People are awesome, circumstances may not always be: 12 amazing people and learnings via virtual events

As someone whose job revolved around audience engagement and events and interacting with leaders, the lockdown may have seemed to impede our growth. But no, in just the first week of the lockdown, at CrowdProduct, we conducted more productive events than we would have in months, and also got to understand audiences even better.

Here are my key learnings from some of the virtual event discussions with exciting innovators, domain experts and industry thought leaders in deep technologies, learning, and development. These sessions have been well moderated by leaders such as Madanmohan Rao from YourStory, Natarajan P - Chartered Accountant at Health & Fitness and Vijetha Shastry from TiE Bangalore. 12 Takeaways:

1. Hari Namboodri, Corporate Leader & Yoga Practitioner

Always remember the strength of your roots and make use of ancient knowledge.

Hari has been a keen advocate of and been practising yoga and pranayama (breathing techniques). He encourages people to practice pranayama to calm their mind, and along with it strengthen their respiratory system. He also recommends doing ‘Surya Namaskars’ (Sun salutations) as it has a composite mix of many yoga ‘asanas’ (postures).

2. Sony Bhowmik, Fitness Trainer & Food Innovator

There’s always a way forward with creativity, even during challenging times.

Sony has made use of her passion for healthy food and lifestyle, and passed it to her child and older family members too. For instance, she now offers the healthy ‘roti subzi’ dish as a ‘roti pizza subzi’. Also, she

(re)creates healthy snack combinations with certain fruits and dry-fruit combinations. For exercise, she and her family pursue Calisthenics, a form of bodyweight exercises that need minimal equipment.

3. Jai Singh, IIT Gold Medalist, Fitness & Nutrition Expert

Talk to people more often, especially those who are positive and encouraging.

Jai shared how those working on their physical and mental health, could also consider bettering their social health. He believes 'social health’ is all about connecting regularly with people who one could relate to better and who could play a role in bettering them as individuals.

4. Rochelle Lima, Nutritionist & Health Expert at Swiggy

Look up, read more, and create checklists to ensure you have a daily routine.

Rochelle elaborated on the importance of understanding one’s calorie count and nutrition needs. She suggests reading more about ingredients and choosing from healthy food options. Further, she recommends trying better methods of cooking dishes, using baking options instead of frying for instance.

5. Nitin Gandhi, Forbes 30under30 Asia & Physiotherapy Startup

Do not hesitate to seek help and advice from professionals.

Nitin, who works with many doctors and physiotherapists, encourages one to connect with and get advice based on their own specific needs. For instance, those looking to take care of their feet in the long-run would do well to reach out to medical professionals and even use customised footwear as recommended by doctors.

6. Shreekala Kurup, COO at Crack Verbal & Mentors Young Talent

It is important to look for the first step and take it, in order to reach the tenth step.

She shared how student internships are not easy and can be a thankless job sometimes. However, she trusts it to be a great learning process, especially for young talents. She believes grunt work is important to get to the next level, and that one should have an open mind to doing different tasks.

7. Mala Mary Martina, CEO, I Love Mondays, Author & TEDx Speaker

Find the kind of work you love and go for it wholeheartedly.

Mala shared how one could find their true passion by learning from their own behaviour, finding patterns in their lives and then working towards developing their career interests. She suggests students experiment with different tasks when young and choose the careers they love.

8. Srinath Ravichandran, CEO, Agnikul Cosmos & Fan of Science Fiction Books

Spend more time with those who support you and add value to your life.

Most of Srinath’s customers, who are keen on Small Satellite Launch Vehicles, come from the US and Europe. With the global coronavirus pandemic, they too are facing challenges like others. During these times, Srinath and his team are spending more time than usual, understanding their customers and building relationships.

9. Kris Nair, CEO, Kawa Space, Background in Physics & Military Strategy

While you do the heavy lifting, make things simple for your end customer.

Kris and his team are working towards making solutions cheap, easy and more data-rich for customers. His team is ensuring that they take all the complexities out for the end customers and provide them with simple yet useful business output.

10. Nitish Singh, CEO, Astrogate Labs, Part of Google Lunar X-Prize Mission

Know your core strengths and collaborate with partners for success.

Nitish and his team are aiming at high-speed satellite communication solutions, especially those in Optical Communications space. While they are at it, he sees tremendous opportunities to collaborate with other Space companies, including satellite system providers, ground vehicle operations as well as launch vehicle providers.

11. Nikhitha C, CEO, SSERD.org & Kalpana Chawla Scholarship Winner

Take cognisance of the fact that there are people who can help you in your efforts.

As an NGO in the domain of Space Education, Nikhitha and her team have been helping many students across Asia and Africa. She also gets many volunteers and talents willing to help the team in realising objectives, be it in outreach, technology, content or growth.

12. Vishesh Rajaram, VC at SpecialeInvest & Deep Technology Aficionado

It is good to take time to reflect, connect the dots and stay patient to realise results.

Vishesh and his team have invested in several core technology companies, including in Space - a domain whose regulatory environment and potential partners do not move as fast with technological developments by startups. He believes that one needs to consider if they are doing good or bad, and if it’s good, the system too will eventually help.

Concluding with something that has always kept me going and by having faith in the goodness of people. I believe people are awesome, though circumstances may not always be. I look forward to more shares from awesome people and opportunities to make a difference together.