We’ve been told that good things come to those who wait – this couldn’t be more true than for Spandana Nakka, who was inspired to launch her tech start-up after waiting in an hour-long line.

From a young age, Spandana was introduced to a world of culture and travel. Being Indian born, UAE raised and American educated, Spandana is a self-described “global citizen”. 

After finishing up at an International School in Dubai, Spandana headed to the US to tackle the next chapter of her education. Studying a Masters of Engineering and Management at Stanford University helped Spandana apply the theoretical knowledge she learnt in her schooling years and put it into practice. 

While working in her dream job at Google, an incident in a bar where Spandana waited for over an hour to order a drink sparked an idea for her soon-to-be start-up. Spandana and a colleague left the big tech giant together to focus entirely on Sleek.

Today, Sleek sells AI software to venues with long lines to help them manage their wait times. The app tells customers their waiting time and gives the more impatient ones the option to pay to skip the queue – creating a new revenue stream for businesses.

In this episode, Spandana teaches us some vital lessons about the importance of remaining curious, overcoming rejection and challenging traditional trajectories. 

Spandana Nakka is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sleek, a technology start-up that helps venues assess their customer wait times and develop dynamically priced priority lanes. Spandana has been recognised on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in Consumer Technology, and Sleek has been featured as one of the top 50 most promising AI companies in America by Forbes.

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