Kaiterra India - Monitoring & Mapping the World’s Air
The last year has been interesting for Kaiterra and for Nita Soans. When she applied for the role of CEO - India for Kaiterra she was pleased to see the last line which read, “Women candidates preferred.” That plus their mission on making a difference to air quality by monitoring the air convinced her that this is the role she has been waiting for. Fast forward a few weeks and here she was the newly appointed CEO India for Kaiterra starting from scratch. She had lots of support from colleagues in USA and China but it was finally her who had go out there and get things done.
The next few weeks saw plenty of frustration with lawyers and accountants and a whole lot of patience in making some 100 calls a day to prospective hires. She was glad when the team was finally on board 6 weeks later and shehad a bank account in place with money in it to pay salaries.
Being a woman and having to deal with people in Government offices and customs officers is not easy. She has always felt that having short hair doesn’t help her much in contexts like this but she found herself adamant about sticking with short hair and not giving in to pressure of being a woman in the Indian workplace. It takes a few minutes of being assertive for people to understand that they can’t mess with you and that’s when they ease off.
The fun part of the role has been having to stand behind and sell a fantastic product. The Laser Egg is a product that she owned for two years before she started Kaiterra India and she knew exactly how useful it is and how it can change the way one deals with living in a polluted city. As user researchers say, if the user can use it and benefit from it, then the product works. The Laser Egg is an Apple HomeKit compatible product and our high point in the last few months was seeing the product on the shelves of some Apple Premium Reseller stores in Delhi NCR. They have also built a network of resellers who according to them are well placed to represent Kaiterra as the company and products in the market. Having a service centre and customer care based in India has further helped boost sales.
Kaiterra India is now gearing up for the next few months where the sheer focus is on building more awareness on air pollution, monitoring outdoor air quality and the launch of a new product.
