With the world becoming more and more tech driven day by day, it is crucial that one knows how to navigate through technology to live a stress-free and easy life. Tanvi Arvind is the 14 year old CEO of TechEdEn, a service business which works towards educating the ‘tech-challenged’. She helps senior citizens to understand digital technology better making their lives so much more easier. Tanvi was driven by the enthusiasm of her clients and how much it helped them. The young lady talks about her journey to TechEdEn, her different passions and future plans for her business with Chennai Insider.
Chennai Insider: Give us a brief on TechEdEn. What is it about?
Tanvi: TechEdEn is a service business, that retools people’s way to convenience by Educating and Enabling Technology for the ‘tech-challenged’. It aims at providing connection to the E – World outside and bringing convenience to one’s fingertips!
Chennai Insider: Tell us a little about yourself.
Tanvi: A 14 year old 9th grader at Sishya School Chennai, I am Tanvi Arvind, Founder and CEO of TechEdEn!
Chennai Insider: What made you start TechEdEn? What is the story behind it?
Tanvi: I saw an interesting video of a 13 year old successful kid-preneur Asia Newson, based in Detroit, who started selling candles and later her own handmade ones. She met her sales target of $70,000 in the very first year – 2016! She has since diversified and evolved her business. This inspired me to think big and come up with my own idea!
TechEdEn as an idea was born, when I saw my grandparents who live in Bangalore by themselves struggling with use of technology. With each owning smartphones, iPads and together a laptop, I found myself educating and enabling them step-by-step during my every visit, equipping them with new tech-tools to their fullest potential. They were both awestruck and amazed at how life had changed for them forever, with tech!
Chennai Insider: What makes you excited about TechEdEn?
Tanvi: I am excited about how TechEdEn helps me to ‘do good while doing well’! More now, than ever before, with an emerging ‘new – normal’ of everything moving online, social distancing and the vagaries of the sinister virus, which is here to stay, my services will find significant value with the Target Audience, people of the older generation who did not have the opportunity to learn and use digital technology growing up. They will surely need ways to go about maneuvering the fast-changing tech & digital world, swiftly. TechEdEn’s services enables their connection to the e-world, providing convenience at their fingertips!
Chennai Insider: Do you find it hard to balance school and TechEdEn?
Tanvi: Given a growing customer base and limited time at my end being in the crucial years of High School, I am consciously aware that I need to relegate the actual training sessions to younger enthusiastic associates while spending time on Operations Management, Future Planning and Strategy. Even over this past first year, I have had to reschedule appointments on more than one occasion to work around my academic and tennis routine. It has definitely been a challenge. With adding younger associates, I hope to overcome this.
Chennai Insider: What have you learned in the process of setting up TechEdEn? Can you share a favorite memory with your clients?
Tanvi: Early during a pilot session with my neighbor to test TechEdEn’s service offering, I was amazed to see the excitement and twinkle in her eyes on learning to voice dictate messages on WhatsApp! This is evident from a video which I treasure and find to be my favorite moment and is on my website. Having owned a smartphone for years prior, she realized how underutilized these features were, limiting her use of technology due to lack of knowledge.
Chennai Insider: What are your hobbies and passions? What do you like doing in your free time?
Tanvi: Tennis is something that I am very passionate about. I am a regional level tennis player, having played at the CISCE Regional Tennis Tournament. Swimming too is a recreational pastime, I enjoy swimming all four strokes! I also love travelling! Every year our family & friends plan a fun summer vacation. Unfortunately this year was a washout. I am keenly interested in wildlife photography and look forward to taking it up seriously, as I enjoy Wildlife Reserves as a holiday destination.
Chennai Insider: What plans do you have for TechEdEn? Where do you see it in a few years?
Tanvi: There is good traction that I have built with positive customer feedback and word-of-mouth referrals from existing clients. The excitement in the adult circles within the social network for the uptake of TechEdEn is palpable! This makes me feel bullish about TechEdEn’s future. However, I realize I have to add capacity to deliver to a growing customer base. Those are my challenges for Year 2 and 3 which will also make it heavy on Investments.
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