Raising CEOs: The Unconventional Parenting Secret Behind 2 Successful Startup Founders

When siblings Nikil and Tara Viswanathan were young, their parents never thought they would become entrepreneurs.

“Our goal was to just make them into amazing human beings — the best human beings they could be," their mother, Usha, told CNBC.

Today, 33-year-old Tara is the CEO and founder of Rupa Health, a startup valued between $80 million and $120 million. Last August, the company secured an extra $18.5 million in funding.

Nikil, 35, is CEO and founder at Alchemy, a blockchain startup that achieved a remarkable valuation surpassing $10 billion in the previous year.

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Nikil and Tara's father, Balu, says the kids were often told to "Take risks, but be ready to face the failures."

Before 2000, Balu, a doctor, and Usha, an accountant, launched Lubbock, Texas-based Starnik Systems. Nikil and Tara were in grade school at the time, while Usha pursued a master's in information systems management.

Balu and Usha still manage the firm, crafting cloud-based utility billing software for clients such as the U.S. Air Force. Altogether, Starnik handles over $4 billion in yearly transactions.

The parents' venture into technology had an added perk: It introduced Tara and Nikil to the software industry from a young age.

“Seeing our parents do it just made it normal,” Nikil told the outlet. “We would talk about business at dinner, and it was so much fun being a part of the journey.”

“We felt that whatever they were experiencing — the rise, the fall — whatever it was, would be good for them,” Usha told the outlet. “We had gone through a decade of struggle. So we said, ‘That’s fine. They will do fine.’ We just believed in them.”

This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

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