Since ages, Tech and STEM fields have largely been male-dominated. But over the past few years, with women foraying into the space with their strides, a great deal of change has been witnessed in the statistics. For instance, in the engineering field though females make up less than a quarter in numbers, their strength seems to be consistently increasing over the last few decades. Grabbing on to the opportunities, overcoming the hardships & conflicts, be it at the workplace, or amidst family or society, it is their passion for success that speaks volumes. Not just using the technology as a tool, but being creative with it and solving the people's problems across industries, they have been dynamically transforming spaces. Rituu Gupta, Co-Founder & Director at IdeaNet Solutions Inc (an Engineering Design & Detailing Company) from the Engineering Design field is a perfect testament to it.

Armed with B.E. in Computer Science and M.Tech. in Computer Science from BITS, Pilani, Rituu is a competent professional having over a decade worth of experience in the Structural Engineering industry. It was in 2008 that she co-founded IdeaNet Solutions with Barkha Jain, post completion of her Masters in Computer Science. Through her venture IdeaNet SolutionsInc, she has been backing up clients with remarkable structural design & detailing services.

In an interview with Women Entrepreneur Team, Rituu speaks to us about her exceptional organizational abilities and also discusses how IdeaNet Solutions Inc is advancing towards making great improvements in the Engineering Design space. Here are excerpts from the interview.

Give Us A Brief Introduction To Ideanet Solutions. Also, Throw Some Light On The Usp Of Its Services?

IdeaNet Solutions is a dynamic Engineering Design Services company that specializes majorly in providing design and detailing services of Steel, and PEMB structures for construction industry globally. Headquartered in California, with quality assurance & project management team there, we have our extended detailing support centre located in Bangalore. The Bangalore centre is equipped with the state of the art facility to efficiently help our experienced team of engineers & detailers in understanding the complexities of projects beforehand and ensuring that the construction quality is on par with international standards. We ascertain that our works are in compliance with the AISC, NISD, CISC standards.

“We started with a team of few people and now we are 100+ team members; this growth curve in itself is a big achievement for us”

Providing wide range of services categorised as Structural Detailing, Connection Design, BIM Services, Estimation Services, Rebar Services, and PEB Services, we have successfully delivered a huge number projects to our clients from diverse industries and domains and across 48 states in the US, and other parts of Canada & Europe. I believe it's the quality of the work that we deliver, while maintaining the ease of communication & connect and on-time project delivery that has helped establish us as one of the preferred partners in the steel detailing & construction design segment.

Take Us Through Your Professional Journey And Also Mention How Did Things Lead You Toforay Into The Structural Engineering Sector?

When we started this organization IdeaNet, we always knew that we would require technical as well as software knowledge in delivering good quality products. Hence, I have been constantly developing my skills, looking after the software matters, technical know-how, project deliveries and business development. Also, since, I come from an engineering background, having studied civil engineering as a part of my curriculum for two years, learning things on my entrepreneurial journey wasn't so difficult.

Talking about factors that led me to venture into the engineering design field as an entrepreneur, I would say there's a collective & circumstantial reason behind it. Also, since I have always been passionate about doing new and creative things, which also played a role in determining my decision.

Engineering has never been a field where many women are seen, comparative to now. Though, I never felt such discrimination about gender disparity in my family, but after stepping out into the real world I did face it around me. I wanted to prove to people that women are equal and strong as per their male counterparts and there's nothing that only males can achieve while females cannot. Hence IdeaNet Solutions is a step ahead into formalising this truth. It is my zeal to do something creative and great that has always helped me move forward towards my growth trajectory. 

Delineating Some Of The Major Milestones Of The Company, What Are Those Aspects Of Your Leadership Personality That Helped You Traverse Through Your Journey At Ideanet Solutions?

Every time, we accomplish complex projects (in different domain and geography) and deliver it timely & successfully to the clients, and the client appreciates us for it is a good enough milestone for us. We started with a team of few people and now we are 100+ team members; this growth curve in itself is a big achievement for us.

We always envision to fulfil the client's requirement as and when needed. In any industry, many business requirements change in the flick of hour, hence we always to try to have a vision of future requirements early on in terms of what is coming next. Always, having a good relationship with our team technically as well as professionally, we try to keep things intact and going. My technical background, too has helped me a lot in delivering what we are doing today. Also, I never miss out on learning new things, and it is my passion for learning that has helped me keep abreast with the new technology in this industry. My team has a great role in keeping me updated, while online mediums can't be left behind.

Tell Us About Some Of The Most Critical Business Lessons That You Learned Both As An Individual And An Entrepreneur Throughout Your Journey?

Coming to the business lessons, I would take the pleasure of mentioning few noteworthy pointers. The first and foremost important thing for an entrepreneur is patience. In order to run the business for long term one needs to be patient enough with the process and results. Nothing lasts long with short term profit ideas. One needs to have that clarity, and the focus to study about things, dig in deep, and observe in order to materialize the vision, be it organization or self. Long term vision can only be accentuated if organization's future is well envisioned, and employees' future is planned, keeping the society's wellbeing in mind.

“Long term vision can only be accentuated if organization's future is well envisioned, and employees' future is planned, keeping the society's wellbeing in mind”

The second thing that matters is a sustainable business plan and decision making that benefits all-clients, employees and everyone involved. Last, but not the least is a very strong team to support the business plans. Building a strong team that's technically and emotionally strong is the key to running a successful business. Never, leave out on establishing good communication amidst the entire business engagements, the one who is quick and expeditious can always have the ball in his/her court.

Being The Founder-Director, Handling Various Responsibilities At Ideanet, How Is It That You Manage To Strike Balance Between Your Professional Life And Personal Life? Also, Beyond Work, What Are Some Of The Activities Or Hobbies You Indulge In?

It is indeed tough, and it was the same for me in the initial years, firefighting for all the things while also managing my personal life. But, I am very fortunate to have a supportive family at my back who help me all through in balancing both the responsibilities. I also, believe in the fact that we females are multitaskers and can handle more responsibilities. Having said that, I have had the charm of it too.

To talk about doing things beyond work, I prefer going on family vacations and performing my other responsibilities at home in my free time. While, one of my favourite things to do is teaching my kids, though they've grown up now, I look into what they're upto and where they need my involvement. I also like reading about things that can add-on to my skills.

What Advice Would You Like To Give To The Young Women And Entrepreneurs Foraying Into The Field?

I feel like there is a huge gap between what is required right now and what we have available in the market right now. There is a huge requirement to fill this gap, for the world needs several more women engineers & entrepreneurs. As the saying goes, charity begins at home, and so does the change. If we want to bring the kind of change that we want to see in the world, the society, in our workplace and everywhere in our life, we women are the ones who have to take a step ahead and make the change happen in our lives. There are opportunities in abundance for engineers & entrepreneurs. It's about giving women the right opportunities and for the women to grab it and prove their capabilities. So, go for it and pursue it. We'll be more than happy to provide whatever support is needed in this direction.

Rituu Gupta, Founder-Director, Ideanet Solutionsinc

With a top-notch experience in the Engineering design & detailing field, Rituu has been rendering Superior Quality And Reliable Engineering Detailing & Design Services to construction industry clients, globally.