Looking Out, Finding Within!

In this journey of building a business, we have experienced a full spectrum of emotions & a journey of self transformation. I believe that's true for most people walking this path.

To execute one project, it brings many hands together, both inside and outside the organization. There’s rarely anything to take pride or credit about.

We’re often lucky to land at some opportunities, which we can’t justify with best of the best logics, why or how we got that. In fact, the first thing we need to drop in the journey of a founder is “Ego”.

There is no Place for it.

Whatever you call as achievement, is just the accumulation of a little wealth from a set of people (also known as clients or customers) in exchange of certain services rendered.

That too, we need to realize, how timing plays its role. At some days, you hit head to wall, nothing happpens and on other days, lil efforts in right direction churns out magic! Power or Money are just the dots (not even a milestone) in the long journey of someone’s professional career.

We’ve never hesitated to admit the struggle or scars of running a business. People often have the tendency to project themselves as perfect pieces or indulge in self praise or pep talks, to protect their “esteems”. That often comes upto me as shallow and lacking the basis or foundational cores.

In such a junction of life, often I’ve found myself questioning, what is a company even at the first place?

As Per the Indian NCERT book:

A company is a type of business organization created by law, giving it a distinct identity separate from its owners. This means it can own assets, incur debts and enter into contracts on its own.

The owners' responsibility for the company's debts is limited to the amount they've invested. A company continues to exist even if its owners change or pass away, ensuring ongoing operations.

So, does the word “company” refer to the office building where it operates?

Because, people say, My company is located at this X Location! But How’ll you even justify that in a remote work or hybrid world of corporate? Offices are optional!

Work From Home notion for me is like “Serving the nation, From the Comfort of My Cushion!”😃

Can we really say it’s the team members who make the company? At first glance, yes—but when you look closely, it's noted that, both the tech and non tech teams are like ships of thesus. Often 4-5 years later every member of the team has changed.

The Ship of Theseus is a classic philosophical thought experiment where it's questioned, whether an object is the same object after having all of its original components replaced over time, typically one after the other!

It's common for every original member to have moved on, with new individuals taking their places.

So, is it really the Mission, the Vision or simply the Direction that holds the company together?

New faces come in, old ones move on, yet the company name and its goals often remain unchanged. Though the goal might change to adjust in the changing windflows of the market.

It makes you wonder—what truly defines a team’s identity? Is it the individuals within or the culture, the systems and the objectives that continue regardless of who’s present?

Or could we say, companies are just brutal profit making machines, a soulless system with very little actual relevance of a human being?

In an AI first world, that doubt becomes even more prominent, when the companies suddenly move on from their “We are Family” dialogue to “You are lacking the efficiency” momentum!

Honestly, the question “What exactly an organization is?” is a personal curiosity for me, without pin pointing anything as a final conclusion.

Is it about upholding a set of values and serving people, even long after the original founders have left the stage, like we see with many global giants?

Or is it simply a mechanism to maximize profits for those at the top—where it doesn’t matter whether it’s humans or machines doing the work, as long as the outcomes remain in a favorable interest?

In reality, what we call a “career” today is often just a component in someone else’s business model. And the moment the cash flow dries up, that so-called career suddenly loses its glamour. It’s a tough realization—but maybe one that’s necessary to see things clearly.

At times, I’ve felt insecure, jealous—even uncomfortable—watching the professional or financial success of peers walking the same path. I know these are toxic emotions, but I also recognize them as signals of a flawed mindset.

I’ve caught myself indulging in gossip, passing comments, trying to justify my own shortcomings by judging brighter moments in someone else’s journey. Those are the moments when the mind truly slips into darkness.

I haven’t yet fully understood the root of it all. Where does this feeling stem from? Why is it so hard to simply be at ease with myself—to stay grounded, focused on my own work and growth?

Is this constant comparison wired into the framework of how the world operates? Or is it possible to exist beyond it—to find peace in a space that’s not dictated by what others are doing?

When the mind dips into low or negative emotions, it tends to shoot down all the goodness around—finding faults in everything and everyone around. It’s like an attempt to dim the light around me, just because I’m struggling to find my own.

Often, it’s self-pity disguised as ego’s defense mechanism, trying to protect whatever little sense of worth I’m holding onto in that moment. Complex mechanism of human mind!

The 15th century Indian Saint Kabir had put it well:

बुरा जो देखन मैं चला, बुरा न मिलिया कोय

जो दिल खोजा आपना, मुझसे बुरा न कोय।

The above Hindi couplet translates to: “As I set out to find the wicked, I found none. When I examined my own heart, I found no one worse than myself."

Often, when we search for flaws in others, we come up empty-handed—only to find, through introspection, that the real work lies within. It’s a reminder to shift the lens inward, to grow, rather than judge.

There have been days when I’ve lost sight, run out of energy and rested in the backseat of this vehicle we call a startup.

On those days, Manas has taken the steering wheel—doing everything he could to keep it moving forward. And on some other days, it’s been the other way around. That’s the rhythm of shared journeys—taking turns when the road gets heavy.

Internally, we lightheartedly refer to a state of mind as “Kubera Mode.”

In Hindu mythology, Kubera—also known as Dhanpati, the Lord of Wealth—is the treasurer of the gods, symbolizing prosperity and abundance.

Founders, at times, slip into this Kubera Mode, where spending flows like there’s no tomorrow—lavish, unchecked and disconnected from the ground realities.

From what we’ve seen, that’s a dangerous drift—a clear deviation from the fundamentals. Businesses are built on profit, driven by hardcore sales, execution and a repeat of all the processes around.

That truth doesn’t change, no matter wherever in the world you choose to operate. It’s crucial to respect the currency of the market—to treat it with clarity and discipline, else history has shown the stars falling from the sky!