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What is a fear you have overcome as you grew older?

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WorthyHello

KPMG

14 days ago

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MoneyTrap

TCS

14 days ago

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Curated from across

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Adulting on

by Pixel_Pusher

TCS

Folks who are working in your 30s, do you still find time to work on your hobbies? If yes, how are you able to manage your family life, work life, upskilling, working out and making time for your hobbies?

I used to be a creative guy in my mid 20s. I learned to play a guitar, could sketch pretty well and also used to work out pretty regularly. Lift has changed drastically in the last 2 years and I now find myself no time to spend on my hobbies. I tuned 30 recently and have been under slight shock that my responsibilities are bound to increase due to family and work. I had no responsibility till now and had lived a care free life. Now that I am engaged, I've realized that I need to dedicate my time for my family, my well being, my upskilling and also some to to evaluate my finances. This has also made me realize that I won't have enough time for my hobbies/interests. I badly want to learn to play an electric guitar and the fact that I won't have much time terrifies me as I need to make a choice of doing something that I love (learn to play a guitar) or doing something that helps me to live a life and pay off my bills which basically is my full time job. I might have a child in another 4-5 years and the responsibility of having a child terrifies me even more. I don't want to make a choice between being there for my child and being there for my work. I'm not sure if I'm over thinking or just being realistic but not having enough time for yourself due to work and family has been bothering me lately. I'm 30 and the fact that responsibilities are bound to increase in my life terrifies me. Is this a common and a normal feeling or is this unnatural?

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Indian Startups on

by Royalflush

Stealth

PSA: What 8 years in startups have taught me

I've been in startups for the last 8 years. From Series B/C onwards to even a unicorn, over time worked at 3. One of them was an outright scam, raised many millions of $s from top investors, and then ultimately died. Also close with CXOs at decent sized startups, and there is a pattern out there. A few thoughts: 1. Being a startup founder is tough. There's pain. Some people thrive in pain. AKA Masochists. Know how to spot a founder who works 15 hours a day because they love their vision vs. somebody who works 15 hours a day because they're masochists. These people thrive in pain, and hence love to see you miserable as you slog away the hours under their leadership. There is absolutely no vision for the future that they have. They do it for the fame, money, and cause a lot of pain in the process. Nothing good comes out of it. Investors love this breed. 2. I wish I'd done more than just leave the scammy startup. At the point, I decided against whistleblowing. Because I thought there's so many people employed here, they would all be impacted. Over time, 200-300 people more joined after I left. Once the scam was caught, all of them lost their jobs. 3. I'm not a coder. I'm a generalist. Over time, my pay grew but not in line with my peers who went into consulting/VC and then came back to big tech/startups. Over time, you disadvantage yourself if you stick around as a generalist in startups for too long. The next team pays you at some premium over the last one, there's no step jump. You need to somehow find a successful startup early, and genuinely, that is impossible to game - even VCs have to bet on 20 to get it right. These are a few disjointed thoughts. I hope they give some insight. My only takeaways: - If you work at a scammy startup, don't stand it. At least, don't stick around. - I earn lesser than my peers (tier 1 undergrad), but I regret nothing. I love my work, and I'll never get over the kick. I cannot imagine working at a larger company ever again. - Ultimately, you have to be optimistic. Believe that India will grow, good founders will come around, magic will happen ❤️