via Facebook
He might describe himself as ‘a social outcast among social outcasts’, but over the past few years 20-year-old King Sidharth has made a name for himself as one of India’s top young entrepreneurs – or, as he likes to call himself, an ‘outlaw entrepreneur’.
King (a nom de guerre he adopted because he believes it embodies his ‘enlightened, higher self’) started getting involved in grassroots projects at the tender age of 11, when he and his friends began organising and holding ticketed events for other children. Since his first business success, King has gone from strength to strength.
‘Entrepreneurship is never about playing it safe. If you want to play it safe… [then] go to sleep. It’s not for you. Life is not for you. Life is never about playing it safe. Life is about playing it fun.’
King speaking at the 2012 Technopreneur conference, via Facebook
Like many entrepreneurs, King is never satisfied with only having one project, and has his fingers in many pies! Some of the platforms he is currently working on include Friendz, a peer-to-peer online magazine aimed at Indian teens; 64notes, a personal and professional blog about King’s various escapades; Besperk, a platform for his various coding and hacking attempts, including a new accountant app to help people keep an eye on their finances; and designing and helping run the websites of various other start-ups.
‘I consider myself an outlaw because I refuse to follow a given pattern. I’m going to reinvent the wheel. My vision of the wheel is unique.’
As well as his unswerving commitment to social entrepreneurship, King has a more spiritual side, and also gives talks and lectures about the benefits of meditation, and runs the blog Meditation Rocks.
‘There is not one person who cannot improve the quality of his life and if we can then why not?’
Are you inspired by King’s story? Are you an entrepreneur making social innovations in your county? Then we want to hear from you! Get in touch in the comments below or tweet us @Nokia_Connects 🙂