Yesterday’s “reflections” inspiring Tomorrow’s “hope” — my 6 years journey with Techstars!
Hello! Namastey! Salaam! Kuzuzangpo! Ayubowan! Привет! — to each one of you, all the amazing people in my Techstars community and global network!
I wanted to share some bittersweet yet exciting news with you all, that on March 10, 2020 my incredible journey with Techstars as APAC Regional Manager (South & Central Asia) comes to an end, and that being said it’s your chance to apply for this unique role that I’ve been privileged to serve you and your communities. :)
Journey so far; and a goodbye to yesterday, with love! ❤❤❤
It’s been almost six years since the start of my UP Global, Techstars & StartupWeekend journey in 2014, but it all feels just like yesterday. And in the way ‘tomorrow’ inspires hope, looking at the ‘yesterday’ sets in a reflective mood.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege to work/ travel/ grow/ build relationships and startup communities in over 30 countries across Asia-Pacific, facilitated 70+ Startup Weekend events in over 15 countries, managed a community of over 1000 entrepreneurial leaders, ran 300+ Startup Weekend events, many D&I initiatives, curated Emerging Economies Startup Digest for 11K+ subscribers, spoken at 110+ conferences, across 13 countries in 70+ cities and 22+ Indian states. Together, we’ve taken entrepreneurship to the mountain kingdoms of Bhutan & Nepal, to the island nations of Maldives & Sri Lanka, to the fastest growing South Asian cities to the conflict-zones of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, and across the -stan nations (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan) of former Soviet Union on the ancient Silk Route in Central Asia.
It’s been a wild, humbling, and rewarding half a decade. I’m immensely proud of what we have accomplished during my time here by helping establish Techstars India, and the Techstars Bangalore accelerator shine. I will always fondly remember the amazing times we had at the many ecosystem gatherings at our Community Summits, StaffCons, FounderCons over these years. Together we have come this far, we still have a long way to go!
Let’s rejuvenate! Let’s reinvent!
You know when it’s time, and I think it’s my time to pass the baton and move on, so that fresh ideas and new perspectives can come to our team and make their magic happen. I’ve had a long sprint in my current role and it’s time for me to move on — to learn and grow, to rejuvenate and reinvent, and to reconnect with myself to pursue my deeper meaning in life. I am exploring new horizons to continue on my professional development journey and finding new ways to support my communities differently, go on adventures, & follow what gets me most excited to do some awesome things that matters.
With Spring/ Equinox/ Holi, that brings change of seasons, meaning new life (#AnuLife), new beginnings and new hopes and aspirations. I hope in the spirit of celebration of love and with the feeling of rejuvenation, you all come together to enjoy and celebrate the season’s change in my life to fill it with fresh hopes and well wishes around for a better future.
Your passion, dreams, hopes for your communities inspire each one of us to continue walking on the path. I hope with the new year 2020, and the new decade, all of us continue to embrace spring as the festival of change as a colourful celebration that symbolizes togetherness, love and good harvests of our karma/ actions.
Celebrating moments of gratefulness
Life really is all about the people, and I feel lucky and privileged to have had the opportunity to work in such a place, to have met every single one of you, and exchanged such deep and meaningful conversations with many of you (even remotely) community leaders.
Looking back, it has been one of the most treasured and memorable times of my life as a community builder — building these lifelong relationships, supporting and empowering thousands of you globally and serving your communities of founders, startups and entrepreneurs. At the same time, I’ve learned so much about my own superpowers that’s helping me learn and grow as a better individual.
At the heart of all these tangible achievements and values, lies a bigger intangible cause, that made it all possible. We’ve all collaborated and shared a mission together, despite all the complexities of our own large, complex, multicultural, hyperlocal and diverse community of Startup Weekend. In true Startup Weekend spirit, we have experienced our highs and lows, but we continue to stay relevant, show resilience, and shine bright. All these communities are thriving because of everything you do to make them thrive. Such an honour to be your voice and championing for your hard work and efforts.
Startup Weekend truly leaves you with a global family, and I’ve discovered my best friends within UP Global and Techstars family. I am grateful to all the Startup Week/end organisers, global and regional facilitators, community leaders, mentors, judges, ecosystem leaders, Startup Digest curators, sponsors and partners, SW alumni graduates, Techstars alumni, etc. where I’ve met some of the most special people in my life.
“what you do shines bright and spreads light, I feel blessed and grateful”
What’s next? Growth phase!
I love working with founders and entrepreneurs, and startup communities. As much as I’ve evolved, I have seen you evolve and also witnessed your communities grow from zero to tech, and emerge from almost no startup activity to launching first coworking spaces, first incubation programs, universities launching entrepreneurship clubs, their incubation programs, pre-incubators, pre-accelerators, accelerators, startup festivals, startup competitions, business plan competitions, hackathons, corporate innovation, ecosystem development, angel groups, mentorship networks, increasing government engagement, launch of new startup programs, corporate funds, etc.
My personal mission has been to continue democratizing access to entrepreneurship — especially in regions where it’s most needed. That’s why our work is not a job, it’s been a mission. It’s been an honour to share this powerful mission with you and I’m exploring opportunities and entrepreneurial adventures that allow me to continue serving this mission in different forms. We all have a larger role to take up in future to contribute to the next phase of your community’s startup journey. Let’s continue to grow this movement and empower millions of others across the world.
As I take with me the learnings and these relationships from Techstars into a new world of exploration to head into, which is both scary and exciting at the same time given the uncertainty, I’d need all your wishes and support. You must be wondering, what’s next for me? I’m still exploring and hopefully will have some exciting news ahead by next week or so.
I can’t say enough how much I’m going to miss all of you! It’s been a privilege to work with you, thank you for being a part of my story my friend, and for making me better. I will continue my journey as a Techstars Startup Weekend community leader and a Global Facilitator, and above all a friend and connector to everyone in the network. #TechstarsForLife #AnuLife
If you’re interested in filling up my shoes, give it a try. Apply for the Regional Manager position based out of Bangalore. Reach out to me, if you have questions or need a recommendation. #GiveFirst
I’m based in Delhi/ Jaipur, so would love to meet up for coffee, tea or dinner! You can reach me personally on anu.maloo.it@gmail.com, and easy to reach @anuragmaloo: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Voxer, and Facebook.
Much love and big warm hugs to everyone and again, THANK YOU!
Onwards,
Anurag ❤
- P.S: Please share below your favorite and most memorable story of us.
- P.P.S: I value your opinion and would sincerely appreciate it if you can take a few minutes from your precious time to fill in this small survey as a feedback for self-improvement — it’s anonymous, and would request you to be honest & not necessarily nice! http://tiny.cc/ij3gkz
