In that time, I've had the privilege of finally leading a newsroom, working with some of the hungriest and most driven journalists in the country, and chronicling developments during one of the most challenging periods India's startup ecosystem has faced. Not too shabby for someone who accidentally stumbled into the world of business journalism eight years ago.
As rewarding as the experience has been, it hasn't been without its trade-offs. The news cycle isn't very dissimilar to a hamster wheel - especially when you're the sole editor - and you can only run so hard for so long before you have to step off and take a breather. That's what June has been for me thus far - a chance to relax, reflect, recalibrate, and, most importantly, spend time with those who matter the most to me.
What comes next? I'm not quite sure. The space for nuance and criticality in newsrooms appears to be shrinking, and actual, worthwhile journalism is often "bad for business". That being said, these are problems that don't get fixed by burying our heads in the sand or running from them. So, is there a space left for me in journalism? I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath.
Over the coming month, I have nothing but free time, so if you're doing interesting and ambitious things in the media/communications space and you're based in Bangalore, I'm always open to grabbing a coffee.
To the team (both past and present) that has kept me motivated and excited every day since we relaunched The CapTable - Pranav Balakrishnan, Nikhil Patwardhan, Gaurav Tyagi, Raghav Mahobe, Parvathi Benu, Pratap Vikram Singh, Shivani Verma, Sohini Mitter, and Sharath R - thank you for the memories. Who knows, maybe we'll get a chance to work together again.
Finally, thanks to Aditi Shrivastava and Madhav Chanchani for bringing me into the organisation, and Shradha Sharma for giving me the chance to pick up the pieces when they stepped away. I'll always be grateful for the opportunity.
Cheers!
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