#1 - Fanpit, Investor Meetings, Twelve Grapes and everything that happened last week!
How are we already in the second week of 2025??
Wednesday Waffles
A few months ago I took a step down from my job at KPMG to prep for the UPSC Civil Services Examinations. This decision was something that I had been pondering for many months.
I spent the whole of last year trying really hard to decide between doing an MBA, starting up and taking a break to do the Civil Services. Infact, I even went on to list it as part of my “Goals for 2024”.
So back in June, I finally took the plunge and put in my papers. I was sure that this is what I wanted, until, Fanpit happened - good problems :)
For the first couple of months, I told no one about it. I wanted to be sure it made sense to get confused again, before I announced it to the world.
And now, you know and get to be part of me navigating all that!
Building Fanpit!
Remember when you couldn't get tickets to Coldplay in Mumbai, even though you were willing to pay? Yeah, that stung. But here's the thing – it wasn't just about missing a concert. It was about a system that couldn't distinguish between a die-hard fan who'd waited years for this moment and someone who just wanted to flip tickets.
That frustration sparked Fanpit. Initially, we dreamed of revolutionizing artist-fan relationships. But as we dug deeper and pivoted, we discovered something bigger: the loyalty problem wasn't just in entertainment.
Think about it – you have your favorite café where the barista knows your order by heart, that pizzeria you've been ordering from for years, the theater where you've watched every movie premiere. But do they really know how loyal you are? Can they reward you beyond the basic "buy 10 get 1 free" card?
That's when it clicked. We're building what we wish existed: a loyalty platform so simple that any business – from your corner coffee shop to a massive concert venue – can launch a proper loyalty program in under five minutes.
No coding needed, no massive budgets required. Just pure, straightforward appreciation for your most valuable customers.
Want to see what we're building? Check out Fanpit – we're live in beta! And who better to introduce you to Fanpit than our mascot, Bolt! ⚡
More on Fanpit - in the editions to come!
Starting up, MVPs, Proof of Concept, Fund Raising, VCs, Angels, Incubators
The last few weeks have been all about trying to figure if building Fanpit actually made sense. So I set out to test waters and spoke to many many business owners to pick their minds on what they thought about a loyalty program.
With what they said, I put together a proof of concept / MVP to take back to them.
Starting up is daunting. These podcasts don’t even give you 1% of all things you need to do, and the amount of learning along the way has been immense!
While I would love to write more about it here, it doesn’t feel too Waffle-esq. I want this newsletter to catch you up on what I have been upto and maybe teach you a thing or two!
What I will say is, if I do manage to make sense of what this starting up fiasco is all about, I would write a guide to help you get started too! If you can’t wait for that, here is the thesis that has shaped all of Fanpit. Build great products / tools / platforms that people want to use. This should help make ends meet. Do whatever you need to - to do this.
Also - again! Fanpit is live. Has been for about a week now! Check it out!
This week we also shipped an uber useful feature that helps businesses manage and host events on the application - to track RSVPs, Attendees, Performances and Transactions.
To put this to test and to take Fanpit out to the real world, we have partnered with Umber to manage the RSVPs for the event and Loyalty!
Umber is hosting The Umber Ground on January 12th 2025 and I will be there to tell you about Fanpit! If you want to come, RSVP here!
Twelve Grapes and new year traditions around the world
Last year, the first post I wrote on @wah_tej was on the psychology behind why New Year’s is at the heart at explaining survival. You can read it here.
Now, I must say, I cannot believe I did not speak about Twelve Grapes - a tradition that was made popular by the very beloved show - Modern Family! In season 4, episode 11, Gloria tells Jay "Few years ago I was a single mother living in the slum. Today I'm driving to Palm Springs, in my new car, with my rich husband. You do what you want, I'm eating the grapes". I mean, wow! I’m intrigued!
Thanks to social media, we all got to see this bandwagon effect in India - of something that aired way back in 2012 -2013. We indeed do live in strange times!
We have now reached the learning section of this waffle.
Twelve Grapes started out as a tradition in Spain where people gathered around dinner tables or at main squares where they ate a grape for every time the clock bell wrang. According to the tradition, eating the Twelve Grapes leads to a year of good luck and prosperity, and some even believed it warded off witches and evil in general! Oh and the flavour of the grapes - whether sweet or sour – also predicts what the year will bring.
Speaking of whacky NYE traditions - enter the Danes.
It’s hard to keep the Danish folk out of a holiday favourite. Take the Danish cookies for example! I had the chance to shadow a Dane make cookies and wow! Art it was! The secret ingredient? A BOAT LOAD OF BUTTER! (Thank me later)
Circling back, a Danish tradition sees people smashing plates and glasses on the doorsteps of friends and neighbors to wish them good fortune and to celebrate a new beginning. Broken plates are considered a sign of good luck and strong relationships in the year to come. The more broken glass you receive, the more popular and loved you are.
I did not watch a movie this week so no recommendations, but…
I usually watch a movie or more every week but this week has been a lot of to-dos. So I’m here leaving you with a gem I found this Christmas - Zach Seabaugh!
His songs will transport you and my personal favourite is Christmas Lights! Check it out!
That’s it for this week’s waffle! I’ll let you know on how the Fanpit launch goes on next - week’s Waffle! I might catch a few waves this weekend, don’t know yet!
Till then, this is your sign to do amazing and interesting things this year!
Cheers !