30th May 2014

So say the people, the heart wants what it wants
Should we too then not want what the heart wants? But
A frame of desire and wealth may cloud our truth
The appreciation of true beauty and true wisdom
Will deliver humans the most of love and life
Many shall know over time that this is the truth
Simply astounded, they learn that they've learnt nothing yet!

Diwali 2013 – A discussion with Phanindra Sama

During Diwali 2006, a young electronics engineer working for Texas Instruments in Bangalore, India, wanted to take a bus and go home to be with his family. Destiny did not let him go home. Instead it provoked him to create a business that let millions of Indians book ‘bus tickets’ online. Phanindra Sama created Redbus (http://www.redbus.in/) which is now one of the most successful ventures in India. Redbus was nominated one of the 50 most innovative companies in the world and was recently acquired by Naspers. (http://www.naspers.com/)

A couple of articles:

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-06-13/news/29653269_1_bus-operators-bus-ticket-book-tickets

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/hhVYwRApppfXiEpEoF1faJ/Entrepreneurship-is-a-selfpurification-process-says-Phanin.html

I recently had the privilege of conversing with Phani and it was definitely an enlightening experience. The following is a summary of the Q & A we had.

Q. If you had to ‘startup’ again with a similar idea (like Redbus), would you be doing anything differently? What was a special learning you had during the growth of Redbus?

Phani had a couple of interesting things to share here. He stressed the importance of front end hiring. Generally, when it is a new business, people get so caught up and busy that they tend to give hiring less priority. But a good keen eye for the right people always pays off. It would also get you the A-team senior management in place faster and effectively.

Another lesson during the process of entrepreneurship has been about leadership. You can find a number of videos with Phani giving some very cool tips on leadership. One of the key things to note about leadership is knowing when to put your foot down and knowing when to be open to ideas. Good leaders strike a balance between kind heartedness and decisiveness.

Q. Being an electronics engineer, were you able to apply any of your skills from electronics in your company?

While Phani might not have been able to put exact electronics engineering material to work in Redbus, he definitely could identify some key transferrable skills. Certain attributes like problem solving, getting to the depths of subjects to clearly understand the world around you, realizing the importance of sophisticated technology and simple concepts help you greatly in a business. Moreover, an aptitude for such learning would give you more confidence in yourself.

Q. I hear that you are thinking of turning into an investor. If you were investing in a new venture, what would you be looking for?

People. The team that initiates and executes the venture is the crux and soul of the startup. Though a certain amount of diversity in the team is good for everyone, a team without the right chemistry will not be able to pivot success. Phani also reflected that this was one of the main reasons why they were not only able to survive but also be in a competitive position.

Q. A personal question. You have a reputation of being very humble and simple. How do you stay so grounded? What is your approach towards people?

To this question Phani laughed and said “I actually don’t know. I was told that I am humble and I even asked my wife about it. I guess I just am the way I am.”

In one of his interviews, Phani had mentioned why he leads a simple life. He says that if you lead a simple and natural life, irrespective of the turns your life takes, you will sustain yourself and not find it traumatic. “You should let life be unfair to you sometimes”

What a novel, profound thought!

Harder Networker!

Disclaimer: The following interpretations and comments are just results of my thought. I do not claim responsibility for the accurateness/ validity/ sustainability or implications of the interpretations. Because networking is an attitude and I am still developing it.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard the word ‘networking,’ I would be at the bank right now changing for billion dollar bills! If I had a nickel for every time I heard the words ‘networking’ and ‘important’ together, I would still be at the bank. You obviously got the point. If engineering management was a religion, the activity of ‘networking’ is the most sacred ritual that involves the Holy Grail of ‘learning.’ Did I take the analogy too far? :P

So after all the events and the speeches about networking, my dumb brain decided to actually understand what the word meant. So I looked it up in the dictionary. It defined networking as “connecting two or more computers or other devices.” That didn’t make a lot of sense to me. So all this while, people kept saying “you have to connect two or more computers or devices to have a great career path?”

Hahaha…Enough kidding. Here’s what I really have to reckon. Networking is not just talking to someone and gathering information like the person’s name, place of birth and hobbies. Networking is about genuinely (cannot stress this word enough even after bold, italic and underline) being interested in another human being. It is about having the best thoughts and intentions at heart and sharing them. Having said that, a very good question that many of us might be asking is ‘how and why must I be interested in someone else’s life?’ Wait, you didn’t ask that question? Well, I’m gonna try and answer it anyway. You have to network because you are a social being. Being interesting and interested is a very crucial part of being social. And to drive this exact point home, the MEM program and many such others organize networking events. These events are excellent practice sessions for being a great social animal.

Now, I want to comment on the state of ‘not being able to network well.’ It is absolutely understandable and genuine to not be able to network well. After all, it is an art. It is more than an art. It is an attitude. So even if you are doing it mechanically or even if you suck at it, keep trying. I would like to paraphrase Professor Jeff Glass here. ‘It is a bit like learning a new instrument. Initially you just play the notes as instructed by your teacher. You might not realize the depth or the weight in the music. You play it anyway. You practice, you learn, you practice again, you memorize, you connect, you get better and finally, someday, you internalize it.’ That is the state when you are the most genuine and social. Networking sessions and social events here at Duke, can be your practice sessions. Your friends and colleagues are nice, courteous people who will definitely understand and appreciate your efforts. And through such conscious effort and sub-conscious learning, you will someday be genuine, social and successful.

Credits: All the people I have interacted with.

B - Leaf

After quite some time, I again got the opportunity and the drive to sit down, contemplate and come up with some thought recipe. This time, it's about belief. That's right... belief - as in any cognitive content held as true.
Before we dive in, have a look at the illustration. Done? Read on....

The belief of someone in something or someone is based on either or both of the following:
1. Evidence
2. Confidence
Let us go by the generic senses of these words for now and try not getting into the exact definitions. I suggest this because, once we start evaluating and juxtaposing, the true definitions of these words would automatically emerge (or the theory would perish).
All the learning and knowledge base (often referred to as 'science') of the human race suggests that the direction of flow must start from evidence and end at confidence. You perceive something, you analyze it and start believing in the occurrence/ existence of such a thing and hence develop confidence regarding the same. This, as the process suggests, can be called "perception."
E.g.
1. You see a carrot. You perceive that the carrot is orange in color. After seeing a few more carrots, you start to believe that carrots are orange in color. After sufficient (again to be defined consequentially) observations, if someone comes along and asks you the color of a carrot, you will confidently say 'orange.'
2. Education

There also exists the opposite flow direction which is suggestive of the duality and hence the ambiguity of the universe. In this scenario, you develop confidence (inherent or induced) in something, start believing in its existence/ occurrence and hence, either by factuality or by illusion, find evidence to perceive. This can be called a "confidence trick." The word 'trick' in this phrase is merely indicative.
E.g. You acquire knowledge (build confidence) from various sources (books/mags/people etc.) that a particular place is beautiful/ scenic. You start believing that the place is beautiful/ scenic. You finally get the chance to visit the place and then find it to be 'beautiful/ scenic.'
2. Religion

That's all folks!





*Thanks to all my friends and close ones for making my 23rd birthday memorable. :-D