Learning to Be a Beginner Again: My Time at South Park Commons

For most of my career, I have been chasing. Whether in public markets or venture capital, I joined the chase early and ran hard. There is an addiction to that life, and even a comfort in it: the next earnings call or deal. But somewhere along the way I realized that the chase was stripping me of the ability to stop, explore and create. I was at a crossroads. Did I want to continue as an investor, or did I want to find out what else I might be?

That question is what brought me to South Park Commons. And with two months still left in my time here, I can already say that this has been one of the best experiences of my adult life. I have so much gratitude to the team at SPC and for the time and community they gave me.

The luxury of exploration

What SPC offered, more than anything, was the chance to see what my life’s work could actually be. In the last four months, I have explored countless ideas in completely unrelated directions, just simply to see what would come out of it. I felt no pressure to have the answer. Just space to meander.

That might sound simple, but for someone like me it is not. When you have spent years in a highly rigorous, structured world of deadlines and defined goals, it is extremely disorienting to be the person who just does not know.

My friend and constant source of inspiration, Vitoria Lima, put it best. What we are here to do, she says, is to create something of beauty in the world. I think about that phrase constantly. I now focus not just on what will do well but what is worth making?

I came to SPC to figure out if I wanted to take the entrepreneurial route (I do!) and I leave with some of the most inspiring friends I have made in my adult life. A few of them taught me things that I did not realize I had forgotten.

From David, I learnt to fall in love with being a beginner again. David is the one person I know who is unabashed to admit that he is a beginner at something. He is also probably one of the smartest people I know but from him I learnt that it is okay to show up to an AI class and be the “dumbest” one there. I always felt that admitting you do not know something can feel like weakness, but from David I learnt that embarrassment is just holding us all back.

From Amit, I learnt the value of being the supportive one. Amit encourages everything and everyone. Every idea and half-formed thought I have had, Amit has found a way to help, whether that is suggesting people or things I should look into for it. Watching him, I realized how rare and how needed that is. Great ideas don’t run on brilliance alone; they take off when you have friends like Amit, who make everyone else braver.

From Pradeep, the quantum whizz, I learnt to lose the Sunday scaries. Pradeep has never had them. He embraces life and all the uncertainty that comes with it, and somehow makes it look like the most natural thing in the world. Some of that has rubbed off on me. The dread I used to feel about the week ahead, or that meeting I was scared to take, turns out to be optional.

What I know now

After four months, I know what I want to do and part of that has come from learning to let go of the things that hold us in pre-defined lanes. I let go of prestige, and the idea that I needed to have a certain title.

Being a beginner is not a step backward. It’s the opportunity to do something genuinely new. The people you surround yourself with matter more than the ideas you are working on.

I am going to spend the next two months running headfirst at my goal, unafraid of falling flat on my face. After all, that is what being a beginner is.

And somewhere out there is something of beauty waiting to be created. I cannot wait to keep chasing after mine, with a lifetime of friendships to help me build it.

With gratitude to Vitoria, David, Amit, Pradeep, and the whole SPC community.