You might have come across some immersive and interactive Mixed Reality experiences at places like Te Papa Museum, International Antarctic Centre and Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre designed by JIX Reality- a Christchurch-based startup headed by Sakthi Priya Balaji Ranganathan.
Set up in 2017, JIX Reality is fully established expert service provider in the immersive technology space. JIX Reality is an award-winning startup focused on using immersive technologies like Augmented reality and Artificial Intelligence to build applications that help businesses solve real-world problems.
Sakthi arrived in New Zealand as an international student, on the day of the devastating 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The experience might have been enough for anyone to reconsider their choice of country but Sakthi identified with the people's compassion and developed an emotional bond to the city.
Sakthi grew up in Chennai, India, known for its unique linguistic identity and culture. Growing up he had a natural flair for science and technology. Sakthi grabbed all the opportunities that came his way through science fairs and national hackathons. His participation in these competitions nurtured and cemented his innate self-confidence, which has become a personality trait.
Sakthi discovered his interest in design by accidental. He was working on a school farewell events where a friend had to miss the group photo. Sakthi wouldn't let his friend be missed out as this would be the only memory of school friends. Sakthi then as a high schooler, found the magic of photoshop and added his friend to the photo. That little brush with design technology proved to be Sakthi's calling card.
After a brief stint as a designer in India, Sakthi decided to move to NZ to pursue his interest in computer graphic design and eventually study interactive technology at the University of Canterbury’s Human Interface Technology (HIT) Lab.
NZ was a deliberate choice because of the work-life balance the country offers.
Over the next 10 years, Sakthi found his niche in the human interface technology field, testing and comprehending cutting-edge extended reality. Deeper understanding of these technologies opened up new avenues for Sakthi. A key moment that kickstarted his journey as an entreprenur came up when he took part in a Christchurch Start up Weekend. Having five people put their hands up and say, “I trust this guy and his idea to spend my next 48 hours over” was the push he needed to give up his fulltime job and dive deep into the start-up world mayhem.
The experience led to Sakthi quit his job and set up JIX Reality. Becoming a leader in his chosen niche happened organically over the last four years Sakthi spent as an entrepreneur.
Sakthi attributes his success to his wife Supriya, his team and the fantastic entrepreneurial network that Christchurch city offers.
Sakthi says “It’s always been about the people for JIX, be it our employees or clients or partners. They have been the engine that drives this ship.”
For Sakthi, the challenge was always about being taken seriously and the trust in JIX’s ability to deliver. It’s taken him four years to build that relationship and trust with the business network here in NZ. Sakthi’s sense of belief in self is what has kept him going through the tough times.
His doors are always open to aspiring young talent who are passionate about an idea. He hopes that sharing his journey would inspire them and help them avoid the mistakes he made.
To the young Kiwi-Indian community making waves across different streams in NZ, Sakthi’s final words are, “Be yourself. Trust that you know what your value is and be resilient- You will break all the barriers in front of you.”
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