In April 1899, Theodore Roosevelt spoke to the people of Chicago. In his "The Strenuous Life" speech, he said "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
Full speech here

This powerful speech made an indelible impact on an impressionable teenager and has, among other things, shaped my worldview ever since. Attributes such as ambition, humility and character became ever more important in the teams I built and led - something I look for in the founding teams and entrepreneurs I partner with. Ambition to tackle the largest of opportunities and upend existing systems and industries, humility to understand your roots and staying grounded, character to persevere and be a leader for your team when the going gets tough (as is the case for anyone starting up and embarking on a multi-year founder journey!).

My family played a significant role in shaping my character as well. Brought up by hard working and highly accomplished academics and artists, principles such as earning your keep, doing more than your share, making a disproportionate difference, choosing right over easy, doing what you love, catalysing change for the better, and having a passionate go at achieving the impossible became cornerstones of value in my life.

Over the past 25 years’ of my experience of working across the world, and living in India, UK and the Middle East, I have had tremendous opportunities to learn and help create disproportionate value. Employers, clients, partners and other institutions that I have been associated with include IIM Bangalore, KPMG, EY (EY-Parthenon), Carlyle, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, KKR, Sequoia, Citi, General Atlantic, ADNOC, Mubadala, QIA, Tata Group, Reliance, UK MoD, UK DoH, UK DfT, and many other path breaking organisations. More on my profile here

My drive to think differently and change for the better eventually led me to found Morphosis as the logical next step, building on my long and varied professional experience – with a piercing aspiration to fix the broken VC model by using deep data-driven insights and collective wisdom in the world. We at Morphosis truly partner with, support and accelerate the growth of ambitious entrepreneurs and passionate founders to solve meaningful problems with credible and scalable solutions. I am particularly excited about the emergence of various B2B tech stacks and solutions that unlock significant value pools across India and globally – businesses that are designed for scalability, longevity and a clear path to profitability, not simply to play a valuations game. On a different note, ESG priorities are central to building a better world and are therefore a major aspect of how we select and work with our portfolio partners.

On the personal front, I enjoy regular golf, prolific and varied reading, experiencing the world, and watching my teenage son growing into a fine gentleman.