Some time stamped thoughts on my experience with COVID-19
Category: Writing
Potential Startup Ideas for 2020
Some thoughts on Christmas from a coffee shop. A lot of these are problems I’ve been thinking about or directly encountered. International Visa Management If you’re North American/European, this might not be as big a problem for you but if you’re not the process of getting visas is terrible.If anyone is building a plaid for…… Continue reading Potential Startup Ideas for 2020
Thinking Critically: My Time at Opendoor
Over the last couple of months I’ve moved away from leading a cross-functional team to doing IC work remotely (will be a separate post later). As I’m a little more distant from the business (geography & nature of what I’ve been spending time on for the last month or so) I was trying to articulate…… Continue reading Thinking Critically: My Time at Opendoor
Challenging Oneself – Hiking 🥾
Some of you might be familiar with a monthly hiking group that I organized for most of 2018. As a part of organizing anything you tend to get a good amount of requests, comments, and questions. For the hiking group, one of the common comments / requests has always been: “this hike looks so hard,…… Continue reading Challenging Oneself – Hiking 🥾
Simple Advice for Good Health
The best advice is the simplest. The simplest advice is the hardest to follow. This has roughly been my take away from the last week where I’ve been in and out of the hospital 🏥 on what I need to do to deal with my situation but also most health related ones: Sleep enough Eat…… Continue reading Simple Advice for Good Health
Looking Back at a Succesful Project & Team
In H2 of 2017, at Opendoor we encountered a problem with came with a small threat: it could force us to shut down a market we operated in (low probability) but not nailing it might potentially disrupt or pause operations in all other states we were “live” in should it not be solved. It had…… Continue reading Looking Back at a Succesful Project & Team
Life Update: Two Years @ Opendoor
Two years ago, I had a deadline hanging over my head to find a new job and renew my visa. Two years ago, I walked into Opendoor SF for the first time with a new job and mostly afraid of how I’d fit into a 200-person company having just wrapped up an adventure at a…… Continue reading Life Update: Two Years @ Opendoor
Looking Back: How Did I End Up at Opendoor?
It’s been almost 2 years since I joined Opendoor and what an incredible ride it’s been. Looking at my notes from Nov-Dec’16, here’s the story. Starting things is my default, whether it was thinking about how to capitalize on the fish wire craze in middle school or starting companies with friends after college. So when…… Continue reading Looking Back: How Did I End Up at Opendoor?
Transparency at Startups: My Experience at Opendoor
When on vacation a few weeks ago I was reflecting on what are some things I love about Opendoor and Transparency as a value rose to the top. Transparency has always seemed like one of those things that’s a no-brainer to follow and I’m grateful to see the steps we’ve taken at Opendoor to put…… Continue reading Transparency at Startups: My Experience at Opendoor
Keyboard Shortcuts: The Blue Bubbles of Apps & Websites
 iMessage is a default messaging service on top of SMS on the iPhone where your messages to a sender appear in blue bubbles as long as the other person has an iPhone (yes, even if you don’t sign into your iCloud). If you message a sender who doesn’t have one, DISASTER occurs–your messages are now…… Continue reading Keyboard Shortcuts: The Blue Bubbles of Apps & Websites
Catching Up Doesn’t Have To Suck
​One of the hardest things for me to do is playing catch up. This doesn’t refer to something new that I am curious about or want to become good at–it’s about catching up on things that I used to be good at or something I have lost momentum on. I have always felt a…… Continue reading Catching Up Doesn’t Have To Suck
Not In Control
In the world of startups and entrepreneurship, we, almost religiously, believe that if we work hard, work with talented people, and get traction, then we’ll come out “victorious”.  Given the general optimistic nature of being a founder, when looking forward, we tend to brush the uncertainty under the rug and assume that outcomes are fully in our…… Continue reading Not In Control
Early Stage Startup Recruiting
Last September, I had the opportunity of spending a few hours with a family friend who had been in the banking industry for over twenty years. I think I met him a once growing up but this particular trip to New York allowed me to spend quality one-on-one time with him. He shared lots of…… Continue reading Early Stage Startup Recruiting
Bruin Entrepreneurs: Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Two night ago, I attended the 2nd UCLA Student + Alumni  Entrepreneurs Dinner. Last time I was here, a year ago, the event was my baby at Bruin Entrepreneurs for which we had raised some money from, the ever supporting, UCLA VC Fund, to host! The only difference was this year, I was back as…… Continue reading Bruin Entrepreneurs: Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Learning From Passes
Diagram. 1 In the last year, I have been quite lucky to have had the opportunity to spend time being on the VC side and the startup side. Particularly, learning about the other side when not being in that role! However, while it is definitely too early to say that I can view things from both…… Continue reading Learning From Passes
Varadh 