"You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, some time in your life."

— Victor Hugo

I was reading listening to “Courage to be disliked” and it struck a chord. The book presents an intriguing perspective: "Every issue is an interpersonal issue." This idea made me reflect on how often I limit myself, hesitating to take action because I'm concerned about others' opinions or expectations. It also makes it difficult to say No to people.

This mindset has made me almost apologetic when discussing my startup journey. Despite having months this year where I've earned more than my last drawn monthly salary, I still find myself grappling with self-doubt and questioning my path. It's as if there's a void I'm trying to fill by being overly critical of my choices.

Today, I came across the newsletter by Mark Manson, where the question comes up,

What are three things in your life that you are willing to be disliked for? If you have trouble answering that question, that is a problem.

I honestly can’t think of anything that I am willing to be disliked for. Definitely there is a problem. So what does it mean to be willing to be disliked?

Living Authentically

It means embracing my true self and living according to my own principles, rather than trying to meet the expectations of others. This authenticity is crucial for personal happiness and fulfillment. When you are not afraid of being disliked, you are free to make choices that align with your values and desires, rather than being constrained by the need for approval from others.

Freedom from External Validation

Seeking recognition and approval from others can lead to a life filled with anxiety and dissatisfaction. By discarding this need, one can focus on what truly matters to them and take responsibility for their own happiness. This shift in perspective allows you to live more freely and make decisions based on your own goals and aspirations, rather than being influenced by the fear of judgment.

Personal Growth and Resilience

Being willing to be disliked fosters resilience and personal growth. It encourages you to take risks, pursue your ambitions, and stand by your beliefs, even in the face of opposition. This mindset is essential for innovation and leadership, as it allows you to challenge the status quo and bring about meaningful change without being hindered.

In summary, the willingness to be disliked is about embracing the individuality, taking responsibility for one’s own happiness, and living authentically without being constrained by the need for external validation.

Is it easy or is it full of contradictions with the way I have been conditioned for many years. Even now, as I write this, my mind is thinking about what would people think about this article.

The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. It is going to take courage and every bit of energy and mindfulness to grow and break out this mental prison.

So Why am I doing a podcast which is a monologue? I have explained the same in details in the podcast so I recommend listening to the same. But a TL;DR version is, I am doing my own version of build in public through this podcast where I will share my learnings, failures, products and journey on weekly basis — My version of Weekly Progress Report. Also I explore my journey with accountability, what I tried and how I intend to stay accountable to my actions and outcomes.

I hope to add value to you with insights, what worked and more importantly what did not work out for me. All I ask from you is to provide feedback and criticism to improve it.

Product Update:

This week I am releasing a new product line of GenAI based Bots. First one is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Coach. I am releasing it through WhatsApp which can help you to reframe your thoughts, achieve goals, gain different perspective to your problems. More on this next week after the release.

Revenue Update:

In February, I made a revenue little less than $5,000 and after salaries, SaaS expenses and Marketing cost, I took about $2,000 in profit. While there is a huge gap to reach my market salary range, I am more confident that I am in the right direction. This year is going to be interesting.

Subscribe to my podcast at Spotify and that would mean a lot to me.

See you next week with more updates and insights.

For the first 4-5 years of my managerial experience, I was casual about my one-on-one meetings. I would chat with the team over coffee or lunch, but less than 10% of the meetings were organised. Now, I realize what a huge mistake that was. Only during COVID did I start structured, scheduled one-on-ones with team members and soon realised the value they add. In this post, I will discuss the benefits and what I believe makes a good one-on-one, as well as what it should not be.

What it should not be:

• Status Meeting: I've been part of meetings where the manager uses the time to ask about the status of all projects and then closes with areas to focus on. If you're running or participating in such meetings, you're wasting an hour every week.

• Appraisal Meeting: Sometimes, one-on-ones are executed as mini-appraisal meetings, focusing solely on performance and improvement from the manager's perspective. While important, dedicating an entire hour to this purpose is unfruitful. Spend 10 minutes to asses the performance and its trend.

What it should be:

Think of one-on-ones as a weekly investment in the people who make up your team. Like any investment, consistent and regular time spent compounds over time and pays dividends in terms of trust, candidness, and influence. Be genuine.

• Semi-Structured: While many new managers seek templates for their one-on-one meetings, I find such rigid formats mechanical and robotic. Your meeting should revolve around the person across the table (whether on Zoom or Google Meet). If you are determined to run the meeting in certain templated format, it defeats the purpose. While it's beneficial to have a broad agenda, always leave room for unstructured conversation about their interests, learning, health, vacation plans, etc. In the end, People wants to be heard and trusts someone who can relate to them in their interests and motivations.

• Consistent: The first meeting to get canceled or rescheduled during a product crisis? One-on-ones. This sends the wrong signal to the team and misses an opportunity to gain their perspective. Now I believe the last thing you want to convey to your team member explicitly “You are not important” who might be responsible for solving the crisis or best placed to make sure the crisis does not repeat. In this scenario, what I started doing is to join the call, keep it shorter, explain them, ask them for their perspective. You can spend 30 minutes instead of 1 hour. This adds extra trust and the team member will appreciate the value and your openness.

• Grapevine Killer: Grapevine is a powerful beast. If left unchecked, it can grow exponentially in your team and can result in long term inefficiency and drain all the trust equity. One-on-ones can effectively combat rumors and misinformation within your team, serving as a close second to team meetings in efficiency. There is no absolute way in which you can prevent people talking random information but if used correctly, you can use the same channel to spread the right and useful information. In the absence of information, people speculates and makes things up. It is better for you to provide the right information so that things stays controllable and real. Use this time to provide accurate information and address any concerns.

• Candid Feedback: Use one-on-ones to understand what motivates your team members and their future aspirations. Provide feedback not only on short-term project outputs but also on long-term goals. Additionally, encourage feedback on your own performance. If your team member is expecting to be promoted next year, spend 5-10 minutes in every meeting with them on the skill gaps and discuss opportunities to improve or fill the gap. While it is the job of the team member to improve, you are equally responsible to provide the opportunities. Suggest or encourage them to have dedicated time on their calendar to work on achieving the goals.

Additional pointers:

• Define Regular Cadence: Adjust the frequency of one-on-ones based on manager and team member tenure, as well as whether your setup is remote or physical. It should be minimum 30 minutes.

• Set the Tone & Listen: Be empathetic, avoid defensiveness, and listen more than you talk. Offer clear answers and be willing to admit when you don't have one.

• Be Flexible and Provide Perspective: Discuss work, careers, and hobbies, providing perspective where possible.

• Evolve with Time: Observe what works and what doesn't, and personalize the format based on each team member.

It may seem like a lot of work, but as a leader, ensuring your team is motivated and energized is crucial for success. There's no better way to achieve this than through effective one-on-one meetings and team gatherings. Do it right and witness what a motivated team can achieve.

It's about choosing wisely, making deliberate decisions, not hiring a great coder for their cultural unfitness, and designing every step based on what you value and what you do not appreciate. In my 16-year career, I have grown an engineering team from 2 to 50+ members each time, with its own mistakes and learnings. Today, I conducted an interview for an engineer after almost 1.5 years. That inspired today’s post about how my definition of a great engineer has changed over the years and how I define the same today.

Great engineers are great at debugging.

Things break all the time. Bug-free software does not exist. The faster an issue is fixed, the lesser the loss of customer trust, and also the more time spent on features. It is an opportunity cost. The better and simpler the fixes, the lesser the regression in the future. The best fixes come from the person who understands the most.

Great engineers not only understand the system, but they also have great intuition about what could have gone wrong. They are deeply connected to the details and make use of a wide range of tools and loggers across the systems. They never say, "It is someone else's code," or "I am not responsible for this." They are great at fixing and identifying the source of the problem.

Great engineers are great at helping others.

Always develop someone who not only seeks growth but also fights for the growth of those around.

Great engineers are good teachers. They hold high standards and try to make sure to bring everyone up to those standards. Everyone wants to work with them. They understand that they can have more impact by helping those around them to learn, improve, and thrive. No job is mundane or not worthy of their time.

Great engineers want to know the value of what they do.

They are customer or business-focused and not technology-focused. They always want to know how their work fits into the overall vision of the company. They value feedback, quality, innovation, and the ability to move fast. A great engineer has good judgment on what matters most at any point in time.

Great engineers are simplifiers.

The default path for any software system is to become complex with any code addition or changes unless someone makes a deliberate attempt to simplify. A complex code base makes it difficult to edit, results in more bugs, is difficult to understand, has a higher cost of maintenance, and the cycle repeats.

Whatever code the great engineers touch is usually made simple, elegant, and minimalistic. They write readable, easy-to-understand code and make modifications. They write code which not only the computer compilers can understand but also humans can understand. They also help other team members write cleaner code while advocating for long-term vision over technology and product.

Great engineers are curious learners.

Companies, teams, or people that are not growing are indeed dying. A top performer who is not learning and growing is not going to be a top performer next year.

Great engineers have a growth mindset. They are ever curious and always looking out for ways to innovate the way they build stuff, simplify the system, and remove complexities. While being positive, they are also paranoid about their own decisions until they find them working. They look at possibilities and aim to keep learning and growing every day.

To conclude, focus on hiring great engineers to set up a great engineering culture. At the end of the day, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

Lately, my LinkedIn feed has been flooded with posts discussing the controversial topic of working 70 hours a week. I figured it was my time to add my perspective to this conversation. In short, I AGREE with the idea, but before you raise your pitchforks, give this post a full read to get my complete view.

In the ongoing debate, there are a handful of leaders expressing their support while many are denouncing Mr. Narayana Murthy's statement, which goes like this:

Honestly, I don't know the context in which he made that statement. Often, quotes like these are yanked out of context and connected to all sorts of interpretations. So, this post is only about my take and views. Let start from beginning.

What exactly does work mean (to me)?

It seems we've confined our understanding of work to the realm of office setups and reporting to a manager, all in pursuit of the salary and wealth, which we need for food, clothing, shelter, and then some.

But where did this notion come from? I firmly believe that what we do, or our work, defines who we are. It's an expression of our true selves. So, if you're passionate about music, that's your work. Right now, I'm learning about human psychology out of passion, and happy to spend few hours every day on it. If a programmer is studying a new framework outside of their job, that's work too. Even going for a run, cycling, playing tennis, or spending quality time with your kids contributes to your productivity and part of your work to stay healthy and productive in future. I consider this time of me writing this post as work.

My father, at the age of 70, still works six days a week, from 9 to 9, to what he does. He doesn't view it as work but as an extension of himself. If at all, he gets bored if he does not work and asked to stay idle at home. My wife has started her entrepreneurial journey in a small way recently and has been working more than 15 hours every day since a month juggling between her job and her interests.

In short, upskilling, acquiring new knowledge, investing in your family, or focusing on your health all contribute to your current or future productivity and are considered as some form of your work.

Nowadays, most people clock in 8 hours a day, working five or six days a week. I know many friends and colleagues who put in an extra 40-50 hours each week preparing for exams like CAT, GRE, or IAS. So, in total, they're easily hitting that 70-80 hours mark already.

Given the current advancements in AI, I'm convinced that staying relevant requires us to keep learning and adapting. In my view, AI can be a threat unless we learn to harness it. Thus, even if someone is watching YouTube videos to upskill and learn new concepts, they could easily spend 60-70 hour mark.

So, what's the fuss all about, and why is everyone up in arms?

It all boils down to choice. No one, including me, wants to be coerced into working 70 hours a week. It's about having the freedom to choose. If you examine Mr. Murthy's statement closely, he's not demanding that people work those hours; he's suggesting that they make the choice. I see it as advice from a pioneer who played a pivotal role in shaping the Indian software industry and turning Bengaluru into the tech hub it is today. The country does not grow if we work for 70 hours in a job but learn to do things better and do with passion. So find your passion and invest.

In my case, there are weeks when I push beyond 80 hours, and then there are weeks when I barely hit 40. It all comes down to choice, self-motivation, and priorities. Our motivations and priorities varies so find your own things to do in 70 hours every week.

I'm not here to advocate that you should work a 70-hour week for your employer. Instead, I'm encouraging you to spend that time on your passions, hobbies, learning, upskilling plus your job. Anyone who has worked with me or on my team knows what I mean. If you don't grow, you risk becoming irrelevant in a few short years. So, invest in yourself—not just for your job or money, but for your personal fulfillment. In the grand scheme of things, when you enhance your skills, delve into the arts, or refine your communication or a hobby, you're elevating the entire nation. In the end, we all are the country and happy, productive, positive and passionate people makes better country. Time to get back to work 🤓

Today, I'm delving into a topic that's been occupying my thoughts for the past 4-5 years. Growing up in a Tier 2 town, my perspective on success was rather narrow. From excelling in academics during school days, to securing a well-paid job in college, and navigating the labyrinth of titles, compensation, and glory in the professional world—the pursuit of being extraordinary seemed like the ultimate aspiration. To be fair, that is what all the movies and books showed. You look at a Rajnikanth movie at young age in which he becomes rich in a song or read about college drop out Steve Jobs on starting Apple in garage. There are times I cursed about my missed opportunity of dropping off from college.

Our culture perpetuates the celebration of extraordinary achievements, spotlighting those who excel in specific, often isolated domains. These individuals are hailed as "winners," symbols of a life well lived. But I am discussing toward a little contrarian angle today—Escaping the Extraordinary Trap. This is similar to perfectionist trap which is also something to write in future.

The Scoreboard Principle: Measuring Beyond the Numbers

The Scoreboard Principle, a widely recognized concept, underscores the importance of measurement in enhancing performance. Quantifying progress drives participants to outdo themselves, often hinging on metrics about money. While being a millionaire used to be exceptional, billionaire status now defines the realm of extraordinary achievement. Most of the time, when we discuss about the job, we attach the value of compensation which is kind of a proxy for impact created (definitely not true).

However, there lies a concealed pitfall...

We've been conditioned to view ambition through a narrow lens—a climb up an imaginary ladder of success. Those who opt for undemanding roles to pursue diverse interests are labeled as unambitious or losers. Someone stepping back from a career to raise a family is deemed as falling short of their potential, as if job titles and salaries are the sole indicators of human value.

Not too long ago, I subscribed to these beliefs myself. The equation seemed simple: Achieving the extraordinary made one a winner; falling short, a loser. It left no room for those seeking a fulfilling, content life in the realm of the ordinary.

The Endless Pursuit and the Fleeting Happiness

An inherent flaw in this pursuit is its ceaselessness—a constantly shifting goalpost. As Buddha aptly stated, everything is impermanent. The euphoric happiness of extraordinary achievement is highly fleeting, quickly replaced by dissatisfaction, urging us toward the next adventure. Think about the feeling which you had when you bought a new phone, car or a house and how the feeling has changed over the time. We are not addicted to the pursuing materialistic goals but addicted to the feeling of achieving them which makes us wanting more.

In my own journey, I found myself trapped, relentlessly seeking a job that would infuse meaning into my life. Eventually, I realised the insatiable nature of this pursuit.

An impactful moment for me came while reading "The Psychology of Money" by Morgan Housel. A dialogue stood out: "Heller responds, 'Yes, but I have something he will never have ... enough.'"

I had never considered my "enough." Escaping the trap required me to think, bring life and excitement into the ordinary journey.

Redefining Success: The Beauty of the Ordinary

Here I am not saying not to be extraordinary but not to miss out 95% of the ordinary life for that 5% of extraordinary life. Enjoy the outcome but also enjoy the process.

1. Extraordinary is subset of ordinary: The essence lies in discovering purpose, joy, and fulfillment within the everyday journey.

2. The real win: It's not the endpoint that matters, but the process of striving itself.

This mirrors the concept of "Narrow vs. Broad Optimizations in Life." Excelling in one facet often corresponds to mediocrity in another. Attaining excellence across all dimensions is a rarity.

Back in 2011, I believed that a yearly salary of 12 Lakhs INR ($15,000) would bring happiness. Yet, when I achieved it a year later, I was already chasing a new number. The same cycle applied to job roles, wealth, and more. The truest trap was thinking, "When I achieve {X}, I'll be happy." X could be a promotion, retirement, money goal or anything.

So What is the aim here? Break free and relish the ordinary journey, instead of waiting for an extraordinary outcome.

If you're in the quest for "X" to find happiness, I invite you to share your perspective. i would love to hear your views.

With the inception of this newsletter, I am launching a new series of articles tailored for young and aspiring managers and leaders. Throughout this series, I will explore mental models and concepts essential for effective leadership. Without further ado, let's delve into the content of today's article.

In my role as an engineering leader, I've observed a persistent fallacy that ensnares many emerging managers, leaders, and founders—the notion that toiling longer hours, including weekends, translates to a greater impact on teams and company’s goals. This belief warrants a closer inspection. I, too, once adhered to this notion until a pivotal realisation transformed my perspective.

The Illusion of Hard Work

Like many of you, I was brought up to believe that burning the midnight oil and toiling relentlessly was the key to success. I used to wear my late nights and exhaustion as badges of honor, believing they were a testament to my dedication and commitment to the company. But over time, I've come to realize that this view is incomplete and even misleading.

Within the context of engineering teams, the illusion of hard work must yield to a culture that nurtures discerning problem-solving, perpetual learning, and strategic execution. It's not about clocking endless hours, but rather channeling expertise and energy into projects that genuinely elevate the team's accomplishments.

Consider this: an engineer who crafts an elegant, optimized solution in a fraction of the time may outshine one embroiled in laborious tasks for days without strategic clarity. A whirlwind of activity doesn't necessarily equate to tangible progress unless grounded in a strategic direction and a focus on impactful solutions.

Celebrating Diversity in Engineering Impact

Each engineer possesses a unique blend of skills, problem-solving styles, innovative thinking, and communication approaches. This diversity dismantles the myth of a universal hard work formula. For instance, while one engineer may find rejuvenation in nature or time with loved ones, another might choose to address pending tasks over the weekend. Neither approach is superior, yet the tendency to equate weekend dedication with commitment often persists among leaders and founders.

Navigating the Impact Paradox

In my experience, diverse skills define individuals. One engineer might showcase unwavering focus, dedicating nights to complete tasks, while another demonstrates consistent diligence. These contrasting approaches shape a complex tapestry of skills within a team. But the tendency to glorify one style over the other can inadvertently demoralize and discourage certain team members.

Occasionally, we encounter colleagues who invest boundless hours into their work, yielding inadequate results. It's akin to a treadmill of effort devoid of tangible progress—a scenario I've coined the "Impact Paradox." This quandary arises when energy is misdirected or inefficiencies hinder advancement. Caution is required to prevent falling into a cycle of motion devoid of purpose.

Gauging Success Through Impact

As we challenge the fallacy of "working hard," it's imperative to recalibrate success metrics. Tangible outcomes and the influence of our work should eclipse the focus on hours logged. Guided by a collective mission, let's establish clear goals and ensure every action contributes purposefully.

Keep in mind, success isn't solely measured by hours invested or sleep sacrificed. True triumph materializes when efforts are channeled strategically, fostering innovation and effecting transformation that propels both the team and the company onward.

Actionable Insights for Aspiring Managers

1. Prioritise Impact: Encourage your team to align projects with company objectives. Valuable contributions on critical tasks far outweigh a multitude of mediocre outputs.

2. Work Smart, Not Just Hard: Emphasise efficiency and resourceful time management. Uncover innovative avenues to achieve tasks, harnessing unique strengths. If longer hours become habitual for an individual, explore the rationale. Reevaluate project allocation and normalize such practices without undue glorification.

3. Value Rest and Creativity: Acknowledge the significance of work-life equilibrium. Encourage regular breaks for a rejuvenated mindset that fuels fresh perspectives and nurtures creativity. Encourage the team members to take vacation or to develop habits like hiking, running or what ever interests them.

4. Measure Success by Outcomes: Shift the spotlight from hours invested to tangible achievements. Celebrate milestones that significantly impact the team and the organisation.

5. Lead by Example: As a manager, embody advocated principles. Exhibit a balanced work-life approach and underscore the value of impactful work.

Remember, the path to effective management is an ongoing learning journey. Embrace these principles, fortify your team's potential, and foster a dynamic and motivated work environment that ultimately propels lasting impact.

I am working on launching a new Newsletter focused on data trends, connecting the theory and real world scenarios. If you are looking to learn and stay up to date in the universe of data & AI, subscribe here and it will be delivered thrice a week.

I have been returning to the mountains every 3 months, with my most recent trip being to Kashmir Valley last week. I've been contemplating the reason behind my continuous return to the mountains and wilderness, despite the discomfort and extreme physical demands it places on me.

I have walked about 200 km of trekking, climbing to 14,000 feet altitude, crossing rivers, traversing boulders, seeking answers that make sense only to me. From Himachal to West Bengal, Uttarakhand to Kashmir, I embarked on four different treks, each with its own challenges, and in doing so, I discovered the secrets of self-respect and physical ability. I gained insights into the diverse perspectives on life, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday existence. I decided to leave my job and pursue my own own journey during my time at mountains. However, one question still remains unanswered, "Why do I trek?"

To Be One with Nature:

Nature is perfect in its imperfections. It has evolved and optimised over millions of years, and during my hikes, I experience being a part of uninterrupted ecosystems, just as nature intended.

Our Earth, our home and history, exists for but a fleeting moment, allowing the birth of life - the most beautiful and sophisticated thing in the universe. In our pursuit of convenience and comfort, we are drifting away from nature. But when I venture on a hike, I feel like I'm going to a place where I truly belong - the wilderness, nature, and the present moment. Some of my most beautiful times have been spent walking alone amidst nature breathing in the fresh air basking in the forest filtered sun lights.

Eternal Moments of Time:

In the mountains, I always feel like I have so much time, allowing me to think clearly without stress. Time can be seen as both a blessing and a curse - it continues endlessly, reminding us that our time on Earth is limited, not eternal. In the city, time seems to only highlight its dark side, but in the mountains, I feel more present, understanding the true value of time.

Days elongate, and it feels like there are more than 24 hours in a day. Life should be slow, and time should be treasured, focusing on what truly matters. Instead of perceiving ticking time as impermanence, you begin to reflect deeply on life. The mind becomes occupied with silence, nature, views, and life as a whole, free from clutter. You become aware of the small insects, birds, trees, and the bustling life around you, feeling deeply connected to it all. In the mountains, every moment truly becomes its own universe.

Community & Humanity:

Humans evolved to live in communities - to share warmth, lives, stories, protection and gratitude.

My observation is that in the mountains and wilderness, people respect each other more, listen more, empathise, and help each other more. I sense a purity and sincerity in every action, creating a strong feeling of kinship and purpose. When I see young kids in the wilderness, it fills me with hope for the future of mankind, and when I encounter the older generation, I am reminded of human strength and resilience. The community feels selfless, and it's a place I love to belong to without any desire to escape or judge. Kindness and extending help come naturally, as they should. The connections I feel with people in the mountains run much deeper than those I encounter in city life. Even knowing the fact that I will not meet most of them ever again still makes no difference.

Health - Both Physical and Mental:

During last week's hike, I pushed my body 500% more than I typically do, yet it didn't complain. I slept like a baby inside a congested tent under a sleeping bag. Often, we live in excess yet feel dissatisfied when things don't go our way. Hiking has taught me how to live with so little, yet feel so abundant.

In the mountains, things seldom go as planned. There are random rains, overflowing rivers, unexpected snow, leaky tents, health issues, and more. Nothing is predictable, yet you find acceptance and silence within yourself. Even a challenging day of hiking can be viewed as a good day when reflected upon. You learn to embrace what comes your way and adapt accordingly.

Mornings in the mountains and forests are magical. They have the power to pull you into the present moment. In the mountains, I find satisfaction and happiness in drinking cold water in sub-zero temperatures, basking in the warmth of the morning sun amidst unpolluted air, finding joy in eating a piece of chocolate shared by fellow trekkers, and even in taking a moment to rest my heavy bag. I appreciate the simple joys of a warm shower at the end of a trek, the smell of cold packaged food, and much more. I learnt to find the happiness on the calling of a bird, rotting branches with shrooms, precisely broken rocks and perfectly reflective pristine lakes.

We have forgotten about these little things, which are always there with us and taken for granted in our normal lives. Hours of uninterrupted thinking in the midst of nature, mountains, and silence can be therapeutic.

Conclusion:

This way of living has made me more grateful and expressive of gratitude towards everyone who has helped shape who I am today, both through positive and negative experiences. Gratitude and forgiveness heal me, change me, and strengthen me. Wilderness has the power to soothe the anxiety caused by uncertainty about the future.

I yearn for experiences that connect me to the nameless entity in this lifeless blackness of eternal space. Ultimately, I am negligible in the cosmic scale. The magnificence of mountains, the immensity of boulders, the size of the trees, and the ferocity of river streams all remind me of this truth in their own way. Yet, the carpeting of plants in those harsh conditions shows the strength of resilience and hope.

Though I may be weak and insignificant, I feel a strength, consciousness, and uniqueness in being a part of eternity that is my life. I strive to make the best out of it. My experiences also contribute to humanity, connecting the chaos of the big bang to the order of life.

I see myself going back to the wilderness to learn and draw strength from it. I also hope that we will preserve the purity and sanctity of the wild mountains. Just as this experience has seeped into my city life, helping me notice life and trees with the same awe and appreciate the sunrise or sunset with the same glory, I hope we all respect and protect nature, not just for its sake, but for our own. I thank the mountains, rivers, forests, sheep herds, clouds, flowers and birds for allowing me to have the experience. I thank my family for letting me and my wife for introducing me to trekking and every trekker who were part of my trekking group showing the value of community. Special thanks to IndiaHikes for making the treks meaningful and safer in India.

Mountains, see you again in 2024.

Today, I want to share a personal reflection on a topic that has been on my mind lately: regret minimisation vs future optimisation. This is a journey of self-discovery and a quest for finding a balance between short-term fulfilment and long-term stability.

The Quest for Balance

I want to delve into one of the pivotal reasons behind my decision to leave a safe, well-paid job and embark on a new journey of bootstrapping my ideas with ensoview.com and supportrep.ai. For over a year, I had wrestled with the question of how to shape the canvas of my life. I encountered two paths: sacrificing short-term desires to accumulate wealth for a secure future, or living fully in the present without excessive concern for the uncertain future. Inspired by the teachings of Buddhism's middle path, I sought a way to reconcile both perspectives and live a life that fulfilled my immediate desires while safeguarding long-term stability.

To me, regret minimisation represents those things that the future version of myself would wish I had or had not done. It's about making choices that minimise the potential for future regrets.

As I lie on my death bed, what memories will fill my mind? I strive to live a life without regrets, an aspiration shared by many. However, what if that day were to come tomorrow? How would I feel about the choices I postponed, hoping for a better future?

Let me share a little background on how my perspective has evolved over the years.

Regret Minimisation in Perspective

During the first five years of my career, my focus was primarily on future optimisation, prioritising long-term goals and opportunities over immediate gratification. While this mindset helped with self-motivation, drive, and success, looking back, I regret not taking more time for travel, family, and embracing the present moment to celebrate and feel happy. It was during six short trips to US between 2008 and 2012 that I observed how some of my colleagues prioritised experiences over material gains or vice versa. The cultural differences and perspective inspired me to reassess my priorities and start minimising regrets without even realising it. I started optimising for my experiential learnings and seeking varied perspectives which I believed helped me a lot in my journey.

The following five years brought a realisation of the perspective of wealth. In 2012, I set a goal of earning a specific monthly salary, assuming it would bring me happiness. Within two years, I surpassed that target, yet the desire for more persisted. It is like a moving goal post. I discovered that the pursuit of ever-increasing numbers had diminishing returns on my overall satisfaction. It was then that I set a salary threshold that allowed me to maintain my desired lifestyle without compromising my passions and goals. This newfound freedom empowered me to take salary cuts at my job and explore job opportunities that aligned with my aspirations, all without harbouring any regrets.

To this day, I have taken salary cuts or accepted jobs with steep pay reductions (up to 75%) three times. I have no regrets about any of these choices, as each experience has contributed to my personal growth and profitability of learnings and perspectives. I firmly believe that nothing is a true failure if we use it as a stepping stone for future development.

Embracing Freedom and Growth

Regret often revolves around what we didn't do or what we failed to achieve. It stems from the disappointment of missing goals or not realising our aspirations. It could be self inflicted or forced upon us by the society.

In my fourteen years of working for a company, I never took a vacation without feeling guilty. I constantly feared missing out on work-related matters and believed that things wouldn't progress without my presence. I was always checking messages, emails, and carrying my laptop everywhere. Only after leaving my job and embarking on my own journey did I truly experience a vacation trekking through the Singalila National Park without invisible stress or pressure. Talking about this with my wife, I realised that this phenomenon is even more pronounced for mothers balancing their careers and caring for their child. If you're a mother reading this, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

So much of success stems from embracing a mindset of continuous learning and growth. Personally, I was incredibly shy growing up, barely uttering a word in class. However, by committing to daily growth, there's no room for regret, only progress. I like to live by the philosophy of improving by one percent each day, knowing that in a year, I will be 37 times better than before. Looking back, this perspective keeps me focused on the future rather than dwelling on missed opportunities or shortcomings.

Living Life Looking Forward

Every time I encounter failure, instead of wallowing in guilt or negativity, I redirect my energy toward looking forward and making positive changes. I have since applied this philosophy to my career and work life. Instead of fixating on what I didn't say in a meeting or missed opportunities, I contemplate how to tackle the next challenge with newfound wisdom. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't learn from the past; it simply means we shouldn't let it anchor us.

It's all too easy to fall into the trap of local optimisation or taking the path of least resistance. However, true fulfilment lies in exploring multiple bets and pursuing step functions that compounds to exponential growth.

Living without regrets is liberating. Rather than looking back, we can focus our time and energy on moving forward. Instead of dwelling on what could have been, we can channel our energy into creating the future we desire. By reframing negative experiences as springboards for personal and professional achievement, we can rewrite our narratives and achieve our dreams.

Conclusion: Your Future Self's Wish

I'd like to conclude with a quote from Seneca's "On the Shortness of Life":

“You will hear many people saying: "When I am fifty I shall retire into leisure; when I am sixty I shall give up public duties." And what guarantee do you have of a longer life? Who will allow your course to proceed as you arrange it? Aren't you ashamed to keep for yourself just the remnants of your life, and to devote to wisdom only that time which cannot be spent on business? How late it is to begin really to live just when life must end! How stupid to forget our mortality, and put off sensible plans to our fiftieth or sixtieth year, aiming to begin life from a point at which few have arrived!”

So, my question to you is: What does your future self wish you had done today?

Let's embrace regret minimisation and create a life filled with purpose, joy, and growth. Thank you for being a part of this journey. Now I build my products in public and post the progress in Twitter, do follow there for updates.

Wishing you an inspired and regret-free week ahead.

Now It has been almost 15 years (7th July 2008) since I commuted to the office for the first time. Today, I'd like to share some of the lessons I wish I had learned before starting my career, lessons that I often talk with my team. It's the guide I wish I'd had when I began my journey. I hope it will benefit you in the ways that it would’ve helped me

1. Optimise Broadly; Minimize regrets - A change in perspective

Recently I came across the concept of optimising the life broadly instead of narrow optimisation. If one wants to be at the top 1% of the population, he or she needs to sacrifice or optimise the life around that one. Be it career, money or power. You achieve what you focus and optimise for. Instead, if you try to be at the top 10%, you have higher probability and also you can be at top 10% on your career, money and happiness. It means coming in terms with being not great at one thing but good at many things.

When I started my career, only thing I thought of is how to progress through it faster and grow faster, make more wealth etc. By looking back, now I see how much I have lost on the way. I could have travelled more, spent more time with family and see so many lost opportunities which would have made my life more meaningful.

2. It is my job to find a good manager - Power of a good mentor

Good managers are good teachers and it is a two way relationship.

When I embarked on my career journey, the significance of having a "good manager" was often emphasized, yet its true meaning eluded me. I mistakenly believed that likeable and experienced individuals automatically equated to effective managers. Furthermore, I assumed that I had no say in determining who would become my manager. It was my responsibility to seek out a good manager, if I wanted one.

If you've spent more than a few months working alongside me, chances are you've heard me speak of Sitakanta Ray. Although our manager-employee relationship lacked formal sessions, we engaged in conversations that spanned life, work, and everything in between. Through our interactions, I learned the essence of genuine care, team respect, leading by example, and much more. These invaluable lessons and first principle thinking, acquired during my tenure at MySmartPrice, have shaped my leadership style and continue to serve me well to this day. I credit my professional growth to the discovery of such exceptional manager throughout my tenure.

3. The Subjectivity of Success: Running Your Own Race

Promotions and titles, often seen as benchmarks of growth or success, are merely arbitrary measurements shaped by someone else's standards. Looking back, I truly wish that someone had reminded me during my early days to stay focused on my own journey. Such guidance would have spared me countless nights of anguish and introspection, those "one of those days" when I was plagued by feelings of depression and frustration about the direction of my life.

Even now, I grapple with this issue. Changing the definition of success at a subconscious level proves to be a difficult task. While part of me still yearns for conventional success, I have grown wiser and learned to brush it off, shifting my focus towards what truly matters to me at present. Now I run my own race. Trust me, life is not a sprint but a marathon, so plan accordingly.

4. Learn, Persevere, Execute; Embrace Action, Avoid Over-planning

I’ve always been an over-planner. I used to map out my two-year plan every six months in my mind. Many are aware about the dozens of domains which I bought over the years to work on my ideas but never saw an IP address attached to them. Countless hours were spent immersed in planning, envisioning the success of specific ideas and imagining how they would transform my life and personal growth. But overplanning stressed me out when things inevitably didn’t go according to plan. Every setback felt like a personal shortcoming, a sign that I hadn't exerted enough effort. Then I would overcorrect by planning even more when, in reality, many things were beyond my control.

Looking back, even if those ideas did not achieve commercial success, I now wish I had persevered and executed on a few of them. They would have undoubtedly provided me with valuable lessons along the way. Unfortunately, I am currently learning these lessons the hard way.

5. Celebrate Your Wins: Fueling Growth Through Thoughtful Recognition

During the initial month of my very first job, the Head of India centre shared how he planned out to reach that level by his age of 35 and told us proudly how he achieved it over a drink. That left a mark on me.

Throughout my career, I experienced rapid growth. At the young age of 28, I built a team from the ground up at MySmartPrice. Later, I seized another opportunity, starting anew, and by the age of 33, I held the position of CTO in a $500 million company. However, I realize now that I never truly celebrated these achievements. Here I am at 35, embarking on a fresh journey from zero.

I have come to understand that thoughtful celebration is not self-indulgence; rather, it is a powerful tool for sustaining long-term growth. It allows me to break free from the relentless pursuit of perfection and the grip of imposter syndrome. Now, I ask myself if the "me from a decade ago" would be proud of who I have become today, and I celebrate the fact that the answer is a resounding yes.

6. It is a very small world: Nurturing Connections That Span Time

Like interconnected puzzle pieces, our paths often intersect in unexpected ways.

This has become my favorite phrase, one I share with others when they depart from my team or when I bid farewell. I must admit, I haven't always excelled at maintaining professional and personal relationships once the everyday interactions stops. It's not because I fail to recognize their value, but rather because I don't actively invest effort into staying in touch. However, despite the passing of time, I hold onto the sense of connection, as if no hiatus had occurred, when I do eventually reconnect with someone after years.

I have come to a realization: the world is remarkably small. We continuously encounter one another, whether as future colleagues or mutual connections sharing our workspaces. While there are ethical reasons to cultivate good relationships with fellow humans, it becomes even more crucial when considering the potential impact on one's career, which can be influenced for better or worse by these connections.

7. Building Bridges Through Giving

In the past, I found myself hesitant to reach out to individuals whom I deeply respect and admire. While my more confident peers confidently approached and introduced themselves, I would often remain in my seat, assuming that these experienced individuals wouldn't lend a helping hand because I had nothing tangible to offer in return.

However, as cliché as it may sound, I have come to realize the importance of giving, and giving more, before asking for help. In the past six months alone, I challenged myself to break free from the grip of imposter syndrome and the belief that I had nothing of value to offer. I began to open up and engage in conversations with people, recognizing that genuine connection can bridge gaps and create opportunities for mutual support. You always have something to offer to someone.

8. Check your values instead of boxes - Navigating Life's Path with Purpose

For the past 15 years, I meticulously tracked my bucket list, diligently ticking off each item on it. Score well in school, attend a reputable college, secure a decent job, climb the ladder of success, and eventually become a leader—I moved from one box to the next. However, things changed when the next box, such as writing a book, doing a side project, clashed with desires and aspirations that weren't neatly listed. I found myself struggling to maintain motivation.

Upon leaving MySmartPrice, I believed that happiness, learning and growth awaited me in larger, structured companies. Yet, that notion lasted less than two years, and I found myself drawn back to the excitement and thrill of the startups.

Reflecting on my most significant life decisions, I've discovered that the best choices were often guided by intuition rather than logical reasoning. For instance, leaving Amazon to join a pre-series A company with a significant salary cut proved to be a great move. Now, I am once again left the well-paid CTO role, pursuing my next calling starting at zero.

When I first heard Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement speech in 2007, connecting the dots didn't resonate deeply with me. However, as time passed, I began to see how those dots interconnected and shaped my journey.

It is easy to follow well laden paths that don't align with our true selves. Asking myself what I truly value has been a challenging endeavor because it requires honesty about my own definition of success. Though I still face struggles in this regard, I've learned that when I find myself at a crossroads, it's crucial to check my values. Only when I understand what truly matters to me can I chart a path that leads me there.

9. Manage your energy and optimise for happiness

I heard Naval Ravikant, the former CEO of AngelList, say that his number one priority in life—above his happiness, his family, and his work—was his health. I began to understand the profound truth behind the saying, "You can't pour from an empty cup.”

Energy and attention, not time alone, became the valuable currency that I learned to safeguard and invest wisely. Activities that I once believed I had no time for—such as exercising, taking leisurely walks, and socializing—became my top priorities, essential investments in recharging my mind and body. I grew conscious of the unconscious habits and behaviors that drained my energy and consumed valuable mental space, like endless rumination. If I found myself engaged in something I disliked for an extended period, and had no control over it, I made a deliberate effort to free myself from it. By managing my energy, I discovered that I could utilize my time more meaningfully and productively.

Understanding the profound link between energy management and overall well-being has enabled me to optimize my life for happiness. By replenishing my energy reserves and channeling them into activities that truly matter, I've unlocked a greater sense of fulfillment and purpose.

10. Career is a portfolio; Avoid getting attached.

Like a diligent gardener tending to a flourishing garden, your job is to create the ideal environment, exert the right effort, and provide the necessary circumstances for growth. Just as a tree that falls ill requires pruning and replanting, it's crucial not to become overly attached to a specific project or product. Attachment can cloud your sense of purpose and hinder progress. By adopting a mindset of balance, dedication, and adaptability, you can nurture your career, focusing on learnability and maintaining fertile soil for future bounties.

In the early stages of my career, I viewed my work output as a personal expression, taking offense if a product failed. I also believed that my career would follow a linear path, where success was guaranteed over time.

Whether it's in our careers, investments, or life as a whole, the probability and magnitude of success are inversely proportional—an idea I'll explore in another post. Additionally, luck plays a significant role in shaping outcomes. Therefore, it's essential to make multiple small high probable bets, increasing the probability of success. For instance, I could have started a newsletter a few years ago or continued writing my book, creating more opportunities and increasing the odds of success.

Approaching our careers as diverse portfolios allows us to embrace new possibilities, adapt to changing circumstances, and seize unexpected opportunities. By staying open-minded and embracing the role of a gardener, we can cultivate a fulfilling and dynamic professional journey.

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Few things which I did right (I guess)

Leap into the unknown and shine your brightest

Reflecting on the past 15 years and connecting the dots, I realize that I wouldn't be where I am today without making a few daring decisions to leave the well-trodden path and embrace the unknown. Back in 2012, I departed from CTS to join a small startup with only three people operating from a 100 sq. ft. penthouse room. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Once again, leaving the comfort of Amazon and taking more than 75% salary cut to join another company and deciding over a phone call may have seemed daunting, but it allowed me to learn and grow. While this path may not be for everyone, I attribute my willingness to take these leaps to my upbringing by my parents and the support from my wife.

Your team is more than mere numbers

I have always hated referring to engineers or individuals as "resources." Humans are complex systems with unique qualities. Treating people as mere numbers diminishes their value. Everyone deserves respect. Empathy and compassion set us apart from the animal kingdom. It's important to recognize and leverage the strengths of each team member. It's unrealistic to expect immediate behavioral changes in individuals who have been shaped by 20+ years of their own experiences, both inside and outside of work.

There have been instances in my life where I made mistakes and experienced regret and guilt afterward. In the years 2014-2015, I focused solely on my work and assumed that my colleagues shared the same approach. I became frustrated when they didn't exhibit the same level of commitment or willingness to work as I did. I decided to take matters into my own hands, believing that it would prove my capability. However, truly getting to know my team as individuals helped me not only accomplish tasks but also become a better teammate and leader.

I am proud and confident to say that most of my team members still reach out to me, seeking career advice and considering me a mentor. I must have done something right. (Have I?)

Navigating the early stages of my career was often perplexing and isolating, but I found it easier with great people who were on a similar journey. Through it all, I've come to realize that the journey itself is the destination. Instead of striving for some future state of nirvana, I've learned to embrace and enjoy the present. The start of your career marks the beginning of everyone's journey, and I hope my experiences can offer guidance and support to someone else along the way.

The Biggest Bias at Workplace

As a manager, I have always wondered about the gap between the best performer in the team and the person perceived as the best performer by outside stakeholders. I have taken steps to ensure stakeholders recognise the critical contributions of everyone. This brings us to this week's topic: one of the strongest biases I have noticed in companies, the "quick thinking bias" or the "fast talker bias."

This bias favours individuals who can articulate their thoughts rapidly and respond quickly in conversations or decision-making processes. It may lead to undervaluing the contributions of individuals who require more time for thoughtful reflection or who express themselves at a slower pace.

Expressing and promoting your work is not inherently wrong. However, it's essential to back it up with your skills and effort. If someone is truly skilled and drives meaningful outcomes, it becomes crucial to find ways to effectively communicate their achievements. In this context, I want to emphasise the misconception of equating making "noise" with greatness.

Think about your last weekly review, product demo to executives, or leadership review meeting. During these moments, you have a short time to deliver condensed progress or strategy. Though the meeting constitutes only 5% of your work, it contributes more than 50% to how others perceive your work and impacts your career growth. Unfortunately, I have witnessed performance calibration discussions favour those who were the most vocal, articulate, and forceful in presentations, even if their work outcome was objectively weaker.

Fair or not, human nature unconsciously favours those who can communicate quickly and think on their feet. We subconsciously use this as a proxy for performance and intelligence. Consequently, extroverted individuals, fluent English speakers, those with speech and debate training, and those who can think and speak spontaneously receive preference. In my experience conducting about 500 interviews, I have seen many candidates rejected due to their lack of English proficiency, resulting in a perception of lacking in the thinking process.

I have known teammates who possess amazing insights but take time to process, ponder, and communicate. By the time they have something to say, the meeting agenda has moved on, resulting in others perceiving them as less intelligent or unopinionated. Though they were the most amazing engineers I have worked with, no one outside the team knows about it. It is the responsibility of both the leader and the engineer to figure out a way. It is not enough to add value if no one knows about it. As non-native English speakers, most of us usually think in our mother tongue and then translate it into English in our minds, which adds a delay. It took me a lot of reading, listening, and years of practice to think in English rather than in Tamil.

For better or worse, this imbalance is something we all have to grapple with in our diverse workplaces, particularly in India where English has become the de facto communication language. The question is, how can we overcome this invisible bias? It is important to recognise and challenge such biases to ensure fair and inclusive communication and decision-making. This bias is institutional against the individuals but the solution should be multi-fold which needs help from manager, colleagues and initiatives by the individual. Here are a few suggestions:

If you are the silent one, prepare to speak:

• Speaking up is a skill that can be learned. With practice, you will gain confidence and surprise yourself with how effectively you can communicate.

• Join organisations like Toastmasters, related groups to improve your communication skills and gain valuable feedback. Try reading novels, stories, and online articles which will improve your comprehension.

• Set goals for speaking up in meetings and prepare comments ahead of time to feel ready to contribute.

• Do writing. Start with writing your feedback. Once your peers understand your value add, they will reach out for your views in future.

• Avoid the trap of imposter syndrome. This is very personal to me and I will write it as a full post in the coming weeks.

Leaders and Managers, optimise your process:

• Encourage equal participation by going around the room and giving each person time to speak.

• Emphasise the value of talking during one-on-one conversations and also inform the individual that you intend to call their name out in the future meetings forcing them to face the fear and be prepared.

• Create a safe space within the team or organisation for people to express their thoughts and ideas.

• Encourage sharing of pre-reading materials ahead of meetings so that people can come prepared with questions and comments to meetings. This is probably my best learning from my amazon days.

Already great at communication? Help your buddies:

• Extend support to those who are less comfortable with communication. Give them airtime and prepare them for discussions.

• Seek opinions from silent team members to gain valuable insight and strengthen relationships.

As a self-identified introvert, in recent years, I have found myself capable of making connections and thinking fast during meetings but it took years of practice, and I compensated for my language limitations through data insights. I always prepare for a meeting by going through a data dashboard relevant to that meeting. However, even now, if I need to speak in front of a public audience, I take 10 minutes to write down my thoughts and practice them before the talk. Sometimes, I still feel out of my depth, concerned about saying something wrong or irrelevant but now I know I can work on it and aim to do better the next time.

As leaders, we have the ability to make the playing field more equal, and as colleagues, we can vouch for our team members. If you're a natural introvert, take small steps today to make your voice heard and your perspective known.

The hidden bias toward extroverts in the workplace is not fair, but unfortunately, it exists in many places. Regardless of your role, you have the power to decide whether to ignore this bias or take action. The choice is yours.

On the work front, AI is making significant strides in accelerated development.

Interesting updates in AI

• The pace of AI development can be intimidating. Whenever I look at an image now, I can't help but wonder if it was generated by a machine. Even prominent figures in AI are concerned about the rapid progress and have signed a letter pledging to work on responsible AI. You can read the letter here: link to the open letter.

• Google has recently launched a suite of development tools as part of their Vertex AI product line, which provides strong support for generative AI. You can find more information about these tools and their features in the release notes. I've personally found their platform to be excellent and have started exploring it this week.

• Interestingly, during the recent Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), there was barely any mention of generative AI throughout the entire presentation. Sometimes, what is not said can reveal a lot about a company's focus and direction.

• In another development, Facebook's Multilingual Multi Speaker Speech (MMS) technology now supports over 1100 languages with a comparatively low error rate. This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionise speech technology. You can learn more about it in Facebook's official announcement: link to the announcement.

The world of AI is rapidly evolving, with both exciting advancements and important considerations for responsible development. As an experiment, we tried to create a chat indexed with all exciting startup related articles and created a chatbot. Do check it out at https://buddy.ensoview.com/startups

Stay tuned for more updates on these fascinating developments.

Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the un-lived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.

Closing the Gap: Living my Un-lived Life

It got me thinking: How can we minimize the divide between the life we live and the un-lived life that resides within us? The choices we make, the paths we take—they often mean leaving countless other possibilities behind.

It's a profound question. Can we bridge the gap between these parallel lives? While it may be impossible to fully explore every alternate path, we can strive to make choices that align with our values, passions, and aspirations. It's about consciously pursuing the things that truly matter to us, so we can live with a sense of fulfilment and purpose. The key lies in self-awareness, introspection, and making choices aligned with our authentic selves. Each decision we make is an opportunity to bridge the gap and bring us closer to living a life that truly resonates with our dreams. Enough philosophy for now, lets move on to the topic of discussion.

US vs THEM

Throughout my career, starting from my days at BITS, I've been captivated by a recurring observation that humans tend to perceive themselves as part of an exclusive in-group, viewing those outside the group as "the other." Few years ago, I discovered that this phenomenon is often referred to as "Us vs Them."

As social beings, we naturally move towards forming groups and identifying with those who share our values, beliefs, and interests. While this mindset can lead to conflict and division, it also plays a pivotal role in shaping our social interactions and our life. This is evident in religion, food choices, language spoken, gender and everything you can think of. But the area which fascinated me was how this behaviour evolves throughout the growth of a company.

Early Stages: Building the Foundation (Team size 1 - 30)

When a small group of individuals come together to work on a shared idea, they often possess a strong sense of connection and unwavering commitment to achieving success. With a united front, they perceive themselves as "Us" and rally against "Them," which may represent the market, competitors, or other challenges. This cohesive culture acts as a powerful catalyst for innovation and growth, allowing the team to overcome any obstacles in their path.

During my initial days at MySmartPrice, I frequently witnessed this phenomenon. Engineers, content creators, and growth teams collaborated seamlessly, combining their talents to create something truly remarkable making the whole process fulfilling and enjoyable.

Growth Stage: Balancing Expansion (Team size 30 - 200)

As a startup expands, thanks to the initial success fostered by a close-knit team, the same principles that once propelled growth can inadvertently become hindrances. Silos begin to form, driven by the way rewards are structured within most companies. Teams become more focused on achieving their individual goals rather than aligning with the overall mission of the company. This often leads to conflicts and inefficiencies that hinder progress and stifle innovation.

To address these symptoms, leadership often introduces tools and processes such as OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) or similar frameworks. However, in my view, these measures can exacerbate the existing challenges if not implemented correctly.

How can we identify this stage? Pay attention to when teams start blaming other teams for their unmet goals, or when complaints about inter-departmental issues come from founders or CXOs instead of the concerned teams themselves.

This stage also marks a turning point when the original team starts sensing a shift in culture and expresses concerns about a slowdown in execution. You may hear stories of how execution used to be amazingly fast, with features being developed from idea to production within a single day or how a coffee table discussion resulted in to a new product development.

Late Stage: Scaling Challenges (Team size > 200)

If a company successfully navigates through the growth stage and continues to transform and expand, new challenges emerge. The Us vs Them mentality becomes even more complex to navigate as numerous teams and departments coexist. Maintaining a sense of cohesion and shared purpose becomes increasingly challenging. Rather than different teams arguing amongst themselves, you may observe teams within the same vertical pointing fingers or dismissing issues as the responsibility of other teams.

This also sheds light on why individuals who excel in one stage of a company's journey may struggle to adapt to other stages. Ownership remains important throughout, but the definition of ownership and its outcomes change as the company evolves, as do the associated rewards.

It's essential to note that the Us vs Them mentality is not inherently good or bad. Instead, it's a natural human trait that can be harnessed in different ways depending on the context. By understanding how this mentality manifests within various organisational contexts, leaders can effectively manage their teams, foster collaboration, and nurture innovation.

As a leader or founder, I believe in working hard to create a culture where "us vs them" doesn't exist internally but always focused to external factors. Taking from Netflix's Reed Hastings, who described startup teams as sports teams not a family. Sports team can succeed only when they work together to win against the other teams with singular vision. This mindset fosters strong bonds, promotes effective communication, and encourages collaboration across teams rather than competition.

Over time, I have experimented with several mechanisms to mitigate this phenomenon and offer the following recommendations:

1. Transparent Communication: Ensure everyone is well-informed about the company’s or team's vision, goals, and progress. Transparency builds trust and fosters a sense of connection and engagement among all employees.

2. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Encourage teams from different departments to collaborate on projects and initiatives. Breaking down silos and promoting collaboration helps bridge any gaps and strengthens the sense of unity.

3. Shared Goals and Values: Continuously reinforce the company's core values and align everyone around a common purpose. When all individuals work toward a shared vision, maintaining a cohesive culture becomes more attainable.

4. Recognition and Appreciation: Celebrate individual and team achievements openly. Recognise the contributions of every employee, irrespective of their position, and cultivate a culture of appreciation and gratitude. The team should feel a genuine sense of gratitude or satisfaction for everyone’s success.

It's crucial to remember that maintaining a strong Us vs Them psychology requires consistent effort and attention. By actively cultivating an inclusive and collaborative culture, you can ensure that your company's values and sense of togetherness remain intact, regardless of its growth trajectory. Remember, If you are managing a smaller team, pick the lesser evil. It is better to have your team fight with other team rather than allowing disharmony within itself.

In conclusion, the Us vs Them mentality is a multifaceted phenomenon with both positive and negative effects depending on the context. In startups, it can serve as a driving force for innovation and growth, while in later stages, it can help establish a sense of identity and shared purpose if managed appropriately. By understanding how this mentality operates and effectively managing it, leaders can empower their teams to thrive and achieve their goals.

AI advancements are happening in amazing speed. Kishan and I are working on few amazing capabilities over various LLMs. Being in the middle of it, I feel how slow our progress has been. Stay tuned for next post about AI, products and how it is going to change our lives for good (?).

The Myth of Self-Motivation

When people talk about startup founders, they often paint a picture of highly disciplined individuals who wake up early and work late with military precision. But let's be real, that's not always the case. I like to believe that I've always had an innate sense of motivation, but the added responsibility of answering to the team or peers certainly didn't hurt.

Working alone, however, was a different story. Without a concrete timeline and clear goals, I found myself getting easily distracted and lot of netflixing during the first month.

So, what turned things around for me? The answer was simple: hiring a small team. With the addition of an engineer, I suddenly found myself responsible not only for my own success but for the success of someone who had placed their trust in me. This sense of accountability forced me to be more disciplined and responsible, even when I wasn't feeling particularly motivated. So, if you're like me and struggle with discipline, consider positioning yourself as a responsible leader and surround yourself with a team that depends on you for success.

The Good, the Bad, and the Stressful

One question I get asked a lot is whether startup life is stressful. My answer is always the same: it depends on what you mean by stress.

You see, stress is not always a bad thing. In fact, in small doses, it can actually be helpful. It can improve focus, memory, and performance. It can even motivate you to take action and solve problems. But there's a catch. It only works if you're in control of the situation.

However, there are two types of stress - good and bad. Good stress is when you're in control of the variables and can change the outcomes, while bad stress is when you feel helpless to control the situation. It's not the demands of the job that cause the most stress, but rather the degree of control people feel they have throughout their day. Studies have also shown that the effort required by a job is not inherently stressful, but rather the imbalance between the effort we give and the reward we feel.

Personally, I feel less stressed now as a startup founder than I did when I had a job. Even though I'm making less money and working harder in more uncertain and ambiguous problems without high probability of success, I feel more in control of my time and efforts. My Garmin agrees with me on this! So, next time someone asks you if startup life is stressful, remember that it's all about your perception of control.

Empathy, Experience, and comfort zone

One of the major shifts in my job role was that I became more hands-on, doing coding, sending cold emails, and figuring out marketing. This experience helped me gain respect and empathy for job roles that I didn't fully understand before. For example, I now have a greater appreciation for the sales team's perseverance in closing contracts and dealing with multiple rejections daily.

I also discovered the kind of hustle people are capable of when they are motivated enough.

However, falling back into my comfort zone has been a major issue for me. I often found myself preferring to code rather than getting into the unknown territory of product marketing or sales. This tendency hurt both short-term and long-term values. Although I am still struggling with this issue, I have found ways to solve it by avoiding getting too engrossed in product engineering details. One thing that has helped me is having a different schedule for product engineering and marketing-related tasks.

Importance of Values and Culture

Over the past few months, I've developed a set of values that I believe are important to what I want to achieve:

• be restless

• be authentic and vulnerable

• learn tirelessly and execute consistently

• prioritise survival over growth.

Although my team is small, I plan to create a living cultural document in the coming weeks to ensure we stay aligned with these values as we grow and create. There's also the concept of "us vs them" in workplace culture, which can be a whole topic on its own and I'll save that for another post.

In my 15 years of experience, I've observed that what makes a job satisfying or stressful isn't just the work itself, but also the people you work with. It's important to find colleagues who are fun, trustworthy, and dependable.

To conclude this post, my ultimate goal is not to create a massive, high-growth unicorn or manage a large team. Rather, I aspire to create a work environment where individuals feel inspired to do their best work, where trust and learning are fundamental values, and where everyone feels a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction. Even if we remain a small team, if we can cultivate such a culture, I would consider it a true success.

As I reflect on my journey over last 15 years, I have learned that success means different things to different people. For some, it may be the accumulation of wealth or power, while for others, it may be the ability to make a positive impact on society. Personally, the definition has changed for me over the years and right now, I believe that success is having freedom and time to experiment with life itself. It is about finding purpose and meaning in what you do and striving to make a difference in the world, no matter how small. In the end, in both cosmic and non-cosmic scale, we are insignificant.

Building a startup is like trekking through unchartered dense forest. You are walking without knowing where the path is going to lead you. The only choice is to keep walking in the chosen direction.

This week is about ProductHunt. I launched my product 2 weeks back and got more than 100 votes and few signups. Not bad for the first time. With curiosity, I looked ways to look at the trends. I came across the ProductHunt APIs which provides access to their product data. I spent next day to integrate and fetch all the product launches since Jan 2022.

Here you can find the basic analysis on the data. You can download the Product Hunt data for free and analyse yourself. Please share the insights in comments so that I can add them.

There are about 10,612 products launched in 2022 and trending at 4636 products till April 15, 2023 grown at 136% compared to 1964 products launched in first 4 months of 2022. For every product launched in 2022, there are 2 products which were created but not featured. So about 13K creators got cold feet and never clicked on publish.

Now for the popular myth, “You need a top hunter to hunt your product to be at top”. The data shows that it is possible to be product of the day even it is created by the maker. But the product hunted by top hunters get an average of 200 votes. So if you can know a hunter, it makes sense but do not delay your launch for finding a perfect hunter.

Coming to next myth of weekday vs weekend launching, There is no trend which shows you will get lesser votes on weekend. There are fewer products launched in weekend and average votes per launch stays almost the same (variance of ~10%). If you are an indie developer, I would even suggest to launch in weekend as no big companies plan their launch in a weekend.

One of the unsurprising trend is the rise of AI. 400+ products were launched in March 2023 alone. There has been a sharp rise in launches of products with AI capability since launch of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022

AI as category has become the largest in 2023 surpassing the Productivity category based on the product launched. Web3 as a category is not to be seen in the top 10 in 2023.

Based on the followers count, Productivity is still the largest with 592K followers and AI at 5th place with 407K followers as of April 15 2023.

There are key trends based on the Votes and pattern of users. Due to the rate limiting restriction, I am still in the process of gathering information about votes so it will be for another post.

Few key Takeaways from this data,

Hunt yourself: Prioritise speed and positioning over finding the perfect hunter.

Consider publishing on the weekend: Because there are typically fewer people publishing on weekends, you have a higher chance of attracting attention. The average vote difference between the days are almost negligible.

AI is trending and it’s gaining strength with Productivity as ever popular category in Product hunt.

Few things to be stay on top,

• The whole LLM space is evolving so fast and it is difficult to keep up with the pace. It is almost getting scary. Check out this video on how the maker is able to make two ChatGPT agent collaborate with itself and create applications. Very powerful stuff. Note to self: It’s time to learn how to program AI systems or get obsolete.

• Serverless Generative AI API war begins: AWS has launched API for building generative AI applications using foundational models. Read more here

• The first Open source LLM model trained in less than $30 and licensed for research and commercial use. It is not perfect yet but it is not going to be long before it catches up.

The wave of AI integrations to applications is imminent and world as we know it is going to change forever. Exciting times are ahead as AI continues to be integrated into more and more of our life. Hopefully we will not have machines take over and create Matrix in our lifetime. Thanks for reading and signing off.

APP Trend

The Shopify App Store offers over 12,800 apps to date, with free apps accounting for 39.6% of the total. These free apps have been installed over 7.5 million times across the platform, with the top 10 apps alone contributing to 2.39 million installations. Interestingly, 4 out of the top 5 apps are created and maintained by the Shopify team itself. As the number of new stores being created continues to rise, the number of new apps launched has slightly dipped in recent years. However, with over 500,000 new stores created in 2022 alone, there is still plenty of demand for the apps that are already available.

Over 7.5 million app installations have been made on Shopify stores to date, with the top 10 apps accounting for 31.8% of these installations. In fact, the top 1000 apps cover almost the entirety of app installations on the platform, representing 99% of the total volume. This leaves the remaining 1% of installations to be shared by a staggering 7000+ apps.

On the Shopify App Store, there are a staggering 906,000 reviews from users of various apps. Out of all the apps, Privy has received the most reviews with over 25,000 ratings and an average rating of 4.6 stars. However, when it comes to the highest-rated apps, Judge.me and Dsers take the crown with a perfect rating of 5 stars and over 14,000 stores rating them highly. These apps have clearly won over their users with their exceptional performance and usefulness.

Developer Trend

The Shopify ecosystem has also attracted the attention of developers, with over 7,700 unique developers currently contributing to the platform. On average, each developer has created 1.66 apps, with Shopify's own apps accounting for 50 apps and 1.38 million installations. The number of developers in the ecosystem has steadily increased over the years, with 2,300 developers in 2019 and a surge of 1,619 new developers in 2020. The trend continued in 2021, with 1,960 new developers joining the platform. Although there was a slight dip in 2022, with 1,820 new developers entering the Shopify ecosystem, the overall growth in developer interest is still going strong.

Overall, Shopify's growth and success can be attributed to its thriving app ecosystem and the increasing number of merchants and developers joining the platform. As the ecommerce industry continues to evolve and expand, Shopify is well-positioned to remain a key player in the space.

Data Source:

I developed a web crawler to extract public data from the Shopify App Store, and also integrated storeleads data to further enrich the dataset. While there are additional intriguing findings at the app level, those will have to be explored another time.

Other Interesting Reads

1. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been delving into the exciting concepts of pinecone.io and LangChain for a project. It's worth noting that both have recently secured funding. In my opinion, the layers above LLMs will be the future.

2. For those who haven't already, I highly recommend tuning in to the First Principles podcast by The Ken. I recently listened to Kunal Shah's episode and was fascinated by the insights and macro factors discussed.

3. During my exploration, I came across an intriguing concept called the Theory of Constraints.

PS: Thanks to ChatGPT for helping me reorganise my thoughts.

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Hello World

I have been thinking of creating a newsletter for almost a year and could not start it, mainly due to my procrastination. Finally, here I am.

Welcome to the first edition of ResidualHue! In this newsletter, I'll be sharing my insights and experience about the fascinating world of data insights, AI, and my startup experiments.

What is Residual Hue about?

I've spent years crawling huge amount of data and analyzing them to gain insights into the business and industry mostly on Retail and Ed-Tech. Through this process, I've become convinced that data is one of the most powerful tools we have for driving progress and innovation. Data insights can help us identify trends, spot opportunities, and make better decisions - whether we're running a business, solving a specific problem, or simply trying to understand the world around us.

At the same time, I have been focusing on machine learning and field of AI in the last 5 years. It is rapidly evolving, with new breakthroughs emerging every day. AI has the potential to transform virtually every industry, from healthcare and finance to education and entertainment. It's already being used to automate routine tasks, analyze vast amounts of data, and make predictions that were once impossible. As we enter the era of AI, it's essential that we understand its capabilities and limitations, and use it in responsible and ethical ways.

ResidualHue is a brain dump platform for me to share my thoughts on data, AI, and my own startup journey to discover, and to help others stay informed and engaged with these exciting fields. Whether you're a data analyst, a business leader, a tech enthusiast, or simply someone who's curious about the world, there's something here for you.

So, who should subscribe to ResidualHue?

If you're interested in data insights, AI, and entrepreneurship, and you want to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in these fields, then this newsletter is for you. I'll be sharing articles, case studies, and personal stories that I hope will inform, inspire, and entertain you. And don't worry - I won't flood your inbox with daily updates. ResidualHue will be released twice a month.

Thanks for joining me on this journey, and I look forward to sharing more insights with you in the coming months.

PS: My first analysis post is going to be about the evolution of Apps in Shopify ecosystem.