(May 26, 2022) Making an impact has always been on teen innovator and entrepreneur Aarav Garg’s mind. How, though? He dabbled with the question for a while and found the answer lay in his passion – technology. A self-taught innovator, Aarav understood the power of knowledge and was keen to spread it to thousands of youngsters – first, through his YouTube channel, and then through his startup, TechNuttiez.
“Most teenagers wait until college to either do coding or innovating because it’s the norm. We are breaking that stereotype by telling youngsters that they can learn early if they want to do so,” Aarav tells Global Indian. Founded in 2021, the startup has already spread its wings among teenagers who are keen to learn. “I learnt everything online, without spending a single penny. And now I’m making that possible for others by providing them a platform to learn and engage with,” says the Class 11 student whose innovation has been written about in Austrian and British technology magazines.
Aarav Garg
The early love for technology
His first tryst with robotics began at 10 when he was introduced to programming in school. “It opened up a new world for me and I immediately gravitated towards it. However, it was just a basic introduction,” says Aarav. Every day after school, he would get on the internet looking for information. “Since my parents come from a non-tech background, YouTube became my learning tool. From dabbling in different programming languages to reading articles online, I learnt a lot,” says the teen innovator, who built his first robot – the line follower – in the same year. It took him about a month to build.
“It follows a line on the ground as it’s mostly used in the manufacturing and storage industry. Companies like Amazon and Alibaba use them in their warehouses,” says the TedX speaker.
Aarav Garg working on one of his innovations
A propagator of self-learning, he believes “there is nothing one cannot learn online.” With innumerable videos and articles available online, there is no dearth of information but accessing the right information is equally critical. The thought led him to start his YouTube channel in 2018. “In the last few years, I learnt a lot about robotics and wanted to give back to the community of self-learning through my channel. My first video garnered over 130k views and that pushed me to generate more content,” says the teen innovator, whose mission is to educate youth on technology.
Innovator to entrepreneur
Understanding its impact, Aarav wanted to scale it up, and in 2021, he launched his startup TechNuttiez – to bring together young self-learners under one roof. “We launched a mobile app on iOS and Android this February which has videos, articles, projects, interviews with budding entrepreneurs, and a monthly digital magazine that tells you everything you need to know about technology,” adds the 16-year-old. His recent addition includes quizzes that help you earn “T-buck points” which can be redeemed at brands like Boat, Akudo and The Souled Store among others. “Our target audience is teenagers who are willing to self-learn. A lot of information isn’t available on the internet, and that’s where we come in – to bridge the gap.”
Technuttiez app built by Aarav Garg
Calling this shift from a content creator to an entrepreneur “gradual”, Aarav was keen to make a greater impact. “I wanted to convert my knowledge into a product that could be available to a larger audience,” says the teen entrepreneur. The app has seen 2000 downloads from across 90 countries in the first three months of its launch. Currently, TechNuttiez has 20 teenagers working passionately in various departments like social media, content creation, marketing, and design. “Being in the initial stage, we’re experimenting and understanding the response to the app in order to shape up the product better,” explains the teen innovator.
The future
Entrepreneurship is the course he has taken, but he calls himself “an innovator” at heart. This passion led him to design a pocket weather station in 2021, an innovation that earned him recognition from Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao. “It started with an idea to make a video on how to use a temperature sensor. It was later translated into a handheld device that provides accurate weather prediction. The innovation was successful and garnered attention in India and abroad,” says Aarav who also made a giant SD card as a part of a contest for the website Instructables.
Aarav Garg with Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao.
Technology is the future, and Aarav wants more students to get a hang of it early in their life. That’s why his startup has partnered with schools in Hyderabad to create awareness on technology. “We want to show them the potential in the field,” says the teenager, who plans to either crack JEE or get admission into a US university. But his heart lies in building more startups when he grows up. “I think starting early has its advantage. It gives you an edge over others. There are infinite resources available, make the most of them,” he advises. The teen innovator, who loves playing snooker and football in his free time, is excited to grow his product and help it reach its potential.
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