Congratulations Kiran!!

This is a story I've seen evolve over the last ten years. Well, Kiran over 10 years and Egnify over 2. And I'm more than super happy to be saying this particular 'Congratulations'.

The link to article: New Indian Express - Impetus to Excel

TNews on YT: Egnify Startup | CEO Kiran Babu | Hyderabad | TNews

Egnify, an education based analytics company, was conceptualized and created by Kiran 2 years back. A quintessential start up......from working in an office cum home, running on family and friend support........to today with ten smart employees, a swanky office, innovative products, esteemed clients, distinguished mentors....and so on.

Today the Congratulations is for a significant turning point....for having created 'that something' that earned the trust enough to receive funding.

To start a little way back; Kiran and I joined Google on the same day, actually not a little, it was all of ten years back. And we couldn't have been more different as people....... in terms of background, age, context, approach....yet a connect developed, right on that very first day, one which has only grown over the years.

In fact I remember him walking in, armed with a Peter Drucker under his arm (he devours books the way I do chips and peanuts :), and this lost but determined look in his eye. A place like Google can be pretty intimidating, especially so if you're not citified enough, and definitely if you walk in with a Peter Drucker ;). It was fascinating to watch him grow through the dynamics there. 

Our daily coffee catch ups started then, and became ritual for all the years we worked there, and must say we've had some fascinating 'ahas' over that coffee. Somewhere along there, was born this dream of creating a Koogle  (he's from Kurnool), and today I'm so proud to see him there.

Quitting Google, more so Google Silicon Valley where he had moved to, and was doing brilliantly well, is no easy decision. It takes all  those change principles we speak off...... Clarity, Courage, Commitment and that leap of faith.

A paradigm shift; comfort zone to charting your own path.....transforming a dream, an idea into reality.....one that has inclusivity at its core (needs to serve a Kurnool layer), the commitment to creating a product to enable that........and the letting go of all the luxury and extravagance that Google offers..... to step into a space of uncertainty and dreams.

The journey hasn't been easy, in fact that's surely understatement. I've seen him go through several nail biting situations, heart wrenching disappointments, mad challenges, sleepless nights, and so much more. I'd not hesitate to say that he stayed committed, with grit and belief, through spaces where anyone with even slightly lesser mettle could have broken.

It's two years of such challenge and intensity that I'd need a whole post, and more, to go into those details. For now, let's just say it was undiluted tough, interspersed with moments of absolute brilliance and joy. 

A deeply deeply deserved Congratulations Kiran !!!