
Partners in Innovation
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Building an electric vehicle (EV) startup from the ground up is no small feat, but for Madhumita Agrawal, Founder and CEO of Oben Electric, and Dinkar Agrawal, Founder, CTO and COO, it has been a journey of shared vision, resilience, and strategic leadership. The husband-wife duo, who have known each other for 17 years, have leveraged their complementary strengths to create a truly integrated EV company in India.
Their entrepreneurial journey began with IPExcel, a venture in R&D and intellectual property services. "One of the most valuable lessons we learned is that a business must be run like a business," said Madhumita. While passion drives innovation, they understood that scaling a company requires structured execution, strong systems, and a clear vision. These foundational principles became the backbone of Oben Electric, shaping its manufacturing, operations, and market strategy.
Running a business together comes with unique challenges, but Madhumita and Dinkar have developed an unspoken understanding of balancing responsibilities. "The advantage of being co-founders is that we celebrate the highs and navigate the lows together," added Dinkar.
However, both experiencing pressure at the same time means there's no external buffer, making proactive stress management crucial. "We divide roles strategically—Madhumita focuses on external strategy, sales, and market positioning, while I handle internal operations and execution," stated Dinkar.
When it comes to disagreements, logic and business impact always take precedence. "It's never about personal preferences; it's about what benefits Oben Electric the most," Madhumita emphasised. "Decisions are evaluated based on feasibility, complexity, and alignment with the company's long-term vision."
The startup journey has not been without its obstacles. "One of the toughest moments was when regulatory changes disrupted our launch plans while we were in the midst of a funding round. Acting swiftly, we ensured compliance, expedited our ARAI approvals in record time, and pushed forward without losing momentum," Madhumita recalled.
"Another defining moment was Dinkar's strategic decision to design and manufacture Oben Electric's core components in-house. This move gave us complete control over innovation and quality, setting the company apart in India's EV landscape," she added.
Despite the challenges, the duo takes pride in building an EV company from scratch, competing against industry giants. "Unlike conglomerates with massive financial backing, we started with a vision and a purpose," Madhumita reflected. Their guiding principle remains simple: every problem has a solution—it's just a matter of finding it.
Through structured leadership, mutual trust, and an unwavering commitment to their mission, Madhumita and Dinkar continue to shape Oben Electric's journey, proving that true partnerships—both in life and business—can drive extraordinary success.
Facts:
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
BYD to start first car assembly in Pakistan by mid-2026
China's BYD has announced plans to commence the assembly of its first electric car in Pakistan by July or August 2026, aiming to meet the increasing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle demand in the region, a company executive said, according to Reuters. This development comes as part of BYD's strategic expansion in the Asia-Pacific market and follows the company's plan to initiate vehicle sales in Pakistan last year. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You Great Rates and Award-Winning Service The Insurance Savings You Expect BYD Pakistan sales and strategy vice president, Danish Khaliq, revealed to Reuters that the new assembly plant, currently under construction since April near Karachi, represents a collaboration between BYD and Mega Motor Company, a subsidiary of Pakistani utility Hub Power. The facility is expected to have an initial production capacity of 25,000 units annually on a double shift schedule. However, he did not provide details on when the plant would reach full capacity or when mass production would start. Khaliq further explained that the plant would begin by assembling imported parts and locally producing non-electric components. The initial focus will be on supplying the domestic market, with the possibility of exporting to other right-hand drive countries in the region if it makes economic sense. BYD has already commenced delivering imported EVs in the country since March, with sales surpassing internal targets by 30%, although exact numbers were not disclosed. The market for EVs and plug-in hybrid cars in Pakistan is expected to grow significantly, with Khaliq anticipating a three to fourfold increase by 2025 from around 1,000 units last year. Khaliq noted that BYD is aiming for a 30-35% market share in this segment. According to a HUBCO filing, BYD Pakistan reported a profit of around PKR444m ($1.56m) in the March quarter of this year. The Pakistani market is set to welcome the upcoming launch of BYD's Shark 6 plug-in hybrid pickup truck. The Pakistani government is promoting EV adoption by reducing power tariffs for chargers by 45% in January and encouraging the establishment of private charging stations, addressing the current lack of infrastructure for all-electric vehicles. "BYD to start first car assembly in Pakistan by mid-2026 – report" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio


Entrepreneur
an hour ago
- Entrepreneur
4 Signs It's Time to Abandon Your Patent
How to make smart, strategic calls on when to abandon patents — and why doing so is essential to long-term innovation and budget health Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Patents are often filed early, before a startup knows what the market really wants. That's smart, but it comes with a challenge: Not every idea turns out to be worth protecting. Markets shift. Products pivot. And eventually, founders ask: Should we keep paying for this patent or cut our losses? It's a tough call. Abandoning a patent midway can feel like giving up. But continuing just because you've already spent money? That's the sunk cost trap, and it quietly drains your budget. Many startups keep prosecuting every idea, paying rejections, annuities and attorney fees. But a smart IP strategy means knowing what to keep and what to walk away from. Here's how to make that call strategically. Related: How to Identify the Patent-Worthy Innovations in Your Business Built-in checkpoints in patent lifecycle — use them Roughly, you can split a patent's entire lifecycle cost into three parts. The first third goes to drafting the application, another third is for arguing the patent through issuance, and the final third covers patent maintenance fees for the next 20+ years. In a way, these financial checkpoints are decision checkpoints, too. When drafting, consider whether the invention aligns with your core business or is just a side experiment that may never get to market. During prosecution, evaluate whether it's still worth the legal wrangling, as each round of argument is costly. And when renewal fees come due, ask if the patent still supports your product, blocks competitors or adds leverage against others in the market. Unfortunately, many startups treat these pivotal stages as administrative formalities. Instead of evaluating whether continued investment is justified at each stage, many companies default to pushing forward — whether by extending prosecution unnecessarily, filing continuations without a clear purpose, or simply paying maintenance fees — without assessing strategic alignment. That's how portfolios get bloated with low-impact patents. The only solution here is patent pruning: Abandon some patent filings at the right checkpoints. Related: Don't Let Patent Costs Crush Your Startup — Here's How to Protect Your IP Without Breaking the Bank What are the signs that it's time to abandon a patent? Every dollar spent defending or maintaining a weak patent is a dollar not spent protecting something truly valuable. Therefore, you must look for the signs at different checkpoints to spot a patent to discard. Here are some signs to look for: 1. No market validation A patent is only valuable if the protected product actually sells. If your invention fails to gain customer traction, the patent will be a failure. Experts emphasize focusing on "high-impact" problems with real demand. Without that market pull, even a granted patent is a dead weight. For example, Google Glass — once hyped as the future of AR eyewear — never found a viable consumer market. It was pulled from sale in 2015 (and again in 2023) due to poor adoption, illustrating how patents tied to unvalidated products offer no return. 2. Shifting industry direction Industries evolve, and a patent can lose value if the tech horizon moves on. In practice, companies are advised to ask whether their invention still aligns with "the target industry and market." If adjacent innovations eclipse your solution (for example, cloud services replacing old networking hardware), the patent's relevance vanishes. In that scenario, it makes little sense to keep paying maintenance fees. Better to refocus on protections for innovations that fit the new direction of your field. 3. Prior art kills the novelty Sometimes, what initially feels like a breakthrough ends up being something others have already attempted or fully disclosed. If prior art eclipses your claims, the chances of securing meaningful protection drop significantly. At that point, even if you receive a patent, it may be so narrow that it offers little real-world value. Continuing to prosecute a case like this can quickly become a drain on time and legal budget. 4. Weak business use case Every patent in your portfolio should earn its keep through business impact or the potential to do so on your current roadmap. If it's not protecting a revenue-generating product, blocking a competitor or supporting licensing efforts, its value is questionable. Startups often hang on to patents without a clear path to monetization or strategic use. But unless a patent strengthens your market position or serves a legal or commercial purpose, it's just another expense on the books. To actively prune your patent portfolio, just looking for signs isn't enough. As the portfolio grows, you need a deliberate, repeatable process for patent abandonment assessment. Build a patent pruning system: Health checks and ranking framework An effective patent pruning system should take two things into consideration: 1) lifecycle stage and 2) multiple perspectives. For the first one, you want to start by ranking each patent across key lifecycle stages: At the idea stage : Is this innovation aligned with your product roadmap or market differentiation? Post-filing : Has the landscape shifted? Is the application still strategically relevant? Pre-renewal: Is the granted patent still supporting revenue, blocking competitors or enhancing leverage? The higher a patent scores at a certain stage, the more you want to invest in it. Please note that not only your legal counsel team but also others, such as product, technology, marketing and finance, must contribute to this ranking system, as pruning cannot be undone. The goal is to ensure that patents are evaluated through a business lens, not just a legal one. Consider using patent management tools that provide full portfolio visibility and enable seamless collaboration as part of your patent pruning process. Related: 4 Surprising Patent Myths That Could Cost You Big — What You Need to Know Now Pruning a patent portfolio isn't just about saving money; it's about fueling what's next with the reclaimed budget. In 2020, IBM stepped back from chasing patent volume. "We're no longer pursuing patent leadership," they said. "We're being more selective." The result? Fewer filings, stronger focus and more investment in high-growth areas like AI and quantum computing. That's the lesson: Pruning isn't cutting back. It's reallocating toward where your business is growing. Because IP should follow your future, not fund your past.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Coal Isn't Dead--It's Setting Records Again
Global coal demand is on track to set another record in 2025despite a slowdown from China, its biggest consumer. That's the latest update from the International Energy Agency, which now expects this year's demand to also reach a new high. China's coal usage is projected to fall 0.5% in 2024, but that's more than offset by rising consumption elsewhere. In the U.S., where President Donald Trump has been vocal about backing fossil fuels, coal demand surged 12% in the first half of the year as electricity usage picked up. Europe is seeing similar trends, with weak wind output forcing utilities to fall back on more traditional power sources. India is also contributing to the upside, with coal demand forecasted to rise 1.3% this year. In total, the IEA estimates that global coal use climbed 1.5% in 2023 to a record 8.79 billion metric tonsup from its previous 8.77 billion-ton estimate. The agency noted that electricity demand globally is growing faster than new capacity from renewables like wind and solar, leaving coal to fill the gap. Even as governments push decarbonization goals, the shortfall in clean energy infrastructure is keeping the world's dirtiest fuel in play longer than many expected. The IEA now sees a possible inflection point in 2026but the outlook hinges heavily on China. If demand there stabilizes or picks up again, the forecast could shift. For investors, that opens the door to both risks and opportunities across the energy and utility space. Traditional players like Peabody Energy (BTU) could benefit in the short term, while the broader electrification storyincluding players like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)still depends on how quickly renewable generation can catch up. In the meantime, the market is watching China's next moves. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data