The answer to the age-old question “Would someone please think of the children?” has been answered. Instead of building a ride-hailing platform for adults, Ritu Narayan decided kids need safe rides, too.
That’s why I encourage this woman’s work.
Ritu Narayan is the founder of Zūm, built out of her firsthand experience of raising two active kids and managing a fast-paced tech career in Silicon Valley. Zūm is an online marketplace that helps busy parents secure trustworthy scheduled and on-demand rides and care for their kids.
Randi Zuckerberg: Who inspires you most?
Ritu Narayan: I am very inspired by people who, against all odds, are able to rise and make an impact in the world.
In this regard, I have always been very inspired by my father. He had to drop out of engineering college at the age of 17 when his father passed away unexpectedly. In spite of that, he maintained a persistent, intelligent and relentless focus on his work and purpose every single day. He became one of the leading experts in the area of water and power, and brought many important projects to life from scratch.
Seeing my father manage thousands of people while working toward the goal of bringing water or electricity to remote parts of the world has been very inspiring to me.
RZ: What is your proudest achievement to date?
RN: My proudest achievement was being the first woman in my extended family to go into computer engineering. The most satisfying part for me was not just that I completed the program but that a generation of women in my family and community were inspired to pursue engineering, as well.
Seeing these women was a big part of what inspired me to start Zūm, where our mission is to empower women using technology. Our app gives working families access to on-demand safe rides and care for their children.
We strive to enable our users with the freedom and peace of mind to excel in both their personal and professional lives.
RZ: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
RN: The best piece of advice that I have ever been given is that your duty is to keep working, not get attached to the results. That hard work always pays off in the long run. This has inspired me to show up each day focused on the joy of work and purpose, and not for the prize.
RZ: What is your plan of attack when faced with any obstacle or challenge?
RN: I am motivated by challenges and obstacles, as I believe that each one of them opens us up to bigger opportunities in the long run. When faced with a challenge, I gather the context and evaluate my position.
I like to visualize the end result I hope to have and the steps that I need to take to get there. Then I focus all my heart and soul into executing those steps. Once I am clear in my mind about the plan of action, I am very focused on my journey and do not get demotivated by bumps along the way.
RZ: How do you hope people will remember you?
RN: I hope people will remember me as someone who was bold, someone who worked hard to explore and pave new paths, someone who helped others connect to their dreams.
I also hope that I will be remembered as someone who was compassionate and who made a difference in solving day-to-day challenges for women and children.
— Randi Zuckerberg is the founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media, a best-selling author and the host of a SiriusXM weekly tech business show, Randi Zuckerberg Means Business. Follow her on Twitter: @randizuckerberg or connect with her on Facebook. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.