Founder Stories and Lessons – 3

As the wheels accelerated forward, memory was speeding backward to cherish a simple question, “Where did it all start?”

All of us have a starting point in our career, and we really wouldn’t know where we would land, how we would advance in our career in the years to come. For many of us, the path we start on and how we grow and transit to a different track are in different directions. However, there is nothing wrong with it. A career is never a linear path.

With me, it was no different. When I completed my under graduation in Engineering, many suggestions to pursue my studies, opt for GRE or GATE, and even MPhil(it did exist then) kept flowing.

Pursuing studies was for sure, but what really interested me was a big question.  Additionally, I was indisputable and crystal-clear that I wanted to work first. If I were to choose higher studies then that skill and subject should be complementary to my work is what I believed.

For those who are confused post bachelor’s my first advice is – be sure if you want to work or pursue post-graduation. This is a fundamental decision.

2000 was a peak recession and things did move very slow. Campus-placed ones went on hold and I went frantic. Being clueless is a situation of both pain and emptiness. The state of being perplexed isn’t easy to get over.

It was mid-summer and my cousin rushed in to say – there is a written test going on in Jayanagar for Dell. Within a few minutes, we rushed in (traffic was not this intensified then) and to my surprise, there were nothing less than 800+ candidates and it was a big Choultry(Translation: Marriage hall) and the test was arranged there. This was my first experience writing a test in a marriage hall. The batches were happening back to back. Obviously, however great you perform, you feel anxious just by the glimpse of people. An inner voice, no matter how much you try to inhibit starts comparing yourself with others. When I look back at these moments, it feels that “We all suffer from the Imposter Syndrome”.

After a couple of days I received a call from CRV Consultants. There started a series of interviews. I had to attend two more rounds of written tests and apparently, you will move further only as you get shortlisted. I had an opportunity to meet some great personalities during this time. It was Mr. Mohan Lal Menon, who was heading the Human Resources then. There were a total of 12 rounds in the interview process including a medical test at Wockhardt Hospital. And the beauty is that they completed it with finesse and within a short period. I wasn’t given any time to join. It was immediate and that’s exactly what I wanted too. 

Whitefield was a barren land except for a few buildings and organizations then. It was pitch dark post 6 pm and we weren’t allowed to explore outside. There was Dell which we used to call Dell-1 later as we extended to the second building. Numbers started increasing. And when we stepped in, I started my grand career as a Technical Support Engineer. The finesse of training was amazing. With simulations and live hands-on experience, this was a training with a difference. Even today if someone says Dell 8100, Optiplex or Inspiron, it leaves a lasting impression for most of us who have been through the journey.  One of the finest trainers was Mr. Mohan Nanjundaiah and I was fascinated by his admiration for the training then, when I considered myself as a lad.

Then came September 2001. Does it ring a bell? Yes! the world had never witnessed such brutal terrorism and WTC was down. Here in India, the office went silent. As we were directly serving US Customers, we received first-hand information. Many used to share their stories with us saying how intensive the smoke that wriggled around many miles away from NY. There were few who got really emotional and broke down when they witnessed the number of people dying and how WTC crashed down to earth. This was certainly an experience of listening to them first hand. One lady whom I spoke to said – “probably god took an act of revenge on this land for the 1945 bombing in Japan.” Each one of them perceived it in a very different way and miles away overseas, few of us got an opportunity to talk to them.

While any construction is over time, destruction is overnight.

While we build anything, we invest time, energy, thought, and trust. On the contrary, there are several occasions that it gets erased within fraction of a second.

Giving life takes months to shape up. Death happens in a second.

While I look into eternity with this concept, it becomes so clear that anything positive in life demands patience, serenity, and perseverance. Nothing worthwhile is easy enough. These lessons are vital for any entrepreneur.