Gagan Kaul Blog

Today I am completing one year at Netscribes. As I look back, it has been a year well spent learning new things, meeting interesting people and learning some more :-).

I have always wanted to join a startup. Even though fat pay packages that IITians usually command from bigger firms are galore, yet the idea of being just another face in a big organization never appealed to me. My paradigm of an ideal organization has always been the one where you have independence of thought and working style, and at the same time the liberty to try out new things. I always wanted to be a part of something that was full of positive energy and looked favorably at innovation and new ideas. And with all these things in mind, I hoped that Netscribes would be an interesting first job.

I had my own start-up during campus days, called iDhoom Technologies, which was primarily a web services firm. The startup was just like any other startup that were blooming at those times. In our case, I and a few of my fellow batchmates from IIT got together and thought of an idea to put into practice whatever we were learning in programming and coding. So along came web projects, C++, java, security coding, designing and a lot of other programming stuff. We had a good run for two years, and after that we dissolved the firm with a unanimous decision of pursuing different fields. The basic ideology, of applying what we were learning to the real world, was fulfilled and the goal accompolished.

So, I did have a feel of the start-up environment, when I joined Netscribes. But coming here, and seeing a company that was just coming out of its formative years is an incredible experience. I have seen excellent dynamics at play in the organization; and my own experience in introducing a new concept has been very stimulating. An idea that was introduced on a very elementary level in the organization got enthusiastic attention and a lot of fillip for trying it. How we went about it and how it was embraced is another exciting story that I will put up some other time. The bottom line is that it is things like these that make working here such an EXPERIENCE.

I think that everyone wants some basic things in their work life which would essentially include a fun-filled work environment, intelligent and pragmatic colleagues, and openness towards new ideas. Well, I have been lucky to have all this in my very first job.

Talk about tense times, and I have seen them rarely in my project. It is not only about planning and operations; but the professional demeanour that people carry makes it easy to approach anyone even if you have the slightest of doubts or confusions. Right from my immediate senior to the seniors above him, everyone carries a light-headed charm and smile on his/her face. You cannot expect sunshine everyday, but the peer group always manages to find the silver lining in the darkest clouds. And I strongly believe that this is one of the unique strengths of this company.

Even though its been a year, it seems like yesterday. The time has just rolled by without the slightest notice; and I still come to work with the same excitement and energy that I started with a year back. This sounds strange from the numerous stories that I keep hearing from my batchmates about their work life. Instead of a face, I would rather want to be the spoke in the wheel. And that is the feeling I get at Netscribes.

And here is saying Hello to the start of another great year here …