Interview with Ankit Desai

Can you describe your current role? What are you predominantly focused on currently?

I am the Founder and CEO of SNAFU Records, a music company that uses technology to provide financial empowerment to artists from all over the world. We are at a critical juncture with AI development today, so we think a lot about how we can use the latest advancements in technology to spotlight talent which might otherwise have been overlooked in the ‘traditional’ music business.

What is the most exciting/rewarding part of your work?

Without a doubt it is the scale and depth of impact that great music has on people around the world. SNAFU’s music is streamed around 3 billion times every year, and behind every listen is a story: someone who had their first kiss, or someone training for a marathon, or someone healing from heartbreak. Often times the feedback is almost immediate, like when one of our artists posts a clip of them singing on tiktok and people from all over the world comment that this music got them through some of their darkest times. What a privilege to be a very small part of such a powerful force! 

What were your dreams back when you started at SSE?

I always knew I wanted to build something of my own, I just didn’t know what. During the two years at SSE, I worked with classmates on a variety of projects that went nowhere. Some examples are: a dating application called ‘vouch’ where your friends vouch for how great you are. A data-science consultancy where we ended up getting access to the (anonymised) data of a US telco but had no idea how to actually open the files. A drone-farming company which ended abruptly when our drone was impounded by Indian Customs authorities. There was a lot of trial and error, but in hindsight when we started building SNAFU we realised that this project was not like the others, and it could well become a real business. I would not have had that instinct if not for all the previous ones that went nowhere. 

In what ways do you still feel connected to SSE?

SSE is an inextricable part of the SNAFU story. The person who helped me build our first business plan was an old SSE schoolmate, our very first investor was an SSE schoolmate, our first advisor and board member was a professor at SSE, our first hires were from SSE – and we continue to look at SSE for talented people who want to solve big problems, and are looking for an alternative to the banking/finance/consulting path.

What three words would you choose to describe what got you to where you are today?

Ambition, optimism, resilience