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Tag: Legacy

  • “Hum hai raahi pyaar ke, phir milenge chalte chalte…”

    “Hum hai raahi pyaar ke, phir milenge chalte chalte…”

    “Hum hai raahi pyaar ke, phir milenge chalte chalte…”

    Goodbyes are strange.

    They bring flashbacks and memories… smiles and tears… anxiety and gratitude.

    But the circle of life continues.

    I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful people around me — who made saying goodbye the hardest part. It’s the daily interactions we part with, not the eternal connections.

    Thank you for a beautiful farewell — where we relived stories, celebrated memories, and honored the amazing ride we had together.

    🙏 Special gratitude to:

    • Apexon Management & Yatendra – for the belief and acknowledgment in building the Infostretch institution & Apexon journey. Teamwork truly makes the dream work.

    • Harish & Utpal – for your kind words and gracious memories

    • Alliance Rockstars – Kavita & Geetanjali

    • Ignite Superstars – Geetanjali, Pravin, Dr. Heli

    • Wonderful Igniters – Krunal, Anand, Jankit, Xama

    • Buddies Forever – Devangbhai, Milind, Kalpana, Ayushbhai, Paras, Mihir, Sheetal, Chirag, Pranay, Anil & everyone!

    And a heartfelt salute to our silent heroes – the ever-smiling Housekeeping, Security & Admin teams — thank you for the love, affection, and care that touched me deeply.

    • Ashokbhai – for always being there with airport rides and warm smiles

    • Jigar – for your support that kept my energy and focus intact

    • Ramibhai & Security Team – for always watching over

    This isn’t goodbye. Just a “see you later” — with deep gratitude and endless love. 💙

  • The Ignite Life: Sunshine. Smiles. Sukoon

    The Ignite Life: Sunshine. Smiles. Sukoon

    “The purpose of life is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate — to make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

     — Ralph Waldo Emerson

    As I sign off from Apexon after 16 incredible years, I want to pause and celebrate something very close to my heart—Ignite.

    What started as a small idea turned into a movement of compassion.

     A platform where we didn’t just give back—we grew.

     We didn’t just support causes—we created change.

     We didn’t just help others—we found ourselves.

    ✨ Ignite has been a happiness project. Our sunshine corner. 

     From mentoring changemakers to empowering NGOs, from learning with leaders to creating lifelong bonds—Ignite has truly ignited me.

    Thank you Rutesh Shah for igniting the mission and providing unbelievable trust and unconditional support

    To every Igniter who chose hope over cynicism, kindness over convenience—thank you. Thank you Geetanjali Sahni, Pravinsinh Rathod, Heli Z Karvat, PhD, Zil Shah, Krunal Sagan, Jankit Shah, Anand Rohit, Sejal Bavishi, Nitin Nikumbh, Charu Mishra, Kashish, Rohini Chandra

    Thank you Manish Mathuria, Sriniketh Chakravarthi, Anand Kabra, Vinu Venkatesh

    To every NGO partner, colleague, and volunteer who shared your light—thank you.

    Because of you, the world is a better place.

    As I move into the next chapter, Ignite remains a part of who I am—and always will be.

    Here’s to living well—and giving well.

    One Life At A Time!

  • The Incredible Sixteen-Year Journey @ Infostretch & Apexon

    The Incredible Sixteen-Year Journey @ Infostretch & Apexon

    Today marks the end of one of the most defining chapters in my journey.

    After 16 incredible years at Apexon (formerly Infostretch), I sign off with a heart full of gratitude, pride, and purpose.

    In 2009, I walked into the Infostretch office with curiosity, energy, and ideas. The reception desk bore a powerful message by Mahatma Gandhi—“Be the change you wish to see in the world”—and I knew I was at the right place. That message became my mantra.

    Over the years, what followed was nothing short of extraordinary—a journey across continents, business verticals, strategic pivots, and cultural transformation. From startup energy to scaled enterprise; from late-night brainstorms to global partnerships—I’ve had the privilege of helping build something meaningful.

    Infostretch Founders Rutesh Shah & Manish Mathuria gave me complete freedom and encouragement.  With their intellectual humility and supreme trust, they inspired beyond measure. The company was being built with great alignment of vision, mission and values. As Infostretch moved from one orbit to another, I relished the opportunity to take multiple challenges and make a difference. The Infostretch story reached a new peak with the investment backing of Goldman Sachs and Everstone Group to create a strong platform called Apexon, which unlocked a new level of learnings and opportunities.

    Beyond all of these, I am really proud of Infostretch and Apexon for creating the amazing culture, ownership of executing customer’s business vision, winning the customer trust and confidence, and learning from best and brightest minds.

    🔑 5 Timeless Lessons I Carry Forward:

    1. Entrepreneurship = Ownership: Act like an owner, think like a founder.
    2. Excellence is a Habit: Relentlessly chase excellence—success will follow.
    3. Culture Wins: Culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner—but when they align, magic happens.
    4. Leadership Multiplies: Leaders create more leaders. True leaders are humble, secure and rise by lifting others. They elevate, empower and energise people!
    5. Learn. Unlearn. Relearn: Technology business keeps changing and only curious minds with passion for continuous learning thrive successfully. Be lifelong learners! Stay curious, stay humble.

    💡 Highlights & Memories That Shaped Me:

    • Annual planning offsites, night long brainstorming, animated discussions & Bollywood stories
    • Designing new business models for Indian telcos
    • Mobile app development and certification business
    • The making of the Infostretch house
    • European expansion
    • Leading key deals in fintech, payments, and healthcare
    • Building the Global Alliances
    • Spearheading Ignite program: Global giving back & philanthropy program
    • Hosting events like Mobile Monday, Koffee with Karania, Hot Seat, Filmy Fridays, and our legendary Sales Super Saturdays
    • Winning trust, building culture, and co-creating lasting impact with an amazing team

    These are not just career milestones—they’re life moments. They shaped the leader I am today.

    🙏 A Thank You Note From The Heart:

    To all my customers, partners, colleagues and friends – they are the reason that each day of the sixteen years journey was filled with purpose, energy and joy!

    Rutesh Shah for being one of the biggest cheer leaders for me – While he has led with example, showcased passion with compassion and treated everyone with respect, he has been an amazing mentor and guiding light to me.

    Apexon Leaders—Sumitra, Somesh, Sriniketh, Vamsi, Sandeep, Anil, Anand, Vinu—your leadership sharpened mine.

    To my early crew at Infostretch—Manish, Shalin, Pinakin, Avery, Siva, Vipul, Palvinder, Leila, Anil, Padmini, Michael, Kanhai, Deven, Kinjan—we built something beautiful.

    Awesome Champions: Jay, Gaurav, Vaibhavi, Rajesh, Rupal, Chinar, Niraj, Anushree, Bhavana, Aris, Brijal, Avani, Harish, Yatendra, Ankit, Sheetal, Murali, Chetan and others who made this journey joyful!

    Alliance Rockstars: Rama, Adarsh, Kavita, Geetanjali, Prashant, Viveck for creating amazing impact with frugal resources

    Amazing Ignite Team: Geetanjali, Zil, Heli, Pravin, Kashish, Charu and local leaders Krunal, Jankit, Sejal, Anand, who work for a cause and not applause!

    Family & Friends: Aditya, Aangi & Komal & Friends for accepting that Apexon was the fourth family member for 16 years – the one who was part of all our vacations and weekends!

    (If I’ve missed names, forgive me—so many memories flooding in!)

    📖 As I Turn the Page…

    While the celebrated thinker Daniel Kahneman states that we only remember our most intense and concluding experiences – ‘Peak-End Theory’, I remember it all. Because Apexon wasn’t just a job—it was a mission, a family, a journey.

    I leave with no regrets—only deep gratitude, enduring friendships, and a renewed sense of purpose.

    Here’s to new beginnings. To applying everything I’ve learned to what comes next—at the intersection of technology, innovation, and impact.

    Forever a cheerleader and well-wisher of Team Apexon.

    Thank you for the 16-year magic. 🙏

  • What Is Your Cathedral Project?

    What Is Your Cathedral Project?

    Stephen Hawking recently said spoke about the importance of money and fallout of Brexit on important projects. He said important projects need to be protected as their value goes beyond one generation. He called those important projects as Cathedral Projects – working on food shortage, overpopulation effects, acidulation of oceans etc.

    I liked the term Cathedral Project – It signifies a project that is grand, audacious, visionary and noble. As Hawking himself said: “People are starting to question the value of pure wealth. Is knowledge or experience more important than money? Can possessions stand in the way of fulfilment? Can we truly own anything, or are we just transient custodians? These questions are leading to a shift in behaviour which, in turn, is inspiring some groundbreaking new enterprises and ideas. These are termed “cathedral projects”, the modern equivalent of the grand church buildings, constructed as part of humanity’s attempt to bridge heaven and Earth. These ideas are started by one generation with the hope a future generation will take up these challenges.” (Source: The Guardian)

    While Hawking was right that Cathedral Projects need big money, they equally need the best minds and smart talent. Like our money is spent on latest gadgets, is our talent also being spent on less important things?

    Are our best engineers optimising the social media feed or developing weather forecast to save fishermen? Are our best scientists helping search engine’s mobile reach or working on affordable drinking water solutions for millions. Are our best marketers selling Cola waters or finding creative ways to encourage education and gender sensitivity? Are our best directors churning million dollar box office blockbusters or spreading the message of tolerance and peace in wholesome entertainment?

    The usual quantity vs quality questions comes here. Earlier masters and experts would spend lifetimes on a few projects. They would dwell on it day-in and day-out. They would research and travel and read till they had their desired vision. Often, they would re-start the work. How many times does this happen? We always have deadlines. We always want to complete more project in short times. We have ghost-writers and ghost-architects behind big names. How many new Gaudi, Stephen Hawking, Newton and Picasso are being created?

    Are we content with the monthly salary and comfort of our material choices? Are we thinking of living upto to our potential? Are we all living the world better off? Are we all thinking beyond the obvious? What are our cathedral projects?

    Sagrada_Familia_Ash