Lakshya Ankit Pratap Singh’s journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t a straight line, but a zigzag full of learning, hustle, and big dreams. As an engineering dropout, Lakshya didn’t let a formal degree define what he could achieve, he preferred hands-on experience, organizing football tournaments at the district level and throwing himself into various startups.
In an exclusive intearview to our founder, Aditya Farrad, he discussed the ups and downs, challenges, successes, and more about his startup UndrAds.
For 9 years, he immersed himself in adtech, sharpening his expertise and fueling a passion for the ever-changing, competitive world of digital advertising.
After all those experiences, starting UndrAds in 2024 felt like the natural next step.
“My work history and the expertise I gained by working in this industry for 9+ years inspired me,” Lakshya shares. “This is an industry of change, growth, and fierce competition—and that’s exactly where I thrive.”
The Entrepreneurial Pull
Lakshya admits he always felt a pull toward entrepreneurship, but he took time to build a safety net before making the leap.
“I was motivated throughout, just waiting to gather resources, because you need a safety net at some point,” he explains.
First-Year Challenges
The first year with UndrAds was far from smooth. Building a solid team proved to be the biggest challenge, and KPIs alone weren’t helping.
“Drooling over a lot of KPIs was not helping, so I started enrolling people who had great ownership in what they were doing,” he recalls.
Patience and objectivity were essential, and slowly, the right group came together. Among his first believers were his CTO, CMO, and a handful of trusted colleagues from past ventures.
What Makes UndrAds Unique?
UndrAds was created to meet a real need in the adtech space: automating ad operations to stop revenue leaks and remove human subjectivity from the equation. Lakshya was confident in his vision, but he still validated the idea in the real world—by talking to over 200 people.
Mission: Make adtech a more comfortable, automated space, sparing clients the “minor heart attacks” that manual processes often cause.
Vision: Build something from India for the world.
Business Model and Sales
UndrAds runs on a simple, scalable business model, a revenue share with publishers.
“If a publisher makes $100, we make some revenue over that,” Lakshya explains. With its foundation as a tech startup, the company is entirely online, and technology is central to everything they do.
The team has grown rapidly, expanding from just two people to ten in less than a year. And results have followed.
“We have successfully achieved higher revenues, plus hassle-free ad operations, making our client extremely happy with us,” Lakshya beams.
Funding and Scaling
Their growth was further boosted by an angel investment, although the amount remains undisclosed. But when it comes to scaling, Lakshya found efficiency in sales to be essential, especially when resources were limited.
The Power of Customer Feedback
Customer feedback has played a vital role in shaping the product. “It is the customers who evolve your product by letting you know what has to be built,” he says.
Give it Up!
Being a founder isn’t easy. Lakshya has faced the typical founder’s paradox, people problems and admits there were moments when he wanted to give up.
“I wanted to quit when I couldn’t sleep because of the rush of ideas. But physical activity and remembering my promise to never turn my back on my startup kept me going.”
Along the way, Lakshya encountered plenty of startup myths. “People think you need to know it all, have great connections, heavy investment, a fancy office, or perfect policies. That’s just not true.”
Founder’s Advice
Here is a piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs; simple but profound:
“Stay patient. Things will evolve for the better.”
- What counts most in a founder: empathy, resilience, integrity and, importantly, humor.
- Networking has been valuable too, even if direct industry impact is sometimes limited by the niche nature of his field.
- For those just starting out, Lakshya cautions against becoming harsh with oneself or the team during tough times.
As the story of UndrAds continues, Lakshya hopes more people give their entrepreneurial side a chance.
“Keep building. In today’s world, everything is easy to start, at least. Give it a try, you might love your other side.”
