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January 18, 2009
December 31, 2006
Just got back from watching Blood Diamond, its 4:30 in the morning and a question gripped my mind. Why do we do the things that we do – everyday in life?
I look at the 80-year-old sitting at the underpass selling tissue paper and wonder – would he have had a good life? This guy was at the prime of his life when my country was still run by the British, a time when Gandhi (ji) was making news. Now at this age – would he be smiling when he goes to sleep everyday, or feeling bad and alone when he wakes up and goes to work?
Why do we do the things that we do – every day? What is the end purpose of what we do?
Is it money and everything money can buy? Is it grinding 20 years of your life now, so you can afford to live the next 20 in money-bought-comforts? Is it financial freedom, i.e. no-dues-to-the-world or now-i-can-easily-access-comforts, or equally implied state of I-don’t-need-comforts?
Is it for respect and recognition- to be recognized by your friends and family, and be respected by your peers and strangers? What is interesting is that this is in many ways similar to a school boy carving his name on the desk at which he sits, so others will read it and wonder who the man is. A fresh coat of paint, and the name is nowhere to be seen. So social image , or, “others will respect me” as a purpose of life is a very short-lived goal. In any case, I don’t think that was the “purpose” for many BIG people whom we now know and respect – but a recognition that we give them for other things that they had made as their purpose in life.
Is it to experience the feeling of love, to know what it feels to be loved and cared for by another mortal and probably have kids together? The feeling that there is someone who cares about you more than you yourself do – also brings a feeling of existential satisfaction, that your life matters – to someone who thinks well and high about you, and when you are with this person, the world is so much nicer.
Or is it for the next generation? For bringing up your own kids in better circumstances than you yourself were in – as you grew up, so they might do something great? Which is understandable and is exactly what many people do, but the “purpose of your life” as a mere bridge to the next generation is like postponing your life’s purpose to infinity- since then, the expectation from the next generation cannot be any more than being the bridge to the next-next generation.
Is it for happiness? In my understanding, happiness is a state of balance between what-we-desire and what-we-have. However, we know there is no limit to what-we-desire, and there clearly is a definite limit to what-we-can-have, therefore, happiness is a myth for all, but for people without desires.
Majority, i.e. people who are neck deep in their busy social life would agree, that happiness is a combination of financial, physical and social well-being (the social well-being very often dependent on financial well-being). However then, Happiness being the purpose of life sounds shallow and meaningless as it is merely means to drag you through life without much discomfort.
There are some exceptions I feel – people who have worked and are working to make this world a better place have done very meaningful things, making medical, technological, social and political breakthroughs that save lives and make many of the things possible today and are all very meaningful.
Thinking very objectively – Do you know your great-grandfather? Do you think anyone will remember you when your great-grandchild goes to college?
Are we living life for the sake of living? Or is our goal to live as long as we can? Is the life on this planet a luxury that we should make the best of? Or a chance given to us to make a difference to the way life on this planet will evolve? Should we try at all? Or just focus on our bank accounts and social image?
Monk Says: You earn, you spend, you worry, you strain, you fight, you borrow, you try to buy happiness, you fail, you’re sick by the time you’re done earning. Me? I dont earn, I dont spend. I’m just calm and happy.
December 19, 2006
The calling is strong – it’s great to be an entrepreneur. Sure there are ups and downs. Sure there are pressures from family. Sure you’ll learn to differentiate between different brands of bread, spread and ketchup. Sure you’ll be in debt. The risks are tremendous, and you might appear foolish to friends and family. But, it’s still great to be pursuing a goal that might eventually make it big.
The journey started when I was in my second year of NUS Mechanical Engineering and had developed a humanoid that could do crazy stuff. We landed the First Prize at the FIRA Robot world cup in Austria 2003. And we found a customer. It was illegal to sell something like this for 25 grant without registering a company – so we did. We won all FIRA Robot World Cups in subsequent years. And we sold many more. And we got funded.
We generated tons of press, locally and internationally, we won awards, we made 6 digit revenues, interacted with the who’s-who of the industry. And we learnt, and applied the knowledge to our little start-up and we grew.
We spent a lot of money on research. The future prospects were too brilliant to stop doing what we were doing – even when our finances were running really really low. But we stuck to our goal. Some of us dropped out. Some new ones came in. Sometimes things happened in no time and sometimes it dragged endlessly.
What we did do along the way – was to learn an awesome lot of stuff. Amazing amounts of information, key things that differentiated just-an-idea from a potentially great start-up. And a whole lot about balancing optimism and realism.
And now – we’re passing it on – to the aspiring entrepreneur who has something that holds a lot of promise. Contact us at info@start-upfactory.com to get us to go through your business plan and help you get funded.
Quick Note: Start-up factory is a pre-investment ViC that invests intellectual capital(iC) into budding new start-ups. The aim is to align business plans so that they become more attractive for external VC funding. Start-Up factory offers hands-on experience, links start-ups to VCs in our network and provides extensive mentoring to budding entrepreneurs.
November 6, 2006
Note: Unoriginal post, however, if you’ve been in shit before – you’d appreciate the gravity and not just the humor of this post. Read on…
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it.
As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung,t began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug it out and ate it.
Management Lesson?
1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
3) And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!!!!!
July 15, 2006
Every 5 years, my little state of Kerala in India – famous for its near 100% literacy rate and 70% domestic revenues from the Gulf and now a prime location for Tourism and Ayurvedic Treatments, lovingly called Gods Own Country – elects devils own politicians.
Kerala has two BIG political parties: Congress and Marxists. People of Kerala are smart not to re-elect the same government for the second consecutive term EVER. So, every 5 years the ruling party becomes the opposition and the opposition the ruling party.
The state treasury is a terrible state – empty, if I may say so. There are hardly any jobs in the state and development is non-existent.
I can’t help but wonder – Why do people elect MLAs and MPs every 5 years and then wait for them to do you from behind? Why select “people” when what’s more important is selecting “what we want”.
Lemme make it clearer. For which would you rather have your say: “Building Better Roads in your town” vs “Increasing income tax by 10% for free medical insurance” OR “Mr. Kumarasamy Veerakhandan” vs “Ms. Chalakudi Malleswari”? We all know what happens when we elect our leaders – cost of living goes up, net income decreases, taxes goes up, transportation becomes a mess, petrol prices go up, no/negligible development happens. And 5 years later you feel like a fool going to the ballot box to cast your vote – your previous votes haven’t made your life any easier.
Mumbai blasts: Its the time for people’s vote to choose between: “Better security systems for public security in crowded areas” vs ” Building a golf course resort in Pune for rich white tourists”. Don’t trust your politician to make the right choice.
Basic Fact: Funds decide development and those Funds are limited. Your elected leaders are only using those funds to their personal advantage. Instead of electing people we don’t trust to do what they want with that money, people should vote on issues that are important to them, to see their dreams come true.
Governments should be selected/removed on the basis of performance to meet vote-prioritized public demands. More like Congress and Marxists would bid to get specific tasks and money assigned to their party – so they can go get the job done.
Now that would be democracy – Of the People, By the People, For the People.
Photo Courtesy: www.cartoonstock.com
June 5, 2006
200 Teams. 36 Semi Finalists. 5 Finalists.
Reached the Finals. We didn’t win it… Every once in a while, its nice to be reminded that there is still a lot of room for improvement.
So, we’re at work.
May 10, 2006
Afterlife. Aliens. God. Miracles.
Are we wise enough to understand them? Do penguins speculate nuclear science?
Courtesy: Cameroon from House
In related news, we found cure for cancer. Well, at least we made it this far. Yet another thing that haunted us for years, and now ~solved.
April 11, 2006
Fascinated by the idea of doing a startup? Got an excellent idea that will change the world? Inspired by Apple and Google? Don't just look at the bright side of the story. There is more than what you're books and lecturers will tell you. Listen to entrepreneurs. Listen to ones who have succeded and those who have failed. Know this fact – there are a 1000 failed startups for each success story.
Here's your test to see if you have it in you.
Grass on the other side: A decent job in a respected company will pay your bills, will pay your rent and food. It will also let you spend on entertainment, and let you have a social life. Of course, there wont be any BIG rewards normally, and life will be pretty monotonous if you hate what you are doing. You will hate mondays and love fridays. But your life will be planned, safe and secure. You can always make a difference in your workplace – become an intrapreneur – and work your way up the corporate heirarchy. If you are good, you can find jobs of your interest and have a very rewarding career. In a nutshell -You will have a reasonably clear idea of where life is taking you.
Stress, uncertainty: On the other hand, a startup is extremely tiring, mentally draining, extremely frustrating and challenging in a very direction-less kinda way. You will realise how much easier it is to work for a reputed company, where somone always tells you what to do, and corrects you when you are doing things wrong..
You will constantly be haunted by the "what if" trauma. What if this doesnt work? what if you never raise funds? what if you're going in the wrong direction? what if you are wrong in giving up your job?
Will: You will essentially be putting your life on hold till things start to work and money starts to flow in at the startup, chances are – doing all-nighters at work will become a common phenomena, you will start caring less about your beard, and hair cuts will get less often, you won't not feel like joining your friends for movie and drinks on weekends, you will feel poor and will have to hope things work out for the best. Your loans will increase, and your parents will tell you you're doing a terrible mistake. Friends will advise you to work full time somewhere – and do the start-up part time.
Hole in the Pocket: You will start appreciating the value of money when you pick up the last few coins on your desk and count them to see if there is enough to pay for a decent meal. You will need to borrow money – and it will prick your ego everytime you do that. You will hope to get money 3 months from now, it will take a year. You have no idea when you will be able to pay it back.
Relationships: You stand a very good chance to screw every relationship you are in. If you are starting a company with people who are dear and near – be extremely careful. Startups are often extremely frustrating – and you are guaranteed to see fault in others. You WILL blame yourself AND your partner(s) for being irresponsible and not giving their 100% towards the company. The sad thing is – the foundation of a startup is 100% commitment from the self motivated founders. It is mandatory. Have documents in place that will make sure that you can come out of arguments easily.
Mind capital: Startups consume much more mind capital than the green notes. You will be completely immersed in building what is hopefully the next great company. It is important to receive a lot of emotional support. The best case scenario is when you have a friend of two who are also neck deep into building your company. You guys will bond closer, and grow stronger as you struggle your way through.
What do i stand to lose?: When things go wrong, it all boils down to what each person has to lose. The people with the fewest to lose when the startup folds up tend to leave the scene early. It is important to team up with people who are just as committed as you. The test is simple. What do you stand to lose? If all the core team members have sacrificed just as much as you – you will have a team that wont go bonkers when things are really bad.
Be Prepared: Know all the dangers, know all the pitfalls, and set out to do it only if you have it in you. It is no joy ride – and unless you are prepared to push it against all odds – its not gonna work. I promise.
Note: The next post is titled "Why you dont have a choice, but do a Start Up."
April 9, 2006
Lately, I seem to be engaging in debates with dear and near about a topic of no great significance, yet interesting at the same time – Maturity.
It all started when a girl I know remarked "He's soooo mature".
That was it.
What the bloody hell was she talking about? Not that the he in context was of any direct threat to me, nor that he was stealing the attention I demanded from the girl in context, but contextually speaking – how did she find out, or assume, that he, of all the other people surrounding her including me, was mature?
There started the debate on maturity and a flood of brutally honest comments on many of the acts I do that came across to her as "immature". But that's irrelevant here.
What is relevant however, is the reasoning behind the classification of something as MATURE. Scientific that I am, I decided to start the search by aggregating the facts that the self proclaimed more intelligent people might have to say. I decided to begin my search from dictionary.com . I was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that their explanations – "having reached full natural growth or development" and "ripe" were not the meanings she was talking about. The only reasonable explanation I found was "having reached maturation" – which puts us back in the recursive and non-conclusive search for the meaning of "mature".
To give the premise its deserved due diligence, I went on to search wikipedia with the keyword mature - and the topic was all about sexual maturity. I did not wish to think through the derivations of her comment that he was sooo mature in this context. But it all comes to this – all definitions of mature had the root "matur" (eg: mature = showing maturity) in them – thereby proving that the explanations were all "beating around the bush" with no clear segmented explanation as to what this big word meant.
Hence started my search of observing people, their body language (thanks to Allan and Barbara) and the context – each and everytime the word MATURE popped up. My observations, though crude and unscientific at times proved certain basics of the usage of the word.
1) No one has any idea what "mature" means.
2) Pessimistic, sad and uninteresting people with no interest in playing with the electronics at your host's house might come across as "mature" – but the curious engineering minds who wish to find out the function of every button on their 46" plasma display might come across as immature.
3) If you are a girl, and ur jaw drops at the sight of this particular man, he will come across as being mature to you – "maturity" is too big a usage for this phenomena.
4) If you admire someone – you will consider him more mature than you.
5) If you dislike someone – you will consider him less mature than you.
6) Maturity – is a term used by you to see where you stand in your own scale of self respect. Dissing someone in this game makes u feel good, supporting someone and terming them mature shows your desire to network with him.
That's all there is. The word means nothing in everyday conversations – proven by the fact that the people who use the word have no idea what it means. It's all relative and has no value but small talk.
