Meet Nikita Krishnan: Founder of Creature Comfort and Care

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nikita Krishnan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikita, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I was moved to start my own business after finding few resources for low cost animal prosthetics. I discovered that the average cost of a prosthetic for an animal could range anywhere from 1 to 20 thousand dollars depending on the nature of the prosthetic. With this in mind, I wanted to find a sustainable solution that would benefit the planet and people’s wallets. Hence, Creature Comfort and Care, which provides 3D printed prosthetics to animals, was born. I was also moved to start my organization after seeing few women involved in technology, and I wanted to provide representation in this area.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The foundation of Creature Comfort and Care was something I will always treasure given the multitude of lessons that I learned. On the technical side, I was tasked with learning about 3D printing and Computer-Aided Design software from the ground up. On the managerial side, I was tasked with finding clients, who often rejected me for months on end. These two skills and more gave me a competitive edge at the young age of 15. I am now almost 21 and will soon graduate from the University of California, Berkeley as a Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholar. I was drawn to Berkeley because it is the beacon of start-ups and innovation, which aligned perfectly with my skillset and experience. Berkeley fostered a wonderful sense of innovation and helped to grow my organization. In my time, I began to explore other career options as well, which ultimately led me to commercial real estate.

After taking a keen liking to real estate, I decided to try my hand in it. I enjoyed both the technical and managerial aspects that it brought, which I accredit my experience with Creature Comfort and Care to. I will now be pursuing a career in commercial real estate finance. My point in saying this is to highlight the turns your career can have. My work with startups was invaluable, and it is my hope to eventually start my own real estate finance startup, combining everything I know from Creature Comfort and Care.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
San Diego truly is America’s finest city. I would start by taking a friend to Duke’s La Jolla for brunch. The view is unparalleled. I would then opt to go to Windansea beach for a mid-afternoon surf or beach session. The beach often has great waves. I would then take a trip down to Chula Vista for Tacos El Gordo–they are the best tacos. I would want to watch the sunset at Gliderport before heading down to the bars in Pacific Beach for a fun night out. For more rest and relaxation, I would take a friend for one of the many hikes or horse rides available in the Torrey Pines and Del Mar area.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My business would not be where it is today if not for the people I met at the La Jolla Library. I randomly stumbled there one day after school. To my surprise, the library had just opened a new 3D printing lab that had just received a new round of funding from the mayor. It was there that I found my mentor, who coached me through many of the mechanical efforts of 3D printing. The library was instrumental in my business’ success.

Website: http://www.creaturecomfortandcare.org