepal. The main objective is to provide remote health facilities to all patients and customers who don’t have the reach to quality health services. The venture targets two kinds of customers, one who wants to save time taking doctors’ appointments and the other living in areas where reach to a proper health facility is at a greater distance.
Taja Agro Farm based in Sindhupalchowk which provides 100% fresh and organic vegetables to the locals of Sindhupalchowk. Community empowerment and promoting the healthy lifestyle of the locals of Sindhupalchowk are major concerns.
Regalo Nepal is a printing service which is used to customize mobile and laptop accessories.
S.I.D.E Project aims to provide financial assistance to the development initiatives with the vision of helping nonprofits and social causes for sustainable development. He will serve as the platform where even the smaller contributions support a bigger impact.