Friday, January 06, 2006

Me and my blog 101

Hi there, thanks for coming over.

Well, my name is Ashok Karanth, and I am from Bangalore, India. I travel a lot (Mumbai and Delhi mainly), but Bangalore is home, and I love that place. I completed (just about) an Engineering Degree from this wonderful place called KREC Suratkal. They call it something else now, but I couldn't be bothered with these new names.

I realized midway through the course that the "hardcore" technical line was not for me, and therefore decided to do a management degree - so off I went to IIM - Calcutta. After 2 years of doing pretty much nothing, I hit the corporate world with a "coveted" engineer-MBA double barrel gun!

I worked in CTP (currently part of Novell) for a while, then moved on to a start-up called Orbit-e (now merged with E5 Systems) and then to Jubilant Biosys. Thanks to these companies, I had the good fortune to travel the world, trying to sell IT/biotech services as well as acting as a consultant for IT projects. While I was doing reasonably well for myself, I somehow missed that buzz.

You see, I am hopelessly passionate about sport. Sport is fun, and I figured that there must be a way to make a living out of what I really love doing. I therefore took a giant leap in faith (atleast for me it was!) and joined the Frontiers Group in Bangalore. It was an exciting ride with new industry dynamics, different working cultures and processes and great learning. Then the start-up itch needed scratching, and after much agonizing, I held my nose and jumped into the bad, cold waters of entrepreneurship with Springboard Sports.

I am happy to report that after a year and a half of being on my own with no salary to look forward to at the end of each month, I survived the economic downturn of 2008 to tell the tale. There's no looking back now, which is a major win in itself.

That is where I am now, and that's me!

What's with this blog?

This blog will contain my opinions on stuff that interests me. Hopefully there will be no specific niche area. However, since sport and its marketing/management interest me professionally and personally, expect some lopsidedness towards that subject. However, I try to follow happenings in various sectors - things that give me my kicks include the mobile and Internet, the potential that exists in India, and of course Bangalore. I would like this blog to resemble a genuine South Indian thali meal- with lots of rice (the staple sports content), and many smaller side-eats (the other topics).

Usual disclaimers - Whatever I write here are my personal opinions ONLY. Nothing written here is official (yeah, the Pepsi tagline) - and can be construed as any company's official view. This blog and its contents belong to me, and me alone.

Category: Personal

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