JOIN USFollowing one’s passion can be quite tough. But not for Abdul G Sait, Karthik Kittu and Shubham Deva. The professionals co-founded ‘Passion Connect’, an online networking platform which offers solutions to people who want to follow their passion and network with like-minded people in the field.
Abdul G Sait, managing director, came up with the idea around three years back, when he was helping some entrepreneurs set up their business.
“Karthik, Shubham and I sat down and discussed about what we wanted to do in life. Our talks evolved and lo and behold, ‘Passion Connect’ was born!” he says.
Explaining the concept, he gives an example that if someone wants to become an entrepreneur, he has to read up about it and answer some quizzes, find like-minded
people and then find some mentors to train him. “The platform explains the
concept and handholds the person in realising his dream and living it in real,” he says.
There are around 15 fields that have been covered in the platform, which include
music, dance, art, fitness, entrepreneurship, technology and mythology. “Each vertical works differently though the skeleton remains the same. We did a ‘Focus Group Discussion’ with people from each of these fields and the verticals were customised accordingly. Each passion is led by a veteran — like in the music vertical, there will be some top musicians who will share insights about
different aspects of the art,” Abdul says.
The platform was named ‘Passion Connect’, despite everyone wanting fancier names. “People don’t chase their dreams as everyone is stuck in the rat race of making money. The name explains the concept,” Abdul says.
The many steps of each vertical include content about the subject, visitor-engagement through quizzes and polls as well as ideas like ‘Passion buddy’, passion mentoring. The site also has events where the person can interact with others in the field.
“We will be rolling out ‘Passion zone’ soon, where you can mark a space for a cause that will connect people with a common interest,” he says.
A vast concept like this brings in many challenges, says Shubham Deva, CTO, a former student of IIT Kanpur. “This concept was totally unheard of when we stepped into the market. The biggest challenge is how to cater to each person; people have different interests and wishes. How to tailor-make the platform for each person was challenging,” he narrates.
Coming from an engineering background, it was interesting for Shubham to see so much content about different fields. “I learnt a lot about many things which helped me grow as a professional,” he says.
When moving out of the corporate field, one can be apprehensive about leaving a plush job and starting something new. Karthik, CEO of the startup, worked with many companies before he realised that he wanted to do something that will make
others realise their passion.
Saying that ‘the odds in the journey make one stronger’, he adds, “The startup taught me to pitch into something new everyday. It also taught me to explore new spaces,” he says.