Ankur Singla
Founder & CEO
Akosha
Short Description
Akosha is a technology platform for consumers and brands to help them in resolving consumer complaints and increase customer satisfaction. Akosha does this by building relationships with customers and brands and helping both reach a satisfactory resolution. The emphasis is on getting complaints resolved quickly and taking over the hassle from the consumer.
Akosha takes over the hassle of complaints from the customers and helps them get rid of the hassles. The representatives of Akosha reach out to the company officials and try to get the complaint resolved quickly. The company is an innovative service for Indian consumers which helps them in resolving day to day consumer complaints.
I started the platform in 2011 after my first venture of doing legal documents online failed. At the same time, I had a really bad customer experience with a leading telecom service provider. The experience made me wish for a company or a service which could have handled that whole experience for me - calling, waiting, dealing with calls dropped in the middle, speaking to an incompetent agent, trying to escalate the complaint and so on.
Starting from a single founder, we are now more than 65 people team.
How I Lead
As the CEO, my role is to lead the overall vision and strategy for the company. A lot of my time is spent speaking with my colleagues, helping them figure our solutions to their problems, inspiring them to think of bigger things. The mission for the next quarter is to focus on traction and resolution.
My Role Model
There is no one person who influences me. I meet a lot of people and try to learn as much as I can from them.
Dealing with Challenges and Risks
Challenges are part and parcel of an entrepreneur’s life. The best way to address risk is to become comfortable with the notion of failure. Once you do that, you are able to handle risk a lot better.
Three Favorites
Google, Naukri, SpaceX
On Leadership
I think I am able to help people think of the problem in a new way and sometimes I am able to calm everyone down and show them the long term perspective (even though I am generally very aggressive).
Important career decision
Focusing on hiring the right team. I am proud of the team we have been able to build at Akosha.
My Family
My father is a Chartered Accountant in Panchkula and my mother is a home-maker. My brother is also a Chartered Accountant practicing in New Delhi.
My View on Indian Startup Ecosystem
It has improved a lot since I started out in 2009 and I think it will keep improving from here on. Number of angels and early stage investors has increased and general perception of entrepreneurship has also changed (especially because of electronic and print media). A lot of things are becoming similar to how things are done in the US. Series A crunch will remain and it is now a worldwide phenomenon.
To Entrepreneurs and Innovators
Go for it. Give it at least 1-2 years before you decide to quit. It will change your life.