SurveySensum: Tanuj Diwan on the Future of Neuromarketing and Customer Experience
Traditional market research often fails because consumers don't always tell the truth—sometimes because they don't even know it themselves. Tanuj Diwan, the Co-founder of SurveySensum and NeuroSensum, is solving this by bridging the gap between conscious feedback and subconscious reaction. By combining AI-driven customer experience (CX) management with cutting-edge neuroscience, Tanuj is helping brands across Asia understand what their customers actually feel, not just what they say.
Tanuj's journey into the world of data and human behavior began after a successful corporate career at HCL and Mahindra Comviva. In 2018, he took the plunge into entrepreneurship, identifying a massive inefficiency in how businesses handle feedback. "Market research used to be slow, manual, and often subjective," Tanuj explains. "We wanted to build something that could summarize thousands of comments instantly using machine learning, allowing companies to act on feedback in real-time rather than waiting for months."
The Rise of Neuromarketing
NeuroSensum, the research arm of the venture, uses EEG and eye-tracking technology to measure subconscious responses. "People's brains react before their mouths speak," Tanuj notes. "By measuring brain waves and eye movements, we can tell if an ad or a product is truly engaging a customer. It's the ultimate 'truth-test' for marketing."
The 'Day 1' Marketing Rule
One of the most valuable lessons Tanuj shares is the importance of early marketing. "Many founders make the mistake of waiting for a 'perfect' product before telling anyone about it," he says. "We spent nine months building our first product before launching, and that was a mistake. You should start marketing the moment you have a validated prototype. Your goal isn't just to build; it's to acquire active users who can tell you if you're building the right thing."
Building a multi-national company required Tanuj to navigate different funding ecosystems. While initially bootstrapped, the venture raised capital from angel investors in Indonesia. "In India, investors often look for a proven product," he observes. "In other markets, they might be more interested in the raw potential of the idea. Regardless of where you are, validation from real users is your best pitch deck."
Hiring for Passion and Growth
As the company scaled to handle clients like Deutsche Bank and ICICI, Tanuj's approach to team building remained grounded in cultural fit. "We look for people who are curious," he shares. "In a startup, your job is to grow the enterprise. I hire people who don't wait to be told what to do—people who are willing to learn through books, videos, and constant experimentation. If the intent is there, the skills can be taught."
Tanuj's Playbook for Modern Founders
- Validate Before You Build: Don't spend months in a lab. Talk to 20 potential customers and see if they would actually pay for your solution.
- Build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product): Create the simplest version of your idea that solves the core problem. Launch it and iterate based on feedback.
- Marketing is Not Optional: Start building your brand and your user base from Day 1. Use social media and content to show your progress.
- Learn Continuously: Read as many books as you can. Watch videos of experts. Entrepreneurship is a game of constant learning and unlearning.
A Vision for Scalable Insights
Looking ahead, Tanuj aims to grow SurveySensum into a global platform used by millions of small and medium enterprises. He believes that the future of CX is automated and affordable. "We want to make deep insights accessible to every business, not just the giants," he says. For Tanuj, success is about democratizing the tools of data and psychology to help businesses build more meaningful relationships with their customers.
SurveySensum at a Glance
- Core Range: CX Management, AI Text Analytics, and Neuromarketing.
- Footprint: Major presence across India and Southeast Asia.
- Technology: Hybrid of Machine Learning and EEG Neuroscience.
About the Guest
Tanuj Diwan is the Co-founder of SurveySensum and NeuroSensum. With a background in technology and a deep passion for marketing psychology, Tanuj is a visionary leader in the consumer insights industry. He is an alumnus of top tech firms and has successfully scaled his ventures across multiple international markets. Tanuj is a dedicated advocate for student entrepreneurship and is frequently involved in mentoring young professionals on product validation and user acquisition strategy.
SurveySensum is an AI-enabled customer experience management platform that helps brands consolidate feedback across channels and derive actionable insights using text analytics. NeuroSensum is a specialized market research firm that leverages neuroscience to uncover the subconscious drivers of consumer behavior, providing brands with a deeper level of understanding than traditional surveys.