Best Place To BuildSwostik Sourav Dash | How NeoMotion's CEO is Building "Freedom" for Everyone | Ep. 2 | IIT Madras
Swostik Sourav Dash on neoMotion’s CEO on building personalized mobility and lasting impact systems.
In this episode of Best Place To Build, featuring Swostik Sourav Dash, Swostik Sourav Dash | How NeoMotion's CEO is Building "Freedom" for Everyone | Ep. 2 | IIT Madras explores neoMotion’s CEO on building personalized mobility and lasting impact systems NeoMotion reframes wheelchairs as personal mobility vehicles that restore independence by simplifying everyday travel for wheelchair users and the elderly.
At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
NeoMotion’s CEO on building personalized mobility and lasting impact systems
- NeoMotion reframes wheelchairs as personal mobility vehicles that restore independence by simplifying everyday travel for wheelchair users and the elderly.
- A core problem in India is the one-size-fits-all wheelchair market, which creates discomfort, secondary health complications, and poor self-propulsion ergonomics.
- Shark Tank served primarily as category awareness and credibility-building, helping NeoMotion educate the market on what “good” mobility devices should be.
- Dash argues that being for-profit is essential for long-term impact because it keeps incentives aligned with end users rather than sponsors and forces operational efficiency.
- NeoMotion’s origin story runs through IIT Madras’s CFI and R2D2 (Rehabilitation Research and Device Development) lab pipeline, with the company choosing a lean, grant-and-debt-funded path over VC to prioritize longevity and sustainable market creation.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasCustomization isn’t a premium feature in wheelchairs—it’s a health requirement.
Dash compares one-size wheelchairs to forcing everyone to wear size-14 shoes, arguing poor fit causes discomfort, harms posture, and creates secondary complications over long daily usage.
The hardest part is not building the device; it’s teaching the market how to buy it.
Consumers often choose wheelchairs by looks, fabric feel, and price rather than measurable fit and performance, so NeoMotion must educate users on the right evaluation criteria.
Shark Tank’s biggest value is category awareness and trust, not instant mass sales.
NeoMotion doesn’t sell a fast-moving consumer product; the show helped people discover the category, validate credibility, and trigger serious inquiries and sponsorship conversations.
For-profit structures can make impact solutions more durable than philanthropy-led models.
Dash argues that sponsor-driven buying can ignore user preferences and vanish when donor priorities shift, while a for-profit model keeps the user-market feedback loop central.
Assistive tech opportunity will grow as India ages and caregiving becomes scarcer.
He frames the problem as a looming national need: longer life expectancy and weaker support systems will require robust indigenous mobility and daily-living solutions to avoid import dependence.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesImagine slapping a shoe of size 14 to everybody, like all of you wear a shoe of size 14 and start walking.
— Swostik Sourav Dash
If NeoMotion has to bring a change, unless NeoMotion is there for next 100 years, it will not happen.
— Swostik Sourav Dash
It’s not that if there is more money, we founders take more money home… it’s more money in the company to do investment in R&D, create market creation.
— Swostik Sourav Dash
India is a fantastic test market. We want the best or pay the least.
— Swostik Sourav Dash
Just maybe six or seven months before we accepted that we don’t know sales. We don’t know marketing.
— Swostik Sourav Dash
QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE
5 questionsWhat specific measurements or parameters does NeoMotion use to ‘custom fit’ a wheelchair, and how do they translate into better health outcomes?
NeoMotion reframes wheelchairs as personal mobility vehicles that restore independence by simplifying everyday travel for wheelchair users and the elderly.
You mentioned secondary complications from poor-fit chairs—what are the most common complications you’ve observed in the field, and how does your design prevent them?
A core problem in India is the one-size-fits-all wheelchair market, which creates discomfort, secondary health complications, and poor self-propulsion ergonomics.
How did your 2016 travel across ~40 locations and ~200 wheelchair users directly change the product roadmap (what did you drop or add)?
Shark Tank served primarily as category awareness and credibility-building, helping NeoMotion educate the market on what “good” mobility devices should be.
Shark Tank boosted inquiries—what operational changes did you make to handle the surge without compromising customization and service quality?
Dash argues that being for-profit is essential for long-term impact because it keeps incentives aligned with end users rather than sponsors and forces operational efficiency.
Where do CSR/NGO-sponsored purchases work well, and where do they distort incentives compared to direct user purchasing?
NeoMotion’s origin story runs through IIT Madras’s CFI and R2D2 (Rehabilitation Research and Device Development) lab pipeline, with the company choosing a lean, grant-and-debt-funded path over VC to prioritize longevity and sustainable market creation.
Chapter Breakdown
NeoMotion’s mission: everyday mobility as “freedom”
The host frames IIT Madras as a hub for builders, then Swostik introduces NeoMotion’s core idea: making mobility simple and independent for wheelchair users, elderly people, and persons with disabilities. Instead of “selling a wheelchair,” he describes building a personal mobility vehicle that restores spontaneity—going out without elaborate planning or dependence.
Why customization matters: the one-size-fits-all wheelchair problem
Swostik explains why standard wheelchairs in India often fail users: poor fit, poor ergonomics, and downstream health complications. He uses a vivid analogy—forcing everyone to wear size-14 shoes—to show why custom fitting should be normal, especially for something used 8–10 hours a day.
Shark Tank as category creation and awareness engine
The conversation turns to Shark Tank as a marketing moment that helps NeoMotion educate a country unfamiliar with wheelchair specs and customization. Swostik emphasizes that they’re building a new category and must teach users what “good” looks like, especially in a market anchored to low-cost commodity products.
For-profit vs “social enterprise”: building sustainability and efficiency
Swostik addresses the Sharks’ common question: is NeoMotion a social venture or a business? He argues for-profit structure is essential for long-term impact because it forces efficiency and aligns the builder directly with end-user needs rather than donor preferences.
Working with NGOs and CSR without becoming donor-dependent
They explore how NeoMotion collaborates with NGOs and CSR programs while keeping a market-driven product focus. Swostik explains how a company can serve as a central bridge across multiple nonprofits and sponsors, enabling broader distribution without being locked into any single agenda.
Origin story: IIT Madras, KV science fairs, and the first assistive-tech project
Swostik traces his builder identity back to Kendriya Vidyalaya science exhibitions and then to IIT Madras Mechanical/Product Design. His entry into assistive tech begins with a master’s thesis under Prof. Sujatha Srinivasan—building a swimming pool lift—where field trials revealed how “small” mechanical devices can transform lives.
From factory engineer to founder: returning to IIT and discovering the real mobility gap
After graduating, Swostik works at ITC in a factory/plant environment but misses direct user impact. He returns to IIT as a research scholar, works on a standing wheelchair, and travels extensively—40+ locations, ~200 users—discovering that the biggest barrier isn’t only mobility, but economic independence and the ability to reach work and life opportunities.
Product roadmap: beyond one device to life “touchpoints” (standing, seating, daily living)
Swostik explains how NeoMotion plans future products by listening to demand signals—30,000+ inquiries and recurring needs. The roadmap includes customized seating (including joystick control), the NeoStand standing wheelchair for eye-level interaction, and assistive solutions for activities of daily living like toileting and bathing.
CFI (Centre for Innovation): the culture of building and Swostik’s leadership lessons
The discussion moves to CFI’s role in shaping builders. Swostik describes being pulled into CFI within days of arriving on campus, spending nights building aircraft projects, and later leading CFI—shifting from personal making to enabling others through knowledge transfer, project acceleration, and administrative/fundraising work.
R2D2 Lab and Prof. Sujatha: research-to-startup pipeline at IIT Madras
Swostik details Prof. Sujatha’s long commitment to assistive tech and the creation of the R2D2 Center (Rehabilitation Research and Device Development). They discuss how IIT Madras increasingly pushes research beyond prototypes into commercialization, using models like joint development and joint patent ownership between IIT and startups.
Co-founders and career tradeoffs: choosing mission over high-paying jobs
Swostik introduces co-founders Ashish and Siddharth, their CFI roots, and how each moved from strong conventional career paths toward NeoMotion. They discuss the pressure students feel to chase high-paying roles and hype cycles, and how exposure to entrepreneurial role models builds confidence to take the startup path.
Manufacturing in India and going global: first-principles design as an edge
They discuss India’s global perception challenges in hardware quality and manufacturing reliability. Swostik argues it’s changing (citing Ather) and says NeoMotion’s commitment to first-principles design—not reverse engineering—creates differentiated value that can travel internationally; early checks in Europe/US show product-market fit signals.
Bootstrapping, grants, and “learning business”: mentors, money, and unlearning engineering habits
Swostik describes the mindset transition from engineer to entrepreneur as constant unlearning and relearning—especially in sales and marketing. He credits IITM Incubation Cell for mentors, seed support and grants, but explains NeoMotion chose to avoid traditional VC timelines, focusing instead on becoming self-sustaining through lean execution, grants, and debt for working capital.
What’s next: scaling users, exports, and CFI’s expanding role
In the wrap-up, Swostik shares NeoMotion’s scale so far (~5,200 users) and frames it as the start of a long marathon. Priorities include building a more efficient growth engine (sales/marketing/after-sales), expanding to 1 lakh users, preparing export regulatory clearances, and continuing to strengthen CFI as a discovery engine for builders.
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
Install uListen for AI-powered chat & search across the full episode — Get Full Transcript
Get more out of YouTube videos.
High quality summaries for YouTube videos. Accurate transcripts to search & find moments. Powered by ChatGPT & Claude AI.
Add to Chrome