Solving Hunger Project, Speaking at London Tech Week and Interview with Tandy Virdee
June Newsletter
Hi! If you’re new here, I’m a 19 y/o design engineer, emerging tech builder and founder. Currently, I’m building tech projects in the intersection of AI and other kinds of emerging tech such as gene editing :) Previously, I’ve worked alongside WEF for an education project, was recognised for being the first individual to study and implement the world’s first Universal Indian Drum Notation system and won the annual TKS Focus Hackathon for best solution.
Interviewing Tandy Virdee🎙️
I’ll start off the rundown of my month by mentioning one of my highlights of this month - which was a meeting in London with a man who I like to call ‘The Catalyst Consultant’.
At the beginning of this month, I flew to Clapham, London from Chicago to visit some family. Since I went there for a couple of weeks, I also thought ‘why not use some of that time to chat with people about startups?’. So I decided to apply to speak at London Tech Week (incidentally it was happening at the same time as my travels) given I built a project in gene editing and AI. The deadline to speak had passed, but I thought I’d still give it a try. I sent the organisers an email. No response. Nonetheless, I did speak at the UK’s largest conference (more on that later - and how I used ‘3rd door thinking’ mindset which I was trained at TKS).
I also was grateful to have met Tandy Virdee and his family over a cup of coffee☕️ at his home in East London. And given my podcast has recently hit 20 countries, we decided to do our first ever in-person special podcast episode of the CapitalTycoon Podcast!
A bit about Tandy👇
Tandy is a multi-award-winning consultant and co-owner of the clothing and lifestyle brand Rocketsonic, which he started with his twin 12-year-old sons (teaching them about business!). Tandy is also a Virgin StartUp mentor, helping up-and-coming founders find their way. With 33 years of experience, he has worked on prominent brands such as adidas, Barclaycard, Kia UK Limited, Microsoft, Tommy Hilfiger, Diageo, Google and Kellog Company.
One of the main learnings I got from hearing Tandy’s experience is the importance of ‘seva’ in his journey - a concept originating from Dharmic religions, which is the act of giving without expecting anything in return. He cites this as bringing him the most happiness and what is needed more of in the youth generation.
On a personal level, he is an incredibly kind guy with whom I enjoyed our conversations.
Check out the full-form, video podcast here!
Speaking at London Tech Week🎤
A couple of years ago, I attended an event that opened my eyes to the world of emerging tech and entrepreneurship. It was the first time I got exposed to VCs, angels (terms I didn’t even know back then!) and a range of industry experts from both big and small companies.
Fast forward to June 2024, I'm proud to have represented The Knowledge Society (TKS) at this very event in the UK capital - London Tech Week, the UK’s largest global tech and business conference, with over 45,000 attendees at the Olympia venue. During the week, I had the incredible opportunity to connect and share about the importance of my collaborative gene editing and AI Focus project in tackling real-world problems. Specifically, I talked about how leveraging CRISPR technology and machine learning algorithms can revolutionise healthcare by enabling precise genetic modifications and predictive analytics for disease prevention.
Particularly, I enjoyed conversations with Jordi Romero, Linzi Boyd, Asavari Moon, Niladri Roy and Nick Poole OBE.
Here are some highlights I took:
➡️ In her fireside chat with Steve Blank, "Grand Breakthroughs: Fuelling the Potential of Social Entrepreneurship," Ansari emphasised the importance of empowering the next wave of social entrepreneurs to tackle global challenges. "XPRIZE initiatives are driving sustainability efforts through innovative competitions and breakthroughs." - Anousheh Ansari
➡️ On the topic of "How AI Will Redefine Creativity," I learned about the transformative potential of AI in the creative industry. I gained insight into how AI tools are revolutionising the way we approach design and creativity, which is making advanced design capabilities accessible to everyone. - Cameron Adams (Co-founder of Canva)
➡️ In an interesting twist, the future of technology has "positive and negative implications" for the human condition. I got to know about thought-provoking insights on how technological advancements might reshape our perception and influence our well-being. - Deepak Chopra MD (official)
I got to share with others my experience building for the TKS Global Focus Hackathon, where my team's project was recognised as the best solution for creativity. Going through the hurdles of the TKS 'Focus process' was a rigorous journey that honed my skills and reinforced my commitment to innovation.
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How ‘3rd Door Thinking’ Mindset Worked:
I decided to go to the conference as an attendee, not hearing anything back about my proposal to speak. As soon as I went, I asked to see the organisers, walked up to them - showed them my video. And they said you can do an impromptu speech and there is a slot freed up since one person is absent, even though it’s not in the agenda. And I was fortunate to have spoke in 2 stages in front of many!
Also, I met up with some good friends from the city to chat more about startups and life.
One of my highlights from London was visiting the beautiful Richmond upon Thames, world famous for the Richmond Park, where herds of deer are said roam (though a local man told me I’m 400 years late!).
How We Can Solve Hunger in Africa🌍
Continuing on from my projects of the past few months, I produced more articles and videos on leveraging CRISPR technology and machine learning algorithms that can revolutionise healthcare by enabling precise genetic modifications and predictive analytics for disease prevention.
If you’re curious, check out what I produced about the topic here:
Articles:
How Gene Editing Can Be Used to Stop Famine and Economic Loss in Africa (Part 1 of 3)
Researching Uses of Gene Editing and AI and its Potential to Stop Both Famine and Economic Loss in Africa (Part 2 of 3)
Innovating Modified Whiteflies for CMD Control: Introducing GeneGuard (Part 3 of 3, Modified Whiteflies Trilogy)
Videos
As always, any feedback would be constructive from the community would be appreciated! It helps me deliver higher standards content to showcase for all.
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The Villars Institute🌳
In addition, I’m glad to announce that I've been selected for Villars Institute's Ecopreneurship program with CHF 2,000 scholarship. Hit me up if you are in Switzerland from Aug 4 to 10, happy to meet!
Joining Nights and Weekends at Buildspace🌌
Along with 60k+ people, I’ve joined the Nights and Weekends program at Buildspace (backed by YC and a16z), where I have to build upon an idea for 6 weeks!
Using the skills I gained in learning gene editing and AI from my previous projects, I’m going to be collaboratively building a mega-platform to combat leukemia…
Check out my YouTube channel where I will share project updates…
Thought of the Month💭
This is Michael Jackson’s house (pictured above). Near the end of the month, I took a 2 hour car ride to Gary, Indiana, to see where the musician grew up. I was shocked to see that he grew up with 10 family members in a two-bedroom house, right next to a rail track with a train coming every 15 mins. Yet, he became the most famous person on the planet.
Seeing this, it made me realise that we should have no excuses to become the best we can be - no matter our environment or situation. All you need to is just use your mind and your hands. In fact, I believe one should be even more grateful if they have an abundance of resources and information available to them in this day and age with just a computer and an internet connection.
Snippets
Monthly favourites & media that I’m consuming
📹 Simon Cowell Opens Up About His Heartbreaking Loss & His Regrets About One Direction! (The Diary of a CEO). A highlight for me was see everyone as walking with a sign stuck to their foreheads saying “Make Me Feel Important”.
🧠 Articles:
The Psychology of Money (Morgan Housel): an article about how money management relies on behaviour, not knowledge. Key takeaway: Grace Groner's story shows how modest savings and consistent investing can outperform high income and education, emphasising the crucial role of behaviour in financial success.
Intentions for Next Month
Thank you for reading this newsletter. Going into July, I’m going to be at the North American Bengali Conference (NABC) near Chicago for July 4th celebrations (will be intentional about making connections for my endeavour in the tabla), be integrating into the Chicago start-up and tech scene, & further building my portfolio for my projects. See you then👋
Love this!
Keep it up man!