Innovations & Inspirations

It’s hard to believe the last time I wrote a post was 6 months ago, after I returned from my trip to India. There have been so many experiences about which I wanted to write, but I just haven’t had the time.  I thought, therefore, I would offer a quick recap, compressing each of my experiences from intended points to bite-sized, informative bullet points.

• Visited the Downtown Project in Las Vegas and stayed at one of Tony Hsieh’s crash pads at the Ogden.  The Downtown Project is on a mission to revitalize Las Vegas and make it a startup hub by accelerating collisions, community, and co-learning.  Tony has invested hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money into this, has an exceptional team, and is trying to make it so that every person leaves Las Vegas more deeply inspired and  fulfilled.
• Met amazing people at Techonomy in Arizona, many I am blessed to now call  friends, from Steve & Jean Case, Padmasree Warrior, Matt Van Horn, and Alec Ross.  My brother and I spoke on youth, employment, our upbringing, and our life goals.
• Here at NEA, we led deals in 42floors, DeveloperAuction, and a soon-to-be-announced third.  42floors is disrupting the world of commercial real estate, and DeveloperAuction (where Sujay is the COO) is revolutionizing the world of recruiting.  Stoked for both.
• Was sitting in NEA’s conference room waiting for our partnership meeting to begin when I heard I was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 for finance.  Was honored and blessed, but most of all excited to see many of my close friends be honored, too, like Sejal, Muthu, Alexis, Jeremy, and others (even Sujay!).  Got to meet many of the other honorees in Austin, TX, at a party at the house of John Paul DeJoria, who reminded me a lot of the most interesting man in the world.  A remarkably diverse group, from actors, producers, hedge fund managers, to big data analysts, all incredibly driven and talented.
• Attended the Indiaspora Inaugural ball on Inauguration Weekend in DC, and hung out with the Mayor of LA (and taught him bhangra!).
• Read that the flat I come home to every time I visit Mumbai, in Midtown Apartments, will soon be demolished for the misdeed and bribe of one misguided man  30 years ago.  Families have been living in this complex for 25+ years and yet were deigned a mere 48 hours’ notice before their years-old properties were razed.  This is absolutely ridiculous.

And so much more.  I hope not to be taking this long a hiatus again.