I’ve often said I am a child of the Internet.
Before the Internet even came to India, I was already online, first through my university network, then on LiveWire, one of India’s largest BBS communities in Mumbai. The Internet has been my place of friendships, partnerships, beginnings, endings, and everything in between. I met my intimate partner online, built my businesses with someone I met online, and even today, eight out of ten of my close friends were first pixels before they became people.
So, when one Internet friend spoke highly of another and suggested we connect, I did what I always do: reached out. After some back-and-forth, we met over coffee at the Residency Club in Pune. We hit it off, but it was just another pleasant meeting. But there was something about this man. I really wanted us to work together on something.
We started with a small marketing project. Then, a bigger, meatier one. Soon, we were speaking almost daily. Not so much about business, but about life, what drives us, our aspirations, our baggage, and the things two 50-year-olds can have to talk to one another. And in those conversations, I began to understand the man.
He has seen the highs of life, with professional success, global travel, homes in more than one country, and recognition in his field. He has also known deep lows, including difficult times, poverty, and the loneliness that comes with being a true nomad. He lives out of suitcases, moves between countries, and builds relationships that must fit into transit schedules. The romanticism of such a life hides the grit it demands, yet he pulls it off with style.
He is also one of the best ambassadors SAP could hope for, evangelising its solutions to small and medium industries across continents with the passion of a believer. Also, he is one of those rare species who hates tech jaron (he calls it ‘Mumbo Jumbo’) and explains things to you as if you were five.
But that is not all. what truly sets him apart is not his professional skill. It is the way he treats people who work with him.
He has always believed that Indian consultants should be paid at par with their global counterparts. Not “adjusted” for where they live. Not discounted because of their passport. And he does not just believe this; he lives it.
He runs his own consulting firm, and while he himself makes far less than some of his team, he insists on paying them “top dollar” for their expertise.
Yesterday, he told me he had just paid an Indian consultant the same €80/hour that he pays his European and American consultants, a single month’s payment of around ₹12 lakh. His own earnings from that same contract? Less than a fourth of that. Just €12/hour.
And here is the thing: he did not say it with resentment or self-pity. He was proud of it. He was showing off.
It reminded me of something Tim Draper once said to entrepreneurs: “Your sole reason to exist as an entrepreneur is to find people smarter than you, sell them your vision, and then get out of the way.” Indeed, the wise entrepreneur is always the dumbest person in the room, having all the right questions, and seldom all the answers. Why? Because the wise entrepreneur always hires people smarter than themself. Without exception.
I have met many who quote Tim’s advice and talk about being the dumbest in the room with much conviction… mainly on LinkedIn. I have met very few who live it.
My friend is one of them.
And I am proud to work with him. Proud to call him my friend.
