In the last 5 business days that I’ve spent in Bangalore, this is the only time I’ve had to put my thoughts down on paper — in the cab, while I’m making my way back to the airport to catch my flight home to Delhi.
Having made 100+ trips to this bustling city, I must say that Bangalore gives me this jolt like no other.
In the last 5 days, I’ve had 50+ meetings involving operators, VCs, founders, and SaaS leaders.
Amongst all, my meeting with Naveen Tewari (CEO & Founder, InMobi & Glance) stood out as an outlier. I met him after 7 years for about 45 to 50 minutes. It was truly special meeting such a steadfast builder with superb clarity on strategy and business that I’ve always admired.
“AI will be a big disruptor,” he exclaimed, along with a strong nudge to develop India’s engineering skills. His strong recommendation was that communities like SaaSBoomi should act as a tour guide in terms of skill development. The true way forward for communities would be to create chapters that are deeply functional, finding and nurturing the right talent, and providing them global exposure.
As the CEO of SaaSBoomi, such thoughts have come and gone in the past. But it is the words of visionaries like Naveen that urge you to put them into immediate action. These are people who always paint the biggest picture possible and show you that possibilities are limitless.
Nevertheless, there have been only 3 questions that I’ve asked all these 50+ individuals:
1. How do you think the ecosystem is changing?
2. How do you see it impacting you?
3. What can we do to help you thrive?
I’ve got many answers + actionable insights, and I’m taking them all home safely with me.
While I can’t say more at this point, I can say this — my team and I have got a lot of work to do!
And I’ll also say this: Be okay with remodeling yourselves. Be ready for the changes that are going to rapidly redefine how to operate and deliver. Be adaptable and adoptable!
