As a serial entrepreneur with over two decades of experience, I am constantly searching for fresh ways to revolutionize industries. Currently, I serve as the founder and CEO of RedKangaroo, Chill Theaters, Displace, and Frazy. Even though I’ve started a few, it was never my mission to start a business. Rather, my passion and expertise lie in solving problems for myself; each of my companies organically grew from there as my friends and family began to use the products. With a proven track record of guiding my past companies DabKick and Snapstick through acquisition, and a background in R&D with some of the largest tech firms, I have a unique view of the industry. This comprehensive experience in the tech industry has given me the unique ability to identify how things are going to be disrupted for the benefit of consumers, and my leadership in these companies uniquely equips me to deliver on those desires.
Company: RedKangaroo
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Balaji Krishnan: As the founder and CEO of four companies, who has led two other companies through acquisitions, it may come as a surprise that I never really sought out to start a company in the first place. All of my companies have been born out of attempts to solve problems I’ve encountered. Whether it be my desire to remove clutter and easily mount my TV on the wall that led to Displace or the want to enjoy café and bar-quality drinks at home that led to Frazy, each was just a solution to a problem that I had. Though I’m currently running four consumer-facing companies – RedKangaroo, Displace, Frazy, and Chill Theaters – I originally worked in research and development for tech firms like HP and Oracle. That background, as well as over two decades of experience in the tech industry, has provided me with a unique insight into solving real consumer problems with futuristic technologies. After receiving recognition for Displace, the first truly wireless TV, at CES last year, my teams and I are continuing to bring the same energy and innovative ideas to many different industries.
Launched just over two years ago, RedKangaroo was designed to be an open marketplace that rewards both shoppers and brands for their interactions. We are proudly the world’s first e-commerce platform that creates organic growth for brands utilizing social media. The platform offers discounts, special offers, and cashback to consumers just for promoting the products they love to friends, family, and followers.
RedKangaroo actually came to be as a result of my experience with one of my other companies, Frazy. As a promotion during the early days of the company, we provided discounts to consumers who posted their Frazy purchases to social media. The promotion was successful, but it became difficult to manually track the posts and then share the discount with the consumer. I developed an algorithm to automate the search and discount process, which then sparked the idea of RedKangaroo – a platform that automatically rewards consumers for their interactions on social media with a brand. Though my companies may seem unrelated, AI serves a throughline to connect them all. I’m always interested in discovering new ways to leverage AI technology to benefit the consumer.
What specific areas of your business have been most impacted by AI, and how?
Balaji Krishnan: At its core, RedKangaroo is a platform designed to generate organic growth for brands. Our mission is to enable organic growth strategies for businesses, large and small, through a fully unique shopping experience that rewards consumers for their brand loyalty. AI is woven throughout the fabric of the platform. Through the implementation of the AI-chatbot shopping assistant described above, RedKangaroo will help users to discover new products based on their specified interests in style, price, and more, while also providing discounts and cashback.
At RedKangaroo, we are building off of AI to develop a new way for consumers to shop online, and this chatbot is just the start!
How are you ensuring ethical considerations are taken into account in your use of AI?
Balaji Krishnan: I see the progression of AI in two waves: first with AI as an enabler, then as a fully automated entity. Currently, most of us engage with AI as an enabler, meaning it is a tool that can amplify skills we already have, like design or writing. The tools we currently have cannot do the job autonomously, therefore, a human still needs to operate the technology to make it effective. AI can reduce the time it takes to do certain tasks, but it can’t do the job for us, yet. Over time, AI will be fully autonomous, completing actions with little to no human involvement. This full automation stage is where the real ethical considerations begin. As entrepreneurs and developers, we must keep ethics in mind through every step of development, so as not to unintentionally build a product that could cause harm.
Within all my companies, we make sure ethics are at the forefront of every action and innovation. For example, features we are currently designing for Displace implement AI solely for the ease of use of the consumer.
What advice would you give to other CEOs looking to integrate AI into their business?
Balaji Krishnan: AI has unlocked so much potential across all industries and has the power to revolutionize how many of us navigate our days, so we need to be strategic in how we implement these features to secure the maximum benefit. I believe that the consumer should always be a company’s main focus. Founders and CEOs should evaluate products and services based on how much of a benefit they provide to consumers, not based on how many new AI integrations they can fit in. We need to ask ourselves if the AI actually drives the specific product forward. If advancing AI is the only focus, we are not thinking about the value of the product to the consumer, which could do more harm than good in the end.
How do you see AI evolving in your industry over the next 5 years?
Balaji Krishnan: I firmly believe that within the next five years, AI will be implemented within all consumer products. Within the e-commerce industry, as in all industries, the evolution may be more apparent on the backend than for users, but they will be reaping the benefits. If applied correctly, these AI features will streamline the consumer experience, not just in online shopping, but in many facets of daily life. The e-commerce industry is sure to be among those leading the way in AI features and applications, with RedKangaroo spearheading some of these initiatives. Based on the growth of AI in just this past year, I’m very eager to see where the next five years take us and to be part of that journey.
