Leaders

Electric Vehicles can largely help to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions and thus reduce air pollution and pave a way for significant climate progress. Pwrpark, a startup Co-Founded and led by Janhavi Pawar, is developing charge and park stations for the e-scooters to promote the use of sustainable transportation. It is on a mission to power the micro-mobility industry to help create an eco-friendly planet.

Janhavi Pawar, Co-Founder & COO of the company is currently pursuing her double major in Business and Entrepreneurship from Reichman University in Israel. She has been working actively on various projects with companies like Sakal Media Group and AP Globale. Working in operational and strategic spaces along with working under pressure to fulfil the responsibilities are some of the skills she carries. Janhavi engages in an exclusive interaction with Women Entrepreneur Magazine.

Take us through your early educational journey. What were some of the initial influences that impacted your eventual choice of education & career?

I come from a family that collectively has worked for the society in India, specifically in my home state, Maharashtra. A lot of my entrepreneurial influences come from seeing my grandparents and parents work hard, not only to provide for us, but also to give back to the community. They were the reason why I was intrigued by social entrepreneurship, and therefore, nearly all the projects I've interned worked under or started to have some sort of social responsibility aspect to them. I came to Israel because this country is the startup nation in the world, and I wanted to grow in that environment. There were many ups and downs, but I can strongly say that the challenges definitely increased my will to become an entrepreneur.

What motivated you to Co-Found Pwrpark and tell us about the underlying idea behind the company along with its most unique features

Pwrpark began as a class project in the first year, where we decided to turn the vision into reality. Our CEO came-up with it when he saw me carrying my e-scooter to my dorm room and when he asked me why, I told him there was no place on the ground floor of the dorm building where I could securely park and charge it. It turns out, there were quite a few e-scooter users who, like me, did the same. So we bootstrapped the business and our company took birth virtually during the pandemic. Pwrpark is a charging, locking, and parking station for privately owned e-scooters. Our aim is to be available in public areas such as restaurants, malls, and corporate buildings, as the use of last-mile transport is increasing and all you need is our charging adapter and app to use any Pwrpark station.

What are the various responsibilities you shoulder, and how has the company's growth journey been so far?

When you're running a startup, especially at an early stage, there's no one position you can stick to. Everyone eventually has to help each other to achieve their targets, and most of my work was based around team management, fundraising, pitching, and strategizing our next move. The company's growth journey so far has been tumultuous, and for me, it was the fact that I knew little to nothing about Israel's culture, and its entrepreneurial scene is another culture in itself. However, we felt there was definitely a need for our product, and that has been the reason we are pushing through.

Talk to us about some of the major challenges you face as an entrepreneur and how do you overcome those challenges?

The biggest challenge that an entrepreneur faces is the phase when your intrinsic motivation starts to fade. Some get more affected by others, and that in turn, like a domino effect, starts to occur in other members. What's important is that even if at that moment you don't like what you do and you're not enjoying it, you need to tell yourself to shoulder that responsibility that you owe to yourself, your team, and your company.

“My motivation comes from genuinely believing that i have what it takes and sometimes, you need to have a little bit of blind faith that you will accomplish what you need to in this life”

What is the key leadership philosophy that you leverage, and what has been the driving force motivating you to aspire for great success in life? What would your advice be to young women who also aspire to become an entrepreneur?

I don't believe I'm successful as an entrepreneur yet, and there are a lot of projects I want to do and accomplish. My motivation comes from genuinely believing that I have what it takes and sometimes, you need to have a little bit of blind faith that you will accomplish what you need to in this life. I have a goal and vision of myself working with young entrepreneurs, and that visualisation definitely helps in pushing me to do better.

Don't behave like men. Controversial advice, perhaps. But I think modern society has conditioned us to believe that only predominantly extreme masculine traits like aggression, anger, or being alpha are the way to survive in the corporate world. In terms of practical advice, when you're forming your company, get the best lawyer your money can get and understand legal terms, and contracts. Make sure that someone is taking notes in every meeting you have with your team because people often tend to forget.

Janhavi Pawar,CO-Founder & Coopwrpark

Janhavi has a keen interest in impactful, socially good business, Janhavi  Co-Founded a startup during her undergraduate degree