Kunal Chandiramanitook a look around a rural village in India and saw a problem – as well as an opportunity. Local artisans weren’t taking advantage of e-commerce. They were limited to selling to buyers within their geographic region due to lack of reliable internet service. If he could simplify their offerings to work over mobile devices and with low bandwidth, he realized, then they could sell their handicrafts to the rest of India and the world.
And so, at 14, Chandiramani harnessed the coding skills he had taught himself to launch his first company, KStar eCommerce. It was 2016. His company provided local sellers with the tools they required to set up independent marketplaces via his online platform. He also offered partnerships with leading payment gateways and delivery platforms, making it easier for sellers to scale.
But his success early in life didn’t stop Chandiramani from hustling. Retaining the company name after acquisition, he turned KStar into, under whose umbrella he has launched several other businesses in mental health and marketing. The now 19-year-old also has delivered keynote speeches at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bhubaneshwar and Indore as well as the International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur and the University of Pennsylvania, and has spoken at three TEDx events....
“Creating a brand that aligns with my life purpose has been an incredibly wholesome journey for me,” said Chandiramani in an exclusive interview with me. “I have always been driven by the desire to make an impact. Making the world even slightly better is good business practice.”