Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Back to square one !

Me, being a webdeveloper was meeting a client today to discuss about aspects of the website my company was to develop for her. The client is a young aspiring model who has this startup of a production house. We are to make the company profile for the same. The deal is confirmed and I am meeting her for the second time to discuss in detail. Now, I am sitting at a coffee shop and suddenly the course of the meeting turns in something like she is obliging us by giving the project to us. She turns all friendly and says, " you know, all my colleagues think that I am giving the project for development of the website to some kids and I replied to them that, no , such young people should be given a chance, and this is how even their company will grow and stuff. They are trying to do something new and we should encourage them.She also mentioned the term 'bachalog'.
Now, this ticked me off. Now, I am thinking, she just called me a baccha. I am like 'Uski gulti hi nahi hai'. but, deep down, I was enraged, and my colleague could she that in me and changed the topic. I swear, I could have stood up and shouted "Aukaaaat"... I know that I am not a person who will boas around telling every one that I am better than you, but a that point it seemed the right thing to do. I figure, that its not her fault but now that I think of it, I am not really angry with her. In fact, I am not angry at all, but I actually miss my previous venture 'Live2own' which in a huge way has changed me a lot and I am what I am because of it. But most of all, Live2own had brought us a taste of fame, respect and popularity. People knew us and we had a brand. They did that cause something we created changed the ways and catered to the needs of the society and were grateful towards us.
What I realized that, I am totally in a new industry and I am creating a new brand and an image. And it's all from scratch. The meeting with marketing executives of big companies are gone. The politics, the fame, the respect all gone ! All is left is experience of it and I have to build it all over again. Such clients are always gonna see me again as something small now cause they dont know the history. And believe me, that is hugely annoying and frustrating. After, Live2own, such meetings, it all looks inconsequential.
Somehow, I am unable to accept the fact that I am no more that brand but I know I have to start from scratch and have to move on. This event is something that made me realize what Live2own was as I now see it as an outsider and what I was. It makes me realize that Live2own was huge and what I was due to at that time.
I am back to a square one !
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2 comments:

  1. Puja ChangoiwalaDecember 15, 2010 at 10:12 AM

    You know, Shrenik.. And I say Shrenik, not Neo..

    Yes, you were not mad at the client.. It’s just that you miss Live2oWn and all that it brought to you.. The power, the fame, the name.. You do not have those to the level that you once enjoyed them..

    But what is more important is that you have carried all the attributes that brought those things to Live2oWn with you..

    L2o was unique, L2o was the market leader, L2o was a pioneer of change.. And you have kept those things alive even today through you..
    You have kept L2o alive through you..

    Because you miss those things associated with L2o, you are willing to do whatever it takes to create them again.. That’s why the website idea... And that is even more wonderful.. You have picked up the best bits from your past and are trying to lay the foundation of the future on them.. Your past successes, experiences breathe in your present and will revel in the future.. You’ve made them work that way.. And that is more important than anything else..

    And I do not agree that you are back to square one.. No, you aren't.. You certainly were.. a while ago.. But you've come ahead of that point.. Remember those kids saying "Who's Shrenik Patel? How did he get 194? I wonder what he must have done. I saw his facebook profile".. They were not adulating Neo then, baby... they were adulating 'Shrenik Patel'..

    L2o was the perfect beginning.. And it, with the taste of success and fame it has given you, has moved you to a notch ahead of Neo.. It has moved you to 'Shrenik Patel'..

    And I'm certain that you, with your dedication, determination and passion, will create the magic of L2o once again.. And this time, people will know you for you, more than the brand you created.. YOU will be the brand this time! :)

    And no matter how much sense we’d like to make of the scenario, I’d still want to tell that wanabe model – “He was the CEO, bitch!”

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  2. BlackmagicJanuary 20, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    I agree on the fact that live2own has changed you a lot since, although not too many, I have had glimpses of a timid and vulnerable Shrenik at Razz and Bandstand back in the day, and have also seen him transforming into a confident and influential friend.

    This article also reinstates the fact that how much ever you hate nostalgia, and be blatantly dismissive about it in public, you, too, suffer from that omnipresent syndrome at times.

    l2O may be dead but one of its finest byproducts is alive in you, and I'm sure it is capable of making an impact on the world.

    P.S. I have always thought you could be a good writer. Keep scribbling on the blog, hosting is anyway free here. :p

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