‘Byond’ the mundane

This Bengaluru-based businessman is a professional dancer, a filmmaker and also owns a travel company

At 32, Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Vikram Ahuja quite seems to have cracked the code — two start-ups and having represented the country at the Asian Open Salsa Championships ’07 as a professional dancer, the enthusiast is up for more. In a candid tete-a-tete, the biz-whiz-cum-filmmaker tells us what keeps him ticking — from his recent travel venture for the intrepid traveller bitten by wanderlust to how he loves to dabble with many roles.

“I’m obsessed with building stories. Everything I’ve even ventured into was solely because I was really passionate about it. In 2011, I travelled with a bunch of strangers to something called Burning Man, a music and arts festival which happens in a desert near Las Vegas. The event brings together people from all walks of life — artists, entrepreneurs, musicians, etc. I was amazed at how quickly a bunch of strangers can become close companions based on a few powerful shared experiences which brings people together in a much stronger manner when people are travelling than in our day-to-day life. Returning from Burning Man with lifelong friends and memories that stayed for so long convinced me that travel is a lot more than just visiting a destination; it is more about the people you experience those places and events with. That’s probably how Byond started,” shares Vikram, speaking about how the idea sprouted. Vouching by how nothing beats risk-taking, he adds, “Our first successful experiment was when we decided to plan the India to Bangkok road trip. Being the first-ever expedition of its kind, we ran a very focused campaign to target road trippers and we received an incredible response with over 200 enquires per day at its peak!”

Driven by the desire to don many hats, Vikram tells us how he believes in compartmentalising. “Many a time, I’ve been asked to choose what I love most between filmmaking, dancing and starting-up. To be honest, I think there are plenty of similarities between the three. Filmmaking requires the same hustle and approach as a start-up would take for kicking off, to take an idea to execution and identify and build the right audience for your product (in this case, film). So in that aspect, I definitely identify with being an entrepreneur the most. That said, I probably think as a filmmaker most of the times, I’m trying to build narratives for everything I do! he adds.

On days when he’d like to switch the work mode off, “While most people think a start-up guy’s life isn’t easy, I think it’s all about striking the right balance. As somebody who’s always been passionate about sharing beautiful experiences, I make sure I indulge in varied activities like socialising, conducting art fairs, and performing arts. I’m also quite a foodie, so catching up on local cuisines and learning about varied cultures across the world are some of my other interests,” he shares.

Unfazed by the massive mushrooming of start-ups, Vikram concedes, “I intend to give people the opportunity to tell a tale through their travel expeditions. I also wish to work with kids as storytellers and set up travel communities. Also, I’m planning a fun experiment to combine these two passions of mine by building a mini web-series around ‘Life in a start-up’, inspired by real life events that happen everyday.”