While growing up in Bombay, Apurva's primary source of stories was the "Warden Circulation Library" - think corner grocery store meets Blockbuster for comics, adventure books and romance novels. From Astrix to Spiderman and Archies to Amar Chitrakathas, endless, musty afternoons were spent on magical flights to distant adventures. The images and words of the comics provided just the needed spark to fire the imagination!
Apurva started programming for the iPad since it first came out in April '10. Pretty much from the get go, he realized that the tablet would change the way we think about stories. What if we could blur the line between movies, games and comics? What if narratives could include gestures that propel the story forward and make the reader an active participant? These and myriad similar questions led to many sleepless nights and the birth of the Flik platform.
Earlier Apurva worked as a Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios and Dreamworks. His films credits include Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, Shrek, Antz and Cars2. He has taught at the Academy of Arts College and the Art Institute of San Francisco. He served on the Visual Effects Society board for the Bay Area and holds several patents related to animation technology.
Ashish remembers the first time his parents brought home 'Aladdin', mostly because it kicked off a 3-week period where he watched the movie at least once everyday. The story and characters completely captivated him, and he eventually received Aladdin board games, books, and video games for his birthday. He experienced his first love (and heartbreak) after singing "A Whole New World" to his first girlfriend. It was through that experience that Ashish realized the power of stories and our intrinsic desire to immerse ourselves in ones that move us.
Ashish began his career working with senior executives to create and implement growth strategies while a consultant in McKinsey’s technology practice. Later, he led business development for Doodle Labs and spent a summer as a Product Manager at Google on the Enterprise Apps team. He holds a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University and is completing his MBA at the Wharton School of Business.