For most of us, weekends breeze past under the blanket of insta-moments, check-ins, getaways and binge-watching sessions. But, that’s not quite the case with these young entrepreneurs from nammooru, whose creative downtime is all about discovering software and curating innovative projects together.
Shirish Narsepalli and his friend Ashrith Govind have conjured up Wiloop, a network start-up, which aims to create free wifi zones in and around popular grub spots in town — through a software router inbuilt by the youngsters themselves. In a candid chat, they tell us more...
“The idea stuck when Ashrith and I were at Bangalore International Airport (BIA) a couple of years ago, when it stunned us about how seamless it was to connect to the Internet. This is when we decided to take the idea to F&B and retail outlets. We soon discussed the same idea with another friend, Zoheb Khan, who went on to make random sales pitches to the lounges in town and people accepted the idea right away! We were asked to implement it immediately, but didn’t have the bandwidth. But a series of positive responses has us go ing like. wow! This actually works!” shares Shirish, a 24-year-old alumnus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
For Ashrith, it was all about constantly discovering better ideas. “I dropped out of college, as I’ve always wanted to do my own thing and give most of my time to turn my ideas into reality. Before setting up this software, which enables free dispersion of wifi, I’ve also created a home automation system and a host of other apps with Shirish,” says Ashrith.
The device, Wiloop1.0, is a router covering up to 400 sq feet, which offers seamless free wifi to over a 100 users simultaneously. Users can connect to the free wifi-network by following instructions mentioned on the posters pasted on the walls of outlets that are connected to the device. “All you need to do, is to follow instructions as mentioned on the poster, which leads you to a pop up asking for the name, number and email id. Sign in and that’s all you need to do to get free-wifi,” says Shirish,
With their venture taking baby steps, the days are certainly packed. But the duo enthuses how there is always time for leisure. “We share a common love for travel, and it is during our expeditions that newer ideas and thoughts sprout,” pipes Shirish.
Given how the duo has always wanted to tread the entrepreneurial path, Ashrith opines how they were ready for brickbats too, “One of the biggest challenges is to explain the feasibility of the idea.”
Speaking about what's next on the cards, Shirish concludes by stating, “Offering transparent and lucid connectivity is what we’re aiming at. Our fingers are crossed for now.”
