The path forward

 Throughout my life, I've often found myself choosing paths different to those taken by most of my peers. Sometimes, this was a deliberate choice, while other times it was a result of the circumstances life presented me with.

One instance of this occurred when I opted to pursue a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science, while most of my peers were flocking towards Electronics. Later, when many of my peers were planning to leave India, I made the decision to stay and eventually secured fulfilling roles that prevented any regrets about my choice.

Similarly, while everyone was engrossed in developing for iPhone and Symbian, I ventured into Android and published apps on that platform. I vividly recall attending a mobile conference at IIMB in 2009-2010, where during a talk, I was the only individual who solely knew Android, while others were proficient in Nokia or iPhone. Despite being advised that only Symbian and iPhone would yield financial success, I'm glad to have jumped on the Android bandwagon early on.

During my tenure at Intuit, I worked on the Android version of their TurboTax, known as SnapTax at the time. It was an incredible experience both in terms of the technology and the team. My contributions were recognized with the Technical Excellence award, which further heightened my excitement and fulfillment.

Feeling the need to challenge myself, I decided to explore the startup world and joined Adnear, which underwent several name changes over time. While working there, I managed to write a book, ticking off an item on my bucket list. The experience of working with a mix of technologies, both exciting (Redis, Kafka, etc.) and less captivating (PHP, 0MQ, KyotoDB), was truly remarkable.

Unexpectedly, instead of starting my own venture, I ended up working at Google India. My previous post detailed my experiences and learning during my time at Google, along with my decision to resign. This decision surprised many of my acquaintances, as it once again deviates from popular career choices. I'm currently considering the startup journey, and the path I'm pursuing does not involve the trendy sectors of Blockchain, AI, Electric Vehicles, or CleanTech. While this is a less conventional choice, I hope to achieve success through diligent implementation and with the support of the right partners, which I believe I have. 

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