Sunrise and Outlook for iPhone /  by Aanarav Sareen

The iPhone is my primary device for just about everything. With the exception of writing, design and some of the other creative projects - I use my iPhone most of the time.

Lately, I've been disappointed with Mailbox. It started off as a great tool, but has bee painfully unreliable lately. 

On the other hand, I've been trying Sunrise and Microsoft Outlook on the iPhone. The combination - even for Google Apps is extremely powerful. 

Microsoft hasn't been winning the mobile race, but their apps are certainly making me reconsider their stance and their direction. 

Looking forward to what Microsoft produces in the future. 

Finding your Unicron /  by Aanarav Sareen

We are all unreasonable people, and progress depends on us changing the world to fit us, not the other way around. 

Nearly 4 years ago, we set off on a journey to change online commerce - the largest driving force of the digital era. 

Still in its infancy across the world, we’ve seen incredible progress - ranging from cars that arrive at your doorstep within minutes from the push a button to cash that is transmitted via an app nearly instantaneously. 

We’ve been fortunate enough, lucky enough and crazy enough to build companies that have challenged incumbents, have gone up against well funded companies and still come out standing tall. 

To those who criticized us, thank you. You made us stronger. 

To those who rejected us, thank you. You made us work harder. 

To those who stood by our side, thank you. We do this for you. 

Startup life is not for everyone. I’ve almost quit so many times. And then I remember why I started any of it - to make a difference. In the world. In someone’s life. For us. 

We believe in crazy. 

We invest in risk. 

We challenge normal. 

It’s what drives us every day. It’s the reason we get out of bed. It’s why - despite the hardest of times - we smile our way out of it. 

To every startup founder out there - may you find your unicorn. May you continue to believe in yourself when no one else does. And I hope you continue to change the world - even if it is one person’s world. 

Thank You for Being Mediocre /  by Aanarav Sareen

House of Cards

House of Cards

I love mediocrity. 

No, truly. 

I love waking up in the morning and turning on my bedside lamp only to find out that the bulb doesn’t work. Oh sure, there are companies that are working on some really cool smart bulbs, such as the folks at Ilumi. But my landlord is happy with the cheapest variety of lightbulbs found in the clearance rack of the 99 cent store. 

Wouldn’t it be nice for the lightbulb or lamp to tell me that it is about to die or I should think about replacing it soon? Of course it would! But when incumbents are scared of innovation, they try to lock you in to your good old mediocre standards. 

Ah, standards. 

Remember back in the 1980s when the average miles per gallon for a vehicle was 23.1mpg? The great news is that the average miles per gallon in this decade is not that much more! Less than a decade ago, it had barely budged up to 24.7mpg. 

I love that! We have standards that allow for mediocrity. 

I recently had a chance to fly Etihad’s A380 from Abu Dhabi to Sydney. I flew in a first-class apartment with a bedroom, a shower, a butler and a chef on board. On the other hand, US based air carriers are complaining about losing business because of government subsidies. 

And the list goes on and on and on. 

And yet, incumbents complain about losing marketshare or supporting legacy regulations. I wonder why! I always thought that mediocrity would continue to win. 

A Tale of 3 Summers /  by Aanarav Sareen

I've been thinking about this quote for a while lately. Despite all what is written about startups, the word risky and hard hold the most truth.

Risky: to most people, risky means simply walking away from a bad relationship hoping that something better comes along. Or quitting a job in the hopes that they might land somewhere else. Or traveling to a different country.

Hard: to most people, hard means extra effort. Or extra time.

But when you're running a company, it means so much more. Without getting into the romanticism of of startup life, here is a tale of 3 summers in reverse chronological order.

Summer 2015:

As I'm writing this, it is Tuesday. One day before this article gets published. I’m sitting solo at a bar in midtown Manhattan dealing with emails, text messages and catching up from everything. I was at my first meeting at 8:15am and by the time I fall asleep, I've had some very tough conversations to the point of being paralyzed emotionally. But — also moving on from them.

You can never let fear paralyze you. I've seen people give up because of fear. And yes, it feels great to have that one sigh of relief after giving up. But that comes with regret.

I've always had a policy that once you start something — you don’t look back. You never quit. You never give up.

I could walk away from ALL of this. But, as a friend has always reminded me — don’t walk away when you've paid off the interest on the car and don't own the car.

At 5pm today — I backed away from a bachelor party that I had already paid for and said yes to. The person is a good friend of mine and circumstances over the past 120 hours have made it nearly impossible for me to do anything of that scale. It sucks. Hell, it hurts. But — some days, it’s about making excruciatingly hard choices.

And I know that most people don’t think that startup entrepreneurs make those choices. The fact is — they do. They make them every single day about their family, about their friends and about themselves. You think it's easy getting texts like this from highly respected individuals who all tell you that you're going to fail?

Hell. No.

And then when you have to tell your investors you’re drawing all of your 401k because you believe in it that much?

And yet, knowing that all of this could go away and you still have the potential of ending up with nothing is such a surreal feeling — it’ almost surreal.

Regrets? No.

Why? Because success is in our drive. You haven't seen drive until you've met an entrepreneur who has nothing to lose.

Summer 2014:

I'm sitting outside the Hyatt in Union Square listening to one of my partners and our financier. Turns out, the deal we had struck with this company is no longer on the table because of a change of heart.

And that’s how that meeting ended — the news was delivered, we got up and went our separate ways.

To put it in perspective, our product was about to launch and we had been negotiating with our lead investor for the entire summer. Everything was moving along, papers were being signed and then — nothing.

I remember texting my trainer and letting him know that I would no longer be able to train with him. Why? Because I had to drastically reprioritize my finances in order to keep the company alive.

If you haven't been in the unfortunate place of fundraising for a company, I will say this now — it is challenging. You bet so many things on this one act and most of the times, it falls apart.

For our previous company, hundreds of people told us that we couldn't do it. And we did it. We did it right. We spent extra time on it. We were compliant. And we launched our product — the way we wanted and with great success.

There are things in life that will set you back a few months, a few years and maybe even longer than that. But, as long as you never give up and keep chugging forward — I promise you this — your perseverance and desire to succeed will make it nearly impossible for anyone to come in your way.

Summer 2013:

I'm sitting in a conference room in Amsterdam pitching PaLaCart. The team across the table seems really interested. We review business models, financial operations and investment needs. After a very long day of meetings, things seem to be on the right path. We go to a private penthouse to celebrate success with our partners.

Later that night, we grab dinner with the investors, go to the best clubs that Amsterdam has to offer and gradually see the sunrise the next day.

Life couldn't be better. The product is working. The investors are treating us to a night we couldn't imagine.

Fast forward a few weeks, the same investors are in New York and we start looking into the final details of the deal. Everything seems to be going well until we hit upon a snag — a legal and financial compliance issue. They can help us resolve it fairly quickly, but they don’t believe that the team is strong enough to be able to pull it off.

And just like that — everything crumbles down. It’s over.

Or so we thought. Not only did we end up raising a large round after that rejection, we also managed to get the license, making us one of the very few startups in the entire world to be able to negotiate a deal of that size.

You can measure the ups when you are an entrepreneur. However, there is no way you can predict the lows. Know that the lows are part of the journey. And know that the only way to recover from whatever is holding you back is to push forward in ways that even you never thought were possible.

Being an entrepreneur takes indescribable strength. And the only way you win — is by being strong enough to take whatever is thrown at you.

Be strong. Trust yourself. There are a lot of people that will tell you no. Use that as force to get a bigger yes.

Comfort Zones, Focus and Feeling New /  by Aanarav Sareen

When I came back from New Zealand, I made some critical decisions. Some of them were painful to make. Others were necessary. Not for today, nor for tomorrow.

The worst part about growing up is that people settle and become comfortable.

“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.”
― Shannon L. Alder

Comfort doesn’t move the world forward.

But, being uncomfortable also doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is OK. There are two ways to react to being uncomfortable — one is fear and terror. The other is optimism and the desire to succeed.

The first option — almost always — will paralyze you and throw you into a downward spiral.

The second option — the more challenging of the two — will push your limits every single day.

Unfortunately, there is a very thin line between the two options. And going over the line in either way is an easy trap.

When I look back on every success story, it is riddled with anecdotes of rejection, failure and tough decisions.

As painful as it is, it is necessary. Over the past 10 days, I've narrowed my focus to a select few goals.

No longer am I taking calls at 5:30am to answer random questions. And no longer am I a sounding board about relationships, work problems or industry trends. Our group of companies are on the cusp of solving not one, but two large problems in e-commerce. That requires significant focus.

Just earlier today, I asked a client to email me again in September simply because I don’t have the ability to think about anything else at the moment.

I now wake up at 9am; go to the gym, grab breakfast and make it to my office by 11am. Only then do I check my emails and deal with the rest of the world.

Doing so consistently over the past few days has proved useful.

  • One of my portfolio companies has listed me as a co-inventor on a geolocation patent. Thank you, Ryan + team.
  • I have been rejected far more times in the past week than I have in the past few months. Which is a great thing, purely based on the law of numbers.
  • I’ve spent my weekend doing things I am genuinely passionate about. This includes: photography, long brunches (4 hours!) and meeting with investors/advisors.

None of the above are glorious in anyway shape or form. But, I thoroughly enjoy building products.

“The best way to predict your future is to create it”
― Abraham Lincoln

 

Being in New York and being a startup founder forces you to run at a million miles an hour. In that time, people forget that the only thing that makes the world move forward is people. People that understand human nature. People that solve huge problems. And people that genuinely and truly care.

Being compassionate doesn’t mean being a pushover. It means understanding other people. It means remembering that people have feelings. One of my favorite books is Not Fade Away — A Short Life Well Lived.

Some people are born to lead and destined to teach by the example of living life to the fullest, and facing death with uncommon honesty and courage. Peter Barton was that kind of person.
Driven by the ideals that sparked a generation, he became an overachieving Everyman, a risk-taker who showed others what was possible. Then, in the prime of his life — hugely successful, happily married, and the father of three children — Peter faced the greatest of all challenges. Diagnosed with cancer, he began a journey that was not only frightening and appalling but also full of wonder and discovery.


Compassion is not about walking away. Compassion is about listening and caring for others. Compassion is not about acting superior when others are down. Compassion is about showing up with strong shoulders and open arms. Compassion is treating others well. And once you do, I can promise you that you will feel more than you have ever felt. And you and everyone else around you will be better off.

As uncomfortable as I am right now, the feeling of uncertainty and unknown is exciting. It reminds me of days where I made decisions without fear. But more importantly, it reminds me of results and work that I was proud of: two books, half-a-dozen books with credits, a magazine cover, a top-10 podcast, etc.