I was born and brought up in Rewari in Haryana, where I lived with my parents and two younger brothers. I studied in a Hindi-medium school till my class 12 boards, when my father decided all of us would move to Delhi. Shifting cities has never been easy for me because I take time to adjust to a new place, people, and a whole different way of life.
My parents worked hard to give us everything we needed, and I didnt want to do an expensive course, as we were already repaying a home loan for our house in Rewari. I finally chose a computer hardware course, thinking it would be easy to get a job after it.
I soon realized computer hardware was not my calling, but I wasn’t sure what to do next. My family depended on me, so I had to find a job soon. I looked for a part-time job in a BPO while I studied to graduate from a local college. It took me more than four months and 24 interviews to land a job at a BPO. But I soon understood I would need other skills to build a proper career.
One afternoon, destiny knocked on my door. A friend showed me a graphic design project of his and said it had been appreciated in India and abroad. I was happy for him, but I could see that he could have made it way better. And that was when I realized I enjoy design.
I took a week to decide on a multimedia course. I told myself this was my last chance to study further. I remember working relentlessly. There were days when I survived on only 3–4 hours of sleep. When I would present my work to the instructor, he would think I had been cheating. That felt like a compliment.
My first job in design came through the institute placement program, but I spent only five months there as I did not learn anything new. I then joined another company as a web designer, which taught me a lot.
2012 was the year my life changed. I lost my father. He was the one who taught me values such as punctuality, discipline and commitment to work – all of which helped me grow. I wish he could be here today to see that I am happy.
But more would change that year. One day I received a call from Ankur Saxena. He asked if I wanted to join the startup he was at and told me all about Grofers. I had worked with Ankur in another organization.
I interviewed with Grofers and joined soon after. On my first day, I was given a MacBook to work on. I had never used an Apple product before, having designed websites on CRT and LCD monitors so far.
In my jobs till then, I hadn't designed for user interaction, or used data validation. But to my surprise, I was the first full-time designer of Grofers. Some days I was blown away with the responsibility that had been given to me. As expected, there were several roadblocks, but the team helped me navigate.
Since I had studied in a Hindi medium school, English was not a language I spoke fluently. It was only after joining Blinkit that my English improved as I could practise speaking to people. But it was not easy. My colleagues did not focus on my errors, which helped a lot.
Communication wasn’t the only challenge. When you are working at a dynamic place like Blinkit, you are surrounded by super smart folks. Most of them had institutions like IIT, IIM, ISB, etc. on their CVs and sometimes I couldn’t sync with their thought process. But I remained focused on the end objective‒-to do good work despite the odds. If I didn’t understand a brief, I would find the right person to sit down with so I could align my vision with theirs.
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.