International Women’s Day Interview: Srividya Kannan, Founder – Director, Avaali Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Founder, Director of Avaali Solutions Pvt Ltd, Ms. Srividya Kannan’s interview on the occasion of International Women’s Day, featured in Startup Terminal. The article was carried out in the online version.
Name: Srividya Kannan
Occupation: Founder – Director, Avaali Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
ST: Please tell us briefly about you.
Srividya: I run Avaali Solutions which is a five-year old consulting and technology services company specializing in Information Management solutions for large enterprises. I also run a publication called Illuminar. Illuminar is a digital enterprise digest, a monthly publication that focuses on digital transformation topics for B2B audiences and CXO’s worldwide. We circulate it monthly to about 20000+ audiences. I also run Avaali Academy where we work with universities and SI’s to plug the digital skill gap.
I’ve got a finance background and did diverse stints with large organizations before starting Avaali. Amongst my diverse experiences include financial services, collection management, innovation, business finance, technology sales, managing partner ecosystem, business operations, field training and enablement etc.
I’m blessed with a very loving family. My husband, my daughter, my father and my pet dog make my world.
ST: Who is a woman that inspires you the most and why?
Srividya: There are several women who highly inspire me. From business, sports, entertainment and spirituality, there are so many women achievers and their stories are each, very powerful and energizing. My mother continues to be my role model for her zeal towards life, her never say die attitude and sheer energy. She stood by my side and encouraged me at all times. She made me what I am today and I am ever grateful for that.
ST: How are you celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day?
Srividya: We do an event every year on International Women’s day where we invite successful women to discuss their experiences and thoughts with our teams. Their journeys, struggles and thinking around what makes women achievers is truly inspiring for me and my team. These are very content rich events, focused on bringing learnings and experience sharing.
ST: What is the most important message you want to send out to all the women around the world on this occasion?
Srividya: All the power is within each one of us, so we really don’t need to wait for anyone to empower us. I believe that each one of us needs to take ownership for our lives and how we lead it is solely in our hands. Hence, we could choose to be bold, follow our passion and speak our mind. We could choose to chase our dream relentlessly and drive our lives towards a path of happiness and fulfilment. It is all within our control.
ST: What according to you is ‘women empowerment’?
Srividya: Women empowerment is not for someone else to give us some rights, but for us to take responsibility to get ourselves to the destination that we want to be in. There are lots of struggles no doubt, but the power and energy is within us and not somewhere outside. We control our own destiny.
ST: What would you say are the main challenges facing women at present in India?
Srividya: Women are still raised in a verypatriarchal environment where we still fear for safety, where it is perhaps still challenging for a woman to be respected for her work. This is especially true in rural India where right to education, right to work and right to even free thinking is controlled and directed in some way. Gender discrimination is still a huge challenge faced by women. Education is still a challenge and most of their work is unpaid.
ST: Where do you want to see yourself in next 5 years?
Srividya: I see myself as a successful entrepreneur, having delivered tangible outcomes to our stakeholders and influencing the way they live and work. I will have a much deeper understanding of myself. Over the next five years, I will invest significantly, into working for social causes or for common good. I also see myself as an author of a best seller.
