Before we jump into this winding tale,

A Quick Update on What's Next

I had been wrestling with whether to start a new newsletter or rebrand Business & Pleasure for weeks. Should I create something specifically for startup insights? Maybe a separate publication for mental health content?

Then I realized I was trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. I've never been good at putting my interests in neat little boxes - my work is personal, my growth informs my business decisions, and everything somehow connects.

So Business & Pleasure stays exactly what it's always been: the place where I document this beautifully messy intersection of professional growth, technology, mental health, and whatever else catches my curiosity.

Okay, back to the scheduled programming 📺️ 

🇮🇳 Homecoming After a Decade 🇮🇳

I was 18 when I left India to study abroad. Over the past ten years, I lived across Hong Kong, Japan, and the US, only returning back home for short visits. My parents had even turned my bedroom into a guest room 😤

Last week, I came back for good. Usually when I arrived at the Delhi Airport and saw the iconic arrival sculptures, it signified a temporary vacation.

This time it marked the beginning of a new chapter.

And as I reflect on this moment, I realize this decision follows a pattern that's been shaping my life for over a decade - a consistent choice to take the path that seems unconventional to others but feels deeply right to me.

🇭🇰 The First Leap: Hong Kong Calling 🇭🇰

It started in high school. I had been preparing for the IIT entrance exam for 3-3.5 years - it was all I'd ever aimed for. Six hours of school, followed four hours of extra classes. (and 6 more hours on the weekends btw). It was intense. Midway through this ordeal, somewhere deep down, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. The rigor and caliber one needs to ace those exams is really high, and my style of learning and testing was very different. I also was not able to fully commit to just prepping for this exam, and focused on a lot of extra curricular activities during the core years of prep. (This ended up working in my favor)

One day, I was just catching up with a childhood friend, Roshan (still one of my best bros). He was a year above me who had moved to Singapore even though he had an IIT admit. I always thought going abroad meant US or UK, but he opened my eyes to Asia as a potential option. I mentioned it to my dad almost as a joke. "Why don't you apply anyway?" he said.

Without any counselor, without any real plan, I put in an application to HKUST and NUS. But when the offer actually came in March during my board exams, this whim suddenly became reality. Seems like unintentionally, I was building a holistic application by doing all the things I found fun in school. As we researched more, I realized this was exactly where I wanted to be - a global environment where I could study Computer Science without leaving my major to the chance of rankings (a process that still makes the Indian education system tough to thrive in)

The crazy part? I did end up clearing the first level of the IIT exam, but by the time the final round came along, I had made up my mind. I wanted to eliminate any fallback option because somewhere deep down, I knew HKUST was my calling. So I decided not to ‘perform well’ in it 😂 

While most of my classmates ended up at prestigious Indian universities and built wonderful careers there, I chose a different path. I chose Hong Kong.

The first of many times I'd be one of the few taking the unconventional path.

🇯🇵 The Second Turn: Konnichiwa Japan 🇯🇵 

The Hong Kong decision created a chain reaction. Four years later, when my classmates were heading into finance roles, I found myself deeply uncomfortable with that path after watching "Inside Job" in economics class. I also knew I wasn't strong enough at coding for software engineering, and entrepreneurship still scared me after a failed startup attempt in college.

Product management seemed like the perfect middle ground - entrepreneurial experience in a more protected environment. But Hong Kong had no tech industry, and mainland China required Chinese fluency. I was resigned to moving back to India.

Then came another serendipitous moment: my professor forwarded an email about a Japanese company called Rakuten hiring for a PM role. Who would go to Japan? That seemed crazy. But the role excited me, so I applied anyway.

I later learned it was meant for master's students, not undergraduates, but somehow made it through. When I received the dreaded coding test, I requested my genius roommate to do it on my behalf 😇 - Tavish, if you are reading this, thanks bro ❤️ 

The interview was supposed to be nerve-wracking, but having zero expectations turned it into a genuine conversation. Thirty minutes later, they offered me the job. Just like that, I was moving to Tokyo.

To read more on this, and specifically Product Management in general, you can check out this post I wrote a few years ago.

Again, while most friends stayed in Hong Kong and built fulfilling lives there, I became one of the very few who ventured into completely unknown territory. Those four years in Japan ended up being some of the best of my life - the closest friendships, fondest memories, and experiences that shaped everything that followed.

I could go on for hours and hours about Japan. And I probably will. But those are stories for another time.

🇺🇸 The Third Shift: The American Dream 🇺🇸 

After four years in Japan, I had everything I ever wanted: an amazing job, incredible friends, a strong network, and a great lifestyle. Life was comfortable, peaceful, content.

But that comfort started feeling like a trap.

I realized I was running at the speed of a Japanese bullet train while everyone around me moved at a more deliberate, relaxed pace. The culture that had taught me so much was now constraining my growth. I felt like I was pushing against systems that valued patience and deliberation when I craved speed and experimentation.

If I stayed, I knew I'd probably stay forever - and live a happy, peaceful life. But somewhere in my mind, I felt I'd hit a ceiling. I needed chaos. I needed to shake things up.

So I did something that was uncommon to most people around me: I left this paradise for the intensity of an MBA. GMAT, essays, interviews, acceptance - and then the decision to leave behind everything I'd built in Japan.

I also have more detailed thoughts about ‘Why MBA’ for anyone curious.

Once again, I was one of the few who chose growth over comfort, uncertainty over security - not because staying would have been wrong, but because something inside me needed the challenge. Those two years at Kellogg became some of the most intense and fun years of my life - the complete opposite of Japan's peaceful rhythm, and exactly what I needed.

🇮🇳 All Roads Lead Home: Ghar Wapsi (Homecoming) 🇮🇳 

Now here I am, having come full circle in the most unexpected way.

Entrepreneurship had always been on my mind, but you're never truly in the deep end until you ARE in the deep end. For the past six months, I was constantly torn between continuing PM work at Big Tech or working on my own startup. I chose not to recruit. Instead, I worked on Emoneeds.

I knew if it didn't work out, I could re-enter the job market. But somewhere my gut said this was what I'm meant to work toward, and if I didn't do it now, I'd settle into a life that would make this jump harder and harder. I never stopped working on it. I never needed to recruit again.

At my MBA graduation, Kellogg adopted the motto: "You're Ready for What's Next." I didn't think much of it then, but as I start this new adventure, I feel quite reassured that I'm equipped for whatever comes next.

The mental health tech space in India is still early. The need is urgent, the challenges are complex, and the potential for impact is huge. I've seen firsthand the transformation that comes with access to care, and the burden on people and their loved ones when help isn't easy to find.

But there's also a deeply personal reason for this move. For the first time in years, my entire family is living under the same roof again.

Reading Sahil Bloom's "Five Types of Wealth" hit me with a sudden realization: time with family only shrinks as we get older. While I've thoroughly enjoyed my experiences abroad, I've missed 10 years worth of memories at home.

So it's time to reclaim that guest room and cherish all the future moments at home.

🍃 The Road Not Taken 🍃 

Looking back, I see it clearly now: whenever I've reached a crossroads, I've consistently chosen the path that combines an unconventional place with an unconventional role.

• Hong Kong + Computer Science.

• Japan + Product Management.

• US + MBA.

• Now India + Entrepreneurship.

Each time, there was a choice to stay back or move forward. And honestly, there was no universal "right" answer. Your decisions are what you make of them.

My decisions led to the most transformative experiences for my particular journey.

It's funny - as I was reflecting on all these decisions, an unlocked memory surfaced. In 9th grade, I read Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" as part of my school curriculum. I thought back to the last few lines.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

At the time, I was just a kid memorizing poems for English class. But looking back now, each time I've stood at a crossroads, those words seemed to whisper in the back of my mind.

Sometimes I actively chose the unconventional path. Other times, the path seemed to choose me - opportunities presenting themselves in unexpected ways, or circumstances conspiring to redirect me when I thought I was heading somewhere else entirely. The casual conversation with a childhood friend that opened the door to Hong Kong. The professor's random email about Japan. Even this homecoming - it wasn't entirely planned, but rather a convergence of gut feeling, opportunity, and purpose.

I'm not sure why I keep gravitating toward the path less taken, and I don't think it's inherently better than any other approach. For me, though, it seems to be what my soul needs.

Maybe it's because the intersection of unconventional choices creates unique opportunities. Or maybe it's simply that following your gut, even when it defies logic, tends to lead to the most authentic version of your life.

What I do know is this: I'm incredibly grateful for every seemingly crazy decision that brought me here. Each choice opened doors I never knew existed and led to experiences I couldn't have imagined.

Now, as my Kellogg friends build their careers and lives across America - each following their own meaningful paths - I'm back in India, building something that matters deeply to me, surrounded by family, ready to explore my cultural roots in a completely new way.

Building in this space is going to be exciting, and I'm planning to share all the interesting discoveries along the way.

If you're a founder, work in tech or mental health, and/or have also chosen the unconventional path of returning home after years abroad, let's talk! 😄