CxO of the Week: Sanjeev Kumar, CTO, Gradeup

We have chosen Sanjeev Kumar, CTO & Co-founders at Gradeup, as CXO of the this week.  He is an engineer by profession,  and has been associated with Infosys as System Engineer.

Your top priority while making decisions to improve tech infra in your organization?

As a general rule, the tech infra should be fast, scalable and light. More so in our case because our users are students who generally have lower end phones, sometimes with no/poor internet connection. It therefore becomes more important for us to make our product light so that it consumes less resources like data, battery and memory. All our infra decisions are taken keeping that in mind.

Challenges you face in driving digital transformation?

Mobiles were never thought of as means of learning. They were primarily used for entertainment purposes. Even when the digital revolution happened, publishers started converting the books to pdf, which were then made available to students for using on their desktops/laptops.

But now, with the data plans getting cheaper and the technology making new advancements, education industry is changing for good. Things like live video classes and interactive content have come up, and students have started using their phones for learning as much as for other things. We are constantly evolving our tech with the usage of machine learning and artificial intelligence to match pace with the latest technologies so as to provide a smooth, more personalised and up-to-date learning experience to students.

Do you feel that freshers in the industry come with only basic knowledge but don’t have the right skills to fulfil job requirements? If yes, your suggestion to students and colleges?

We believe freshers are better and faster learners than the experienced individuals. They are raw and ambitious, so you can give them any technology to work and they will be more than happy to jump on it and get it working within a few weeks. At Gradeup, we are a young team of 19 engineers and the average age is 23-24 years. They are the force that drives our company.

What’s your mantra to become successful in life?

If only there was one, life would have been so simple! But I strongly believe in achieving my goals with perseverance, accepting failures, learning from them and moving on. You might as well have all the skills but what matters the most is your attitude and what you do with those skills. Always stay grounded. There will always be someone ahead of you; keep learning from them and keep growing. Stay fit. When you are working 12-14 hours a day, it helps you get ready for the next day with right mindset.

What would you like to give back to the society?

Gradeup is an education start-up and we believe that the best thing that can happen in anyone’s life is education. We are trying to create an ecosystem where everyone gets equal opportunity to learn and grow in their life and career.

Your favourite book and what are you reading now?

I just finished reading 'Swami & Friends’ by R.K Narayan. I loved this book since it reminded me of the good old, innocent childhood days. I am currently reading 'The Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

We are an early stage start-up, so we are constantly thinking about or working on ways to make our product better. In the little spare time that I get, I prefer to play football/cricket or go for a run. Of late, I have started devoting a little time to reading every day.

Experience

Sanjeev Kumar has 7.5 years of total experience.

First job - Infosys
Education - B. Tech from MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur

Take a look at the previous CxO of the Week