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Founder@ Interview
Interview with Samit Biswas
“Keep walking and stay focused, success will come.” – Samit Biswas
Today we feature Samit Biswas, the founder at Hippo Mobility. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
I am a firm believer in giving back to society. Most Indians are now working Globally, while their parents are living in India.
I am already a Trustee Member of a Charity Enfield Asian Welfare Association (EAWA) and I have a plan to start a DAY CARE Centre in Kolkata and the rest of India to support all our elderly parents and create more local jobs in the economy.
I was born in Katwa, a subdivisional town in West Bengal, and studied there till my graduation in Zoology from Burdwan University. I started working in 1997 as a Medical Representative with Glaxo Allenbury (now GSK). Following this, I then worked in J&J, S&N, and Medtronic at various levels.
I did my MBA in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). From my childhood, I was an active member of Bharat Scouts and Guides and it really helped me to build myself as a person.
As a result of this time, I have gained a real love of travelling and adventuring, especially into new domains, my favourite destinations are Italy and Manash Kailash.
During my travels, I have also developed the enjoyment of trying new cuisines, however, my favourite dish is Bengali mutton curry with rice.
I have lived by the motto “You can win” inspired by the book by Shiv Khera of the same title.
I have been fortunate enough that this motto, has allowed me to be recognised for a number of awards, starting from my days at school right through to adulthood.
In my early years, I won several performance awards from schools and in various organisations where I worked for. In 2011 I also had the honoured of winning the Best Start-up of the year by TiE. 2008 I won the Asia Pacific Contribution Committee Awards in Vietnam.
In 2019, I won the Lloyds Banks Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 and the Austin Ford Mobility City Challenge 2019.
While in 2020, I won the Nasdaq Social Impact Entrepreneur award and I was recognised as a Top 100 Health Tech Start-up in London for my contribution to maximizing underprivileged children’s education under the Corporate Social Responsibility program. Won Asia Pacific Contribution Committee Awards for 2008 in Vietnam.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
I have a Bachelors’s degree in Zoology and an MBA (IIFT) with a specialization in International Brand Management, International Business Law with mergers & Accusations.
I have done several courses & attended training programs on Negotiations, CRM, Customer Service, Strategic Marketing and communication, Finance, Logistic & International Marketing & Market Research.
My life philosophy has always been to give back to society – to achieve this, I have been involved in various social activities since 1989.
I finally decided to use my extensive knowledge and launched Advantech Health Care India and Europe with the aim of making ambulance services accessible to everyone particularly the disabled and elderly.
My experience helps me strategize the long-term business directions globally with accountability for profit contribution, cash flow, and ROI on capital employed.
I’m also able to identify new market segments for business development potential & cultivating relationship management with high-value clients for enhancing the level of business generation with the prospect of developing “niche segments” in new markets.
I have always wanted to give back to society and thought the ambulance service industry was the perfect fit for me where we could serve people at an affordable price.
We also wanted to make sure that disabled individuals (10% of the global population), the elderly, and the vulnerable were able to avail of services with dignity and comfort.
I launched Advatech Health Care in India & Europe and successfully made it a trusted Health Care Service Brand in Indian & Global markets.
My ability to keep learning and make sure all my ambulance services are technologically aided gives our company a unique edge.
We launched UK’s First branded Wheelchair Access Vehicle (WAV) services – Hippo (www.hippomobility.co.uk) and preventive healthcare service MyHealthchk.com, Air Ambulance Ambufly & Private IVF Clinic – MYIVF.co.uk.
Our GPS-enabled ambulance services help family members track the progress of their loved ones as they travel to the hospital.
Things were never straightforward, as we work under a highly regulated market. But with my Global exposure, I could manage to launch and successfully doing the business in four continents (India, UK, USA, and Canada).
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…How does your business make a difference?
I continue trying to make a difference to society and the community with my services and make sure that everyone can avail of our services at an affordable price.
Taking care of the elderly and disabled members of our society is an important step for the future.
Advatech Healthcare has always valued the importance and necessity of high-quality standards of medical care.
As a result, their training programs are internationally recognized as they encompass all stages of life-saving training such as First Aid, Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support, First Responder, and Emergency Medical Technician courses.
We offer technology (AI & AR) based transportation services (machine learning) for disabled people, non-emergency patients, and medical staff.
Some of our key features in our ambulances include wearable wristbands with sensors to capture real-time data like body temperature, pulse, SPo2 level, ECG, etc.
Our vehicles are equipped with cameras to live stream and record the ride for additional safety and protect Hippo legally.
Our drivers are trained on First Aid, CPR, and medical support systems + onboard equipment to support the passenger in an emergency.
We are based in London and serving London and South East of the UK.
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
Our aha moment was being selected under the Global Entrepreneurship Programme (GEP) for the UK. Once we launched the World’s First Android app ‘Book My Ambulance’. Since this launch we have been invited by the UK Goverment to move our HQ from India to the UK.
Another key was woking closely with associations like the Department for International Trade and Healthcare UK, British High Commission, German Trade and Investment Committee. We also worked with the Paris Business promotion council, TiE, FICCI, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( LCCI ) in addition to other investment organizations.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
Always trust people and work with people who have a similar mindset to you. Otherwise, you could have surprise attacks in your business.
We learned this from experience, we had a very bad incidents due to one of our drivers who made some false allegations about our business model.
As a result Local Council and TFL without going deep into the matter suspended our private hire license. This is incident has meant that our business is facing a big financial instability and losses if not resolved.
Maturity.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Never fear to fail, failure makes you perfect.
Be positive in every situation, whatever happens, happened for a good reason.
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
Technology and training are two core parts of our business.
We have our in-house technology Director and team who manages and builds our app.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
Maturity.
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
Being selected as a top 100 health tech company in London and featured in the Nasdaq Times Square in NY.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
Be a thought leader in disabled and elderly mobility space. because globally we have 1.5 billion disabled as per the World Bank report and we all are leaving longer without having dedicated transportation and digital safeguarding services.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
“Keep walking and stay focused, success will come”
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Hippo Mobility”
To learn more about Hippo Mobility Visit www.hippomobility.co.uk
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