Today, we’re featuring a conversation with Ishwar Singh Solanki (@banna_313). You might know Ishwar as a Moodle/WordPress developer in the Edwiser team. Yes, for a while, Ishwar was leading Edwiser Bridge development. And now, he’s a part of the New Initiatives team, tasked with the responsibility of coming up with new product offerings that solve customer problems.

He’s also the winner of multiple awards like Rising Star and Star of the Quarter, and an ex-member of the Cultural Committee 😀

To give you a bit of background, Ishwar hails from Kota, Rajasthan. He’s someone who’s motivated by learning new things. Back in college and a couple of years post that, Ishwar used to mentor programming students. He was also a part of the robotics club, where they used to experiment with different technologies. 

Today, we’ll get to know all about Ishwar and his journey from student to being an integral part of the Wisdm team.

Can you tell us a bit about how your journey into tech began?

Ishwar: Sure! I started off in mechanical engineering, and learning coding started as a hobby. But I was very interested in it. In college, we had a general curriculum, but we also had access to various clubs like robotics and automation. I joined almost all of them in the beginning, just to explore and learn. Eventually, I stuck with the robotics club and SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers).

What kind of projects did you work on in those clubs?

Ishwar: We worked on a range of projects. One of the highlights was building an eco-kart, a four-wheeled electric vehicle. We competed in multiple rounds, focusing on innovation.

Our kart had an automated fire extinguisher system that triggered at high temperatures, and a collision detection system that applied brakes automatically. We even created a generic robot that could move its arms and legs. And built a control for lights and fans.

You can checkout one of his creations here: @robotics_club_rtu

How did you get into web development?

Ishwar: When I started I was interested in robots or automated machines. My interest in automation and IoT led me to explore web technologies. I built my college fest website, which included systems for registration, referrals, and a coupon code functionality. 

What keeps you interested and motivated at work?

Ishwar: For me, if there’s something I don’t know, that makes me curious and motivated. Learning itself is a source of motivation. I believe if I don’t know something, I can learn it. If I do know it, I focus on how to improve or simplify it. For instance, in Edwiser Bridge, there was a lot of redundant code and the software was complicated. We came up with ideas to make things easier for users. We resolved connectivity issues, focused on improving features. Development level issues were improved. We used different software to improve templates. Today, new challenges are a different type of motivation. These problems and the challenges involved in solving them, that’s motivation for me.

What has your learning been in your role developing Edwiser Bridge? And how does that help you in your new role?

Ishwar: In a product development role, you get to learn a lot about users. Like when you build some settings, you think this is simple for users, but many a times they don’t understand it, they face issues. It’s important that end users should understand things. I faced a similar situation when I used to mentor students. Many were beginners, so they couldn’t understand how hardware or software systems worked. We eventually split them into smaller groups based on their learning pace and simplified the content accordingly. This approach should be followed for users too. We have to build products for the slowest user and they should understand what we’ve built.

Now, you worked on ONDC WooCommerce integration project while working on Edwiser Bridge. What was your experience working on it?

Ishwar: Technically, the stack wasn’t much different from what we’d used before, but the concept was new and not currently there in open source. We had to study the protocol, mostly using documentation people have shared or from government sources. There wasn’t much data. But it’s an idea that could change how e-commerce works in India, with no middleman commissions. It’s a unique platform. Since people are used to Amazon and Flipkart, adoption will take time, but it has potential.

How is it working in the new Initiatives team?

Ishwar: I get to learn a lot. For example, Alpesh has a very user-centric mindset. During ONDC project, he pointed out that not all users would have WooCommerce or would know how to use it. Based on his feedback, we adjusted the menu and user flow to cater to a broader audience, including those who were entirely new to such systems.

How has your experience at WisdmLabs been?

Ishwar: I don’t have options to compare it to since I started my career from here. But from what my friends share, I feel Wisdm is much better. I can reach out to Rohan, Arunesh, or Dhawal directly. Communication is very good. We know what people are up to. We connect because of work also. Work life balance is there, there are reasonable expectations. Leave system is also good. 

What are your future goals?

Ishwar: I want to level up into a team lead role. I’m already part of a team, and I’d like to lead one. Ultimately, I want to help create scalable products with a large user base. I want to see 2–3 products launched and successful.

Rapid Fire ️‍🔥

• Food I cannot say no to:- Dal bhati 
• Movies or Books:- Movies. Sci-Fiction – Movies like Deadpool, Venom. Me and my friends always go on the first day for the show
• If you were not a developer/creator:- teacher
• Secret talent:- I was learning how to play the flute.
• mountain/beach/city:- mountains
• Any side projects you’ve worked on recently? – Yes, I built a website for a friend who sells books online.