Student Spotlight: Suchir Madap (`26)
“Start now, there is no better time than in college.”
Suchir Madap, class of 2026, is studying Computer Science and has embarked on an entrepreneurial journey through his startup, CardiaSight. He always knew he wanted to be in an industry that has a direct impact on humanity thus this venture focuses on developing a wearable 12-lead ECG device aimed at tackling heart-related issues, inspired by his personal experiences with family members suffering from heart disease.
The Caldwell Fellows program has played a significant role in shaping his growth, providing opportunities for personal reflection, community engagement, and connections with a broad network of alumni. Suchir found great value in these connections, viewing them as learning opportunities that have enriched his college experience.
In addition to his studies and community involvement, Suchir is deeply passionate about entrepreneurship. His team of four, each with unique expertise in fields such as biomedical engineering, computer science, and machine learning, successfully pitched their startup idea at the VenturePack competition, securing funding to build their prototype. His team played to their strengths but were versatile enough to assist any other person within the team and they found that consistent check-ins and clear communication helped them continue progressing to their shared goal. One of the most challenging aspects of this venture was building a prototype in 48 hours; after countless problems popping up his team felt no hope was in sight. Their dedication to working on this project late into the night for 2 days led to their hard work paying off when they reached their goal and later on won the competition.
Suchir reflects on his time of being in a start-up environment; “[E]veryone has to be comfortable wearing multiple hats and taking responsibility for things that may not necessarily be their strong suit. Over the past couple of months, I have had to code, create a pitch deck, learn how to project finances, pitch to people, learn about the patent process, and so much more. This sort of experience is not for everyone, but I love every second of it as I can guarantee that what I do today will not be the same as my work tomorrow as our responsibilities are quite dynamic.”
“Failure is the greatest teacher.”
Suchir reflects that ”[f]ailure is the greatest teacher. While it may seem counterintuitive, in a startup, it is important to try ideas, fail fast, then iterate and try new things. By constantly going through iterations, new insights are learned, and developments can come to life faster.”
Through his journey, Suchir emphasizes the importance of starting early in college, utilizing resources on campus from the professor, and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship department, and applying to programs or competitions to further push yourself.
