I was visiting Mumbai this week – so I reached out to Alok. I wanted to meet him and tap into his wisdom. As nice as he is to all entrepreneurs, he replied the very next day and agreed to meet within a week. I extended my stay so that I could meet him.
While I was waiting at his office inside a glass walled meeting room, I was getting a good view of the entire office – lots of people working on their computers – and Alok walking around the office. Most of the walls sported huge posters of very old classical Bollywood movies. It made quite an impression to me – so this is what a winning startup looks like! However, more interesting things were kept inside the meeting room – a lightsaber from star wars, a statue of Lord Yoda and other curious things that I am sure will invoke awe in visitors and positive feelings in the people who see them every day. We are not mundane people doing boring things – we are warriors of our fantasy – and the collection in that room is a subliminal reminder of this. Some of us carry an invisible lightsaber wherever we go.
Alok must be very busy. I can sense it because I have to work like a maniac to keep my business running smoothly on a day to day basis. I can definitely imagine how difficult it must be for someone like Alok to find time to meet me! However, he gave me a lot of time – and I took the opportunity to discuss several of my primary confusions. During the conversation, what struck me is his clarity of thought. It is very difficult to articulate all the things we are planning and trying to hatch – but he led the discussion very artfully to conclusions that provided me great insight.
My biggest dilemma was whether I should discuss business related problems or my own personal dilemmas with him. In a way, entrepreneurs like me suffer from many dilemmas and mental blocks on multiple level – and the foremost of them are connected to their own lives. How do I balance my life? Am I making a mistake by focusing too much something that I am focusing on? How do we keep our sanity in the insane times? However, I decided to go with some of the more immediate questions about my business – I wanted to run some ideas past Alok. I am glad that I did that.
However, my biggest take away from this meeting is this – I need to be more aware and more open about my problems. I have decided to write about the top 5 challenges and dilemmas we are facing in our business (iPleaders) and seek advice of the Rodinhooders. The questions I could not ask Alok in his presence will be asked through future blogposts! I know Alok and the other experienced Rodinhoods will help me to make my learning curve a lot more steeper than it is right now.
Have you guys been to meet Alok at his office? Please share the experience if you did.