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Everyone has a story waiting to be heard. We’re highlighting some of the amazing stories from within CleverTap — from our very own CT’zens — because we believe in the amazing people we work with everyday and want to share the exciting work culture that we’ve built together. Presenting: the CT’zens of CleverTap.
I have been working in the digital industry since the year 2004, which was around the time we saw meaningful digital application of the Web. I got an opportunity to work with a company called Visual Sciences, which is a Web Analytics company, now a part of Adobe Experience Cloud. During my time at the company, it was acquired and reacquired four times. So change was a constant.
Working through all these acquisitions was a great continuous learning opportunity. Besides working on the core platform, I worked on new platforms that got added to the armory. And I came to see how, over the years, technology has become more complex behind the scenes but easier to use for the end user. Back then we still had to write code to bring systems together; today it’s far more straightforward. The core hasn’t changed in terms of understanding consumer behavioral trends and identifying solutions to make the user’s life easier.
I worked in the international markets and was exposed to the ecommerce, banking and financials and retail industries and how they optimize their utilization of digital touchpoints. I worked on complex implementations for large global banking and financial services organizations based in New York. Later, I got a chance to manage digital analytics for the Washington Post for a year. It helped me evolve my perspective, and I began understanding the customer’s point of view. Technology after all, is merely a means to the end.
After a year at the Washington Post, I worked as a solutions engineer in another company where I fell in love with the sales process. Selling an idea is far more important than selling features.
After this stint in the U.S., I moved to Singapore. There, I got exposure to customers from across many countries and cultures, and I’ve now worked with people from over 23 countries. This has taught me that technology and process are not one-size-fits-all but should be aligned with the culture of the organization.
After that, I moved back home (to India) for good. In India, my colleagues and peers are using technology to solve over a billion challenges and making life convenient for their customers. The market here is crazy and intriguing which keeps me excited about my work.
I like to ride motorcycles and travel, and my dream is to travel the length and breadth of our country and beyond on two wheels. Recently, I rode from Bangalore to Ladakh and back, which was 8,500 kms. The journey was beautiful and gratifying. It provided such rich exposure to different terrains, cultures, food, and people.
I went through Kashmir for the first time in my life and was in awe of the natural beauty. Another challenge in this journey was to ride up to Umling La, the highest motorable pass in the world (19,024ft above sea level).
My three learnings from this adventure were:
The learnings that you acquire through any type of journey — even if you just stay at home but meet and talk to many new and different people — can be lifelong and meaningful. You work on your fears around risk-taking and the thrill of completing a goal. My professional life has been a journey as well. When you come across a problem, you break it into parts and then work to find solutions.
Everything is a challenge until you begin working on it. My journey had continued in between job changes. At one point, I took a complete break and decided to take up this ride — something that I had been contemplating for a very long time.
My journey with CleverTap has been interesting as well. Although I’ve worked at many startups, CleverTap has established a leadership position in the industry and is continually growing, innovating, and evolving. I find opportunities every day to learn from its leaders and from my colleagues. I have been amazed by the exchange of knowledge that happens here, the approachability and the transparency of conversations.
I have been able to bring many of my learnings from my travels into my professional life as well. I have accepted that you are never in complete control of your destiny. And many small encounters and decisions can impact the greater path one’s life takes.
But, you have to be focused on what you are doing or you are definitely inviting trouble. I have come to appreciate what I have and have learned a lot of lessons about humility and understanding the difference between what you want versus what you truly need.
And the best part is having random conversations. These random conversations have taught me the biggest lessons in life. I have a quote that I live by personally and professionally: “Either you run the day, or the day runs you.”
Ready to help build the future of mobile? Check out the career opportunities at CleverTap.
