Pradyun P. Rao, a final-year computer science student at PES University, podcast host at IIM Bangalore, and budding entrepreneur, shares his insightful journey of self-discovery through the transformative power of asking. He breaks down how he achieved most, if not all, of his accomplishments through personal anecdotes from his life, all sparked by a simple yet intentional act of asking.Pradyun reflects on his childhood inquisitiveness, where he would often ask seemingly absurd and random questions to everyone around him—a trait that stayed with him as he grew older. Over time, he realized the true value and profound impact of asking, which not only broadened his perspective but also helped shape the aspiring individual he is today.In this captivating talk, Pradyun delves into how his curiosity and the courage to ask unlocked countless opportunities, many of which might not have been possible otherwise. He shares how this inquisitive nature earned him a spot as a committee member and podcast host at IIM Bangalore and how he led a team of 10 to create the Salaar Fan Army Experience for Hombale Films, which was met with resounding success.Pradyun emphasizes that asking is not a sign of weakness but a reflection of strong intent and courage. He passionately urges his audience to embrace this mindset and to go out and “make things happen” rather than sit back, wait, and “hope” for them to happen. Pradyun is a 21y/o 4th year student at PES University Electronic City where they teach Computer Science Engineering, but lots of his learning happens outside the classroom.He’s been entrepreneurial from his 1st sem of college, from writing content and “selling milk” to building web apps and fine tuning LLMs, he’s done it all. He participated and won his first hackathon in the 3rd sem, launched an ecommerce business in the 4th sem, and by the 5th sem led a team of 10 to build the Salaar Fan Army experience for Hombale Films, a movie promotional campaign that saw 2M+ site visitors and was featured by 200+ media publications.Now, he’s on a course committee for entrepreneurship at IIM Bangalore and has started hosting a podcast there. He continues to build projects, give ‘fundas’ and credits the people around him for everything he’s done. He loves cooking, ASKing questions and analyzing movie plots. Catch him talk about how ASKing questions can help you co-create the future! This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx