Serendipity and Learning

One year ago, to this date, was my first client meeting. And just the day before was my last day at my corporate job. The meeting went well - without a real promise of anything coming my way (I had to get used to this - meetings are only a first step - though the getting used took a long time.) As I waited at the bus stop after the meeting, I reflected on how, if this was a corporate meeting, a cab would be waiting for me and all I had to do was ask the cab to come to the entrance. And in this new avatar, frugalism was the name of the game. So, with the job, gone was the cabin. The position. The title. The designation. The corporate privileges which we get used to and sometimes feel entitled to as well. Gone was a huge team who would be the force multipliers, the executors, available for every discussion - now there was nothing. Just the wide world and a traveller with a bag and a journey. It was a new road, a new identity, perhaps a journey to find myself as well. At the ...

The entrepreneur life can get quite lonely. My views  come from my perspective as a newly minted learning consultant entrepreneur. There are times when the market doesnt care if you exist. And like any other entrepreneur, such times have to be navigated. Here is where the story of Pumpelsdrop (previous post) comes in . Suddenly, out of the blue, one gets a phone call. To make a proposal. For a company you have always wanted to work with or sounds too exciting to be true or some work which you have always wanted to do or a new opportunity to learn something. And then, the works begins in right earnest. There is a flurry of activity, a few phonecalls, data, research, books to be read and much reading about the current state of the company, industry, concept. It elevates the energy to a different level. Powerpoints are made. Structures are created. Frameworks are conceptualised. Meetings are arranged with alacrity. And with that last minute scramble, the said proposal is sent o...

Bhujia Barons is a book on the Haldirams story. Haldirams is among the foremost name in Indian friend snacks and has made a name for itself in the past few years. Prior to Haldirams, there were no major nationwide 'namkeen' brands in India - and it was mostly serviced by local small businesses. Perhaps it is timing or their marketing astuteness they were ready when the Indian supermarket boom happened. It is not that they were the first snacks in the market, but they have created a category for themselves and are a leader of the snacks market in India. And their entry and success have prompted many a small and big player into the traditional snack market in India. They created a market which not many people realised existed - right under their noses. What I liked about the story was, about the founder was just one of the snack makers in Bikaner - a place which, now, like then was a place for traditional namkeens. The story of many other namkeen makers would not have been v...

Taking the plunge Being unsure Choosing a name. Getting the company registered Getting a million copies of every document. Then Scanning. Being unsure Then self attesting. Getting this done and that done. The website is not yet done. Work and deadlines Self doubt Proofreading everything Being courier boy Working from home cursing Bangalores erratic electricity Working from cafes Working at odd hours Working more than ever before Goosebumps before the first deliverable And the second Endless discussion with a virtual team of collaborators New ideas More new ideas No time Where is my next work going to come from Reaching out to people Kindness of strangers The logo is still not done Accounts - who will get that done. And such it goes... Outthinc Consulting is born...