Ashish Fernando is a businessman as well as an entrepreneur. He founded iSchoolConnect and launched it in 2017. This is a Google-sponsored internet admission program that helps international students secure scholarships.
In 2012, Ashish Fernando was busy applying for MBA. Along the way, he noticed how international students were subjected to bias and errors in systems. He started collecting data as he applied to different universities to see their response. The young man had hoped to join Yale but eventually landed at Bentley. He was granted a full-scholarship master’s program.
Ashish Fernando majored in Data Science and Artificial intelligence and graduated in 2016. Using his knowledge of AI, Quantiphi analytics, and ML solutions, he developed iSchoolConnect Technologies Pvt. The company deals with both B2C and B2B. The platform offers a place for every student to connect with higher education levels and create end-to-end engagements. The company has collaborated with ASU-GSV, Kappla inc, New York University, and Portland State University.
I started iSchoolConnect out of my personal experience. The main aim was to optimize the admission process for international students who yearn to study abroad.
My typical days are always busy; I don’t think I have ever taken enough rest. But always consider the health of the mind and body before anything else. I start my day with the mediation; gym, then jump to my breakfast. My meetings need to commence as early as 5:30 am. The main reason for these early meetings is the fact that my employees live in different locations, i.e., Mumbai, India, and Boston, USA. During the day, I will stay updated on anything happening in the background.
I collect data daily for future use. Having a calendar and schedule helps me plan my work. You must adhere to what the calendar dictates and to-list to all business people. This will make sure one is consistent in what they are doing.
As a CEO, I believe strong thoughts and ideas are envisioned through the mind of everyone. Therefore, a vision board is important for bringing my ideas to life. The board assists in coming up with physical and real thoughts that could be transformed into real-world applications. Most of their goals have been achieved by employing the vision board.
Three-quarters of the world population stays on the internet. Daily, there are almost 100 trending things that could fascinate me. I don’t have a specific category of my choice, but I follow almost everything. Tiktok has brought another new wave where I observe Dolly Parton’s challenge, bucket challenge, and many things from influential people.
I stay productive by making well-output decisions. As entrepreneurs, we always engage in risky business without knowing the outcomes. So, I would take time and think about a certain path before signing up for it. I believe many decisions are temporary. Then, making decisions as fast as possible also has had a positive impact on my business.
To the younger me, stay calm, patient, and observe time. So many things are there, but if you indulge in them at the wrong time, you will lose focus. Everything has its time, as the Bible suggests. So, I would convince myself to indulge in useful things at the time and avoid the pressure that comes with impatience. This mainly affects the youth who want to do many things and fall out of imposter syndrome. Good things will always come to those people who wait?
Not all CEOs pressure themselves to do their job. If you set up a well-functioning company, you can stay healthy and balance your personal life and job. That’s my rule; I don’t want to put my mind under pressure that will bring health effects in the future. Unfortunately, the myth of entrepreneurs not putting themselves on the frontline could be true.
To my fellow people, meditation, self-reflection, and yoga are my recommendations for your daily life. Revolve around them when you feel low.
We launched iScoolConnect as an MVP rather than a finished product. But recently added 2-AI use cases, with others still under development. The issue of MVP helped us to grow our business. Branding is much easier.
Currently, organic marketing is more important than physical sales. You have to build a scalable bond and reputation with your customers through organic. This has helped my company stay strong. But all my failures come up as a learning process.
The application of AI in the health industry and education is growing at a high rate. I can recommend people venture into AI systems to develop healthcare models because the industry has a lot of opportunities. Working on projects like predictive analysis and disease detection could impact society.
In my daily life, I use LivePlan software to manage my tasks. I appreciate the developers around the technology. The software helps in checking my performance at work by keeping track of my daily activities. In addition, it predicts my sales, which is an amazing characteristic.
Sir Richard Branson once said, “Above all, create something you are proud of.” So be ready to be challenged so that you can come up with unique solutions.
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