Vigorous strife and challenges would eventually start up a business in the medical field and become the epitome of innovation? Who would have thought? Well, Yash Shah did.
Yash, the Founder of Dentocrafts had failed enough to see the pathway to success without rose-tinted glasses. It was no more an easy picking. It came tough on him. He had seen two of his ideas fail before his eyes prior to the venture. His first start-up was called IVCure, which started in 2019 where they provided hangover cures at home through an IV. He tried again with another start-up around the same time - Select Few Network, where he would organize brunch events for professionals from industries that complemented each other. Great ideas, couldn't scale.
Having done his diploma in Civil Engineering, Yash left India for the US to study Construction Management. He even worked in the Construction sector there, managing projects worth 12M $ for the state of New York. But the fire was just not kicking in. He dropped out in his final year to pursue Dental Healthcare thus returning to India. He had broad-strokes of an idea and was still constructing the whole picture in his head. Of course, he didn't know then that this one - Dentocrafts - would become his lifeline, motivator and something he could function with for a long time to come.
The constant support and source of confidence? His parents, he acknowledges. Yash's parents were the sole motivators and inspiration for his all downfalls throughout his adventurous career. He was raised in a business family, where both his parents invested themselves in the industry. He had seen the highest and the lowest of all consequences throughout their journey. The instinct that kept him going was their unflagging perseverance and attitude which taught him that their greatest achievements all started from scratch.
When asked, he fondly says, that his friends and family were the greatest support system he ever had - They were with him through his desperate attempts and failed ideas to his recent successes and well-deserved highs. He currently has 3 functioning start-ups, which are DentoCrafts, CoDent & DentCo - All based in Mumbai. His team today consists of about 30 vibrant people and DentoCrafts is the heart of his ecosystem. WhileDentoCrafts comprises the dental laboratory, CoDent supplies and provides with Co-Working Dental Spaces which are fully staffed and have the latest technology that they could render and innovate. DentCo is their cloud-based Patient and Practice Management Software that enables a seamless experience for dentists that work within their ecosystem.
When he was asked about the pains he took, being a founder, he responds with, “Finding the right people to build the vision you have for your company and the future of your company is a difficult thing to do in a city like Mumbai. But I believe that if you hire young and make them believe in what you are trying to achieve you can build a really strong team. The other thing that gets me excited about getting out of bed is that we are on the verge of revolutionizing the Dental Healthcare industry across India and if India is a success, other Indo-Pacific Regions are just as accessible”.
His motives for setting up a start-up in India had a unique tone yet a captivating one, as he mentions the adversities and the hardships he faced while setting up a business in India. A prominent challenge he states is, “the biggest drawback this country has is that of not receiving any payments on time. Since there is no fear related to not paying someone their owed dues. Trying to understand that people have to be chased for payments, was one of the toughest things to learn and overcome. If India resolves this, we could become a superpower overnight.’’
He finally brings advice to his younger self and the youth when asked to talk about a few things he had wished he was told before starting this venture, as he replies that “Being an entrepreneur is in our blood as Indians, you just gotta figure out what the problem is and develop the solution you identify a problem & identify the solution, make sure to check how relevant it is to the users, what kind of impact it could make and how effectively could you develop this solution”.
I wish someone told me how difficult it was.
I wish someone told me how tiring it would be.
I wish someone told me how rewarding it can be.
Yash Shah, Founder, DentoCrafts
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