Ishq

Liya apne zindgi ko, kar diya unke hawale. Ban gaye sagird unke, ho liye unme magan, hue masroof aise ki duniya unme he bana li.

Phir ho liye ru-baru khud se, sachai se, apne naadani se. The kya hum, kya ho gaye. Aisa kya kiya, aise kyun hue hum unpe kayal.

Khudgarz hua karte the hum kisi jamane me. Khud me khoye rehte the hum un dino. Hua kya hame, kaise ho gaye hum unke mohtaaz.
Aise kaise duniya bana li humne, aise kaise zindgi ko jine lage hum.

Kya ye gulami se kam hai, kyun ye nahi jumlo sitam hai? Apne aabru se baeaabruu ho liye hum aur diya hame kayal diwana diwana pukarne lagi.
Kya zindgi hai, kya zillat hai, harfan maula hua karte the kabhi ab pagal se bane bhatakte hai unki galiyo me, unke didar ke liye.

Kyun khuda nahi pakda hame, gaya kyun chir kar wo, hum dub chuke hai aur kahi sahil dur dur tak nahi dikh padta. Kya kinara hai kahi, kya dubne he hoga hame is ishq ke samandar me.

regrets

How much of our present goes by our past regrets?
Do some of us live like zombies carrying loads of past till eternity?
Can we live now without corrupting our life with regrets of the past?
Time machines are a thing of fiction and, why don’t we get it?
Why don’t we accept it and move on?
Why are we so closed and not open to the present?
Are we living life on regrets of the past?

why

Is it tough to be who we are?
Like being honest, naked, and no posturing?
Why do we have to wear a mask?
We fake ourselves when in real, we are broken, hollow, or burnt?
Who are we showcasing this brave face of ours?
Why do we do this?
Why do we act like this?

principle

The principle is a glue that holds together an enterprise, partnership or, agreement. Sometimes under external influence, under pressure, we forget about it. It results in killing whatever we have built with all the hard work.

Once we have defined a principle, it should be our guiding force. We should not forget it.

Getting lost is easy. Keeping yourself reminded about the guiding principle is powerful. It will help in sailing through high tides or tsunami.

Mastering the VC Game

Mastering the VC Game: the book I picked last week. It talks about in-out of a VC-Founder dynamics. The author himself is a founder turned VC. 

I could relate to many things the author has mentioned. The prime of it being trust, network, and relationship. 

From the founder perspective, the book talks about:

  • Founder VC terms.
  • Founder VC fit.
  • VC add-on for founders.

I would recommend this book to first-time founders.

homework

A lot many founders reach out to me for VC intro. It is like pay it forward for me. A few folks five years back believed in me and, I am here now in a position to help many more new breeds of founders. 

One thing I noticed is that these founders are busy building products, that they don’t know a few things:

  1. Whom to pitch.
  2. Which VC’s fund thesis matches their idea.
  3. How much they want to dilute and for what valuation.
  4. Which VCs have invested in their competitor.
  5. How is a particular VC fund going to help them apart from the capital?
  6. What are the key terms, agreements, SHA-SSA they are okay?
  7. What is the fund tenure; is it actively deploying?

sourcing

In this hyper-funded era of the startup ecosystem, the dynamics of building startups have changed. In most instances, a founder has more leverage than an investor. The positive side of this is that now every fund has to fight for a deal.

Those were the days when you get a cheque from a marquee investor because he cold reaches you. I have heard multiple instances where founders went ahead with power angels instead of blue-chip VC because those angels helped.

To be part of a CAP table, an investing team has to earn and justify their contribution apart from money. The relationship, help, mentoring, and connection should be authentic. Most seasoned founders are also carrying out their due diligence on VC funds. I get a call almost every other day.

A fund running on great culture will thrive irrespective of its fund size. They will not have to worry about race and competition. A fund manager needs to educate their team more on being empathetic with founders and fair treatment.

Capitalism brings competition and opens a level playing field for all stakeholders. There has been a shift in power dynamics. It has become a more level playing field where your contribution gets you the deal flow.

Fasting cure

I remember seeing my grandma doing a fast during Chatt puja. Everyone from the family will sit together cook, but Nani would be fasting, without even water and, she would be in the best of her voice: laughing, chit-chatting, and running around. I saw my mom as well every week: Sunday and Tuesday are on fast. I found her perfectly talking, cooking, and chit-chatting with us. 

On reading books on Greek culture, mention of fast is also prevalent. In Islam, the holi month of Ramzan lasts for a month.

A few days back, I picked Upton Sinclair, fasting cure. The book talks about the positives of fasting and how many lives gotten cured. 

It was Vinay who told me about intermittent fasting and its positives. I have been regularly practicing it. In the early days, I felt awkward considering my morning run schedules. But with time, I have been practicing 12-14 hours fast. I fast to calm my brain. The trick is simple, stop eating after sunset. 

If the practice of fasting has existed for so long, there must be some positives from it. But can everyone fast, I don’t know: consulting a physician before practicing would be a wise idea.

herd

Why do we have to end up following someone or some ideology without questioning or validating it.

Religious leaders are antagonizing us over caste or religion.
Political parties are making us fight over language and region.
Marketers are scaring us on our color, looks to buy their products.

Is it easy to get fooled? Are we a herd?

Commune

This Covid has made us all more isolated. It’s been a long I have made a trip to visit friends. I want to travel to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Rajasthan, Gujarat and, other places.

I have an idea of setting up a commune in the future. I can ask all my friends to move here. They could socialize with other of my friends, spend a week or two in leisure.

My Bangalore house is currently hosting most of my visiting friends in town, but I think the idea of a commune will be more exciting as we can have multiple folks living together for some time.