Meet Priyanka Singhal, the founder building mission-critical technology for India’s armed forces.
From her beginnings as a DRDO intern to leading Ammunic Systems, she shares her journey of creating indigenous, deep-tech solutions in a high-stakes industry. Discover how purpose — not just business plans — drives true innovation in India’s defence-tech ecosystem.
This is Season 1 of Mic’d Up With India’s Defencepreneurs, presented by Asianet Newsable, featuring the startup leaders building Atmanirbhar Bharat.
#DefenceTech #AmmunicSystems #AtmanirbharBharat #WomenInTech #Founder #IndianArmy #Asianetnews #india
From her beginnings as a DRDO intern to leading Ammunic Systems, she shares her journey of creating indigenous, deep-tech solutions in a high-stakes industry. Discover how purpose — not just business plans — drives true innovation in India’s defence-tech ecosystem.
This is Season 1 of Mic’d Up With India’s Defencepreneurs, presented by Asianet Newsable, featuring the startup leaders building Atmanirbhar Bharat.
#DefenceTech #AmmunicSystems #AtmanirbharBharat #WomenInTech #Founder #IndianArmy #Asianetnews #india
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NewsTranscript
00:00For you as an entrepreneur, what does the post Sindhuur landscape look like?
00:04So if I talk about numbers, so whatever we projected for this year,
00:08in the first two months of the financial year, we could already achieve it.
00:16MNX system weaponizes all of the systems, like you must be hearing this term,
00:20loiter munitions these days.
00:22So what happens is we weaponize a drone.
00:31So the attachment, the bomb attachment which goes inside, that's where we get into picture.
00:36When I used to enter some of the boardrooms and you know, they used to wait,
00:39okay, that somebody else might be coming.
00:41So I used to say, okay, we can start the meeting.
00:43They said, okay, is your male co-founder joining?
00:46I said, okay, having co-founder is perfectly fine.
00:49But why is it like a male co-founder is required?
00:52Specifically, there can be two female co-founders.
00:54There can be one female co-founder.
00:56Small wins in defense actually compound faster than big promises.
01:00Wow, that's a good line.
01:01Yeah.
01:14Hello and welcome to Meet India's Defensepreneurs.
01:17I'm your host, Adit Charlie, and I bring to you stories of men and women
01:22who are making Atmanirbar Bharat a reality in India's defense sector.
01:26My guest today is Priyanka Singhal, CEO and founder of Munich Systems.
01:32Priyanka, thank you so much for braving Bengaluru's traffic and joining us at the studio today.
01:37Welcome to the show.
01:38Thank you so much, Adit.
01:40It's an honor to be here and sharing my thoughts on this platform.
01:43I'm going to start off by asking you a little bit about your journey per se.
01:49Munich Systems as a company has been registered since 2019.
01:52Correct.
01:53But you've been in active operations in the last couple of years.
01:56A cursory look at your website tells me that you are into, and this is where it gets tricky for me,
02:02you are into things like ammunition integration systems, you are into things like loitering munitions.
02:07Right.
02:08Tell us a little bit about the scope of work, and why did you choose defense tech as your port of calling?
02:16So, okay, Munich was more born out of purpose than a business plan.
02:23So, when during my internship at DRDO, so you know, I was very fascinated with explosive integration technologies,
02:30and you know, how we blast an explosive in layman's language.
02:34So, how does this work?
02:35So, it was very fascinating and to see my first explosion live at the DRDO was very mesmerizing.
02:41You don't get to see everyday such sites.
02:43So, yes, that's what gave me a sense of purpose that we have to do something like that.
02:49What was a pivotal moment for Munich, how it was born, that India was very heavily relying on imported systems for defense.
02:56So, if you cannot safeguard your own house, you know, and you would need to rely on your neighbors,
03:01it's never a good point, you know.
03:03Right.
03:04So, for that, that is how the Munich was born out of that conviction, that we need to have defense ecosystem
03:13with indigenous homegrown equipments.
03:15Right.
03:16For the defense.
03:17So, that's how it came into picture.
03:19And now we cater to all the three landfares like warfares, like land, naval, and the aerial.
03:26So, I'm going to take you to the beginning of your journey.
03:28Yeah.
03:29When you walk through the doors of DRDO, you were one of, I would imagine, thousands of applicants for that DRDO coveted internship.
03:38Correct.
03:39So, what really was going through your mind while you were applying and, you know, when you got through, finally,
03:44how did that change your approach to defense and solutioning for defense in a big way?
03:49Okay.
03:50So, it was a very funny story, actually.
03:52So, I always had in mind that I'm going to prepare for UPSC after my college.
03:57So, I had already started in my last year preparing for it.
04:00But, you know, all of a sudden, someone challenged, one of the peer challenged me that, you know,
04:06we were just talking that everyone was talking as a peer-to-peer that where are you going to apply for the internship and all.
04:11So, someone was saying Airtel, BSNL, my dad got me here, my dad got me here, something like that.
04:16And I said, okay, fine.
04:18I'm not really looking into internship from that perspective because my goal is something else.
04:24But then they said, it's not about goal, it's about you cannot get into the DRDO, you know, these are out of a league.
04:30So, it started off as a challenge.
04:33You can say that, yeah.
04:34Not in a negative sense, but yes.
04:36So, I thought, okay, let's just apply for it.
04:38You know, I really wanted to see what DRDO is, like, you know, and how the whole process goes through of interviewing something.
04:45So, I just silently applied for it and got through the interview and then I was all over the cloud that, okay, yes, I could do something like that.
04:53And that's how this DRDO thing started.
04:56Right.
04:57It was never into the perfect picture plan before.
05:00Yeah.
05:01But then, yes, after DRDO also, I actually went for my UPC preparation bag because that was just for the time being.
05:07So, first I thought, you know, I need to be a policy maker.
05:10Okay.
05:11For defense.
05:12I was always intrigued for defense, but I wanted to be a policy maker first.
05:17But then, I don't know how everything, the stars aligned.
05:21Yeah.
05:22And this is how, where we are.
05:24Yeah.
05:25As the great Steve Jobs once said, you kind of connect the dots when you look back.
05:29Correct.
05:30Correct.
05:31And a lot of choices that you make don't make sense at that point in time.
05:33Exactly.
05:34But when you look back after a few years, you feel like it was kind of, you know, part of a larger plan.
05:38100%.
05:39Help us demystify what exactly Amunik does as a company.
05:44We were talking off air and you did mention that the core USP is basically weaponizing some of our defense systems.
05:52So, walk us through the product line and where does Amunik basically do the value add?
05:57Okay.
05:58So, in layman's language, I'll make it simpler for everyone to understand.
06:02Sure.
06:03So, basically, Amunik system weaponizes all of the systems.
06:06Like, you must be hearing this term loiter ammunition these days after Operation Sindhu quite a lot.
06:11So, what happens is, we weaponize a drone.
06:15So, the attachment, the bomb attachment which goes inside, that's where we get into picture.
06:20So, we basically make all the systems, like basically the brain of the bombs, fuses, that actually tells explosive when to initiate.
06:29Understood.
06:30Right.
06:31Be it an impact base or if the user wants, you know, after this much time, it should be initiated.
06:35Okay.
06:36Or it should be initiated from this much height.
06:38Whatever the specifications and the customizations are required.
06:41So, we basically make fuses in general.
06:44Basically, explosive integration technologies, munition integration technologies that how the brain will give the signal to the explosive.
06:53Okay.
06:54To explode at the moment.
06:55Understood.
06:56Got it.
06:57And yeah, these are some of the buzzwords that have become part of the, you know, regular parlance ever since Sindhu.
07:03Correct.
07:04Loitering ammunition.
07:05Loitering munition.
07:06And you also have things like smart fuses.
07:08Correct.
07:09Explain what smart fuses are and, you know, how they are important to our entire defense architecture.
07:15So, advanced electronic fuses are like basically the brain of the bomb, you know.
07:21Earlier, it used to be just simple timer.
07:24Right.
07:25Like, okay, there's a timer clock going on inside and the bomb will initiate.
07:28Yeah.
07:29Or like you've seen grenades, they'll throw it on impact.
07:31It will just blast.
07:32Correct.
07:33Now, they are smart chips basically.
07:35So, you can tell them when to initiate, they can maneuver during, you know, some awkward situation.
07:43Because in operational situations, you don't know how the situation is going to be.
07:46Absolutely.
07:47It's not like a missile, like in loiter munition, we very rightly compare that missile, once you lock the target, it will go off.
07:53Right.
07:54Right.
07:55But in loiter munition, you can really, it can wait and watch in the sky like a hawk.
07:58It can hover there and once the user locks the target, then it dives in and explodes the target.
08:05So, similarly, the electronic fuses, they basically are the brain and we tell them that when to do what.
08:13Okay.
08:14First, you need to wait for this much time.
08:17Right.
08:18Then you need to wait for the impact.
08:19Then you need to wait if, you know, the user wants a particular height of burst because it's a very densely forested area.
08:25Yeah.
08:26Let me just interject here when Priyanka says user, it's not an individual user, it's actually our triforces.
08:31Yes.
08:32Right.
08:33It's the Indian army basically armed forces.
08:34Correct.
08:35Yeah.
08:36Recently, a Munich systems raised $1.1 million in funding.
08:40Correct.
08:41And tell me a little bit about the timing of this because we know that in the last couple of months,
08:46post-operation Sindhoor, defense MSME space, defense tech in general, is getting a lot of investor attention.
08:53It's getting the attention of media, people at large.
08:56Correct.
08:57Everyone.
08:58So, tell us a little bit about the fundraising plan and where are you going to be deploying these monies?
09:03Okay.
09:04So, raising fund was a really important milestone in Munich systems journey.
09:10So, we had some offers before also, even before Sindhoor, but that time we were not actively looking.
09:16That was one tough point where I had to make a decision that should I be raising the fund or, you know, should I be first focusing on my product and the trial.
09:25Right.
09:26Because you need to go single-handedly to one place.
09:29So, of course, on paper fundraising looked more preferential, but then we chose to pause the fundraising and go for the product and field trials and, you know, making the credibility with the Indian army first.
09:42Right.
09:43And that eventually actually helped us because later now fundraising seemed really easier because we had product and orders more than just promises.
09:52So, yes, that really helped us.
09:54And if I talk about the deployment, so we are allocating the capital really thoughtfully, as I will say that talent is a real multiplier in our defense tech field.
10:03So, a major chunk will go into the team expansion, R&D in the core engineering team and, of course, the machinery and, you know, we have to make the production setup for it.
10:14Yeah.
10:15So, yes, we'll be looking at scaling R&D with the right mindset.
10:20Interesting.
10:21So, as a sole founder, could you tell us about important decision that you had to make in the recent past?
10:28We were speaking off air and you did mention that as a company you are getting some emergency orders.
10:35Correct.
10:36I don't want to go too much into detail, but to my mind strategy at the boardroom level is not just about what you do, but what you take a call of not doing.
10:49Right.
10:50So, strategy is not just a bunch of things that you pick up for doing, but it's also about the kind of things that you consciously, intentionally stay away from.
10:57Correct.
10:58So, with that background, could you tell us about one recent decision that you had to take?
11:03And what were the trade-offs that you had?
11:05Okay.
11:06I think I already mentioned that there was in the past, like some months back, before this Operation
11:11Sindhoor and all of this emergency procurement came into picture, we were getting quite a good
11:16opportunities to, you know, for the fundraising.
11:20Hmm.
11:21But that time, I was very busy with the product trials.
11:24Right.
11:25And, you know, getting that gain and credibility of the user.
11:28Right.
11:29To understand our products and do the field trials here and there.
11:32So, that is when, you know, I had to really decide as a founder that what should I really be doing.
11:39Yeah.
11:40Because if you, once you start the fundraising process, it usually takes seven to eight months at least.
11:43And generally, in companies with multiple founders, one founder looks at fundraising as a full-time exercise.
11:49Correct.
11:50So, in that, in that, in that perspective, I had to really take a decision that where my focus should be right now.
11:56Right.
11:57But then eventually, I was in the, I actually took a decision that, okay, fine, let's just go with for now the product credibility and the user trials.
12:06And we'll, this opportunity will hopefully be there once if our product gets proven.
12:11Right.
12:12So, that is one tough decision I had to make in the past.
12:15And ironically, it really proved fruitful for us that fundraising became very easier for us.
12:22Right.
12:23And we had orders and proof more than just promises.
12:27So, yes.
12:28Even though it stretched us thin quite a lot.
12:30Yeah.
12:31We're not taking that decision.
12:32But yes, because the technology is very capital intensive and especially trials, you know, you have to go to this command, you have to go to that command, keep showcasing your products and everywhere.
12:42So, yes, that does stretch you thin, but everything fell in place.
12:47Yeah.
12:48Got it.
12:49You talked about credibility.
12:50And I want to draw your attention to one of your recent LinkedIn posts.
12:55In one of the pointers, you did mention that the government actually buys trust before technology.
13:02Correct.
13:03So, that is one fascinating.
13:04Talk us through, you know, the thinking behind this.
13:07Okay.
13:08So, when I say government buys trust before the technology, so that is in the two cents.
13:14First, they need to trust you to be in, right?
13:17Because they will not just buy, your technology can be as great as possible, but they will not, you know, it will not get through till the time they trust you.
13:26They trust your credibility and the reliability of the product.
13:29Like you have to really deliver under pressure, you know, because that requires.
13:33And in the other hand, your product also needs to be reliable.
13:36Right.
13:37To that extent, that it does not matter how good the product looks, but it really matters when your product is performing in the heat of the operation, in the dark of the night.
13:47Yeah.
13:48And, you know, in every toughest situation in the battlefield.
13:50The margin for error is next to nothing.
13:52It will cost a life.
13:53Yeah.
13:54So, yes.
13:55Priyanka, tell me something from your vantage point.
13:58What has really changed in India's defense procurement ecosystem, if you will?
14:04I've been a journalist for 17 years.
14:07And in the first part of my career, whenever I used to talk to companies that are solving for defense, especially tech companies, they would say that, you know, opportunity is huge.
14:17Correct.
14:18But procurement cycles are long.
14:19There is an overemphasis on being the lowest bidder.
14:24Bureaucracy is a big part of the process.
14:28Correct.
14:29But now I see, and this is not just post Sindur, but even before that, a lot of young entrepreneurs like yourself, like yourself, are getting into defense tech in a big way.
14:41So, what has really changed and what do you make of the current policy environment?
14:46Is it enabling, not enabling?
14:48So, I earlier also mentioned somewhere that this is the most policy enabling environment for the MSME, especially the defense MSMEs in the past decade.
14:58Right.
14:59So, why I would say that most of the schemes which government is trying to bring, they are very transformational.
15:06You can talk about make two projects, or you can talk about the PIL list, or you can talk about the, you know, IDEX reforms.
15:13So, they have really lowered the entry barriers for MSMEs, you know, having great ideas.
15:19But earlier, they had some kind of a restriction of a turnover, maybe, or, you know, some kind of a purchase order earlier.
15:25Because, you know, when you used to bid before that, so you had, you need to have a particular kind of a turnover for it.
15:31Yeah.
15:32Or, you know, this much years of experience.
15:34So, the entry barriers are not as stringent as the ones used to be.
15:37Not at all.
15:38So, we just recently bid for one of the tenders, which we never even thought about that this is such a big amount and we can just do it.
15:43Tell us more.
15:44We'll, whenever we'll get it, sure, we'll let you know.
15:48Sure.
15:49So, yeah.
15:50So, of course, MSMEs are now, there's a, you know, great mindset change.
15:56They are being looked upon as a strategic partners more than just the vendors and which is required, you know.
16:03If we want to get into that chain of being the biggest exporter, we need to see MSMEs as a team partner, you know, as a strategic partner, not just the vendors.
16:12Definitely.
16:13And, yeah.
16:14And where we are lacking here is that MSMEs, India's manufacturing production is still licensed
16:21production.
16:22Like, we are still building the Russian aircrafts or the, you know, assembling the French naval.
16:27So, we need to have our own IPs, we need to have our own sensors, you know, we need to set up manufacturing units for our own homegrown sensor chips.
16:36Government has really started a semiconductor mission also.
16:40Right.
16:41Which is going to be really transformational and great.
16:44So, yes, we are going ahead with a very fast speed and we'll hope to see the change soon.
16:51Interesting.
16:52You talked about manufacturing.
16:54How much of manufacturing does Amunik as a company do right now?
16:57And what is the outlook on indigenous manufacturing going forward?
17:01So, the question as in how much manufacturing means how much local content you are asking?
17:06In general, like, is your play more of a system integration kind of play?
17:11No, no.
17:12So, we basically make the systems from the scratch and then it goes into mass manufacturing.
17:17Understood.
17:18So, from the scratch to the product itself, everything is done at the Amunik systems.
17:23Understood.
17:24There's everything.
17:25And do you work with a contract manufacturer right now or you take care of the entire R&D to manufacturing life cycle?
17:30We take care of the entire R&D to manufacturing.
17:33Of course, there are some parts where we take help from outside, like, you know, the PCB fabrication or something.
17:39Because to scale, you know, you need to put your money at the right point at the right machinery, right?
17:46So, if something can be done outsourced, you just do that.
17:49Most of the manufacturing happens in-house.
17:51Got it.
17:52And do you have a facility here in Bangalore?
17:54Yes, we do have a facility in Bangalore.
17:55Got it.
17:56Interesting.
17:57We talked a little bit about Operation Sindur.
18:01Curious to know, did any of your products see action during that phase?
18:05Okay.
18:06So, we have all heard about loitering munitions.
18:07Yes.
18:08So, of course, our, you know, products saw action.
18:12I will not be able to get into too much detail for the security reasons.
18:16But, yes, the word loiter munition got a hype after that.
18:20And, yes, our systems were used.
18:22And that's when we realized that we can do it, you know, because your system can…
18:27I usually believe that defense designs are never validated in a boardroom.
18:32They're always validated in a battlefield.
18:35So, once they get deployed, you get the power and, you know, the energy that, yes, your systems could do it.
18:41Operation Sindur was a watershed movement in India's defense history, defense landscape.
18:47A lot of procurement momentum has happened post-Sindur.
18:53For you as an entrepreneur, what does the post-Sindur landscape look like?
18:58So, if I talk about numbers, so whatever we projected for this year,
19:02in the first two months of the financial year, we could already achieve it.
19:06Oh, wow.
19:07So, if we talk about numbers, yes, it has given us a lot of traction.
19:11And, you know, as you must have read some in the news also,
19:15that government has given a go-ahead for the emergency procurement to the Indian Armed Forces,
19:20capping at 40,000 crore.
19:22So, you know, everyday emergency procurement is happening and the contract procurement time has also decreased to 40 days.
19:28That's one of the reasons we are speaking now.
19:30Otherwise, we would have spoken maybe a couple of weeks.
19:32Yeah.
19:33100%.
19:34Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:35So, yeah.
19:36So, the contract timelines have also decreased to 40 days and deliveries within a year.
19:41So, everything is going on a really fast track process.
19:44So, because, you know, the government is also putting in a lot of effort to have this strategic evolution
19:50to make India self-reliant.
19:52Yes.
19:53Fascinating.
19:54Prinka, tell me something.
19:56As a first-time entrepreneur in the defense tech space, you are in an environment which has been traditionally male-dominated.
20:05Correct.
20:06Now, has that ever been a challenge for you as you look at scaling the company?
20:13Of course, yes.
20:15So, when I talk about the challenges, not like because now we are living in a very progressive era.
20:22Right?
20:23But yes, somewhere still those challenges are there which, you know, earlier when I used to enter some of the board rooms and, you know,
20:31they used to wait, okay, that somebody else might be coming.
20:33So, I used to say, okay, we can start the meeting.
20:35They said, okay, is your male co-founder joining?
20:38I said, okay, having co-founder is perfectly fine.
20:41But why is it like a male co-founder is required?
20:44You know, specifically, there can be two female co-founders.
20:46There can be one female co-founder.
20:49So, anything like that is possible, right?
20:51Right.
20:52So, then I had to remind them that, okay, I have done this before and this is my system.
20:56So, it is completely okay and we can go ahead.
20:59So, yeah, there were some challenges which we had to face, but everything is fine.
21:03I have tracked some of your recent public appearances and you are generally, from what I have seen,
21:08on most of these panels, you are the only woman representative in some sense.
21:14Is that an opportunity?
21:15Is that a challenge?
21:16How do you look at it?
21:18See, it is a double-edged sword.
21:20It is both ways.
21:21You know, a coin has double sides to it.
21:23Right.
21:24So, yes, of course, it is an opportunity for me to showcase that, you know, every female out there looking up to me,
21:30that it is a message that, you know, you are not less than anyone and you can, of course, do it.
21:35And if I talk about the challenges, of course, there are challenges to be there alone, out there.
21:43And, you know, you usually should have an idol somewhere that, okay, you can look up to.
21:48In this case, I am trying to find one person from the female background that I can really look up to and, you know,
21:54Interesting.
21:55Yeah, feel that way that, okay, you know, I want to become that.
21:58Yeah.
21:59When I search internet all over, of course, in government, there are a lot of female scientists, women scientists everywhere.
22:05But if I talk about defense, entrepreneurship, you do not come across a lot of names.
22:10And, you know, that makes it a challenging situation as well that, okay, how to take this forward?
22:16And, you know, am I going in the right direction and everything is going fine?
22:20So, yeah, it's both ways.
22:22Hopefully, you will be that person to a lot of young girls watching this podcast.
22:27We definitely need more, you know, we definitely need a lot more women at the forefront of innovation at the forefront of defense tech.
22:36But just coming back to some of the challenges that you mentioned.
22:40Personally, I know at least a handful of VC firms who are cagey about investing in sole founder companies, companies that only have one founder, no co-founder.
22:52Have you encountered such biases in the past?
22:55Yes.
22:56Earlier, whenever we used to get, you know, traction that, you know, they are looking to invest at us in our company in Immunic Systems.
23:04And then they used to ask about the co-founders.
23:07First, they were very mesmerized that me being a female founder, that's also a very nice point for them to really, you know, see that, okay, someone like me is doing something.
23:16But at the same time, they would also ask that, you know, who's the other co-founder.
23:20Right.
23:21But in this case, there was no other co-founder, because this is all it was all started.
23:25Of course, I have my mentors who are guiding me through this.
23:28Right.
23:29I've always been really grateful to them.
23:32But in the board room, I was the only person always.
23:37That was always a challenge to us.
23:38Yes, of course.
23:39On trials, I actually remember reading somewhere that the army is now contemplating having standard trial centers.
23:46Correct.
23:47Which means, as you said, you know, you go and present to a user, user gives feedback, bring that feedback back to your center, iterate on the product, come back again, showcase.
23:58To my mind, if this thing takes off, it's going to be a big game changer for MSMEs.
24:03100%.
24:04I agree.
24:05It's going to be a game changer in the sense because for small startups or MSMEs, you know, just coping up with the procurement and trials is a very big challenge.
24:15Right.
24:16It's kind of a very big bottleneck, you know, that the fragmented and repetitive trials because every command wants the trial in their own command.
24:25Correct.
24:26In their controlled environment.
24:27In their controlled environment.
24:28And, you know, the timelines vary and then, okay, this time you're going to this place and this time you're going to this place.
24:35So, of course, by the time you're done with all of the trials and you might get orders as well from these trials.
24:41But till the time you complete all the trials, your technology is already a generation old.
24:46Right.
24:47So, this standard trial room will, yes, of course, give you opportunity that one set of trial, one feedback loop and any MSME can go there and, you know, give their trial.
24:58It's going to be a game changer.
25:00What has been your most exciting, most fulfilling project as an entrepreneur?
25:05I remember once hearing someone who said there are two kinds of projects I do, one that make me a lot of money and one that gives me a lot of satisfaction.
25:14Correct.
25:15Correct.
25:16So, for you, what has been that most satisfactory movement or one project that you're super proud of?
25:21Okay.
25:22So, picking up one product will not do justice to the others.
25:26But, okay, to answer your question, so for me, who's giving you money and excitement is one product.
25:34So, it's basically loiter munition as we all are hearing about it.
25:38So, when we were making it for the first time, you know, I had second thoughts that how it is going to be because we had aligned with one of the drone companies and we were making for it.
25:47And then, then I was like, okay, this is just one use of it, you know, where we are going to use it.
25:52But eventually, I just realized that we were the only ones or in the startup domain or the MSME domain that who were weaponizing the systems like that.
26:01Right.
26:02And there were, if you talk about drone companies, no offense, but there are thousands or lakhs of drone companies who are making drones and they obviously want weapons, you know,
26:12Yeah.
26:13to make their drones into a loiter munition.
26:16So, in that sense, or not just loiter munitions or a gravity drop munition also.
26:20So, if I talk about gravity drop munition, it's basically a drone dropped bomb.
26:25So, your drone does not get destroyed.
26:27In loiter munition, it's basically a suicidal drone.
26:30It goes and hits itself.
26:31Right.
26:32So, even the drone gets destroyed.
26:33So, that was the most exciting part of it.
26:36And, you know, incorporating more and more user feedback into it that once we just made an impact-based fuse that, okay, fine.
26:43Once it goes impacts, it hits it, it'll do its job.
26:45But then we got a user feedback that what if the battlefield is really densely populated with the trees?
26:51It will hit the tree and then what next?
26:53Avan warfare.
26:54Yeah.
26:55So, basically then, okay, we incorporated, you know, height of burst method, you know, proximity fuse.
27:00So, what will happen is the user can set, okay, according to whatever, wherever they are using the product, they can set it up that, okay, from the bottom, they want three meters height of burst.
27:10So, it'll be enough to, you know, do its job.
27:15So, yes, situations like those and moments like those were very exciting where we got the user feedback.
27:21We kept iterating our product.
27:22Right.
27:23And we got into a various variants of the loiter munition and the munitions.
27:28For defense tech, there is no readily available talent pool as such.
27:31Correct.
27:32So, you have to pick from either the forces or from PSU's or from, you know, core tech background and the kind of skills that you need because you are solving for the nation.
27:44Margin for error is very low.
27:46Correct.
27:47The kind of skills that you need and the kind of iterative mindset that people who enter defense tech need to have is to my mind of a very different level.
27:55How do you get that kind of a right fitment when you are hiring for people?
28:00So, it's basically whenever you're hiring, you cannot get everything in one person until or unless you are really hiring a trained person who has worked in another defense or an aerospace company and who knows what they are doing.
28:12Right.
28:13So, there are different kinds of posts.
28:14So, once if you're hiring for a senior post, of course, you need to have someone with a background in defense so that they can understand your product and what goes behind it.
28:22Right.
28:23But if I talk about the junior post, we do not just hire people with some kind of a background in defense because that's not needed at the junior post.
28:31So, but we can, you know, really tell them or, you know, frame them in our own company with our mindset.
28:37So, we can train them, we have certain training classes and, you know, with particular things.
28:43The most important point is how do they perform under pressure and how much integrity they have in themselves, how much purpose they have in themselves.
28:51So, that's all which is required.
28:53We are there to train them.
28:54Right.
28:55I've seen a lot of your recent LinkedIn posts.
28:57You are putting it out there that, hey, we are open to hiring.
29:01We want more people.
29:02Right.
29:03We want the right fitment.
29:04So, that's great to see.
29:06But over a period of time, do you think government support is also needed to develop that kind of talent pool in India?
29:14Of course.
29:15Of course.
29:16So, we need a lot of vocational training for that matter.
29:19You know, to have our educational policy framework in a, you know, set in a type that we're not just learning on the book front.
29:29Okay.
29:30They're just reading the text and text and text, but they have to be applying it to the practical phase as well.
29:35Yeah.
29:36So, if I talk about government reforms, they're already doing and, you know, there's a lot of ITIs which are opening.
29:41So, there you just get to do the technical part of it.
29:44You learn technical part of whatever your true talent is.
29:48So, yes, government is doing and we need more training projects like that, where we can train our workforce.
29:55Yeah.
29:56Even from the ground, grassroot level, you know, where they can be put directly into the companies like ours, which where they are required.
30:04So, yes.
30:05Interesting.
30:06So, shifting gears and putting the spotlight on Priyanka, the entrepreneur, what keeps you awake at night?
30:13See, as a founder, there are many tough decisions you have to make every day.
30:18So, everything keeps you awake at night, but mostly what keeps me awake at night is that I am not just building a startup.
30:27I am building the nation, you know, and I'm building something for the nation.
30:31Right.
30:32So, that is one dream which does not let me sleep and that keeps me awake on most of the nights that, okay, what we can do more and, you know, what product we can develop and how to do that.
30:45And there are sometimes tenders, you know, tied up where the procurement is not happening or maybe it's delayed because of some reason.
30:51There are multiple factors which, you know, founders mind keeps on going in a loop.
30:57So, yes, there are challenges.
30:59Yeah.
31:00But, yes, majority of the partners that I see dream with the open eyes that, okay, what I can make more and how we can make India self-reliant.
31:07Great answer, but from an operational standpoint, what worries you the most about your journey right now and where the company is headed towards?
31:16Okay.
31:17So, as we talk about hiring, it is one in Bangalore especially, I feel, you know, because there are so many startups opening every day and there are a lot of opportunities.
31:28So, people keep switching to hold a good workforce at your place and to keep them motivated is one thing which really keeps me awake.
31:37That, okay, you have to really show them that what is there out for them and why do they need to stick to it.
31:44And even if you are paying them well, but still, you know, I don't want to hold off anyone that saying, okay, you know, do not take that opportunity or do not take that opportunity.
31:53But still, to see the best out of what you are giving to them, that requires some time or some commitment to the company, right?
32:00Because they need to stay with us and, you know, see how it works.
32:03So, keeping the workforce intact is one point and the other is, you know.
32:08Especially in a city like Bangalore.
32:09Especially in a city like Bangalore.
32:10Tech talent is always in huge demand.
32:12Exactly.
32:13And the other thing is, you know, emergency procurement is going on every day.
32:18There is a new tender and there are new paper works and every day, you know, you have to make new paper, new everywhere, new trials going on.
32:26Yeah.
32:27So, those are the things, operationally, they are keeping me, you know, awake.
32:30Understood.
32:31Yeah.
32:32I remember speaking to a founder several years back.
32:34I think this was Anant Narayan, former CEO of Myntra.
32:37Correct.
32:38Later on, went on to start Mensa brands, if I am not mistaken.
32:42He said that every day, as a founder, I have to take maybe 10 big decisions.
32:47If I get 7 or 8 of them right, I will have a good day.
32:50Correct.
32:51That's a very good day.
32:52Yeah.
32:53100% a very good day.
32:54Yeah.
32:55So, that happens.
32:56Correct.
32:57Who do you turn to as a sole founder when you get stuck?
33:00When you have multiple choices in front of you, do you rely on numbers?
33:05Do you rely on data?
33:06Do you rely on people?
33:07What's your go-to mechanism for decision making?
33:10See, I feel numbers are important, but I feel I personally rely on people more than numbers,
33:17because you can get the numbers right whenever there's a right time.
33:21You need to have been the right mindset, and you need to be taking the right decision for
33:25that particular moment, you know, because there's never a right decision eventually.
33:28Correct.
33:29So, at the moment, what is required, that is the right decision you make.
33:33So, I eventually turn out, you know, turn back to people like my father, my husband,
33:38or I have mentors, you know, who give me advice that, okay, you know, as an entrepreneur,
33:42what I should be doing, and how I should be doing it, and what I should be looking at it.
33:47And, apart from entrepreneur, I'm also a mother, I'm also, you know, a daughter, a wife,
33:52so there are a lot of roles which are aligned, so you need to have a work-life balance as well.
33:56Yeah.
33:57So, everything keeps rolling, and every day, there's a new day, a new set of questions
34:01which you need to look at.
34:02Interesting.
34:03Work-life balance is always an interesting moot point in an entrepreneur's life.
34:09Yeah.
34:10Is that even possible, work-life balance, or is the best you can aspire for is work-life integration,
34:14or work-life harmony?
34:15See, work-life balance as a theory, I feel 50-50 is never a thing that, okay, you can have
34:22a, you know, perfect work-life balance, it's never that.
34:24Yeah.
34:25Because your family is also important, and your work is also your child.
34:28So, I feel a Munich system is my child, and my own child, both of them requires time.
34:33So, it depends which day, which person or, you know, a Munich system requires more of
34:38my time, or, you know, my own family requires.
34:40Yeah.
34:41So, that's how I balance.
34:42So, it's never a thing that, okay, if it's 6 o'clock, now I need to go home, and, you know,
34:46there should be perfect work-life balance.
34:48It depends what requires my attention more.
34:52Yeah.
34:53You can't have 50-50 every day.
34:54You cannot have.
34:55Work takes preponderance, some days family takes precedence.
34:58Correct.
34:59So, that's how you have to maneuver your system.
35:00Awesome.
35:01What would be your top advice to young women who want to do something in the defense space?
35:11Okay.
35:12Just believe in yourself, and, you know, do not build for the brochures, build a product,
35:18and do not wait for a perfect product to be built.
35:22Just go with the flow, take the user feedback.
35:25Right.
35:26Because, build with the user in mind.
35:28That has always been our USP at Munich Systems that we have always seen user feedback as the,
35:35you know, major mindset of our building a system.
35:38Right.
35:39Because behind the desk, we can build a very cool technology or something.
35:42But if it cannot be deployed in the field, it does not matter in defense.
35:45Right.
35:46Right.
35:47So, with that matter, then you need to stay focused and patience.
35:49Because, credibility in defense is not gifted, it's earned.
35:52Yeah.
35:53You need to stay focused and patience.
35:55And, eventually, just think from the point of view that you are building for the nation,
36:00and you are building something that will outcast, outlast you, you know, and you are building
36:06for the nation.
36:07So, just do not try to make a perfect product.
36:10Yeah.
36:11A product is never perfect.
36:12Correct.
36:13Right.
36:14Yeah.
36:15So, from that perspective, just keep going.
36:16Yeah.
36:17Just go from 0 to 1.
36:18Yes.
36:19Don't think about the 1 to 10 journey.
36:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.
36:21Small wins in defense actually compound faster than big promises.
36:24Wow, that's a good line.
36:25Yeah.
36:26I think on that note, we can conclude today's conversation.
36:30Sure.
36:31Thank you so much, Priyanka.
36:32It was very enlightening and elucidating.
36:34And, folks, if this episode resonates with you, do like, share, comment, and we shall
36:40be back again with yet another Defensepreneur story.
36:54Bye.
36:55Bye.
36:56Bye.
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