Ameya Gavandalkar

After spending two weeks cleaning my father’s old, unused office, I opened the Tata yellow pages and looked up a few companies that offered recruitment services. I was turned away by the first seven, before a kind lady on the line permitted me to amuse her, as I explained that I was calling from a company that had no name, no registration, no employees, no products, and that I wanted to recruit freshers to work with me towards my Vegan vision.

The next day, Ameya walked in for an interview. We spoke about many things, he saw the vision. I knew he’d join even before he sent his confirmation. The journey had begun.

Ameya & I are known to, and now expected to, argue, fight, scream, and disagree on most matters. Certainly, he is directly responsible for any increase in my blood pressure, and if a single week goes by without him having frustrated me, I take that as a cue that perhaps I’m experiencing an imbalance in my vitals and need to double up on my vitamins.

After all, we are just kids in this playground that’s full of adults!

I’m really proud of everything that Ameya has accomplished, he is a founding member of the company, I have seen him mature from a college student to a leader and a pillar that holds a lot of responsibility at Unived.

My Story

My schooling was very ordinary. Regular to school with a special liking for extracurricular activities. Apart from studies I always had special interest in sports. So whenever I had the opportunity, I would participate in sports.

My real encounter with herbs & plants started when I opted for Botany as my graduate degree. The experience was limited to identifying the plant and understanding its anatomy. In my final terms I came across the medicinal benefits and their potential. The moment my exams were over I began searching for courses where I could continue to learn about plants and enrolled for a Post Graduation course in Herbal Medicines & Sciences. I appeared for the entrance exam and passed with a good grade. After that we had to prepare for an interview and on clearing that we would be selected for the course. The interview was not that great, but my passion for the subject lead to my selection. I was among eleven students who got selected to appear for Msc in Herbal Medicines and Sciences from Mumbai University.

The first term was very theoretical, but my real encounter with research in plants started in the second year where we got chance work on a project. I completed my project successfully but I enjoyed working in the Herbal Research Lab so much that I requested to be given a part time internship, to which they agreed. For the remaining 6 months after my college hours I used to go to the lab and spend time with their team who worked on isolating phytochemicals. After a few days I too started testing and studying phytochemicals. This was my real time experience of research & instruments where theory and practical work went hand in hand. This is when I started enjoying the work and this was the foundation of my research experience.

After completing my Msc I was searching for job and then I was contacted by agency for an interview at Unived. That was the first time I met Amit. We met a few times during the interview process, after which I was offered the position. I consulted my parents, they supported my decision to join, and that’s when this journey began.

Today I am very proud to say that I was the first employee at Unived, joining back in September 2010. In my professional life, I have given only one interview, and that’s with Unived. My journey started as a fresher right out of university with just six months of university related research experience. Today, as I look back I realise that it’s been a decade, but then again, it seems just like yesterday, time really has flown by!

I feel fortunate to be at Unived. I have made many friends and met many mentors at Unived, and the experience has had a major impact on my personal & professional life.

Though I joined Unived as research associate, I was given the opportunity to learn and experiment in many areas, and as a result I have been exposed to most aspects of our business.

My last thoughts are that we should work hard, passionately and efficiently, to make Unived a grand success.

Ameya Gavandalkar
Joined – 25th September, 2010.

Ameya Gavandalkar