Srestha Chatterjee
Hello, my name is Srestha Chatterjee. I am the Managing Director & CEO of Kohsa Analytics Pvt Ltd.
I was born to a struggling family who were trying to make it on their own in a place far away from their hometown. My dad raised me by teaching all the important values and lessons one needs to have in order to be an entrepreneur.
After struggling for a few years, as I grew older, my parents kept making it big in the industry. However, in 2013 due to a petty spat between my dad and a very high ranking bank official, we lost everything. And because dad never expected such a crisis to occur, we didn’t have any back up option. Our house was sold, our offices were sold, our factories were sold. There were times when we did not have more than Rs 2000 with us. Hence, I decided to start working on my own.
I started teaching dance to kids in my college years to support myself and then started a start-up in the field of agriculture to sustain and support my family. Post graduation, I wrapped the company up and came back to live with my parents, where I started my present company and it has been three amazing years with the work that I do and I love every bit of it!
Company Name: Kohsa Analytics Private Limited
Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Operating since: 2018
Tell us all about your company. What services do you offer?
I am an environmental consultant. I design pollution control projects and equipment such as waste water recycling plants, sewage treatment plants, air pollution control equipment etc. and install them for commercial entities in order to control their emissions. I also provide technical service and manpower to run these plants, in case of pre installed ones. And I provide technical consultancy in terms of waste management. I am hoping to get into renewable energy soon in the future. Currently, I am researching on the same.
Tell us a bit about your co-founder.
My dad, who is my mentor, started this firm with me. As I said previously, we lost everything in 2013. 2013-2017 was a period of financial hardship, legal battles and emotional turmoil. When I returned in 2017 from college, my dad and I decided to start a venture which was kind of similar to what he did in the 1980's and to use his business contacts to grow. He is 62 now and still heading my technical department with utmost humility, enthusiasm, and grace.
How did you get the idea or concept for your company? Was there anything in particular that inspired you to start at the time you did?
In 2017, when I returned from college after shutting down my previous start up, I was trying to come up with a fresh business idea which would be for the greater good. My dad got a call from a friend who was going through some troubles with the Pollution Control Board as his industry was not in compliance with the environment laws in India. My dad and I went to visit his factory and noticed that his water discharge was very harmful and hazardous. My dad immediately gave him an idea to construct a temporary arrangement. He filtered the water using some chemicals and instruments available and voila, within few minutes, a dark green hazardous effluent was converted into a neutral pH crystal clear water that could easily been mistaken for mineral water. That experience right there was magical for me. He helped save lakhs of rupees in terms of penalty fees for his friend and delivered 100% recyclable water with 0% wastage. That was the idea which I was waiting for, something so important that it would help the world grow at a larger level.
Growing up, did you always intend to start your own company/organization?
Yes. Always. Since my dad was an entrepreneur, I grew up listening to his crazy stories and motivational thoughts. This was my dream and I get to live it today.
How have your past personal & professional experiences helped you to run your company?
Although I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, the reason I started my first company was more of a need than a want. I had to support my family as there was no income, we had no house, we were deep into financial and legal crisis. Every company needs a primary source of funding to start off, right? I had none. Plus, the pressure was extremely high. I learnt to live with the bare minimum. I learnt to fight when all odds were against us and I think that is why I am the way I am today. Yes, everything that happened with me and my family was horrible but had that not happened, I wouldn’t be so motivated and focused as I am today. I want to change this world and make a name for my self in a field which dominated by male engineers. I still have massive financial crunch, debts, no home for my family but I have my family's support, my dad's trust and my determination. And all of this is because we lost every penny my parents ever owned and we literally started from zero, again.
What is the biggest personal/professional obstacle you've had to overcome?
Patience. I think I am still overcoming it, but for some reason I always feel that time is passing by and I needed to be where I am today, yesterday. I still need to focus on that a bit.
What's your definition of success? Do you consider yourself a success? If not, when will you?
Success for me is when I can look at my work and say, yes. I saved the world in the small way I could. Obviously, I can’t end the water crisis or improve the air quality at a macro level this instant. But when I can proudly say that I helped save 1 million liters of water or that my work contributed to improve the AQI of an entire city, I would say then that yes I am successful.
Have the women around you helped you to rise? How?
I have seen my mom cry and be angry at everything we lost but she always got up the next day to work towards a better future. She taught me a very important lesson i.e. when you want to be successful, you got to be ready to face failure. Because it inevitable. You can’t be successful or have loads of money all your life. There will be ups and downs in business but what you decide during that failure or downtime, determines whether or not you are a fighter. Giving up and leaving is always an option and the easier one. Fighting and facing the problem is the difficult choice but the correct one.
What are some of your future plans? Are you working on anything else right now?
Yes. I am researching on renewable energy sources and I have an idea for a pilot project.
What advice would you give to a woman starting out in your industry or starting her own company/organization?
Be focused. Put your blinders on. There are going to be a gazillion people around you with good and bad things to say. Don’t let them get to your head until you reach your goal. Listening to only bad things will demotivate you and listening to only good things will make you overconfident. Do not leave your focus until you reach your end goal, whatever it is. It will happen.
Describe yourself in ONE word. Fighter
Complete this sentence: "To be a girl or woman today is..." a privilege. I will one day get to hear people say "You see that girl? I want to do what she did. She changed the world."