#2 - Throat infections, Umber Ground, Umagine TN, storytelling, Pongal and everything that happened last week
I fell sick. Sigh. What was BGT!? Like WHAT!? Also I miss vroom vroom cars going round in circles. No really. "I'm fine!"
Welcome to week 2’s waffle. Well, I got sick this week and I think most of it ties back to stress, sleeplessness and anxiety - I don’t like being super productive and I think it’s going to be a while before I manage to weave “me-time” into my schedule. This is not something I am a fan of.
That being said, this week, apart for the physical demands of putting up with a cold, was amazing!
Also, just so you know, this newsletter isn’t only going to talk about the ultra-productive things I’ve done. It’s got the good, bad and ugly. So read on!
Just get started (maybe advice) - feel free to skip
Starting up is hard. Building products is hard. Finding product-market fit is hard. Debugging code is hard. But the learning? It's massive. That's the same with every new thing though, right? The learning curve hits you like a brick and suddenly you're drowning in it all. But you push on.
Look, this newsletter isn't written to give advice. But if there's something you've been stewing on, get started with it. Start somewhere, anywhere! If you are looking for a sounding board to help you - feel free to get in touch!
When I first thought of Fanpit, I was all over the place. Still am. My first vision was nothing like what we do now. I could never have dreamed up everything we do today if I hadn't just started and learned to deal with that curve. So. Just. Get. Going.
Why am I saying this? After last week's waffle, I caught up with Sameer Hate - a friend from my KPMG days in Mumbai. He told me how Fanpit and this newsletter got him thinking about an idea he wanted to explore. That made my day - it's exactly why I write this! So if you're looking for a sign, this is it.
Fanpit x Umber Ground
In last week’s waffle, I told you about the Umber Ground - an event put together by Umber Speciality Coffee in Egmore that aimed at creating a community around coffee. Fanpit powered this event - by managing RSVPs and Loyalty, and I’m proud to say we got 13 new user signups!
Here's the thing about Fanpit Events - it's built for pretty much anything you can dream up. Open mics, meetups, pop-up displays, concerts - you name it. We handle all the boring stuff: RSVPs, check-ins, attendee management, and transaction tracking. Plus, you get a slick landing page to share your event.
The whole point? Helping our customers serve their customers better. Picture being at a pop-up event where everything's curated just for you. Pretty sweet, right? (Still working on paid events and ticketing though - we'll get there!)
Want to see what we're building? Drop me a line at tejas@fanpit.live (yes, I have a @fanpit.live email - how cool is that?) or just reach out however you usually do. Let's chat!
UmagineTN, storytelling and scriptwriting
When I told Shreya about meeting people to tell them about Fanpit and pick their mind about where to go from here, she said it feels like how a director/screenwriter usually take around their story to multiple people to get a feel about it, make tweaks and fixes - or maybe even do a re-write. I couldn't have found a better analogy!
Last week was all about taking Fanpit out to the world and getting better perspectives on everything I am doing. Most of it was advice on things that could go wrong but a lot of very interesting feature modifications as well, that I would love to bring to Fanpit!
I took Fanpit to it’s first ever tech-fest - UmagineTN where I got to pick the minds of industry leaders and tech enthusiasts! I also met Nithya after a very long time - again someone whom I got to know from my Bombay days! We caught up and she told me about how she was to meet Mr. Modi the coming week and also about all the cool stuff they have been doing at ePlane Company!
Talk about milestones - because this definitely is one!
I did not study last week
Well, I did not. Most of my time last week was spent talking about - you know and whining about how I don’t have “me time” at all. So I put all my energy there and completely forgot about the aspirant part of me. Maybe this caused some stress too, who knows.
Also I moved my table out of my room so the moment I walk into it, I fall asleep. NO MORE STEWING IN BED TRYING TO SLEEP! YAAY!
I did, however make it to all my workout sessions at SimpleStrong! We did a session today called Xs and Os that felt amazing to finish. 850 calories - one session! Let’s go!!!
Weddings bells are ringing! Sushi plates are dining! Onitsuka Shoes are wearing! Pongal meals are eating!
I also got to attend the very cute wedding of Yuvagelin, my batchmate from KPMG! - Congratulations Yuva! Met all my mates and ex-colleagues. The food there was just amazing and it set the tone to a week of amazing things to eat!
Went to Dhalia later in the week to have sushi - ate a lot more - but the sushi was the highlight! Wore my brand new Asics Onitsuka Tiger - Tokyo Edition to a Japanese restaurant. What? Yes!! (Thanks Shreya!)
Pongal was all about amazing lunch (no naps sadly) and making matcha! May not be a matcha person, figuring that out too!
Maybe I find more “me time” this week?
I’m going to try.
No movies again, just binging a lot of Ted Lasso. Got hooked to a new song this week! - Kuch To Log Kahenge - Kishore Kumar and R. D. Burman.
How do you write something about a song that makes me silent and sends me to a state of thought - only? The song - scales great because of the absolute simplicity with which it is written by Anand Bakshi - aand darts straight to your heart (I’m a poet and you know it!)
I watched Amar Prem (1971) dir. Shakti Samanta - the movie from which this song comes from many years ago, but the song did not stick with me until recently.
Maybe, I grew up. Just maybe.
Leaving you with this, here.
Over to you!
I've been thinking - I'd love to hear your thoughts on this - whatever I am doing here! What would you like to read more about? Should I talk more about building Fanpit? Do I build more publicly? Tell you about interesting things I study about(if I do)
Drop me a note - tell me what clicks, what doesn't - I'm all ears!
You can reach me at tejas@fanpit.live or wherever you usually find me hanging around!
Cheers!
TPS
(P.S. This is how I sign off now!)