A new chapter (2,781 views)

Looking back at early accidents
When I look back at my short life I can see distinct periods or chapters. The time when I moved to Chennai and joined a new school in 3rd standard was the beginning of discovery that I could do well at studies and be competitive. During that stage I found my interest in science and technology and aptitude for various extra-curricular activities like quizzing, painting, essay-writing and such. Another parallel phase started in 5th standard when I stumbled upon my interest for computers and programming. In 6th standard I realized my potential in being a leader and continued to be the class representative for most of school life capping it with my role as a School Pupil leader in 12th std. All these phases happened more or less without any conscious effort on my part. They just happened. I lot of credit goes to my family and teachers for guiding me through these. The point however is that the phase transitions were by and large accidental from my point of view.

Hmm… Can we make accidents happen?
The first time when I consciously ushered in a new phase was in 11th std. An incident at school made me introspect and got me to start the process of understanding myself and people around me. What motivates us? What do we all want? What elevates us into happiness? What drops up into the abyss of sorrow? I learnt to control my anger and to think more rationally. I learnt to observe people around me and look behind the eyes. It taught me to empathize and connect. That was when I realized that I could decide what I could do and be – that future phases in life need not be accidental.

Life is a powerful force that keeps pushing you around. I have not met anyone who is in complete control. I don’t even believe complete control makes sense in the framework of life. At best we can attempt to understand the forces behind life and learn to go with the flow. Whether or not we can influence the direction of it, we can atleast benefit from the interaction. We can learn and become better at it – at understanding. The one thing I decided not to do was to get too comfortable. Learning happens when there is a differential current in the river of life.

Undergraduation was a new phase filled with freedom, learning and fun. As opposed to school where your peers come from your immediate locality, in college, you get to meet a more diverse set. You meet people who think differently and are motivated by various ends. In understanding them there was a great opportunity to discover more of myself which I did.

Veveo – my first workplace
After college I was confused about what to do. Do I pursue higher education or should I get a job? The companies coming to my campus for recruitment were Wipro, TCS, CTS, Infosys and so on. I work profile being offered did not excite me. Pursuing MS was the option I was considering and started the application process. At that time I came to know of a startup in Bangalore who were looking to hire freshers. Having set my mind on MS, I applied to this company half-heartedly, more to experience the interview process than anything else. I was interviewed by two people from the company one of them a co-founder and other a VP. What hooked me was the way they interacted with me. From my point of view they were experienced professionals working in the industry having etched out successful careers and I was a little no-body – a fresher from a private college. For the first time I felt I belonged somewhere and could establish a relationship based on mutual respect. I had always detested the authoritarian nature of our society. In schools and colleges I saw a lack of reciprocative respect from the faculty. Our society has a lot to learn in terms of treating each other humanely. Anyway, that’s that. I got hooked and told my family. Despite their concerns about this being a “small” company without “security”, I decided to dive in head long to discover the “insecurity” of being in a puny startup. Thus I joined Veveo.

Veveo was a very productive experience. I discovered startup culture and rediscovered myself. I walked up to the co-founder who interviewed me after getting my first paycheck and thanked him for paying me for having fun at work. That is a double scoop. I could not believe that was happening to me. For the first time in my life, I felt I belonged in a group. I found people who thought like me with whom I could share my ideas and I found other smart people who were so different that I would spend countless hours bludgeoning their logic (and getting bludgeoned too . The 4.5 years of experience at Veveo feels more than the sum of what I had experienced before. Phew! What a ride it has been. The day I quit Veveo, I found it difficult to justify my decision to do so. Even today the thought is not extinct.

What next?
Looking back I realize that I was getting too comfortable at Veveo. A good work environment, nice people and wonderful pay — yummy! Time for an adventure. I came up with an idea for making a physics simulation engine to aid game devs in creating awesome destructible environments. That was slightly more than a year back. I worked on it part-time in the evenings and weekends and then in March last year I requested my superior to release me so I could do it full-time. Much to my surprise he offered a part-time schedule where I could work at Veveo three days a week and spend the rest working on my project. This opportunity was god-sent and I lapped it up. A friend of mine from college who was also my roomie quit his job and joined me to work on this full-time.

The period since March last year is easily the most productive and exciting phase of my life. I have learnt immensely on a multitude of subjects – technology, project management, startup fundamentals, spirituality and philosophy, business development etc. The experience has altered me as a person and opened up avenues of my brain which I thought inexistent. I decided to take a plunge into this world full-time and took that step. I quit Veveo to work on this full-time from Jan this year. The journey so far would have been but a dream had it not been for support from my family, friends and colleagues at Veveo. Thank you all for being there.

Startups businesses are difficult beasts to tame and most people get flattened. The promise of glory (and $’s ) is a worthy lure for a persistent one. I intend to succeed doing this but failure is no less a success considering the path you tread and the things you experience. I will keep you posted in the forthcoming articles on this blog. A new chapter awaits.