I was listening to a speech by Sridhar Vembu, and something he said really stayed with me.
He said that whenever we start something new, we are starting from zero.
It doesn’t matter how much experience we have in another field. He shared that even though he built Zoho Corporation and has deep software experience, when he started working on Karuvi, much of that experience was not directly useful there.
That perspective hit me hard.
Growth happens only when we accept that we are beginners again. The moment we think we “already know,” we start making assumptions. We say, “This will work,” and keep pushing in one direction for too long. But when we approach something with a beginner’s mindset, we stay open. We learn faster. We experiment more. We grow better.
Even though I have three years of experience building an edtech company, I am now building LectureHead, a SaaS product. And I am consciously choosing to see myself as a newbie again.
Recently, I was trying to build three things at the same time:
A book
A course
My product
And honestly, I got exhausted.
So I decided to take a short break and went to an A. R. Rahman concert.
The concert was mind-blowing. But what stayed with me was something deeper.
We were late and there was no parking, so we took an auto. The driver was playing Bob Marley songs and driving like he was in an F1 race.
When we reached the venue, it was extremely crowded and we had no idea where to go. A police officer noticed we were confused. He didn’t have to help us. But he walked with us for almost 10–12 minutes and guided us all the way to our seats.
Inside, it was fully packed and I didn’t have a seat. A watchman managing the crowd stood up and gave me his seat. He even went and brought water for us. When we tried to return the bottle after taking a sip, he told us to keep it.
They didn’t have to be that kind.
But they were.
That small break reminded me that while we are busy building and chasing growth, it is kindness that truly fuels the inner self.
And now, I’m coming back with fresh energy.
Our product is launching on February 28. What makes it even more exciting is that I will be speaking at the event where we are launching it.
Yes, we are launching at the Global Freelancers Festival 2026.
They are doing some amazing campaigns. Last time it was on buses. This time, it’s in the Chennai metro. Someone even spotted my photo there and sent it to me. That felt surreal.
If you are in Chennai and you happen to see my photo in the metro, please send me a picture. I would genuinely love to see it.
And if you want to be part of this launch, join us at the Global Freelancers Festival.
Get your ticket here:
https://makerstribe.in/events/global-freelancers-festival-2026/
If this message resonated with you, just hit reply and tell me — what are you starting from zero right now?
Or better, come meet me in person on February 28. Let’s start from zero together.
- Agnel John D
