In the world that applauds job titles and bank balances, choosing something to build from the scratch – earning less than Rs.20,000 a month in her first year – made her the black sheep.
She was compared to her childhood friends who were busy getting the stamps on their passport, driving around in luxurious cars and also building their new bungalows. While she was daunted with the adjectives like ‘over smart’, ‘lazy’, ‘aimless’ and even ‘foolish’. What they really didn’t appreciate is, she setting the foundation for her future to be her own Boss.
The Journey before the Leap
CHETANA SARANG was born in Bellary and spent her formative years growing up in Hospet. Her journey brought her to Belagavi in 2006 to pursue the Bachelor of Engineering degree, and since then she. proudly calls this city her home. After completing her engineering, like every Indian parent, Chetana’s parents also envisioned her to be either a government official like an IAS officer or a 9–6 techie, a software engineer. Spurning their ideas she started off as an Assistant Professor in an Engineering college. But later she felt that teaching had become more of clerical duties than intellectual growth. This led to lack of excitement in teaching causing her to step down from the teaching role and to find a new path.
Chetana says: “In my search for a different professional fit, I encountered a rather perplexing challenge: I found myself either overqualified for certain roles, under-qualified for others, or simply inadequately suited for what was available. It quickly became clear that I didn’t quite fit into any existing box. That’s when a radical thought emerged: why not create my own box?”
Thus, she enrolled herself in an Analytic school in Bangalore. The motto behind joining this course was to up skill and to secure a corporate job. But disappointment hit her hard due to rejections from companies. AI and Machine Learning had taken a leap around 2017. When Chetana was unsure of her next steps, the idea of launching her own venture in AI and Machine Learning training suddenly struck her mind. Though hesitant at first but she took a plunge, she created a flyer about the program and shared on Facebook, to her surprise it was a hit! Many students enrolled and she became unstoppable from that moment.
There were moments of subtle hints of her leadership skills and entrepreneurial qualities that went unnoticed! One her tenure as school leader in tenth class that made her to realize her strength to live and lead with responsibilities. Second, her victory being the CEO of a virtual company during her college days gave her a feeling of bliss and a spark within which later ignited her to become an ‘ENTREPRENEUR’. Chetana also credits her upbringing, the virtues; ethics and values poured down by her parents. The freedom to try new things, take risks and standout in the challenging time like lady boss has given an inbuilt character of being extrovert leading to active participation in communities and be socially strong in organisations.
She credits her mother for instilling in her the ability to read people, respond with foresight, and communicate with unwavering clarity – especially in financial matters. These qualities have been instrumental in her entrepreneurial journey, helping her build trust, nurture meaningful relationships, and turn people into key pillars of her success.
Though she started off well but the Entrepreneurship path wasn’t a cake walk. On one hand COVID-19 made it tough and simultaneously her reputed musician husband experienced setbacks as concerts came to halt. There was peer pressure to take a stable job and close down her venture. The early years also witnessed emotional and financial breakdown as AI wasn’t yet a mainstream in tier 2 city like Belgaum, her income was meager. Thus, Chetana was torn between the grim reality that “99% of startups fail” and the hope that she was simply in the slow-building phase of something meaningful. The spark was so powerful to ignore, no matter how loud the world got, her conviction was louder. She chose to trust her path — and never looked back.
Sarang had to face a few odds of maintaining everything on her own for first few years, another most important roadblock was a tier 2 city like Belgaum where there was lack of awareness about AI and ML and paucity of qualified trainers. The hurdles and frustration continued until she on boarded a mentor and co-founder and that is when DATTAMSH Edtech LLP was established. As a first step forward they designed the idea of setting up AI labs in schools. The idea struck a deep chord, and when Sarang presented this model to Government of Karnataka, the recognition they received was a kind of first frank validation. This showed the path ahead as it confirmed the urgency and unmet need of AI education in schools.
Turning Vision into Venture
For more startup founders, the first thought when raising funds is often family, friends, or government schemes. But being selected among the Top 100 innovative startups of 2021 and receiving a 25 Lakh seed fund was a golden moment for an accidental Entrepreneur like Chetana Sarang.
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As a next step, Chetana quickly understood the drawback of promoting AI education as a separate course and smartly integrated it in a mandatory subject Computer Science, as many existing computer textbooks in schools were outdated, and this presented a unique opportunity for Dattamsh. Thus, led the launch of next milestone that is AI Launchpad Book Series for classes 1 to 8, a flagship product of Dattamsh. These books had the modern AI concepts and made AI education accessible and practical. As a supporting factor to the book Chetana also began to train school teachers, equipping them with essential digital and AI skills to confidently teach students using AI Launchpad books. In short, “Dattamsh is bridging the gap between outdated curricula and the urgent need for future-ready AI literacy in classrooms across India”.
From a failure of creating a Business Model to multiple rejections from the schools to a swift to securing significant orders from six schools in a month was an undeniable signal of Dattamsh’s product-market fit.
On a brief the primary Mantra that Dattamsh followed, which took their idea get off the ground was:
- Understand the Need — Engage directly with schools to uncover real gaps and readiness for AI education.
- Build the Ecosystem — Design holistic products and services that schools can easily adopt.
- Lead with the Right Team — Assemble passionate, skilled minds aligned with the vision — and lead with purpose and experience.
Another important aspect of a startup is Financial Management. Chetana in her early stages of the startup found it difficult to differentiate between personal money and funds for reinvestment. That is when her Mentor showed the right path, because which she adopted a disciplined approach. She committed herself to carefully reinvest her earning from the initial training to developing her company. Also, she took a brave step to live on bare minimum expenses and did not draw salary for the first year. Thus a foundational corpus was built and she proved that a startup can still run successfully without taking a penny from the bank (loans).
How Dattamsh built their Brand — One honest step at a time
Dattamsh didn’t start with flashy campaigns or big marketing spends. Instead, they focused on one simple principle: ‘delivering exceptional quality’. And that made all the difference. Their work began speaking for itself, and soon, ‘word-of-mouth became their strongest growth driver’.
What truly sets them apart is the personal brand the founders have built over the years — grounded in trust, ethical business practices, and genuine relationships. They’ve always prioritized long-term connections over short-term gains, and that authenticity has earned them deep respect within the education community.
Of course, they’re not behind when it comes to modern marketing either. From active social media engagement to participating in key industry events, they’ve steadily built visibility. But at the core of their success lies a timeless truth: ‘when you lead with values and quality, the brand builds itself’.
Now, Dattamsh is not just limited to Belgaum but has spread its wings across India and this is possible because of the launch of AI Launchpad Book Series. This series got huge recognition leading to a pivotal collaboration with India’s leading Jeevandeep Publishers. As a result, in 2025 Dattamsh launched the “Binary Brains” book series for school students through the strategic partnership. The surprising fact is that the first year of its launch, the book was adopted by over 200 schools across India. Thus proving to be the powerful validation, content’s quality and impact.
As next step forward Dattamsh wants to democratize AI education across India by making foundational AI literacy accessible to every child, regardless of background or location. They aim to empower teachers and deliver cutting-edge and inclusive curricula to set a national benchmark for K-12 AI education, by nurturing the students to confidently lead India into AI era.
From zero to seven, a well-defined and goal-oriented team built by Chetana found her proud moment at her lowest point. The life nudged her towards writing books, a path she never imagined herself, she took a chance. Finally she found her true calling, a missing piece of the puzzle and thus everything fell into place.
Redefining Success: Chetana’s Voice on Women, Startups, and the Strength of Starting Over
Chetana’s understanding regarding funding, grants and government schemes extended by involving herself into Startup ecosystem, Industry events and most importantly through Mentor. Her earliest participation in Karnataka Government’s Elevate program was a breakthrough and she got a seed fund of Rs.25 Lakhs. Next, she joined GINSERV’s incubation and accelerator program, which was offered in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka. This experience proved to be a turning point, which gave them guidance and clarity to refine their strategies to strengthen their market presence.
According to her Gender in Entrepreneurship is neutral. As both men and women go through the same journey of struggles, challenges, development and success. It is only that women often juggle with greater family responsibilities, making supportive system vital. Thus, a woman entrepreneur needs additional support system like organisations, incubation that help women entrepreneurs stay in game and grow. Chetana feels fortunate to have been in the supportive ecosystem that has made her way a cake walk. Still, there’s room to do more. Strengthening flexible support systems, expanding accessible mentorship, and increasing visibility for women-led ventures can make the ecosystem more inclusive. Ultimately, it’s about ensuring women can pursue entrepreneurship without being held back by unspoken demands — allowing their ideas and ambitions to thrive freely.
Chetana credits her mentor Dr. Prakash Mugali, who relentlessly shaped her mindset and unlocked her capabilities. Apart from her mentor she also extend her gratitude Toastmasters club, TiE Hubli, and BNI, as well as all the academic institutions that demonstrated trust in her capabilities. Of course her family stepped in to provide essential support liberating her from many major responsibilities.
Chetana’s entrepreneurial journey blends discipline, clarity, and resilience. She swears by a simple routine — an hour of morning workouts, an hour of evening learning — and trusts the rest to life. Backed by a strong circle of friends, family, and her mentor Dr. Prakash Mugali, she’s mastered balancing business with personal life while staying laser-focused on what matters.
Her mantra: build relationships first, revenue will follow. She avoids distractions, rejects comparison, and embraces the uniqueness of her path.
To aspiring women entrepreneurs, her advice is bold — forget your gender, commit for the long game, and use today’s supportive ecosystem to your advantage. Her inspirations span ‘The Tatas’ for ethics, films like ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ for grit, and her mentor for unlocking her potential. As she puts it, “I may not have a reference for my journey, but I aim to be one for someone else.”
On a whole, Chetana’s single Facebook post turned her to an accidental entrepreneur, who is now an epitome of AI and Machine learning training in a tier 2 city, Belgaum. Her journey looks like, be positive, believe in your instincts and move forward, everything falls in right place. Chetana Sarang stands as an inspiration to other budding women entrepreneurs who dare to set their own venture. Since, I met her I always feel a good energy and her words of encouragement inspire me to reach for the skies.
