Over the past year, an increasing number of Bengalureans have given up big jobs and turned self-employed.
The latest trend seems to be app developing. Be it a silly game like Flappy Bird, or an advanced app like True Caller, the trend has caught up in Bengaluru.
We speak to people in the city, who sound hauntingly like Steve Jobs and the likes — they’re ambitious, visionary, and they believe technology can revolutionise the future.
“I shifted seven jobs in three years. Although I was happy with the work I did, I knew I hadn’t reached my full potential,” says Karthik Thirumalasetti, who co-founded Glavio. They excel in tracking human motion and have come up with apps to replace physical trainers.
“The app can detect your running/dancing/martial arts movements and tell you where you’re going wrong and monitor your progress,” says Karthik, who believes passion comes first and foremost in designing apps.
Why else would one quit other well-paying jobs? Vikram Baderiya, who has been researching about this, says app developing can generate big money. “Games are perhaps the biggest revenue generators, with ads popping up every few minutes,” says the founder of InnovativeBox.
“If you have a great, niche idea, with an addictive quality, it can be a money magnet,” he says adding that even those who know pure coding can charge by the hour and mint money.
He informs us that a few of the largest app developing companies in the world started in Bengaluru. “Rohit Singhal, started out here in Bengaluru in 2006 after he did a course in radiology (medical science!) And now his company, Sourcebits, has marked its presence all over the world. It’s one of the largest app making company in the world,” he exclaims.
It seems like it’s all about tapping the right market! Akshay Kingar is another 26-year-old, who believes that this career option could be a risk, unless you’re exceptionally good. “Every app has an alternative, so chances of success are low,” says the founder of Foofys, adding, “Every new employee has a task to create an app in the first 24 hours. We make apps that don’t already exist. One of them is integrating the menu apps on tabloids at restaurants and the kitchen apps, collecting the data and sending it to the owner, so he has an idea about his customer base and what he can improve,” he explains.
