Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving 2012 is a chance to reflect on all that I am grateful for: health, family, friends, and the opportunities I have been given.

Thanksgiving 2012

“What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.”
Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

It’s mid-day on Thanksgiving 2012 and I have taken a break before dinner is served to review the list of  what I am thankful for.

• Health: I have lost 50 pounds in the last year. It’s “a good start” on what I will need to do to be able to explore the year 2040 on foot–I would like to remain conscious, curious, and capable for another three decades.
• Family: Too few entrepreneurs realize the wisdom of J. S. Bryan’s advice:  “Many men can make a fortune but very few can build a family.” While my health enables everything else my wife and children sustain me.
• Friends: I have been more systematic about reconnecting with old friends and rewarded with candid insights that can only come from folks who have known me for a while, they have both the perspective and the willingness to share.
• Opportunity: I have been very fortunate to continue my collaborations with Peter Cohan, Mark Duncan, Terry Frazier, Steve Hogan, Anthony Scampavia, John Smith, Dorai Thodla, and Pete Tormey,  I have started new projects with Scott Sambucci and Michal Domanski that I find energizing and believe will form the basis for long term collaboration.  I am grateful to those who have opened doors for me in the last year: Eric Ries invited me to speak at the Lean Startup Conference; Minesh Amin allowed me to attend the Python conference; Tristan Kromer invited me to mentor at the San Jose Startup Weekend; Lisa Solomon invited me to present at an MBA in Design Strategy course at the California College of the Arts.

“The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.”
John E. Southard

A roundup of Thanksgiving Day posts.

• 2016 Thanksgiving 2016: Bootstrappers Potluck and Reflections on the Mayflower Compact
• 2015 Thanksgiving 2015: Bootstrappers Potluck and Rainbow Shiny
• 2014 Thanksgiving 2014
• 2013 Thanksgiving 2013
• 2012 Thanksgiving 2012
• 2011 Thanksgiving 2011
• 2010 Some Things Change, Others Remain Constant
• 2009 Thanksgiving 2009
• 2008 Thanksgiving 2008
• 2007 Giving Thanks & Success For a Bootstrapper
• 2006  Quotes for Thanksgiving

Update 2024: RIP Dorai Thodla

Dorai Thodla was a great mentor. He was the Chennai tech community’s pillar, and I owe much of my success to Dorai. His gentle demeanor belied his insatiable passion for spreading technology and entrepreneurship among Chennai’s students and young entrepreneurs. I am deeply saddened yet hopeful that he will forever be fondly remembered for the seeds of passion he has sown in so many people he has touched.
Vagmi Mudumbai

What I remember best about Dorai are a half dozen conversations in different coffee shops in Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Cupertino, and Mountain View that lasted for one to two hours and were incredibly insightful and energizing. Busy as a bee, he traveled between Silicon Valley and Chennai, and like a bee, he cross-fertilized efforts in both regions. He was willing to ask fundamental questions and start with simple techniques that evolved into new products.

I was introduced to him by K. V. Rao when we were co-chairs of the Silicon Valley Software Development Forum Marketing SIG in 2006 and I had a number of very stimulating conversations about semantic technology and competitive intelligence paradigms in the intervening years. He was an original thinker and blogger, an entrepreneur, and a mentor active in the Chennai startup community.

When I started this blog in 2006 I did not anticipate including obituaries, but if you aspire for a long life you must recognize all of those you have met and benefited from along the way. I am really starting to believe Herodotus: “Whom the gods love, dies young.”