2324T2 Silicon Valley/Participant Information/Guganesh
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About Guganesh
SMU email: guganeshs.2020@scis.smu.edu.sg
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-guganesh/
Academic Year: Year 4 - graduating in Year 5
Degree: BSc Information Systems (Major in Digitalisation and Cloud Solutions & Business Analytics)
Why Virtual TSM?
What motivates you to join TSM?
I have nurtured a long-standing interest in entrepreneurship and hope to embark on my own entrepreneurial journey soon. My goal is to create innovative tech solutions that can contribute to real-world challenges faced by individuals and businesses around the globe. TSM, with its direct exposure to the dynamic startup ecosystem in Silicon Valley, offers an ideal platform to help me learn more about startups and inspire me to follow my passions.
What particularly resonates with me is the program's emphasis on practical application. This unique opportunity to apply the knowledge gained directly to my own venture aligns with my goals. Additionally, the chance to collaborate with like-minded individuals is equally compelling as I believe that working alongside talented peers will enable me to take my first steps in the entrepreneurial landscape.
Where would you like to visit?
If given the chance, I would like to visit the Y Combinator HQ in Mountain View, California. They are a globally renowned startup accelerator and it would be an extremely valuable experience to witness how they nurture early-stage startups. It would also be a great learning experience to understand how to start a business. Additionally, I would like to visit deep tech companies such as Tesla and Google to explore their advanced R&D and learn more about the technologies that they're pioneering in.
Starting a business
What types of business interest you?
I am drawn towards the transformative power of technology and am very interested in deep tech businesses. Especially businesses that offer cutting-edge technological solutions across various industries. This is because I truly believe that harnessing technology gives us boundless possibilities in effecting change for future generations. One such example of this is OpenAI which has led groundbreaking developments in AI in recent years, with a focus on creating advanced natural language processing models that have changed the way traditional tasks are being performed. What I find particularly inspiring is the challenging nature of deep tech startups in creating and scaling solutions that combine multiple fields of study. If granted the opportunity to join this course, I would leverage it as a unique chance to gain firsthand insights into how these startups make use of innovation to disrupt the markets they're in.
What plans do you have in starting a business?
I'm eager to start a business with a core focus on delivering practical tech solutions that can enhance businesses. I'm particularly interested in two long-held ideas of mine: an asset management tool and a geospatial analysis tool, that were designed to empower small businesses in optimising their operations. I think these ideas possess substantial potential, particularly the geospatial analysis tool, and I am dedicated to elevating them into ventures of significant impact. My immediate plans include:
- Market Research - To better understand the target audience and the demand for these tools.
- Prototyping - To validate and refine my concepts. Currently, I am working on prototypes during my spare time:
- Geospatial Analysis Tool - my IS415 project is a web application that performs geographically weighted regression for users who do not have any knowledge about it. While the project application is quite different from what I intend to build in the future, it is what prompted me to come up with the idea in the first place. Here is what it looks like https://guga-nesh.shinyapps.io/regress_rangers_app/
- Asset Management Tool
Past Experiences
Internships:
- Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific [Software Development (Data Application) Intern] - Jun '22 - Jan '23
During my internship, I played a pivotal role in enhancing data accessibility and streamlining operations across geographically diverse teams in Singapore and Japan. This experience has enhanced my knowledge of data engineering, analysis and visualisation which are extremely important in this data-dependent era. I was also able to gain real-world experience in communicating and empathising with the unique pain points and requirements of teams despite the language barrier.
Hackathon/Challenges:
- Hungry for Change Challenge (DBSXNEA) - Oct '23 - Present
- Shopee Code League - May '22 - Aug '22
- Ellipsis Code# - Feb'22 - Mar '22
Participating in the Shopee Code League alongside 9,300 programming enthusiasts and immersing myself in the week-long coding challenge has enabled me to significantly enhance my technical proficiency and problem-solving abilities to tackle and deeply understand the latest problems faced by businesses, especially in this ever-changing world that we live in. I am currently taking part in the Hungry for Change Challenge, which was launched by DBS and NEA, where I am building an innovative solution to help reimagine and mitigate the food and packaging waste issue. This experience has enabled my ability to tackle complex real-world problems while committing to sustainable solutions.
Other experiences:
- Mentor @ SMU Coders' Assembly - Jan '22 - Apr '22
- Programming Tutor @ Ngee Ann Polytechnic - Sep '21 - Mar '22
Tutoring programming students have strengthened my technical skills and instilled in me the importance of mentorship and collaboration. Additionally, through these experiences, I was given the opportunity to demonstrate my commitment to helping others overcome challenges. I look forward to the possibility of applying these qualities in TSM, should I be selected, as we explore the vibrant startup ecosystems in Silicon Valley.
