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Perversion of incentives
A year ago, a startup announced a revenue of Rs 10 crore. And profit? Actually, it lost more than 150 crores! If you are wondering, “In which universe does this all make sense?”, welcome to the magical world of VC funding, my friend! Today, this...
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Free elf
When I was working as a consultant, I longed to see the sunset, but I couldn’t. We rarely got out of the office before 11 pm -- often much later....
Life is an unpredictable journey
In 2011, I met this struggling entrepreneur who had come to us for fundraising. At that time, I was working with a large private equity fund. Since...
Overcoming challenges with perseverance
I have rarely felt as hopeless or defeated as I did on Jan 14, 2000. In front of me were a million people caught in a massive traffic jam, which I...
The biggest lottery
I won only one lottery in my life -- and it changed everything. My father grew up in an impoverished village in UP, surviving on subsistence...
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The Ripple effect of small changes
One day, during my stint as the Trivandrum City Police Commissioner, a communist party leader walked up to me and said with a smile -- “Looks like you are getting ready for war!” That day, the Communist Party was conducting a protest march to the...
Pausing for deep thinking
During my days at McKinsey, one day we got a funny email from the engagement manager of another team working with our client. This manager informed everyone, including the senior partners, that henceforth, he would check his email only at certain...
The mental benefits of physical exercise
This happened a fortnight ago. It was around 1 pm and I was feeling this terrible low-grade anxiety, making it difficult to focus on anything. And when I can’t focus, my anxiety ramps up even more, and soon, the day goes downhill really fast. I...
Human desire
After landing in Kerala, an IPS batchmate lamented to a senior officer -- “Sir, Kerala is so far from my native place that even if I draw a circle of 1,000 km radius, I will not find a single relative.” The senior officer replied, “Make your...