I learned that self-care is more important when you’re down, than when you’re not. Like all of us, I faced some tough times. When I let myself wallow in misery and didn’t take control, I prolonged my suffering. But when I handled the basics during tough times — eating right, working out, practising gratitude — I unlocked a space of more control that’s less affected by circumstances.

I learned that love is work. I’m now approaching a decade of being married, and I can confidently say there’s one person on this planet who truly understands me, and who I truly understand. Love is work because it needs you to iron out some aspects of yourself. Self-change is the hardest kind, but love makes it worth it. I continue to see so many people around me disillusioned by the cinematic idea of perfect love, expecting to be accepted for who they are. Yes, expect to be accepted, but also expect to work on your shi**y aspects (and we all have shi**y aspects we can work on).

I learned that your personal philosophy matters more than confirming to the world. Anytime I compromised a personally held belief to “fit in”, I suffered in the long-term. All of us have a value system that permeates every aspect of our life — career, home, success, failure, money, relationships, even food. Over time, I’ve come to have a philosophy about each of these aspects of my life. While I’m completely open to changing my views basis new info I learn, my beliefs are now more forged, and I intend to let them guide me.

Finally, I learned — plans do not mean shi*. It’s vital to plan — but it’s also vital to remember it’s just that — a plan. Binding ourselves to hard plans takes away serendipity and also sets us up for disappointment. Long-term planning is also a curse of the modern age — 10,000 years ago, one couldn’t plan beyond meals and survival, and that seemed to work fine too. While I commit to the work that awaits the next 10 years, I also commit to letting the universe guide me.

So happy ’20s dear world. Here’s hoping for a meaningful journey — both in the outside world, but also within yourself.

Turning the page… was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different… was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’ve had the good fortune of building products ground-up alongside some very talented people at early stage startups. Along the way, I learnt some things about building products when all you have is a blank slate, and also on laying down a solid foundation for a product culture.

Having been a consultant in my past life, there’s still a certain level of obsession with frameworks, so this one is called three Ps. Of course, a hundred things need to work out concurrently for “magic” to happen at a startup, but an awareness of these 3 Ps will never hurt.

Product Market fit : there’s nothing more I can add to Marc Andreessen’s 2007 article on the importance of finding product/market fit. I find myself revisiting this article every few months. The fundamental premise is this : does your product solve a genuine problem for a market that’s unserved, or not served well enough. Though great products can create new markets, it’s a rarer phenomenon. Marc argues that the only karma of a startup at its inception is to find product market fit : this can be done by tweaking BOTH the products and the market. For e.g. if the data reveals that your product serves a demographic / user group B better than user group A, even though user group A is what you started your journey with, and if B is a large enough market, move to B. The most common mistake I have seen is startups doubling down on building products that don’t even excite a 100 customers. If 100 don’t love it, a million never will.

Patience : This one really resonates with me because patience is seen as a weakness in hustle culture. An unfortunate side-effect of investor money is to show an exponential increase in revenue / users early in the day, and I’ve seen lesser CEOs getting entangled in VC appeasement instead of doing what’s best for their company. The best founders are good at ignoring board/investor pressure to let the company grow the right way (a combination of organic and “steroid” growth. The moment founders succumb to the temptation of abandoning long-term product health to short-term stunts for bloating growth ( e.g. insane marketing spend ), bad things start happening. In fact one of the reasons companies haste through product-market fit phase is because they are in a hurry to show growth. Here’s a nice Bloomberg podcast with Vinod Khosla where he talks about how the best investors support founders in their pursuit to grow “right” instead of impeding them.

People: A product company requires a fundamentally different approach to the “company”, which demands a certain personality type. Some traits :

• A degree of irreverence : roadmaps are not HIPPO ( highest paid person in room ) driven but rather there’s a hacker mindset of stealing best ideas no matter where thy come from
• Ability to detach and experiment : their allegiance is not to “their” ideas or products but rather what data suggests is the best way to move forward
• Courage to fail : this is where I find most startup lacking. For all the glorification around failure, when a product idea goes south or affects users adversely, a common tendency is to find fall guys. No innovation can happen where people do not feel secure
• Collaboration : the best product teams do not draw lines between engineering, product management, sales and leadership. Everyone should bring an intellectual curiosity to the room about what’s the next best thing to build. Collaboration and intellectual humility usually go hand-in-hand, I’ve found
• Ego : simply put, more gets done when people on your own have control of their egos. Corporates love personalities that are “always right” and commanding. What you need instead are inclusive leaders who aren’t afraid to pivot when new facts come to light.

Do the above 3 Ps guarantee success? Absolutely not. But would violating the above set a product company for failure? Absolutely yes.

Remember these 3 Ps at an early stage Product Startup was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Too many pigs rolling in the mud.

They oink, they scream, they wag their tongues,

On all things cherished, they are hurling dung.

And you, the peaceful dog,

Who likes naps, some snacks, and funny vlogs,

Watch the pigs ruin your days,

To make you worry, everyday they find ways.

But the dogs are wolves,

Resilient, wise and brave,

Together they’ll make it through,

Love will win, not hate.

Let there be love, not hate was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I am going to try and write this blog just with my voice. Sound recognition has been getting very strong of late. I was using voice today to ask maps for directions and was pretty surprised, pleasantly so, with a smooth performance.

The fact that I can so easily transcribe my thoughts begs me to believe that speech, and not typing, is how we will interact with technology in the future.

By the way, I just discovered that you can change the paragraph By just saying “next paragraph”. That’s cool.

So anyways, we took a day trip to Manchenbele dam today. It’s a two hour drive from Bangalore on the way to Ramanagara. I understand that’s where Sholay was shot. Rediscovered after a while today, that a day spent in nature can be therapeutic for a city dweller living a busy life. Felt the winter approaching in the wind today, and it dawned upon me that the year is already ending. Time, it just seems to fly doesn’t it?

*Written completely with dictation – had to make less than 10 edits in the whole blog after talking! was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

• The legendary Y Combinator, under Sam Altman’s leadership, is launching an MOOC that will bring YC’s startup launch knowledge to a much larger audience : http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/techflash/2016/09/y-combinator-names-new-leaders-as-it-changes-shape.html
• In Livemint today, there is an article on how “micro-schooling” is picking up in India, wherein more personalized schooling is picking up, which also relies on using tech to a higher degree : http://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/r8ESEnsr0UOnU0KiXDJT6M/Micro-schools-Going-beyond-textbooks.html

Still too early to join the dots — more so because I haven’t thought about them so much yet. But a reflex thought is : tech is democratizing education, yes there seems to be a need for “personalization” and “community” which makes online or tech-induced learning more personal. An idea that can bring MOOCs and personalized mentoring together can do big things for learning in the future. And such opportunities will change things not just for teachers, but also students.

Need to think this through :)

A revolution in learning, still unseen.. was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I have had no cable for the last one year. Six months ago, I got Netflix. I pay less than what I used to for cable, and the programming quality is far, far superior. Plus I can watch it anywhere, anytime. Which means I can switch on a show in my living room, and take it to the bathroom when when I want ( a disgusting revelation, but this happens far too often ).

I enjoy the shows. Lots of artsy stuff. I have a high bar for tv programming ( yeah such a refined human being ) , and Netflix satiates that appetite.

However, doesn’t change the fact that TV is shit. It’s a waste of time, it’s almost never educational, and it just means more time spent in front of a screen, in a life spent in front of screens.

But after a long day full of turmoil, TV gives you one thing that life consistently denies you.

Comfort.

The comfort of stepping out of your own life. Of witnessing a story other than your own. Of escaping, if only fleetingly, and be someone else for some time.

So here I am, In front of my TV. Comfort, take over me.

Television soon becomes a need. was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Advertisements consistently feature young people working in startups. Successful. Enjoying their work. Living it up with trek colleagues. Making more money than they can spend, hence always living the good life.

Such a farce.

No ads highlight the long, lonely nights spent working. The daily challenges one must (MUST) overcome. The constant fight for survival, to stay relevant in a workplace that changes everyday. The everyday failures. No weekends. And more often than not, journeys that end in utter, absolute failure.

I’d know. I’ve been working with startups for over four years now.

Why, then, would one still do it? I can think of only one reason that’s almost always true.

You learn. Everyday, you learn something new. Every month, you feel embarrassed on how naive you were the month before. Every year, you feel like you’ve amassed wisdom that would take others five years.

It’s like being in war. It changes you.

And when you emerge on the other side, you’re a better soldier.

So, see through the media BS. Don’t do it for glamour. Don’t do it for fame. Don’t do it to be cool to your friends.

Do it, because you’re a student. And nothing teaches like a startup.

The media is always selling the flavour of the season. Of late, it’s been startups. was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Brought back to memory lines from my favourite poet Gulzar :

Aadmi bulbula hai paani ka,

aur paani ki behti sateh par,

toot’ta bhi hai, doobta bhi hai.

Phir ubharta hai, phir se behta hai.

Na samandar nigal saka issko,

na tavaareekh tod paai hai.

Waqt ki mauj par sadaa behta,

aadmi bulbula hai paani ka.

Loosely translates to :

Man is a bubble,

Like a bubble floating on the surface,

He breaks, he drowns.

Again he’s born, again he floats.

Neither the sea could swallow it,

Nor could history break it.

Floating joyously with time,

Man is a bubble.

Was thinking today about all the ups and downs life makes you experience in a day. was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

While I wish to document my thoughts when I travel, laziness usually prevails. Plus, if I do not write or document my thoughts in real time, they evaporate way too soon! The last travel blog I wrote was in 2012, when I visited Kerala.

In May this year, Mansi, Hachi our dog, and I spent a few days at Swarga Resort in Sakleshpur, some 220 KM from Bangalore. This time, I remembered. I kept making quick notes on Google Keep. Now here I am, more than three months later, finally publishing the blog ( again, laziness prevailed for long you see ). To make sure the blog captured my “state of mind” back then, I just edited the Google Keep notes I had made in May, and added nothing new to those old notes when drafting the blog below.

I was returning to Swarga Resort after two years. On my last visit, I had befriended the resort’s favorite in-house dog : Ginger the dachshund. I remembered he was very old when we met last. I was really eager to meet him, but kept my expectations in check.

At 6AM on a quiet Friday morning, we were on our way. After a 2-hour drive, hunger kicked in. Thankfully there’s a bunch of places serving legit idly vada and coffee on the road to Sakleshpur.

The drive gets very scenic as one gets further from Hassan into Sakleshpur. At noon, we reached Swarga. I walked up to see our host, and voila, Ginger was there to inspect the new guests. His gang of dogs was nearby. That’s the great thing about Swarga if you’re a dog lover — it’s a “leash-free” resort for pets, and has a big group of dogs of its own ( all super-friendly ).

Soon after dropping our luggage in the cottage, we got some lunch and headed to the Hemavathi river bank half a KM away. Hachi had a gala time playing in water and rolling in mud — at one point his color turned brown with all the mud on him!

Time moves quick when you’re not counting hours. Soon it was sunset. There’s a sunset vantage point in Swarga — I got there in time and chilled my heels over a view of the valley. As I sat there with my thoughts, I remembered I had recently read about how it is important to constantly ask yourself questions you fear most. After some thought, I had a question — I asked myself if I’ll ever be free from the mundane of everyday life. Looking at the Sun, a thought came over me. It dawned upon me that even the Sun isn’t free. It does daily what it must. Call it a wandering mind making links, but in that moment, it felt like a mini-epiphany. Small pleasures of some quiet-time on a vacation!

At dinner time, we bumped into the owner of the resort, Chirag. Turned out he had volunteered with CUPA animal shelter, from where we had got Hachi three years ago. He’s the reason there are so many loving dogs in the resort — he has adopted them all. We sat amidst these canines in the common area with some breezers for company. Night in a quiet place is soothing on the senses. We found a large Banyan tree, and finished our drinks under it. Dinner at Swarga is homely but delicious —I had a hard time holding myself back from overeating the fish fry. As we retired for the day, there was thunder and lightning on the horizon. Rains were slowly approaching the Western Ghats. But for now, the sky was clear and glittering with stars. I’m told winters is a good time for stargazing after the monsoon clouds depart.

The next morning began with some extra Chai — though frankly they do coffee much better than they do tea ( it’s a coffee estate ). On our morning walk, we bumped into another local celebrity animal — Jack, a race house of the majestic Marwar breed from Pune. One of owner’s friends is a Jockey, and Jack was his ex-race horse. After Jack retired, they moved him here — he needs a ton of grass to stay alive, and the resort needs a lawnmower. Problem, solved.

Breakfast, yet again, was an epic meal. Poori saagu with eggs hit home — Swarga does a good job with its food.

We then headed to walk around the coffee estate. Ginger, even though 13 years old, always followed us when we embarked on a trek. He has amazing energy. The estate is large, quiet and majestic. We strolled for a few hours, and returned by lunch.

After lunch, we chilled for a bit and then left to hike around Hemavathi river. There are some hillocks by the river that make for a good stroll. I took a dip in the river, which was very refreshing on a summer afternoon. We then just lay near the river, looking at the sky. It was textbook sky blue. The kind of blue sky a photograph cannot capture, but you know you saw, because only you know how you felt when you saw it.

Upon returning to the room, I was in desperate need of a bath. I took a cold water bath, and it hit home on a slightly chilly evening — the weather turns quickly when the Sun sets in Sakleshpur. We returned back to the Sunset point in the evening. The orange sky enveloped the green valley, and the lights slowly went out. I made a promise to myself to return in the winters for stargazing. Soon enough, dark clouds came flying over us — stage was set for an evening downpour. We headed back for some beer and food.

We started the next day after breakfast, and were in Bangalore late afternoon. Nothing like a short getaway to recharge yourself.

Musings in Swarga : A trip to Sakleshpur was originally published in analyzethis on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.