Howdy All,
My apologies for not writing in such a long time, but been both lazy and busy. I have finally gotten my own office in Bangalore. This location is around 2KM from the airport and 3 minutes WALKING from my apartment, so the commute is very pleasant and fun.
It is interesting to start your own office, went and got furniture (still havent received all the pieces), got a drinking water filter, computer, printers, UPS, phone etc. I am still missing the blinds and curtains. Hey I even have a cleaning lady that comes every other day to cleanup the place.
So now that I have this office, what have I been upto? Have made a gzillion sales calls for Mapmyindia, trying to sell Location Based Services (LBS), have hired a office manager+data entry operator+plus finance dealings (all in one). Have also hired around 10 folks that will be doing field data collection to enhance my maps.
The family is happy that I am out of their way and now have my own place to work, the son starts laughing whenever I tell him I am going to 'ooffiicce'. He finds it funny that Papa has to go to office. Made a bunch of trips to Bombay/Mumbai on work. Commuting has become dirt cheap, you can get walk up tickets for a 1.5 hour flight for $50 bucks.
I have actually started to like Bangalore, even though the traffic sucks and things are slow, but as a city, everyone has a startup culture. Weather is much better than most of India (that does not mean it is great). Now I know why this city is home to Infosys, Wipro, Dell, IBM, Intel, and a host of major IT companies.
Plus points in the last month - Learning how difficult it is to sell without a big brand name behind you. Meeting people from all walks of life from the office boy to the CEO of banks. Patience. Good South indian food.
Minus points in last month - Still have not figured out all the localities of Bangalore. Missing Kebabs and Punjabi Food.
Planning a trip to Goa, shall keep you posted on the same.
Till I resurface.
Cheers,
Shiva
