Kush Srivastava's Blog, page 22

The Jungle Club!

Don’t know how many have or want to become a part of the consortium of start-ups or anything that has to do with any aspect of a start-up, which I call the Jungle Club.

The first thing that hits you once you take cautious strides towards the jungle is the buzz that surrounds it. All animals tend to cluster around that all so-significant event room where each one has their own agenda, with few not having the slightest of clues, as to why they are there, and are extremely happy being part of the buzz, possibly giving them a much needed chance to come out of the boring chores that they have got accustomed to doing on a day-to-day basis.

As you tend to draw close, you see few familiar faces, who have had the opportunity to become a part of such events before and who have got so used to being there, that it proves to be a home away from home.

Finally, when you tend to enter the arena as an audience or a prospective pitcher per se, you realize that reality might be very different from what you actually perceive, be it outside or inside, depending on which side of the table you are actually sitting, whether you are a start-up co-founder looking for funds or an investor looking for an excellent investment opportunity which you might not want to miss upon.

By the time the event ends, you are filled with all kinds of feelings, including nostalgia from your previous pitch or networking events and a hope to get the much needed attention from an investor, which you might not have been able to achieve this time round.

And then you go back to doing what you are supposed to do. After all, the business about doing business is business itself. Isnt’t it?

Source for Image: http://www.contactvirginmedia.com/vir...

AI: Man’s Best Buddy?

Imagine a scenario, where a software services and product company has a founder or a couple of co-founders sitting happily monitoring a machine performing all kind of stuff ranging from receiving client requirement to preparing phase wise modules, from completion of the development to testing each and every aspect of the same, from sending invoices to notifying the founder of the receipt of payment.

Does it sound like science-fiction? Well, the day is not that far, when each and every aspect of our lives, from womb to tomb will become automated. The cars will have no drivers, just a person monitoring the functioning of the algorithm or the program being run.

No one would need to come to the office. All exams would be given from their own little artificially created enclosures inside your homes, only to be accessed by the right candidate through his or her bio-metrics.

All data will belong to the in vogue dark web, which would be available to only a select few individuals having special access rights. All diagnosis will be done via the likes of machines like IBM Watson.

Preventive healthcare would be the buzz word, with each one of us, acting like a doctor, in the true sense of the world, being able to monitor and provide the right medication himself/herself.

Cannot help but wonder, if all the above, would be done by the machines, what would the ever increasing population end up doing? No matter how many skills one learns, one would never be able to match the ratio and the rate with which machines would be replacing humans in practically every job.

Though the pros are immense, cons seem to haunt the very essence of life, or may be it’s high time to re-define the very essence?

Source for the Image: http://medicalfuturist.com/artificial...

Loss of Jobs_Time to Act?

What’s making me write about this is an article that I came across and which spoke about loss of jobs occurring in the market, due to the intervention of various factors, including that from technology.

Though, an ardent admirer, that I have been, it’s scary to think about people not upgrading their skills with the same pace as the technological developments hitting us every day, as a consequence ending up losing their much coveted job.

The consequences of more and more unemployable people roaming on the streets is a grim scenario, leading to rise in crime rates and chaos. What is it that can help prevent our society going down such a path?

Is it the lack of willingness on part of individuals to grow and adapt to the changes or the initiative that needs to be taken at the policy level to ensure that people get skilled according the evolving needs of the job market?

Never thought that I would be talking about the cons of technology that we use each day of our lives and which has enormous pros and which helps us evolve and add value to us as people and society.

The situation looks grim, with programs and initiatives such as Skill India not able to fulfill the promise. With no jobs and with no means of earning a livelihood, the hopelessness that results, I am afraid, might boil into a situation where either we would witness a series of suicides or would become witness to extreme riots and loot.

Now is the time to do something about it? What that something might be is anybody’s guess! What we need to see is action on the ground and not mere brainstorming. 

As a head of a company, be it a start-up or an established one, the aim should be to hire, train and provide a means of livelihood to the unemployed youth in our country.

The only question is, can we let the profit go in the background for a little while and think about the greater good of the society?

Source for Image: https://www.fastcompany.com/1842000/c...

The Healthcare Dream!

It’s not very often when you get up in the middle of the night to figure out that you have a swollen foot. Somehow, you don’t know what to do, whom to ask? And waking up your family members for no urgent reason as such doesn’t make sense.

But you gotta do something, for the fear of the same getting aggravated. You move out into your living room to deliberate on the possible options. Putting soframycin would make sense as a lay man, but the fear of the same having a disastrous reaction with the seemingly fungal infection going through your foot makes you take a pause.

You go to the likes of Google and try to find a possible solution for the same, only to be confused even more with the plethora of symptoms mentioned and the possible permutations and combinations.

What you end up realizing is that you need a medical practitioner to take care of the symptoms. You wish there was a medical friend, philosopher and guide, a medical resource available at the click of a button, whom you could call and possibly share a pic of your foot to be instructed about the immediate step to be taken and then a follow up the next morning.

May be, if you were living in the 1990s, you wouldn’t even dare to bring such a thought in your mind and revert to exploring the option of waking up your family doctor, that is if you had one.

But today’s India is very different with the no. of MedTech solutions that tend to be sprouting up every single day of our lives with every new start-up idea taking the shape of a company in every nook and corner of the start-up hubs.

Telemedicine is no more a dream. The three key things related to healthcare sector in particular, be it accessibility, affordability or availability are being addressed for different conditions with customized solutions available for each one of them.

How wonderful it would be, when everything in the entire scheme of things in the healthcare sector, would be automated, ranging from appointment to availability of health records on a platform, from diagnosis being done by computers to medicines provided at door step by the pharmacies registered on the same platform.

Still, some work needs to be done when it comes to integrating the functionalities of every stakeholder and bringing them to a common platform, where a seamless and efficient interaction can take place between the patients and the doctors and pain points for both can be taken care of with the help of associated players (e.g. pharmacies and diagnostic centers).

The day is not far when the healthcare dream will be fulfilled with dedicated start-up individuals taking the onus on their shoulders to make this world a better place to live in. After all, this is what lies at the core of happy living, isn’t it?

Source for Image: http://www.conrisnurses.co.uk/

Wired Zindagi!

Ever wondered how many wires you are surrounded with? If the wires that brought you some light in your houses and the cables that brought your ears echoing with voices from your friends, family and colleagues; were not enough, the likes of the laptops, smart phones etc. ensured that you would be surrounded by the wires all your lives, be it the chargers or be it the adaptors.

First thing first, when you reach your offices or work stations is to take out the very lifelines that bring you your bread and butter out of your bags and spread them all over your desk or lap to engulf you in the world of internet.

As every other thing, this wired zindagi  has its own set of pros and cons. Pros, that you remain well connected, are able to do your work more efficiently and get better compensations for being able to do so, which allows you to spend more and more, especially with the kind of discounts coming through on Amazon and Flipkart.

Cons, being, you spend most of your time surrounded by these wires, not being able to give the same

to your loved ones and many more, but the worst of all being, this phenomenon having a huge impact on your health, be it your eyes or your back.

Food for thought, with wired zindagi comes huge costs, time to make it less wired?

Source for Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... 

Does being Apped means losing Humanity?

Evolution is inevitable, but have you ever wondered that we would evolve so much so as to have our entire lives and generation apped.

Ya, that’s the buzz word. Possibly anything that you can think of at the moment has been put as a service/product which can be accessed through an app. It was only yesterday that I came to know, that an app exists for funeral services as well for those who are not able to make it in time for the last riots of their loved ones.

Can you believe it? An app for a funeral service? Ironically, on one hand, where it is extraordinarily funny because of our socialization process, the way we all have been brought up in India, on the other, being apped means lot of convenience.

It means the time that earlier you might have so called wasted, can now be utilized for more productive work, though I still believe the entire concept can be questioned.

We are spending more than 70% of our time, either on our laptops or our mobile phones. Our real life conversations have gone down.

If I were to picture a typical ITied family, you would see the husband and wife doing something on their respective IT platforms and the kid, who might have just been introduced to the likes, would be trying to add friends on Whatsapp or Fb.

What we earlier referred to as the family time has now got transformed into IT time. Father doesn’t seem to have time to spend with his kids, wife or parents. The wife, especially if she is a house-wife seemed to have found some abode in the arms of the virtual. The kids love the alley of the technology that they seem to be racing into.

The only ones who are left out in this entire ITionization or Appionization or whatever you might want to refer to as are the parents of the grownups or the generation that gave birth to the so called successful techies.

I know, some of us, would want to argue, that IT has helped us remain connected with our parents. At least we have an option to either do a skype or video calling sitting somewhere in US.

I just wonder, when we were young, and when we needed our parents’ attention the most, be it being fed when we were hungry or be it when we craved for their attention when we were hurt, if our parents were to come and tell us that they were appified, I bet we wouldn’t have liked it.

It’s our time, it’s our physical presence, it’s us providing the much wanted emotional support and attention, that our parents need the most, when they become old.

Where on one hand, it’s good to learn new things, keep oneself updated with what’s happening, on the other hand, we should try not to become so ITied or apped, where we tend to lose the very essence and foundation of humanity and love.

Source for Image: https://twitter.com/appstore

Does it really matter?

It’s not that often that I get into philosophy of things, though at times, while you are kayaking in the wonderful waters, after having a couple of beers, you cannot blame me for getting into the same.

Such moments, where you can barely listen to sounds made by any kind of in habitation around leave alone the honking, are really few considering the kind of lifestyles that we all have become so accustomed to living.

And then you tend to remember the last words of the ever so famous, Steve Jobs, or the spiritual thoughts being propagated by the likes of Robin Sharma who in turn took it from the greats such as Rabindra Nath Tagore, all emphasizing upon the eventuality.

At the end of the day, or for that matter, the last hour of our lives, we will have the chance to think about kya khoya, kya paaya (what you gained, what you lost), which will in itself be evident by the fact how many people are beside you when you take that last breath, how many people would actually feel your absence or you not being around, how many souls would actually shed a tear for who you were.

How many lives you would have an impact on in your lifetime, how many souls would be there to bless you for the kindness and wonderful things that you might have done for them, how many people would appreciate and talk about you in good regard, how many folks would remember you for your deeds?

Some would say, does it really matter, for after we are gone, no one knows where we will be, no one cares what we will be doing and whether of all things, we would be thinking of the above.

May be not, but certainly, for those who we will leave behind us, for those who would have interacted with us during our lifetime, for those whose life we would have made a difference to, would certainly remember us for who we were.

After all, it’s about not being too selfish and greedy, instead being giving and spreading the happiness around you. Wonder if each one of us decided to spread the joy, how wonderful a place this planet would become.

Choice is ours, “To be or not to be!”

Source for Image: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/c...

It’s all about Playing Games!

Sports has had a very integral role in my growing up years. Has been instrumental in teaching me things which I will cherish all my life. What comes along with playing sports is you get into a habit of watching sports and when it be the biggest sporting event, one can hardly miss upon the wonderful performances.

Yes, Olympics did have its own set of controversies and accomplishments, which each one of us know and would not really want to get into the complexities of the same. What I would instead want to talk about is few things which I learnt from my sporting years, both playing and watching, and which I think are extremely relevant when it comes to leading our day-to-day lives.

I still remember, cable connection used to be a luxury at home only to be availed during our summer holidays because my mom was very particular about her kids not wasting time on the same and instead wanted us to focus on academics.

Those were the days, when on a Sunday, if there was supposed to be a cricket match being played between India and another nation, when I would get up around 5 or so in the morning to first play my favorite sports and then get ready to watch it at a friend’s place.

Probably, the ease with which one becomes disciplined with no one else telling you all the time to do so, was the biggest habit which I was drawn into, courtesy sports. Now I realize how his gets translated to any other aim or goal that you set for yourself and carve out a path to achieve the same, which comes pretty naturally to you and makes it a cake walk when it comes to adapting yourself to the grueling schedule.

While, on the field, since it’s a team sports and your victory is determined by how everyone else is performing, a team sports, no matter how much you would want to, doesn’t give you the liberty to become selfish, instead teaches you to do your job selflessly, striving towards a larger goal at all times.

Such great mentoring, especially during the formative years of a child, instills in him/her an ability to think beyond one’s profit and loss and instead focus on the common good, leaving little scope for comparisons and the resulting jealousy, in turn enabling one to lead a much happier life.

The wonderful think about sports like any other other field is the adulation that one gets when one wins. Though it has its own confidence boosting effect, at the same time, it more often than not, leads to over-confidence and ego.

But as with every other thing, this two has its in-built neutralizing formula, where in you don’t always win, but lose as well. It’s incredible how the ego comes shattering down when you brag and lose, in turn teaching you a very important lesson in life, which is to remain balanced at every point of time in your life and take success and failures in the same stride.

Another extra-ordinary thing about sports is that it teaches you that there are no limits to what you can achieve. In every tournament new records are set, which inspires every individual to have faith in his/her ability to go beyond the usual, and more importantly to think that one can actually cross the line with better efforts, thereby motivating one to continue with the hard work.

And the most important of all that sports teaches you is, that nothing comes easy. You have to put in the hard work, you have to make each moment, each day count for the incremental improvements to take place, you have to be conscious of the fact that it needs to be worked upon.

Doesn’t it sound similar to working on any social relationship in the World that we tend to get into during the wonderful journey that we all call life, be it spouse or kids?

If it does hit your realization, then make sure you and your family get into a habit of playing sports, for it’s all about playing games and the more you play with the right spirit, the more satisfied and happy you would be in life.

Source for Image: https://sites.jmu.edu/103fall14/are-y...

Xtream Couples!

Surely, there must be an X factor in order for a couple to become a couple. Surely, there must be some similarity at least in order for things to click. Surely, there must be some differences which makes it more interesting and increases the possibility of coming together. Surely, there must be some divine intervention which enables the couples to take off.

What if, there is none of the above? What if, if one is North Pole, and the other a South Pole? What if, one likes sweet, the other hates the same? Do opposites really attract? And if it were so, do opposites really attract for long?

Happiness Decoded!

Came across a beautiful video on LinkedIn of this wonderful girl (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=cUkZLttONGM) and wanted to share with you all.

At such a young age, how certain situations and circumstances teach you what we elders tend to forget having joined the rat race and in pursuing what might really not matter, say 20 years down the line.

Over time, people have tried to define happiness and the real reason why we are living. Instead of going into the philosophy of the same, I believe, since we are the ones who are living, it should have a practical significance and all thoughts should lead to a path, which enables one to live life in the best possible manner.

For if you are gone, it won’t matter what you did. Life is indeed living those moments that constitute the super set. If you are not striving towards making each moment of your life productive, be it professional or personal, and adding just that delta to the happiness quotient, be it for yourself or for others, I believe you are not doing enough and the strive and the motivation to do so needs some kind of, what Sallu bhai would say, a ‘kick‘ to keep it going.

I will say no more, as I would want that all you guys out there, get the kick that we all should aspire for and would leave you all to watch this beautiful video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=cUkZLttONGM) explaining what life and happiness could mean.

Source for Image: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/life...