Hype is synonymous to oxygen in the current startup ecosystem. It is not limited to calling oneself a thought leader or a serial entrepreneur. Everyone is an expert in something, everyone calls himself or team a hustler. Most founders are under survivorship bias while investors on the hunt for a Unicorn. As a result, everyone …
Category Archives: Life
Fearless
Starting a startup is a sign of being fearless. As a founder, you have to ensure that this philosophy gets propagated in every aspect. The hierarchy or pedigree should not hold back radical transparency. A fresher should get an equal opportunity like anyone else. They will be wrong at times. Encourage them to learn and …
advice
This crowded world of smart communication has a side effect. We have experts and advisors everywhere. Open Twitter, and you will find an investor sharing wisdom on running a successful startup. Open Hacker News, and you have some product guy sharing his wisdom followed by 1000 others in agreement or against it. …
Screen sucking
I am reading this book: driven to distraction at work. It talks about our screen consumption addiction. As per a 2006 report: enterprises are losing $200+ billion/year because of distraction at work. Reading this book reminds me of myself, how distracted and less focused I have been all this while. Many other books like Hooked, …
Liking
All animal species shows the tendency of liking. It is auto-programmed and changes with our experience. Liking is not limited to a person or material. It plays a vital role in our decision-making process. We like to hire people who match our criteria and the same goes for our investment. Robert Cialdini in Influence writes …
food and biology
Till class 10th, reading biology was all about cleaning exams. That notion of mine has changed over the past decade. I have realized it is important to understand my body and its limitations. I am getting old every day. I particularly focused on understanding human microbiome and neurotransmitters. It made me realize the importance of …
Hang on to it
I keep getting this advice: if things are not working right, hang on to it. Don’t give away quickly. Do not be a quitter. When you have lost soul on something: relationship, partnership or professional engagement. How can you Hang on to it? Our time is limited. Does hanging on or holding on to something …
Unreasonable expectations
Every partnership comes with a lot of expectation. There is not much difference in finding a co-founder or a life partner. Both have the same set of expectations and trust. A proper matchmaking and understanding the factors forging partnership is a must. It is still not guaranteed for success, but at least I have first …
Culture
One thing which differentiates an organization is its culture. Founders need to lead it. There is a famous saying: “Monkey see, monkey do.” If founders are dishonest with board or investors. Can they expect honesty from their employees? A toxic culture fueled on masculinity or in-fighting with teammates will do more bad. Why will employees …
Opinions
Our brain is lazy. It takes shortcuts in decision-making states. That is when past experiences play its role. We all have had our share of prejudice. Our hairstyle and beard make us a hippie. What we are wearing makes other decide we are modern or traditional. All auto and taxi drivers are bad. Apartment security …