NRI gives wings to entrepreneurs’ dreams

Visakhapatnam: Krishna P Nangegadda (Krish), who originally hails from Guntur and has been living in the Boston area of the United States for over three decades, ventured into the startup world as early as 1986 in Vijayawada.
He helped the local industry and small businesses automate their business processes in the late 1980s. He earned recognition at the national level for his pioneering work in spreading computer culture in the then coastal Andhra Pradesh.
His initial investment came from his mother, who sold a piece of land for the launchpad of her son into the business world. “The leap of faith by my mother added more responsibility. I left a plum job to make a foray into business in the mid-1980s, when business was considered something done by those not suitable for any jobs,” said Krish in an interview to TOI.
A member of the advisory board of Northeastern University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Education, Krish explained the differences between the startup ecosystems of the USA and India. “Things have bettered a lot in recent times in India with several students pursuing entrepreneurial journeys instead of opting for jobs. The Union government has also launched several schemes and initiatives for startups, which is largely absent in the public sector in the USA. It is heartening to see Indian startups focusing more on societal issues,” said Krish.
After his initial success in the 1980s in united Andhra Pradesh, Krish continued his entrepreneurial journey into the United States. He built and ran successful businesses which made it into Deloitte’s and Inc. Magazine’s lists of fastest growing private companies in North America, three years in a row.
In 2017, Krish helped found the International Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (i2E), an initiative of the Andhra Pradesh government, through which he helped establish startup incubators in at least five college campuses on a pilot basis. He is also serving as chief innovation officer of Gitam Deemed-to-be University.
“I am like semi-retired as I exited all my business. Now, I am serving as an angel investor and business mentor to handhold and mentor new-age entrepreneurs to make their dreams a reality. The impact would be phenomenal when a startup solves a societal issue. The change is evident as some parents are also encouraging their wards to take up the startup journey,” said Krish.