Free Soul

I joined Lightbox when the second Covid wave was just setting in. I landed at the beautiful Lightbox office on a fine Monday morning and my first interaction was the MMM with Flinto talking about their growth plans. At first, I remained clueless but slowly as I started interacting with founders of the portfolio companies, I started understanding more about the VC world and Lightbox’s culture. It was 4 days in, and we went into another lockdown and shifted to working from home. Initially I felt overwhelmed but Sid and Anshika ensured a smooth transition for me and were always there when I needed their support.

Over the short period that I was here, I realized how Lightbox stood out amongst all other VCs I had interacted with. With a concentrated portfolio approach, the journey and relationship were not of an investor-investee but more of a family where there was clearly a bond of sorts. Working with Sid and Anshika along with the teams and the founders of Dunzo, Cityflo, Furlenco, Droom and Melorra was a completely different experience. Each of the portfolio company was at a different stage and each founder had a different story to tell and I was fortunate to be a part of their journey. Further, learning about all that was happening in the world from the SPAC exodus, to studying the investment strategies of some investment firms to even writing podcast scripts while learning about the guests, all of it was only enriching. Although my stint at Lightbox ended, it was just the start to new friendships.

Lightbox is a place where you do not just grow professionally but also personally. One of the most important questions I learned to ask myself is how are we going to measure success in our lives? Is it by the amount of wealth we hold, or the big mansions we build, or the fancy cars we drive? Maybe not. It is measured by how we put this wealth to its best use. When we leave this Earth, we still live by way of our actions, our deeds and the memories that we create with our near and dear ones. We do not want any of these to be bad or negative. We always tell ourselves to look at the bigger picture and, in the process, forget to enjoy the smallest moments of life which make life beautiful. The process is as important as the result and it is equally important to be able to live life to the fullest. With this thought, I’d like to leave you with a poem I wrote which is very close to my heart –

Free Soul

Make the most of the winter rain
Give the heart a chance, a break to the brain
Sail across the oceans in search of life’s treasure Reach for the horizons just for leisure
Take a break from the daily usual grind
It’s okay to fail, to be a step behind
Dance by yourself to the beats of the drum
Get sober on a quarter of rum
Love yourself for no feeling beats that
Get an extra hour of siesta, avoid the races of the rats Lay on the grass, count some stars
Let your dreams take you to Mars
Don’t lose yourself in search of dime
Embrace the beauty around, waste some time

Get on a Ferris wheel, don’t grow yourself old
For you’re bound by a life not so long, be a free soul!