Darshani Persadh: South African Entrepreneur pushing the boundaries of technology through innovation.
Tell us about your journey into Entrepreneurship
I was in Grade 10 when I joined Avon and it was a great way to learn and earn. Early on it taught me that sales and marketing can be a powerful tool, not understanding entrepreneurship yet practicing it allowed me to expand a customer base and increase revenue. It provided me with a flexible schedule and an opportunity to work during my schooling while earning a commission.
I learnt that it’s important to do thorough research on any company and its products you are interested in doing business with, before committing to them.
Just like how school was important, it was also crucial to have a strong work ethic and be willing to put in the effort to build and maintain a network of customers and distributors.
Overall, it was a great opportunity as a 17-year-old who was passionate about the products I was selling, and I was willing to put in the effort to make it work.
While my parents wanted me to become a doctor, I discovered my passion for tech. And while learning Pascal in school was not exciting, I wanted to study IT. The role of a software engineer is still referred to as a software engineer.
The term “software engineer” is commonly used to describe those of us who design, develop, and maintain software systems using various programming languages, tools, and techniques. Our role has evolved over time to keep pace with the rapid advancements in technology, and software engineers now work in a wide range of industries and applications, from mobile apps to web development, to embedded systems, and more. As such, software engineers are highly valued for our technical expertise and problem-solving abilities and are an integral part of the modern economy.
After graduation, I was hired in a role that required financial data engineering and let me tell you Excel was never my strong point, I had this affinity of never remembering the formulas and the functions would be confusing and difficult, requiring lots of practice and repetition to master.
In the past, there were no advanced AI tools available, I had to work with large excel spreadsheets that had already reached their maximum capacity. My task involved consolidating the data into pivot tables and analyzing the trends in the information.
This role was necessary because businesses were preoccupied with making decisions, while engineers and developers were occupied with coding in Java. This created a gap in the middle that required someone who could bridge the technical and business aspects and translate information between the two. This need sparked my interest and inadvertently led me further into the commerce field. In the mid-2000s, major consulting firms sought out individuals with this skill set.
It would be beneficial for an organization to consider growing their own talent base. While it’s great that they currently rely on outsourced expertise, it’s important that they develop their own talent as well. Eventually, titles, positions, job roles become obsolete and will no longer be available, and it’s crucial that businesses have a successor group and team in place who can continue to absorb and apply what is learnt. This will allow their current talent to work on exciting projects and contribute to the growth of their organization.
The technology industry can be harsh for women. You’re a rare female not working in the beauty or wellness space, what gives you the confidence to believe that you can break through the barriers where many women encounter obstacles?
I’m always asked, “why do I have a positive attitude and show up every day as a happy person.” My dad, being from the transport industry once posed a question to me and it stuck: “Are you a passenger or a driver? Passengers go along for the ride, while drivers take control of their journey.” I found that statement to be impactful.
Gender bias and discrimination have been prevalent issues in the tech industry for a long time, and many female founders have faced challenges and barriers due to their gender. However, as a female in tech, I have always chosen to focus on my skills, expertise, and talent rather than using the gender gap as an excuse for any setbacks or challenges I may face.
I believe that success in the tech industry is primarily determined by one’s abilities, determination, and hard work, rather than their gender. As such, I have worked hard to develop my technical skills and knowledge, build a strong network, and create innovative solutions that solve real-world problems.
While it is important to acknowledge the existence of the gender gap in the tech industry, I refuse to let it define me or limit my potential. Instead, I aim to inspire and empower other women in tech to believe in themselves and their abilities, and to challenge the status quo by demonstrating that gender is not a barrier to success in this field.
My approach to everything I do and the teams I lead is centered around growth hacking. We enter uncharted territories, facing messiness and uncertainty, with no guaranteed return on investment. However, we’re constantly thinking about the future and considering the long-term needs.
In my experience, I’ve learned to embrace the possibility of being wrong. I prioritize mastering the fundamentals, you must recognize that innovation is impossible without this foundation. We strive to achieve a balance between mastering the basics and scaling our creations. Along the way, we’ve produced some remarkable results because we’re not afraid to take risks and say, “Let’s TRY at least, even if it doesn’t work out.” Yes, unfortunately, the process can be complicated, and we encounter naysayers and obstacles that try to hinder our progress but despite all this, we persevere and continue to push forward.
Ultimately, my goal is to be recognized for my talent and achievements, regardless of my gender. By focusing on my skills and abilities, I am confident that I can succeed in the tech industry and help pave the way for other women to do the same.
What does it mean to create a successful digital transformation journey?
If we consider organizations from 50 years ago, when technology wasn’t as advanced and the digital age, IoT, Big Data, real-time sensor monitoring, and predictive analytics didn’t exist, there were only two categories: IT and non-IT. The two categories were distinctly separate. I remember backing up my files on floppy disks and bemoaning why couldn’t “their” idea of a terabyte materialise already; I remember my excitement when I upgraded to a Pentium 4 with Hyperthreading (I still have that laptop and it still works btw.)
As technology evolved, a new category emerged, blending technical skills with business acumen. This created a Venn diagram in the middle, where the focus was on bridging the gap between two distinct worlds. The deployment of tools was no longer just for the sake of it; they enabled essential business capabilities.
The field of AI has been around since the 1970s, but it has been slow-moving until recent years due to advancements in computational power, largely due to Moore’s law. However, there is a concern that there is not enough regulation in place to ensure ethical practices within the industry. Legislation may end up outpacing any ethics committees. One particular concern is who owns the intellectual property of a track produced by an AI algorithm, and whether it is the data scientist, the record label, or the artist and sound engineers. This raises questions about how much of AI-produced work is the result of human creativity versus computational languages. There is a need for more discussion and regulation around these issues, particularly in the media and news where fake news and deepfakes are becoming increasingly prevalent.
To succeed in digital transformation, we must recognize that what worked in the past may not work in the future due to changing market conditions. It’s crucial to have leaders who are bold, confident, and willing to explore the unknown, especially in companies shifting towards digital transformation. However, it’s not just up to one or two people to make it happen; other executives must also be aligned and open to change.
About Darshani Persadh, Software Engineer turned Educator u-turned Techpreneur
Darshani Persadh exemplifies leadership qualities and can help guide enterprises towards a brighter future with AI.
A Professional in the Corporate field, she excelled at developing strategic visions and connecting them with practical execution to help the companies she worked with move forward in a unified direction. As an Educator she is recognized for her ability to bring together people from technical and non-technical backgrounds to help businesses utilize design, development, and emerging technology to achieve their goals. Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards and recognitions, including being named one of Inspiring Fifty’s Woman in STEM 2020. Today her focus is to power today’s jobs through Cloud, AI, Data Science, the Internet of things, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, 5G and Quantum Computing. While she is Passionate about Education, Agriculture and her Carbon Footprint, her continuous goal is to educate, motivate, and promote interest in STEM.
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Written by co-Founder Jyothika Persadh
