I was born and brought up in Delhi, where I lived with my parents and brother. My father was in the Army, and it had a huge impact on me. I grew up with a dream of joining the Army too. Discipline was in my blood, and I would take sports very seriously. I loved playing football and became a dedicated Manchester United fan early on. I would also wake up at 3 am every day for swimming practice.
My father knew I wanted to join the Army, but his wish was that I study at IIT. So I joined the coaching but would often bunk it to go play games at Essex Farms. Obviously, I didn't ace the exam as he had planned, but I did get admission in an engineering college in Gurgaon. At the same time, I had got hold of the books and old question papers of the NDA exam. I studied intensely and was confident I had cleared the exam the day I gave it. I got a call and passed the Army SSB and medical too. I was supposed to join IMA Dehradun on 5th March 2009.
On 2nd March, I was in my college in Gurgaon wrapping things up and was supposed to go home to pack. The next morning my phone rang at 6:15 am. My mother was crying as she told me my father was no more. My bags were packed, but I couldn't bring myself to go. I decided to stay close to my mother, and it was one of the best decisions I took.
I completed my engineering and began my career in customer experience strategy, in process optimisation. I worked closely with the product team, which.really taught me how to become a customer's custodian. I had always been good at solving problems, and I realised Product Management was all about having a vision to get those solved for customers. I knew I would be good at it, and so I switched sides. That's when I learnt all about payments and undertook a major project for my company.
In 2020, I got a call from Yeshu, who I had worked with before, saying he needed a product manager. And so, I joined Blinkit (earlier Grofers). I am really glad that I've had the opportunity to build various products across customer experience and payments from scratch. It's given me a chance to explore and deepen my understanding of what it means to be a customer's custodian.
Blinkit provided me the platform to test my strengths and work on my weaknesses, which has made me who I am today. If I've learnt one thing, it's that everyone should dream big and dream more, and not limit themselves to just one dream in life. I know because I started out with one dream, but here I am—living another.
I was born in Delhi to a disadvantaged family. Later, my father left us when I was 15. He was a stonemason and with his departure, I couldn’t concentrate on my studies. I ended up flunking my 12th exams.
I was born and brought up in Chandigarh. Blessed with a flawless childhood, I enjoyed a lovely family, the finest of education and a sound social life. In school, I excelled in studies as well as extracurricular activities.
Before I share my story, I want us to remember that India largely resides in its villages and towns. There are a lot of people in our country who have a lot of potential, but they seldom get the opportunity to prove their worth.