Meet Harnek And Sohan Sabharwal And Kathari | Founders of SpeakSmart – AI Public Speaking Tool

We had the good fortune of connecting with Harnek And Sohan Sabharwal And Kathari and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Harnek and Sohan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The idea for SpeakSmart came from a very real struggle both of us experienced: the fear of speaking in front of others. As part of the speech and debate team, we saw how powerful confident communication could be, but also how intimidating it felt for so many people. We noticed classmates with brilliant ideas not being able to express them because they were nervous and stuttered, and we faced moments of doubt ourselves before major competitions. Additionally, after doing some research about the situation, we found that 4 out of every 5 people in the world struggle with public speaking. It was alarming to us that such a critical skillset was being held back to so many.

We started experimenting with ways technology could help. We realized that there weren’t many available resources for public speaking, and if there were, they cost thousands of dollars. We thought something needed to be done to address this prominent issue. That spark became SpeakSmart.

We knew it was worth pursuing for two reasons. First, we wanted to make sure nobody had to hold their opinions because they were scared of their style of speaking. Second, communication skills are universally valuable, whether for school, job interviews, or everyday confidence. If we could build something that made practice easy, fun, and accessible, people would most definitely use it.

Success felt possible because we weren’t working by ourselves; we tested ideas with classmates, partnered with speech pathologists, and refined features based on feedback. Every time someone told us, “I feel more confident,” it reinforced that we were solving a real problem.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Hi! We’re Harnek and Sohan, co-founders of SpeakSmart.live, a free platform designed to help people build confidence and become stronger public speakers. We got into this space through our own journeys in speech and debate, where we saw firsthand how communication was a vehicle for people to express themselves, but a barrier for others.

SpeakSmart provides AI-powered practice and personalized feedback where users can upload a video of their speech/presentation. Unlike other platforms, we focus on accessibility and inclusivity: it’s free to use, and we’ve worked with speech pathologists to make sure the feedback is filled with proven techniques. Our goal is simple. We want to help people of all ages to speak with clarity and confidence.

One moment that really tested our resilience was in the early stages of SpeakSmart. We had spent weeks building a prototype, excited to share it with classmates and pathologists, but our first round of testing didn’t go as planned. During our very first pitch to a pathologist, the product continuously showed an error every time we attempted to upload a video to review, or if it did upload, it took an extremely long amount of time. Not only was this moment embarrassing, but it also derailed our confidence. We questioned if this product was even feasible.

However, we kept going at it. We knew that the people we could impact was far more important than any obstacle we may face. Soon enough, after more troubleshooting, we were able to fix the issue. Looking back, we couldn’t even believe quitting was an option, and are thankful we stayed rooted in our mission

So far, SpeakSmart has reached 2000+ unique impressions across 5 countries, and has facilitated over 5 practice sessions both locally, nationally, and internationally.

We’re most proud of the impact stories. The student who delivered their first confident speech in class, the professional who aced a job interview, and the community member who spoke at a local event without fear are the stories that motivate us to keep going.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend were visiting me in Flower Mound, I’d first take them to Lakeside, which has over time become such a lively area. We’d go along the boardwalk by Lake Grapevine, rent bikes, and maybe even Kayak if we are feeling adventurous. And if we wanted to take it a step further, we may even swim in the lake, enjoying the cool water mixed with the Texas heat.

Additionally, food would also be a big highlight. I would take them to Mi Dia From Scratch, a Tex-Mex restaurant with a variety of dishes from Quail to Chicken Tinga Tacos! The Tavern at Lakeside is also a great place to lounge and eat great food, as their pork chops are extremely delicious! Overall, I would show them how fun Flower Mound is, and prove that the city is more than just a “Mound of Flowers.”

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a huge shoutout to our classmates and speech pathologists we collaborated with, such as Mrs. Aprajitha Mathur and Mrs. Ragini Ayengar, who tested the early versions of SpeakSmart, and gave us feedback in order to improve our product, as well as reach a wider audience. Their guidance, patience, and ideas are what allowed our “prototype” to turn into reality, and we couldn’t be more thankful for them.

Additionally, we would like to thank Eric Garcia from the ShoutoutDFW editorial staff for reaching out to us, and allowing us to share our story. We truly believe in our mission, to give accessible tools to help people gain more confidence in their speaking abilities, and we believe that this platform is an incredible way for that mission to be spread.

Website: https://speaksmart.live/

Instagram: @speaksmart.live

Linkedin: SpeakSmart