Dumbbells and Drama

Hello folks! I am so glad to be back here after so long, and with something brand new. I took 2 months off to organize a few things around the blog, and am glad to see it working out for me. Anyway, enough about me for now, I’ here to talk about this new series I’m introducing on my webspace- ChatRoom.

ChatRoom is nothing but a fun conversation between me and anyone who has inspired , helped, motivated or simply entertained me/us and made a difference 😀 I have consciously been making an effort to live in the moment, and in the process realised how even the smallest of motivational talks can help you feel better about things, or how the most basic joke will bring a smile to your face when you really need it. I’ve realised over the last couple of years the importance of each individual, each encounter, each meeting, and it’s been a great learning process. My temper tantrums have decreased, my patience has improved, I don’t take things/people for granted the way I used to and generally, the attitude of being thankful has undergone a massive (good) change.

So here’s presenting the first in this series, a conversation with Pratik Gandhi, an entrepreneur who loves hustling, who stumbles upon opportunities that others would not even dream of, and who inspires me to think out of the box with all his travel stories. Thanks for being such a motivating factor, especially in helping me start this blog in a new avatar 🙂

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Brace yourself.

Who is Pratik Gandhi?

I am an Entrepreneur. From starting off small selling home-made chocolates in school to selling cosmetics in my teenage years to starting a consultancy company while I was in college, I’ve realised that whatever I will do in life, it  will be around entrepreneurship. Selling ideas, products, services, concepts- it excites me. While I was in college, I took up a couple of internships and post that worked for a couple of companies just to get good professional experience under my belt before I could start my first venture – Digiwale, a digital marketing agency in 2013.
After 3 years in Digiwale and decent exposure in working with 100+ brands in 6 different countries, very recently, I and my Co-Founder decided to take our skills to the next level to start something that we are equally passionate about – travel. This gave birth to Checkin Story, a platform that will have world’s best travel stories and I’m already excited about the journey ahead!
What inspired you to start off on your own?
It was very much embedded at a very early stage of my life that I will be taking Entrepreneurship at some point. The very cliched answer to this would be being self-independent. As much as it is true in my case, I also think it was to do with the kind of people who I followed back then on various platforms, mainly social media – few of them who had already started something on their own and tasted success in being digital entrepreneurs. Interacting with them on a regular basis was inspiring, and a great learning process.
Ok quickly then-
1. What’s the worst advice you’ve ever received?
This came from an acquaintance when I had just quit engineering –
“You won’t do anything if you don’t do Engineering”
2. Would you say not being able to be an engineer is a failure? 
Failing & quitting engineering was my failure, but I also realised that I had nothing to lose, and it changed me as a person. The rest is history 🙂
3. What keeps you going?
The sheer ability of making a dent in this universe by whatever you have with you and realizing that it is only you who can defy all the odds every time you’re broken or down for any reason.
4. In  your free time you…
I watch YouTube videos, tonnes of them!  Also, I have recently started learning Swedish (on my own) and yes trying to meditate too. I do keep myself occupied even if I find free time, whenever possible. 🙂
5. Why Travel?
As apart of building Checkin Story, I have also been investing a lot in travel itself, to know what it takes to be a traveler who documents in all forms in digital, be it – Writing / Blogging, Snapchatting or Instagramming. I have already traveled to 8 new countries this year and plan to travel more next year. After-all, to know your audience, you got to be one. 🙂
Also, I’m very curious about future of work and how travel is changing it making us ‘digital nomads’ because primarily we were all nomads and now to get back to the same clan of the society makes it even more interesting.
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6. Your favorite social media channel?
It has to be Snapchat, hands-down! Though I love how Twitter and LinkedIn work and have helped me grow I would say, Snapchat stands out. The very idea of ‘YOU’ occupying someone’s screen is just  amazing! I started using it in 2013 but was not quite upto the game and I restarted with it in early 2015 and I haven’t looked back ever since. The value that Snapchat brings on the table, I don’t think any other platform does with micro-vlogging. I have made so many new friends and have also met them in person because of Snapchat. For Checkin Story, it has helped us get connected with the travel community very easily. I recently took a Snapchat session on my workation camp in Spain and it is good to see so many of them already using Snapchat for their respective businesses. Also, personally – it has eliminated my camera fear for sure and I’m all in readiness to launch a YouTube channel with all that confidence.
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7. Your favorite Youtube celeb?
Casey Neistat. I started watching his videos couple of years ago and I don’t think I have missed any of his videos. He’s very creative with his vlogs and love his energy to come up with videos, every-freaking-day! If anyone wants to make it big on YouTube certainly needs to follow this guy.
8. Your favorite food?
I’m a vegetarian and incidentally I have got vegetarian food in all parts of world wherever I have been to locally, but my favorite of all has to be Italian. All things Italian! 😀
9. What do you want to be remembered as?
A guy who travels the world, helps people on the go!
Change my name if this infectious energy didn’t make you smile or didn’t inspire you to move, do something, travel, ANYTHING.
And that, my friends, is the magic that Pratik Gandhi has to offer 🙂

 

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