Latest / Chavadi: The Meeting Place / Episode #31 - Rohan Shetty

Transcript

Episode #31 - Rohan Shetty · Chavadi: The Meeting Place

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hi there, or as we say in Tulu, Namaskarra.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Chawdi.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_03: Chawdi means the meeting place.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_03: Architecturally, it is a veranda, sometimes outside a home, sometimes within, always to welcome guests, to swap stories, debate the news, and pass the time together.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Each episode we will bring you voices that reflect the rich tapestry of life, memories from childhood, lessons learned along the way, and the moments that stay with us forever.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Some humorous, some poignant, but always special.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Lalita Shetty.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm Sidan Shetty.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_03: Today we invite you to our Chahouti.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_03: Today we have Rohan Shetty.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_03: Rohan grew up in Austin.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_03: He has a younger brother, Akash, and currently lives in Austin.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_03: His dad's name is Sudir, and his mom's name is Sunya.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_03: And Sunya Andy actually was one of our guests on an early episode.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Rohan.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_03: How are you doing today?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_03: Good, good.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_03: I'm glad to be on the show.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you for being here, Rohan, especially since I think this is this interview has been planned and cancelled and planned and cancelled so many times.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I appreciate you guys coming in to interview, especially the day of moving into Sedan's new apartment.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: So appreciate it and can't wait to get started.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and for more context for our listeners, Rohan grew up in Austin with Laloantinai.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_03: So it's like Rohan is talking to his second mom right now, and I'm talking to my brother.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_03: So we're gonna be messing around a little bit.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_03: So it'll be it'll be fun.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but yeah, let's start off with your childhood.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you mentioned growing up in India, I think you were around six years old.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_03: Tell us about those memories and um that experience.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: So, so just for kind of I did grow up in the United States, but there was a period where for eight months we had moved to India for dad's job, and I actually went to school there.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought it was such a great experience because I got to spend a lot of time with Ajahn Dada over there, and I have this very fond memory.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, where at the end of the day, sorry to interrupt your Aja and Dodda, are your grandfather and grandma.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and this was on my mom's side as well.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: We were in Bangalore at the time, so I went to school and then at as the semester ended, um, we had like a play, and I'll never forget it.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: I remember Dodda and I creating my costume because she was really into art.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we created that.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a very fond memory with her, and I felt like I started to pick up the language a little bit.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: I can't I can't speak Kanda fluently, unfortunately, but I can understand it.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that really helped with that.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and talk more about your childhood memories growing up in the States, at least.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um between this Indian period, I guess.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_03: You mentioned a lot about community and how important that was for you.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_03: So the bunts in Austin, I think you had this family group, um, the Konkani family group that was really, really close to your family.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, you're just surrounded by a lot of family, different people from around the community.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_03: How was that experience growing up?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it was really good.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: It was also really overwhelming, I think, because like I obviously I had the Bunt group and that was solid, but then I had this other family as well, the Konkini group.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was like these two different Indian groups where a Friday we'd hang out with the Bunts, Saturday we'd go hang out with the Konkini family.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it was really overwhelming at first.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think I fully appreciated that until post-college, where you know, things with friends start to slow down a bit and you start to realize the value of family, family friends, and just having that space where um you can kind of go and talk to this extended family about you know anything.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I I really did appreciate that, like the weekly meetups and everything.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I think just for our listeners again, Konkanies are also a community from South Canberra, Mangalore.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so you have a lot of friendships between the Konkanies and the Buns, sometimes the language the they speak a different language, but there's a lot of similarities uh between the two communities.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: How how did you how were you connected with that Konkani family?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it was my dad.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: So uh my dad and uh this mama, Yetin Mama, uh they went to college, they went to college together.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so when dad moved to the United States, he actually went to he was at Buffalo University first, and then he moved to UT, and Yetin Mama also happened to go to UT as well.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: So they became I don't know if they were roommates or not, but uh Yatin Mama is Konkni.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so he knew Amama and uh uh Aja.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so Yet and Mama introduced dad to them.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and then I think mom, like when mom came to the US and met them, obviously I think they took mom and dad in as their own.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I also feel like Amama and Aja, even though we're not blood related, I feel like they are my grandparents, so got very close with them.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: So really lucky.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: You have three sets of grandparents, one right here in Austin.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, three sets of grandparents.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's very, very fortunate.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's awesome.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_03: And talking about visiting grandparents, I think one thing that your mom mentioned on her episode is that she had a deal with your grandparents that you guys would go to India one summer and then they would return the favor the other summer, like the next year.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so talk about that experience in terms of like I went to India almost every summer.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: And obviously, you guys, at least you gotta see your grandparents every every year, right?
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_03: Because they used to come here.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so tell us about that experience and how that really helped solidify the relationship between your you and your grandparents.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think Ajahnada on mom's side, this is on mom's side, they they I think they came to the US every other year when up until I was I would I would like to say like 16 around then.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: But then after that, it was a bit harder for Aja to get on a plane and come to the US and do all those travels.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we just continued the every two years tradition after that.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: But it was really cool because I was fortunate enough that I Ajandata both spoke English.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um I would hear stories about how Aja would come to the United States actually for his orthodontist practice and everything.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: He'd been to the US and it was just it was nice to see him in the US, and then also whenever we'd go to India, we'd stay for the whole summer.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: So we were in Bangalore for like two and a half months, I'd say, and then we'd go see dad's side for a couple weeks.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: In Mumbai, I think, right?
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, in Mumbai.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: And we also just uh dad's side of the family, also uh most of the family had moved to the US already.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: So with mom's side, most of mom's family is still in India.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um we had a lot of family to go through and meet up with, and um, so it was it was nice.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: It was nice seeing Ajandada that frequently.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like it's pretty rare, and then also it's pretty rare for them to also speak English, so like there was no translation barrier to understanding.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I've had really good conversations with both, and I think a lot of my um understanding of Hinduism also comes from my dada as well, because she would teach us about the Mahabharata and the Ramaina growing up and everything.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: I associate religion with her, so with her, and I guess in true uh pant style or Indian style, when you say a lot of her family was there, it's not just the immediate family, it's the extended family too.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, right, yeah, extended family, and even when you all talk about chavidi and like the whole meetup stuff, like I associate that with mom's family a lot because it seems like they get together a lot and they have tea.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And every time I'm there, it's like one uncle from work is has driven to the house and just having tea with my uh my uncle, and it's it's a cool experience.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: So we almost create our own chavades wherever we are, because people are always welcome and you know, exactly we talk about everything from politics to personal matters with no boundaries.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's no boundaries when it comes to speaking, especially Bangor.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: So but uh Rohan, earlier when we were talking about uh Bunt influences, or what is something that equates to Bunt for you?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: You talked about the Austin extended community and the food.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh tell me more about that.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think the Bunt community to me just means like you know, extended family community, people you can trust on and lean on if you're going through problems or just want to talk about stuff.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think the food as well is just so unique.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually love that about just India in general, like every different group has their own food and spices that they use.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think I really appreciated the food until I went to college and I had other Indian friends who would talk about their cuisines, and I started to fall in love with food then as well.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like yeah, yeah.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but do you do you like Indian uh bunt food or uh given a choice, you'd prefer the pasta and the because you know when Sanjana, my daughter, was younger, she would always say, Why do we have to eat so much rice or so much?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Can we not have pasta and noodles?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, as she gets older, the change has happened where now she's discovering the taste or not discovering, she understands, but uh what about you?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: I was the exact same way.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: I and I feel so guilty about it to this day because I always tell mom, oh, I want pasta, I want I want uh European fish style instead of the normal bunch.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it was all through middle school and high school, I just didn't want to eat Indian food for the longest time.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then it I actually think it was when I moved to Chicago and I'd come back to visit, uh, where I was like, oh man, like I really want Indian food and I want home cooking.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: But I feel so bad because every time I come back, I think mom always thought I wanted pasta and stuff.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: She'd cook me pasta when I'd come up, oh man, yeah, Indian food.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'll take it.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, as long as someone else is doing the cooking, we'll take any food.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: And your mom's a fabulous uh cook.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but it's funny, I was thinking about, you know, when you talked about extended community with other younger guests, and I think Karthik uh Sidan's brother mentioned it.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about Bana Bunt get togethers, which we would have in either Houston or Dallas or Austin.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you guys were always grouped together to put on some skit, some item.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thoughts on that?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah, I I think in the moment we really did not like it because it's like it's like, oh man, we have to do this again.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: But it was, I think that got us to be a little closer.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um because I I felt like because we were all in band at that point, right?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: We all had so we'd have to play the Indian national anthem, I think, at one point, and then we had this terrible comedy skit that we did, and I think Sidon found it.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, sometimes I like I went through my past school drive and I found the comedy script that we had done, and it was like a very stereotypical Indian call center with an accent sort of hit that we were doing, and we were reading the dialogue together, and all four of us were like, How did our parents let us go on stage and do this?
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_03: This is humiliating.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's all that but I guess there's a uh there's trauma bonding, right?
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_03: So I guess there's there's that yeah.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, did the bonding went really well because touch knock on wood, you're still bonded together, yeah, yeah.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: And actually, all four of us, right?
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_03: Like, like whenever Akash is in Texas, we'll always make it a point that to go and hang out and things like that.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_03: Akash is Ruhan's brother, like I had mentioned, but um, yeah, yeah.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it was I I I thought, but I also thought Bana was cool in a way because it's like, oh, now I'm meeting all the bunts from these different cities that we never met.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: And now, like I think now there's people that have moved from Dallas and Houston to Austin, and we know of them from you know childhood because like they they're at the Bana events, so it's cool to see them in town and everything.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, but yeah, totally.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so moving on a little bit into your teen years, sort of approaching your college phase.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_03: I guess the first thing that we want to ask you about is talking about your parents and sort of painting a picture for the audience about how your parents were, how they raised you, what are some sort of like strong influences they had?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_03: And then the next thing is talking about the relationship with your with Akash.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_03: But let's talk about your parents first.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_03: How was Sudhir uncle and Sunyanti?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: What are the things that they really impressed on you um and pushed as a child?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_03: And obviously, looking back on those lessons now, what are some things that you look back on it and you're like, oh, that makes so much more sense now than than before, you know?
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_03: And in the moment, yeah, yeah.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_03: Um something and very different people, so you can give the audience the color of like oh who they were.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like they're also just like oh yeah, yeah, from a personality perspective, very different, right?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: Mom mom and dad are like uh very opposites.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: I like to say to them, like, they're the yin and yang.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Mom is very, very social.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: Dad is a little a lot more to himself, but I think it meshes well.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, there there are similarities that they share that um is is very strong between them, but like I think to everyone else, it seems like these two, these two are so opposite.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like, um, but I think I think that that even just that is was really good to grow up with.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think Akash and I had both have done this is that we've taken parts of mom that we really like and taken parts of dad that we really like.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: And even though they're opposite, it's like something we've incorporated into our own social lives and how we kind of navigate and operate in the in the real world as well.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, parenting style.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I was I would say in high school I was a bit of a like mischief the mischievous one.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like I like obviously, I think mom and dad, like they're like, okay, focus on grades, like school and everything.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I was always testing that boundary of like, oh, I want to go hang out with my friends, I don't want to focus on this.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: I was very, very mischievous in that sense.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but uh and I I think because of that, I also kind of lowered the barrier for Acker.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: So when he was going through high school, he had it pretty easy.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: And he he also, you know, he did everything right, like he he was very studious, um, and you know, did very well for himself.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: But then I think uh something in their parenting style that I was confused about at first, but I really appreciated was um they put me in a lot of activities growing up.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: I played soccer, I was in football.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: Every summer they'd sign me up for the random camp that had nothing to do with what I was doing.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I would take like photography classes, painting classes, all these different things.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um and at the time it was just like, oh, there's this is so much.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: What's the point of doing all of these things?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: But now when I look back at it, I'm really glad that I got to experience you know, sports and art and culture at a young age, because now I think I've grown to appreciate all these different things, and I at least have like a baseline of understanding uh all these all these various things.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I really do appreciate that.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I do think that's something that I'm gonna incorporate to my kids is just put them in everything and then have them kind of figure out you know what is it you want to stick with and do that honestly and go go all the way on that.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, um, yeah, it's really fair because I feel like when you have exposure to all these different activities, because one thing that you are is you can you do a really good job of speaking to a wide variety of people, which might come from the fact that you're being exposed to different things, right?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_03: Like you can maintain a conversation with practically anyone that I know.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um thanks, yeah.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, so sort of like continuing on with the family thread, talk about a little bit more about Akash.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: You mentioned him a little bit, but obviously you guys are four or five years apart.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're four and a half years apart, but I guess school-wise, that's five years.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so after elementary school, him and I never overlapped in terms of school.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think because of that, we were in very different phases throughout our life, and it kind of grew apart because of that.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think after college, we've slowly been kind of like, you know, I feel like we're getting a lot closer now.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and yeah, he's he's awesome.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like he's he's very athletic, very determined, and uh very good character characteristics.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I'm just looking, I'm really looking forward to just getting closer with him as time goes on.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_03: And the next thing, one thing that we haven't mentioned is that you grew up in Cedar Park, which is, I guess back then didn't have a lot of Indians, but uh yeah, talk about growing up in Cedar Park.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_03: You did a couple of things in high school.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_03: You were initially in van for two years, you played tennis for a little bit, so you went through a lot of different groups in high school.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_03: So tell us more about how that experience was.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and obviously eventually you end up at UTD.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: So give us sort of that flow.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_03: That flow.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, so like Sid mentioned, Cedar Park was at least my senior was, I guess, predominantly white.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think there was only five Indian kids in my grade, and then the amount of people of color that were in my grade was probably amounted to 30 or 40 max out of a class of 500 people.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I faced it, it was just more like growing up in that environment was just very confusing at first because I think Indian and Asian culture is very specific, and you know how even the bunt thing every weekend where we have a thing going on, that is not what I that's not what a lot of white Americans go through.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: They have their weekends and it's just like they're just hanging out with friends.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it was it was a bit confusing growing up in that because a lot of the people I knew were predominantly Christian, um, they you know a little bit more conservative.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I didn't feel so comfortable with like religion or even uh just expressing what it means to be Indian in America.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like it was very hard to really tackle these ideas.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it was very confusing.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna like in retrospect, I think it was a very confusing moment in time.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but then when I went to UT Dallas, um, they call it the they call it UT Delhi because there's so many other people there.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um I got the total opposite experience where all my friends at UTD were all Indian.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like I it was actually very rare that I'd have like I had like one or two white friends.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then I think that was the period where I started to really accept being Indian and what it meant to be Indian as a second gen immigrant, uh Indian just being more comfortable with that.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I I I do have to give a lot of credit to that feeling to um my ex in college because she and her community, her Indian community, they were very tight-knit, and you know, they same thing as us, they would have weekly meetings and hangouts, and it just made me so much more comfortable with being Indian and even even more so just a bun, just in general, just being more proud of being a bun.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: And we have her to thank for seeing more of you, yes, exactly.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, even though she's an ex now, so we still but good, a good thing came out of it.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I think now I'm at a comfortable state, but I will say even growing up in that predominantly white neighborhood or white uh uh culture was also good for me because it gave me a better understanding of American culture as well, right?
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: What does that look like?
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: And what does Indian culture look like?
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: And how do I fit in in between for both?
• 21:00
  unknown: Yeah.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's like the that's a piece where a lot of second like we talked about this with Pujak a little bit, also, right?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: How do you how do you when you're when you're in America, you're viewed as an Indian, but we're we're Americans, we grew up here.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_03: But when we go to India, we're viewed as the American.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_03: And you have this sort of like double consciousness aspect of like where do we actually fit in, or do we fit in in two places, right?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_03: Like that's another way to look at it.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I think it's something that all of us sort of second gen kids grapple with.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_03: And it's funny because all of us sort of figure out in college too.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I remember Puja talking about going to school in Boston and trying to figure it out.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_03: Like you had experience at UTD, Trickard, you had a different experience at AM, different examples like that, right?
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and talking about this transition to college, obviously, actually rewinding a little bit.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um, talk about the college application process.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_03: Did you want to stay in Texas?
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think you had an interesting story with your parents about um applying and deciding what to do.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, tell us more about that.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I so actually funny enough, so I I think I think I'd mentioned mom and dad had put me in all these different things over the summer.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so I remember my junior year summer.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we were at the old house and they're going through the list of things.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then I think it was dad who saw like a film club, and we had just watched a movie, I think, that day.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: And he was just like, Oh, we're signing up for this.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: You should go go learn this.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: And at the time, nothing about film stood out to me.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: I was just like, This is so dumb.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to do this, like, I don't care.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then I ended up doing it and I fell in love with it.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: I I absolutely loved film.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and even after that, I made a short film with some of my friends in high school.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it was it was a lot of fun.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was like I really enjoyed it.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I just remember doing the application process.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, you know, I'd been doing computer science for the last three years in high school.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like, um I guess I have to apply for this.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: But I actually don't I'm drawing a blank on how this conversation came up, but dad or mom, one of them, I think both of them actually encouraged me to also just apply to film schools across the nation.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I thought that was really interesting because I don't think a lot of Indian parents would ever encourage their kids to apply to film school or the creative fields in any way.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I uh I was shocked, I was definitely shocked at the moment about that.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: But I applied, I obviously didn't get in.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: I had maybe three short films under my belt.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't enough to get into film school, but I got into UTD and just decided to go with that.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but that always stood out as a moment of like, I think my parents obviously want me to pursue something that interests me, and it's not all about just money, you know.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you should do stuff that you're interested in and um go for it.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: And while that is the end goal, you have to get some money to survive.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, exactly.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, do it with your own passion, exactly, yeah.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_03: Through your passion, yeah.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_03: And then talking about like finding your own passion, you mentioned initially you sort of like I guess fell into Com Psy, but then you switched majors.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know exactly when, but maybe tell us more about the thought process and then talking about that with your parents and how that conversation went.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: So even uh it's so funny to think back now because like even though I had that experience with you know my parents wanting me to pursue something that I enjoy, I did com sci and I was hating it.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: First semester, I was just like, oh my gosh, what have I got in my I have four more years of this?
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: This is crazy.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so I was uh I was kind of in really in my head about it.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, man, they're you know, how do I tell them I don't want to do this?
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: What's gonna happen?
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I was panicking about it, and I I'll never forget the call to I call dad and I just tell him I'm like, hey, and I was I was so terrified.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I don't think I want to do computer science, I want to and he was so chilly.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, Okay, yeah, what do you want to do?
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: And then we just talked about it, and I was like, Oh my gosh, what was I freaking out about?
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, these are the parents who like you know, they they want me to succeed and they they want me to do something that I'm actually interested in because I think they could tell that you were not happy.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: I would even going into it, I I I was applying to computer science because all of my high school friends were also applying to computer science, so it was less about me and more about my surroundings.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Oh, dad does this, like maybe I should also do this.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what drew you into marketing though?
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh so I wanted something that was a bit more um person-to-person.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: And also, I was like, okay, what are some fields that I can still use computer science in some format?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously, marketing is not something many people think about, but uh there is a path in marketing where it's data analyst work and you work with like CRM systems, and that really appealed to me.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, I can still keep some technical knowledge that I have uh and incorporate that into marketing and use that for marketing strategy and all these different things.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I also just wanted to be talking to people and interacting with people and just being a little bit more creative.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I felt like in the business world, it seems like marketing is that portion where you can be creative and you know, just throw out ideas and hopefully it works.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: And if it doesn't, you try the next idea.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um so that's what stood out when I was making that decision because it's either that or accounting, and I was like, uh I'm gonna do marketing.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, let's be creative, right?
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: So that kind of covers your academic uh path in UTD, but I can't let the X factor go.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: You did talk about ex-girlfriend.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, how comfortable are you?
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, like I mentioned earlier, first generation Indians, we come with what we grew up with, and sometimes we want to pursue that, we want to stick to that, and so our kids being romantically involved, our kids having those kinds of just give us uh anxiety.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how it is for mothers with boys, but I have two girls, so it's kind of like no dating in high school, no dating in college, or you know, whatever those are the rules.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: But for you, what was what are your thoughts, first of all, on romance, arranged marriages, things like that?
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, did you have any parental influence in any of that?
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh whatever you feel like telling us.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: But just remember, uh, we have we do have a big audience now, uh Rohan.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of people are downloading episodes, so whatever you want out there.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I I would say actually the the similar mindset I think mom and dad had with dating um in high school.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um was a big no.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: They wanted me to focus on school and just making friends, yeah.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: But it was really funny.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: The second I went to college, it was oh, you better start looking around to date, like instantly.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, sure, I guess.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, it was that similar mindset.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: No dating in high school, college, it's fine.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I was lucky enough to meet my ex.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: She was in the same hallway as me.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Is that why you shifted majors?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: She was in biology.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, she was in a pretty hard major.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: It was interesting going through that because I did at the time I didn't know what uh mom and dad because we didn't really talk about, oh, this is the type of person we want you to be dating or any of that.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: We never had that discussion.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so when I brought her home to visit mom and dad, I was just I was a little nervous because I was like, I don't know what to expect, but they obviously loved her, they thought she was great.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I also got like a better understanding of what mom and dad are also looking for, where it's just obviously their first concern is is my son happy with this person?
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: And then second is is this person, you know, I guess like well educated, like all these different things that they'd want.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um but yeah, we never I don't I don't know if you had talks with your parents about dating, but I never really yeah, it was yeah, both Samantha and Patrick said no, they haven't really had these conversations with I know we have had several conversations with our girls.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we had too many.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but yeah, so okay, things were going well, and then obviously uh y'all parted ways, yeah.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: But uh what are your thoughts now on arranged marriages?
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because it seems to be such a hot topic these days.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: I've met a number of young kids who say it's almost like swiping, so I'm willing to give my parents or my family a chance in finding somebody for me, especially if it's not like that is the one you want to marry.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, okay, meet this person and then decide.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are your thoughts on any of that?
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I don't I don't think I could do an arranged marriage personally, and also actually, I don't think mom and dad even want to do an arranged marriage.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so tell me why.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you think it's not a it's just like swiping, right?
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: What's the difference?
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: I I think it's I think there's a little bit more pressure because it's like okay, this is something your parents are setting up, so it's a little bit more serious, and if you want to end it, it it feels a little bit more like your parents have put in that work to introduce you to this person.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I just also find that it's it's better.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it's better, but I'm also like a I think Sillon's would be I'm like a hopeless romantic.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I also want to meet someone, you know, fall in love, the cliche, all that stuff.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you don't want it to happen first, meet first and then fall in love.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, yeah.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: I want the bolly, I want the Bollywood movie, you know, experience.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so do you watch Bollywood movies?
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I used to mom, yeah, mom would drag us to the theaters because she is a big yeah, yeah, she she loves it.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: I I mean at the time I I didn't like it, but I mean now in like I'll watch Bollywood movies all the time.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: The music is really good.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: It is, it is okay.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: So now that I've put you on this hot seat long enough, I think it's time for us to move on to your career.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: We might if we have time, we can come back to you know talk some more about this, but uh to give the little perspective, you're in your late 20s, and of course, COVID hit just around your uh when you were graduating from college, so the job market was terrible, right?
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it must be depressing.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was it was yeah, it was pretty bad.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I had a job lined up in SF at the time.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: It was a startup.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um COVID hit and their funding got pulled, and so back to the job and the job designed, yeah, and the search.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: But then I had spent that year, I picked up a hobby of doing graphic design for uh an Instagram page.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I was just album art, like all these different things.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and through that I started working with musicians and artists on creative strategy and all those different things.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it got me an um introduction to the music industry, but it was still part-time work, it wasn't anything full-time, so I was still applying, and it took me a good eight months, I think.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, I started my official job.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh a contract job at this company called Mercury.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they're a banking platform.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I was a I was an onboarding specialist.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: So anytime a business joined the platform, I would kind of walk them through the actual platform itself and what they can do.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_01: And that was a point of contact if you know anything they needed any clarification.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it was more like a job to have a job.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was more of a job to just have a job, it was contract work.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: I just I just couldn't see myself doing that long term.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I was still applying to more and more places, and then I landed the job at GoPuff, which is another startup.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think they're really prominent anymore, but during COVID, they had a huge spike of customers because people were ordering food to the place.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so they had an Austin office and a Chicago office, and I started working there.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: That was full-time.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: That was uh I was like a data analyst there, and it was a lot of good work.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: It was very stressful, like it was a very stressful job.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think startups are just like that when you join.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: There is no um structure, so you're having to kind of make the structure on your own and just work through that.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so that was remote.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: So during that time, I actually went to Seattle.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I might as well, you know, I've been at home, it's COVID, like it's time to it's time to see the world, you know.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, thankfully it was remote.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I went to Seattle for a month and a half, and I was there, and then I came back to Austin for another month and a half, and then I ended up getting another job at this time uh at this company called Equity Lifestyle Properties.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: So they're a real estate group and they're based in Chicago.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I ended up moving to Chicago and I was there for three years.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then they had layoffs, and my entire department was just kind of let go.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that was a moment, I think, where I was like, okay, am I just gonna reapply, get another 95, or should I actually I've always wanted to have my own company at some point.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and maybe this is the time where I can go back home and just start working on a startup.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I joined a startup with some high school friends of mine.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that was disastrous.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like it was not, I learned a lot, but it was it lasted like then disastrous in terms of success, but successful in terms of learning.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, exactly.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, very successful in learning.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: Because I learned a lot from that.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this is what I shouldn't be doing, this is what I should do.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um and yeah, so a year went by, and then I was like, okay, I gave it a shot.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's it.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: But then I was hanging out with Sid and another bunt, his name is Sheehan, and Sheehan was just showing me this application and tool that could be used to make applications.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I was looking through it and I was just blown away, and I was like, wait, I could use this to actually make my own startup.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: So before you go into that, Sidant is dying to be part of that conversation.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: But let me ask you about moving to Seattle and to Chicago.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: What was the weather change like?
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: Living on your own.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, of course, you lived on your own in UTD, but it is different.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: I especially when you because at least in Dallas, I could always drive three hours and I'd be back home.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um even at UTD, I already knew I knew people from my high school that were going there.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: I knew people from Westwood that were going there.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it wasn't like I was going in blind in Dallas, like I had the a set you know foundation.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I think moving to Seattle and then going to Chicago is a big life change because I didn't really know people in either area.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_01: And Seattle is a bit different because Seattle's culture as a whole, I think if you move there and you're not if you don't go from like UW to the city, you're coming from outside the city to the city.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's a bit harder to make friends and join communities there.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I felt also like a month and a half is not enough to not enough time.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, it's not enough time.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but when I moved to Chicago, and I guess well, in Seattle, I was there over August, September time.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_01: So the weather wasn't bad.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like I was experiencing really good weather in Seattle.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but when I moved to Chicago, it was in December.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh god.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, what a change.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, the windy city, it's no joke, like it's very, very cold, very windy.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I honestly, and this is gonna sound crazy, but I kind of prefer that over the Texas heat now.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, the Texas heat is just too hot.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_01: I I hate feeling sweaty, but I'm totally okay with having to hibernate in my apartment maybe for a couple of months.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'll I'll take that twice.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, Chicago was fun.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: It was like I I got to lay my roots there.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: I have a lot of friends there.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: Some of the friends I made, they're definitely gonna be uh like my best friend, yeah, lifelong best men during the wedding, like all that stuff.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: So it's very solid.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_03: I actually want to go back to uh ELS, uh, you're talking about when you got laid off.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_03: I do think it's one of those things where it's pivotal and it feels life crushing, but it's also not life crushing where yeah, you have no one depending on you and you have nothing to lose, right?
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, yes.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and we're lucky enough where we have a family that is supportive enough to sort of help us through those times.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_03: But I want to talk about when you look back, it's probably one of those pivotal moments in your life where it's very clear in terms of a memory.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so talk to I guess how that impacted you.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I know I know it gave you space to think through what your next steps were, but for people that are listening that probably have gone through this, it might be rare to go through this when you were young, especially.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, uh, but who knows with this market now.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_03: But talk through like how mentally you got through it, a very tough moment in your life.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, now you have we'll get to this eventually, but now you have your own company, right?
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_03: So um, yeah.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, I I would save honestly, when it happened, I was I was uh obviously the first emotion is shock that you kind of feel with it because the thing with the layoff, too, and realizing that an entire department is gone is there's nothing you can do.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard to even grapple with that because it's like, oh, like maybe if I'd done something different, it would have been different.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like it was just the business was not doing well, yeah, and there's nothing you can really do.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so definitely shock, and I was a little bit sad for maybe a couple days, but I think what really helped is I've been through very difficult emotional things in the past where you know, like a relationship is ending or a family member has passed away, all these different things where you start to feel grief and you think that oh, my life is gonna be so different, and it's might be different for the worst.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then you start to realize a couple of years later, actually, things really worked out, and I needed to experience that because um, you know, it set me in this direction of what I wanted to do.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think I had that mentality in the back of my mind when it happened where I was like, I have full faith that um you know things will work out as long as it's as long as I'm pursuing something uh wholeheartedly um and doing it with my best effort, I will be fine.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm also at the age, like what Sid is saying, there's no commitments.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's this would be very different if I had a family, I would have instantly searched for another job, like try to get that instantly.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_01: But I no family, right?
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's we're at the age where we can't.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: No family dependent on you, you can still be dependent on.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, to support, to support, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: No, I have family.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_03: No, but yeah, long story short, eventually after that, you create Nextpin, which uh is a I mean you can explain it, but it's like essentially like letterbox for music, a music review app.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_03: And I think it's a really cool product because you see the different threads in your life, especially now that we're talking about it, like your parents encouraging you to do the short films, you doing marketing, all these different turns in your life have almost come together in the form of Nextpin, this company, yeah, which is a cool thread to trace, even though that you probably didn't think through it.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_03: I I never thought about it before.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_03: Tell us about Nextpin, um, how that combines, I guess, your music passion, marketing passion, owning your own creative control passion, um, and how's it going?
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_03: Like this is a great plug for yeah, absolutely.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Nextpin is the like Sedan's was saying, the letterbox for music for uh people that don't know about letterboxed or even Goodreads.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, these are applications where you can rate and socialize with people on film or books.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I built one for music where people can rate music and socialize about music, and they can also find events in their area.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and you know, earlier I had mentioned during COVID, I had picked up this passion project and I started working in the industry a little bit.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that has always been like a goal.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_01: I've always wanted to work in the music industry in some capacity.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think when I start when when this started, I was like, wait, this is my in.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_01: I can create something.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully, it gets a lot of traction to where you know.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the goal is obviously to get it as big as possible, like everyone knows about it.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I I saw this as my way into the industry, and then after this, or whatever happens after this, I can just work within the music industry itself.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, so far it's it's doing well.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_01: We're right now at 11,000 users.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, so it's growing, it's growing pretty uh pretty nicely.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I think for anyone here, uh, if your kids like app, they'll definitely like this.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_03: So in uh a year, a year and a half in, basically.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_03: A year in.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_03: So what are I guess some things that going into it, um, you didn't expect that you're like looking back on it, there was like a good learning lesson.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_03: I guess essentially the entrepreneurship journey, what are some things that surprised you about the journey and then reflecting how far you've come?
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, yeah, curious to see like a young entrepreneur's reflections on the journey.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_01: I I will say I think when people look outside of outside of this where they have a very stable job and they haven't started something like a passion project or anything on their own.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's hard to see that there are very lonely moments with doing this, right?
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_01: Because um, and I'm sure you guys have this as well, where it's like, oh, we have these ideas, but like no, there's just some days where it's a little bit lonely, and they're like you there's always this feeling sometimes that I have where it's like I could just stop this and just go back to the normal nine to five.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_01: But then every time I feel that the next day I'll get the message from a user or someone that's just like, oh my gosh, I love the app, thank you so much.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I think those moments it it re sparks my interest.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, okay, people actually are enjoying this.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_01: I want to keep pursuing this.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: And my I I think I get in my head a lot with my ideas.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I guess working through that feeling has been very interesting.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's a totally new feeling because I don't think you feel that when you're on the job, right?
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: You have a very structured life and you're like, okay, this is what Have to do this is what I have to finish, and that's kind of it.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but working through that feeling, and then also I think being realistic as well is another thing.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think with the startup before this, there was a lot of times there was a lot of red flags that popped up throughout, like with you know what we were building and it not being something that people would want to use, or mismanagement of funds, all these different things that were happening, where I just kept making excuses, oh, we'll fix it next time, or you know, this is not gonna be a permanent thing.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I think also fighting that where it's like you you gotta be realistic with yourself on knowing when to stop something as well.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think is a very hard thing to kind of grapple with.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then other stuff, there's always just I think the the craziest thing about this whole thing is like you'll have an idea about how something is executed, and then once it's actually executed, 10,000 different things come at you at once where it's like, oh, here's a mistake you weren't even thinking about that's gonna appear.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the fun of it too.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, this is a new challenge that I have to kind of work through and get over.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but what's been really helpful too is actually talking to uh Navinana.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he's worked at various startups and he's been a pretty good mentor, I'd say.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_01: I'd met up with him once in Austin and actually when he was here in New York, uh when the three of us went to go grab drinks, and he was giving me a lot of advice too.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_01: So um I think it's also good to have someone that you can kind of lean on to like discuss your thought process and kind of go through that, which I've also been doing with Sid as well, who's been hearing a lot about this.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, totally.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um yeah, and then obviously, apart from your job, apart from everything else you do, going back to your childhood, you you've always been someone that's been um exposed to a lot of different things, have very different interests.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_03: Um, talk to what you do.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, next pen takes the bulk of your time, um, as it should.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_03: But what are some things that you do outside of work, maybe that to to keep you sane during those lonely moments?
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, yeah.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think being with friends has just helped a lot.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then also just because uh I think so so um being with friends, hanging out with friends, and getting back into new hobbies.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's always fun whenever I get back into a sport, they'll just play basketball with some friends again.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um recently, something that's just been keeping me sane is just playing chess.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um chess keeping people sane.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like, yeah, it sounds contradictory.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: Organized the thinking, I guess.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then uh I think travel also has helped.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, right now I'm I'm in New York with Sid.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: I've been for quite some time as well.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_01: But having a new environment also really helps.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just because you know, I was at home and it was more the same constantly, which is fine, but I think having a new environment allows you to have a different perspective on what you're working on and also allows you to kind of decompress a bit better.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then also talking through it with dad has been very helpful because he was in a couple startups before.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I actually really love talking to him about what I'm working through and everything.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_01: He'll also give his feedback and what he's thinking.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_01: So he's also been a good resource for that.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: But it's good that he understands all of that.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_00: So when you are in Austin, he gives you the mental stuff and Sunya feeds the appetite with the food.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, exactly.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but uh yeah, and you mentioned Navinana, so just for listeners, he is uh our very first guest, Nandita, my sister, her son.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_00: So again, brings comes back to those weekends where you got close to community and community kids, and you keep those connections for later.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, right.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_00: So talking about all that, uh Rohan, what would you say?
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, of course, your parents have a strong influence on your life, right?
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: We can see that all through what you say.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: They have been your support, they have uh encouraged you with this startup with next spin, things like that.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: Through all this, you've gone up and down your uh uh the relationship in college, losing uh your grandparents, grandmom, uh things like that, different phases in your life.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um what would you want to tell kids, maybe the next generation?
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're so young, it for me for me that feels weird to say next generation, but kids younger than you, or even kids your same age, what are some of the things that you think helped you and you would like to pass on to future generations of kids, current generations, even as oldies?
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um they can always learn something.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm trying to think that's a good question.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think that I feel like everyone goes through this pursuit of trying to find happiness constantly, maybe.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think something that's really helped me in life is just instead of chasing happiness, is to chase peace and just to understand that you know even at the high moments, I have to understand that the low moments will come in life, and I just need to make sure that I can navigate those I can trust myself to navigate those hard feelings.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think some actually something I uh Sid and I have also talked about is like just the younger generation as well.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: You know, thankfully when we grew up, we didn't really grow up with the phones or social media as much.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was something that was introduced to us when we were in like eighth grade, ninth grade.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we grew up with the internet culture, but it wasn't so ingrained into us like in our formative years.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um But you still use chat GPT and AI tools.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we still use that.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I but I I will say I I think for the younger what I have noticed is that there is so much of a reliance on technology to kind of figure out your your issues and everything.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna sound like an old person, but I think it is also good to put your wise old soul, yes, yeah.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_01: It is good to put your phone down and just feel comfortable with relying on a support system and uh the people around you and everything.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I think that is something mom and dad have you know have worked through.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_01: They're both very good at handling these stressful situations and knowing how to navigate it, and I think that's something that Aksha and taken.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_00: That was actually really a wise old soul uh comment.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_00: But and then though I'd love to keep talking and talking with you, it is a uh one hour or less than an hour episode.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I just want to say thank you again, Rohan.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_00: Loved, loved talking with you and wish you well.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, this was a pleasure.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_03: I'm glad you gotta talk about this.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, thank you so much.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_03: Um, wishing you success on Nextpin and all your other ventures that you're probably doing your life.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um but we're sure we're sure that you'll do great.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_03: So thanks for hopping on.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, thank you.