A Circle of Life Moment at Nirma

This Monday felt like a circle of life moment. I had the opportunity to moderate a panel with fellow Nirma alumni founders at the NIM Auditorium.

We spoke to the undergrad batch about how our journeys have evolved, the things we did as students, what led us to become founders/operators, and what we might do differently if we were to begin our student life in 2025.

Tejal Upadhyay ma’am has been doing an incredible job of keeping the entrepreneurial buzz on campus alive. If you’re a Nirma alum, do reach out to her, or let me know and I’ll make the intro. We need more alumni to come back, share their journeys, and engage with students.

Coincidentally, four of us, Bhakti Dudhara (Aubergine), Hemal Patel (Ray), Pratik Vohera (Petpooja), and myself, were from the same class: 01 IT ; I was very infamous as 01IT010. That made it even more special. Abhishek Desai (Cricheroes) and Samir Motwani (Salesmate) were the other speakers. 

Back then, I probably visited the NIM library more often than my classes. This time, I was leading the discussions in the NIM Auditorium. A surreal feeling.

We used to read about “super successful” people coming back to campus during annual functions. Today, thanks to the wave of startups and entrepreneurship, many of us get that chance earlier, even if we are not yet that successful, one of the small but meaningful benefits of being founders.