Avijit Samanta

PwC's Influence on my path to entrepreneurship

Reflecting on your time at the firm, what are some of your fondest memories?

I really enjoyed being part of the product development team based out of Kolkata. While it was a great learning experience, at the same time I have good memories with my team members. One time, when I was working with the team, I got to know about Agile and Product development processes where such a big team worked across India and the US. It was phenomenal to see the talent and capability of the team, even as the tech stack was quite complex and always demanded the highest quality work from us all. This created an immense impact with how I looked at product development, stayed curious about product management, process, tools and working with people with diverse skills spread across different time zones and geographies. Throughout my career, I have worked on several projects and products, and it was this relevant experience that has always helped me ace my deliverables.  

What sparked your interest in AI?  

While building my product startup, I faced a few challenges and scenarios which were not your typical logical/algorithmic problem. We were thinking about how to get a tool or service to solve the product challenge and at a reduced cost. ChatGPT happened and it changed our course of product development, value proposition, user experience and discovery in a new way.  

How do you stay updated with industry developments?

I leverage newsletters, recommended podcasts on Spotify and YouTube and built some of my internal AI tools to get insights from the latest content getting posted. 

What advice would you give young people on taking career risks? 

I would say start with a clear problem statement and who is your audience. Always ask yourself - Am I enjoying doing this? 

90% of the cases we as entrepreneurs fail, specifically people with a tech background, is because we think - technology first. In the startup space, we need intelligent, affordable hacks to get into ideation, hypothesis and validation phases. Age matters. So, the younger you are the more risks you can probably afford to take, but obviously it should not adversely impact you financially, mentally or health wise. A good mentor is another big factor throughout your career path because they will help navigate tough situations.  

Any message for PwC India Alums reading this? OR any final note to your fellow PwC India alumni?  

I would like to say "Best Wishes" to all PwC alumni taking the entrepreneurship route or any unconventional path and trying to create a big impact. I would also definitely like to say – Thank you to the PwC India alumni team for giving me the opportunity to share my journey.