2021: A year of self-discovery

The year of 2021 has come to an end and 2022 is just beginning of something beautiful and far more things to look forward to this coming year. 2021 has also been one of the most challenging years in my life. I was tested time and time again at every part of the journey, through which I learnt so much about myself, my likes, dislikes, and the various layers which made me who I am all were revealed.

The lone journey

Coming into 2021, it was already one year of trying to lift off Invigilo, but my team kept disbanding at several phases throughout the whole of 2020. People came and left as if it was a hotel and every single time this happened, I felt an ever-increasing urge to give up and start working in the corporate world. I remember in January 2021, when I thought that I found the most suitable co-founder I could have asked for, in just under 1.5 months, even that person left for another job opportunity. I was at the lowest point ever, with the only reason pushing me to continue some daily operations in my start-up being the word I gave to some potential clients.

There were so many times I compared myself to others in my age who were raking in huge amounts of money, spending so much time with family and friends, and really enjoying themselves. I questioned myself time and time again as to why I was even in this journey, chasing my passion and pursuing something where I didn’t see any incentive/reward.

A sudden stroke of luck

I was definitely on the verge of giving up in about February or March of 2021. I was preparing myself to have conversations with my mentors, advisors, and clients to let them know that Invigilo would be no more and that we have to stop all of the projects. It is crazy to think that the main reason this was happening was because I had no team, and what I also failed to realize was that, with absolutely no-one else in the team, I was able to already get interested clients and parties.

I still remember that fine day when, it was another sad day where I was frantically trying to search on LinkedIn and through friends for a co-founder that I suddenly got news from 2 different investors that they were keen to invest and are ready to put in the money. I was speechless for the longest period of time, in absolute disbelief that it was actually happening.

While I say that this is a stroke of luck, as I mentioned in one of my earlier articles, luck can be made, and I truly believe that this luck was a result of my constant effort and sacrifices over the last year and more. I was then able to plan out a hiring strategy to hire a solid team with the initial investment amount.

The world is actually a nice place

Many people who have talked to me before about my journey, would have realized that I like to mention that the world is actually a beautiful place. Through this journey I have learnt that people are generally kind to one another, not sure if that is a common thing or if it was just for me. Every single phase of the journey, as I was working on operations, legal, finance, product and HR, I always had mentors and advisors to give me guidance and sometimes they even work things out with me. I cannot even begin to comprehend how eternally grateful I am for the many close mentors that I have in this journey who genuinely want to see the success of Invigilo.

A lot of times as start-up founders, we get so involved in our daily tasks that we forget to take a breather, sit back, and ASK for help. Things became exponentially simpler when I just asked around for guidance. The whole journey became a lot more bearable with such presence around me. The world is indeed a nicer place than I thought it was.

What is progress?

One of the many things I learnt about 2021 is that progress isn’t exactly a defined concept. What exactly is progress. Progress is not exactly defined anywhere, and we as founders take it too seriously and constantly try to achieve a goal or a milestone that they have set. However, they fail to realize that progress in fact is never always forward, it can be in all direction. Basically what this means is that there’s sudden outbreaks of progress in short intervals of time, but the progress can be lost the very next day. It’s a constant up and down of struggles and making progress and losing the progress.

I learnt that I should cherish every single victory, be it small or major. Simple things like treating the team to lunch or dinner is also considered progress. Big things such as expansion of the team to about 5 others right now is considered progress too! There is no exact definition, and this is something which is super important to be aware of and I also constantly have to acknowledge every single thing that happens.

Living in the present

The final and one of the most important things I took away from 2021 is the importance of living in the present. No amount of worrying can change the future, and no amount of regretting can change the past; one of the most influential statements of my 2021. This was applicable to me in many different aspects of my life, not just start-up but also personal life as well. Living in the present is a very powerful concept which alleviates a lot of unnecessary pressure and tension from a person.

I am very ambitions and always like to plan for things in the long term and try to make everything happen. Not just that, I also conjure up all kinds of fears of the unknown and get scared and sad about that leading to a never-ending spiral of fear and disappointment. This is something I will actively be working on changing in the coming year and I urge everyone else to do the same as well. Take a breather, pause and think about everything, process everything before moving onto the next step. Past and future is a figment of our imagination, the present is what “is”. Focus on the present.

This pretty much sums up some of the major lessons I had in my 2021. I am hoping that 2022 would be another year of growth and success. In my start-up life, we are going to get a number more clients, a lot more features and save many more lives in this high-risk environments. In my own personal life, it will be yet another year of self-discovery, one that forges newer friendships and older ties getting strengthened. I have made a set of new year resolutions, which I firmly will sustain. Happy and Wonderful New Year everyone!!

A huge thank you to my family, friends and all of the amazing mentors and advisors that I have had in this journey. I would definitely have given up so long back if it wasn’t this huge network and ecosystem of great personalities.

This is going to be a great year for me and Invigilo!

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