1. Tell us about your journey After graduating from IIT Madras and IIM Kozhikode, I chose Product Management as the career of my choice. I worked in various FinTech roles at a Health Insurance company, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley, and gained the confidence to launch products from scratch that solve business problems. I then decided to jump into entrepreneurship where core Blockchain concepts drove me to develop products making a decentralized planet a reality. 2. What are the key ingredients to achieve success? Self-awareness, handling fear of rejection and fear of failure, ability to deal with ambiguity, Innovative thinking, Compassion, Empathy, Confidence, Positive attitude, and above all listening skills and team play. Leadership is a by-product of these skills. 3. How do you handle failures? I pause and reflect. I look for objectivity where the reasons for the outcome cannot be phrased as success or failure but as facts. I view the situation as something that is required for me to face. I pat myself on the back :-)! 4. What’s the one word or phrase that defines your identity? Pragmatic innovator 5. Is the search for excellence utopian or is it for real? It is for real. Search for excellence is a search for beautiful and elegant solutions to real-life situations. It has nothing to do with self-image of a person, it is about the outcomes one produces. 6. How would you mentor/advise people struggling in their lives? Look for their blind spots that I am able to perceive and tailor my advice to them in a way they can consume, and guide them with empathy and enthusiasm. 7. What’s the one quote that defines your approach to life? The best way to predict the future is to create it.