The Pursuit by Aanarav Sareen

Aurora Borealis

As I’m writing this, I’ve spent the past 24 hours between airports on both coasts of the United States and en-route to Bermuda for some much needed thawing out. 

Most people dislike the thought of traveling for long hours. I, on the other hand, love it. 

I love flying from California to New York overnight and arriving at my office in time for the first meeting of the day. And despite all my whining, I love working hard and long hours to ensure that the things that we do mean something to someone. It doesn’t matter if all I’m doing is helping someone find a cheap flight or planning a social get together or building out applications for clients. 

And the reason it doesn’t matter is because I care. 

Over the past 3 years, I’ve slowly called it quits on my previous life. No more corporate credit cards. No more counting paid vacation days. No more people, clients and projects that were just a way to the end (aka: bottle service). 

It’s been scary along the way. But, it’s been rewarding beyond my wildest expectations. Because today I’m fueled by the the very core of things I care about: good people with a side of crazy. 

I stress every single day about finances. I stress about what might happen if all of this goes away. And I’m terrified beyond belief if the people I care about the most stop believing in the future. Because if there is one thing I’ve learned is this - the people closest to you never let you quit. They inspire you to work harder than you ever have before. They inspire you to go beyond your wildest threshold.  

And that’s what makes this incredibly fun. 

There isn’t enough money in the world for me to work an all-nighter for someone else. Or to even live a life where every single day is guaranteed. But that’s what makes this worth it. It’s all about being crazy enough to believe that things that you care about will care about you when it matters the most. 

To those on the edge - don’t fret. Do it. Perhaps one small step. Perhaps a huge leap. Either way, the freedom is exhilarating. 

New Zealand 2015: Trip of a Lifetime by Aanarav Sareen

I've been traveling a lot for the past few years - often times for fun and sometimes for work. It's been a blast. 

As a photographer, I've been itching to go to New Zealand for a few years. Looking at my frequent flyer balances, I finally decided to pull the trigger and just do it. 

Here are some highlights of the planning thus far:

Follow the journey here. I'll be posting photos + planning missteps along the way. 

Book Review: Uncommon Stock by Aanarav Sareen

I've been slacking on my reading lately. With work and travel, I haven't had much time to catch-up on new books in a while. Over the past year, I only had a chance to read under two-dozen books. This year, I hope to at-least increase that number to around 35 books. 

One of the best new book series from last year has been Uncommon Stock by Eliot Peper. I'm not going to go through the story in this post, but if you're a startup founder, you need to read the 3 book series (the third one will be released this year).  

It's term-sheets mixed in with murder. It's start-up stress blended in with relationships. And it's a thrilling combination of survival skills - personal and professional. 

What also makes this book unique is that it is backed by FG Press - a new publishing arm from Foundry Group. Overall, their selection of books and authors is truly unique and I'm looking forward to more publishers following suit of good books without the bureaucracies. 

Travel Startup Need: Visa and Immigration by Aanarav Sareen

Bermuda.jpg

I just booked a ticket to Bermuda for our executive retreat. Being the traveler in the group, it was my idea to get away from New York for a few days to plan for what the year has ahead of us. 

Unfortunately, as an Indian passport holder, I have to often apply for visas. Not ideal and definitely expensive over time, but I deal with it. 

However, finding the information for Bermuda immigration has been challenging to say the least. It is nearly impossible to find the right information. I asked my assistant, travel agency, the Consulate, the Bermuda Government, American Airlines, United Airlines and even American Express. 

Each time, I got a different answer. And each time I tried to call the agencies (commercial and government), it was nearly impossible to get to a person, let alone the right person.  

As someone who likes to travel a lot internationally, this is something I have gotten used to. But, it is also something that I strongly despise. Why isn't there one reliable database that is frequently updated and provides customer service and a built-in community for this information? I would pay an annual fee for such a service. 

And, if you're curious who provided the best information? It was the Bermuda Government and American Express. AMEX provided the exact same document that was provided by the immigration team at Bermuda, which is very impressive. 

Review: Prime Now by Aanarav Sareen

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for a dinner meeting, I realized that I had run out of body wash. 

As someone who lives in New York, running to the store around the corner is usually not an issue. However, being a lazy Sunday, I decided to not leave my apartment and give Prime Now a chance. 

My first impression: prices are reasonable, but how much would I end up paying for shipping?

Turns out, if you want your order delivered within one hour, you pay a flat rate of $7.99 for a $15.00 minimum order. If you want it anytime after 61 minutes, it is free. Yep, free!

Not only can you get bodywash delivered, Amazon boasts "over 25,000 items" via their app. And it seems to have just about everything that you would need within an hour:

  • Household supplies
  • Batteries
  • Memory cards
  • Hard drives
  • Kindles
  • Water

The variety is good, the prices are great and unlike Amazon Prime, you don't have to meet an order minimum on cheaper items. 

I think I've found my new lazy solution!