The Tamil Creator Podcast (Ep.46): Ruban Kanapathippillai - Serial Tech Entrepreneur With Two Exits Collectively Over $1 Billion

Ruban Kanapathippillai is an entrepreneur, angel investor, charter member at TiE Silicon Valley and author of the "Accidental Entrepreneur" series.

Podcasts

Jan 17, 2022

Ara Ehamparam

Business Owner

Toronto, Canada

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He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss how he's seen The Bay Area change in the many years he's lived there, why he decided to become an angel investor, building a company from 5 founders to 200 employees in about 2 years, having his first company acquired by Intel, how a heart attack was a wake up call to prioritize mental health and much more.

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Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Ruban Kanapathippillai
01:23 - Ruban talks about his upbringing in Sri Lanka, how he met his wife
05:22 - The Bay Area; then vs. now (corporations, real estate, etc.)
11:57 - The impact of digitalization and COVID (on Silicon Valley)
16:09 - How prevalent is the Tamil community like in San Francisco?
21:06 - Having his first company acquired by Intel
29:44 - Owning multiple Google patents and the process behind acquiring one
32:34 - How Intel caught wind of Ruban’s company
38:02 - Relatives initially questioning his decision to quit his job before seeing his success
38:34 - What makes Ruban tick; fear of failure
40:08 - Retiring at 35 and being a stay-at-home dad
43:03 - Creating Virident Systems and having it acquired
45:20 - Feeling like he still hadn’t proved himself after multiple exits
48:09 - Why Ruban decided to become an angel investor
53:10 - Ruban speaks on some of the companies he has invested in - and what they do
57:35 - Interests outside of work; cricket, mentoring, cooking, family time and ballroom dancing
1:00:35 - Maintaining relationships while balancing other priorities like family and health
1:03:16 - Purchases that Ruban has made but doesn’t regret
1:05:28 - What Ruban wants to be remembered for; humility and honesty
1:09:26 - Creator Confessions
1:17:09 - The Wrap Up