https://chandnimenda.com/ The personal writing of Chandni Menda. Essays, check-ins and reflections on work, life and chasing adventure at C4E. en Mon, 03 Aug 2026 11:07:08 GMT https://chandnimenda.com/blog/i-went-alarm-free-july-2025-check-in/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/i-went-alarm-free-july-2025-check-in/ Sat, 26 Jul 2025 15:57:42 GMT Written over a couple of days, from my desk at home, in rainy Bombay. It’s 6.15 PM on a Tuesday, I’ve come back from a bunch of meetings in Powai, indulged in some kachra food (sorry, Dr H), and opened this empty page to write. Two reasons – it has been a while since I […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/march-2-2025/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/march-2-2025/ Tue, 04 Mar 2025 15:52:09 GMT March 2, 2025. A check-in. Every two days, Bri asks me, “kaise ho?”. One of the few people who do. Others either see me live life or get enough information from the Internet. I struggle to tell her I don’t want to answer this because I know she means it. So, this note is for […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/bharatmobility/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/bharatmobility/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 12:43:52 GMT 3 observations from my time at Bharat Mobility in Greater Noida. Kaushik and I spent two days at the Bharat Construction Equipment Show. Two of our clients at C4E had set up exhibits, and this was our chance to experience a large-scale, on-ground event and some industry truths in play. This was important for us […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/you-win-some-you-lose-some/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/you-win-some-you-lose-some/ Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:15:55 GMT I came across this post today. And I felt some wires move inside my head. As though the world had been trying to teach me this but I just couldn’t see it. The past couple of months have been a rollercoaster. So much so that I am not ready to let go of the year […] https://chandnimenda.com/archives/the-biggest-epiphany-ive-had-lately/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/the-biggest-epiphany-ive-had-lately/ Sun, 03 Nov 2024 17:14:00 GMT “The biggest epiphany I’ve had lately – If I had indexed on structure and outcome in the first three years of my career, I wouldn’t have progressed. Or made it to where I am today. What did this mean? Working on ideas that often did not see the light of day. Now, unfinished projects may […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/diwali/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/diwali/ Fri, 01 Nov 2024 15:28:39 GMT It’s 8.29 PM, I’ve just had the egg dosas Heer made me, and I’m thinking about things. Three people asked me why I don’t celebrate Diwali. And of course, like the answer to the last question how-have-you-been, even this one is a blogpost. I don’t celebrate Diwali. And I will start with what I told […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/showing-up-like-its-day-1/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/showing-up-like-its-day-1/ Wed, 30 Oct 2024 06:15:55 GMT Last evening, I messed up an important client presentation. For no good reason except the lack of presence of mind. And I woke up with a heavy feeling in my heart. The last time this happened, SG pointed it out. Told me it was wrong. Had a very stern conversation about it. At the end […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/from-a-letter-to-derek/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/from-a-letter-to-derek/ Thu, 24 Oct 2024 10:00:00 GMT Seven things I saved and pondered after watching Andrew Wilkinson’s podcast with Derek Sivers. On optimising for growth, burning the ships, money, fame, and stubborn visionaries. https://chandnimenda.com/archives/i-work-more-hours-than-i-would-in-a-9-to-5-setup/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/i-work-more-hours-than-i-would-in-a-9-to-5-setup/ Tue, 15 Oct 2024 10:38:00 GMT “I work more hours than I would in a 9 to 5 setup. I won’t tell you if that’s true or not. But it is the most common interpretation of a workplace that has no working hours. Whether it’s a hiring call at C4E or a conversation with a friend, I struggle to explain what […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/2-7-july-2024/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/2-7-july-2024/ Fri, 23 Aug 2024 04:39:06 GMT It’s 11:06 a.m. This is the second entry. I write for accountability & introspection. And, this month went by so fast that if I didn’t pause right now, I’d lose some very important lessons. If this month had a theme, it would be peak ambiguity. I think July has been one of the most rewarding months lately. Despite […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/1-7-june-2024/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/1-7-june-2024/ Fri, 23 Aug 2024 03:58:01 GMT In Dec 2022, one of the partners at C4E decided to do a weekly review across ALL things we do. We were inspired by Elon’s tweet asking, What did you get done this week? No, it wasn’t top-down. One person did it for self-accountability. Everyone else was merely encouraged (not commanded) to try it out. […] https://chandnimenda.com/archives/content-creation-as-a-non-creator/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/content-creation-as-a-non-creator/ Fri, 28 Jun 2024 11:27:00 GMT “What does content creation look like in the life of a non-creator? 🤡 I don’t have the natural urge or muscle to document parts of my life. Or at least I didn’t until a few months ago – never clicked pictures when I stepped out, didn’t think, “Oh, content” each time something interesting happened, and […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/june-2-2024/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/june-2-2024/ Sun, 02 Jun 2024 04:42:19 GMT It’s 9.05 a.m., and I’m at Versova Starbucks. I’m feeling good about today, especially because my calendar says it’s time for coffee. I’m not a maniac, I’ve just been off coffee for 2 months now. My doctor said all my gut issues would be fixed if I could skip coffee. So I did. He allowed […] https://chandnimenda.com/archives/inaction-is-a-particularly-insidious-type-of-risk/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/inaction-is-a-particularly-insidious-type-of-risk/ Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:59:00 GMT “Inaction is a particularly insidious type of risk. This is from Sam Altman’s post about things he wishes he was told growing up. Most of February has reaffirmed this for me. How? Yesterday, I was thinking about my life (work, people, things I do), and I realised that not many external factors have a hold […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/on-good-design-suffering/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/on-good-design-suffering/ Fri, 23 Feb 2024 17:31:21 GMT It’s 10:32 p.m. I’ve successfully spent an hour switching tabs, talking to a friend, and denying the fact that I only can do some reading + writing right now. So, I’m here. Yesterday, I decided to finally write every day. Even especially on days that I hate what I write. Couldn’t do it this morning. […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/a-wednesday-morning/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/a-wednesday-morning/ Wed, 21 Feb 2024 03:36:18 GMT It’s 820 am, my desk is clean, and I’m ready to take another shot at writing / journaling each morning. I came across this post right before bed last night. I’ve been wanting to get back to this for quite some time now. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this tomorrow, but […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/golden-thoughts-from-jeff-bezos/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/golden-thoughts-from-jeff-bezos/ Sat, 23 Dec 2023 11:36:45 GMT This week, I watched Lex Fridman’s podcast episode with Jeff Bezos and OBVIOUSLY took notes. If you’re not going to spend 2 hours watching the episode (you really must), then read this. I’ve put together some thoughts that I believed were worth coming back to. 1. Resourcefulness Jeff worked at his grandfather’s ranch from age […] https://chandnimenda.com/archives/why-you-will-fail-at-having-a-great-career/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/why-you-will-fail-at-having-a-great-career/ Sat, 02 Dec 2023 11:30:00 GMT “Why you will fail at having a great career – I just watched a Ted Talk that managed to speak to my deepest fear and make my blood boil, all while making me laugh. Larry Smith tells each person who desires a great career that they will fail at having one. Talk about brutal pep […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/on-home-and-why-chennai-isnt-it/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/on-home-and-why-chennai-isnt-it/ Thu, 05 Oct 2023 16:41:31 GMT Each time I meet my friends from back home (Chennai), I make the grave mistake of saying out loud, my honest thoughts about the city. It leaves them perplexed and I don’t blame them. I grew up there. 20 years. It is a LONG time. And yet, I talk about it like a cranky tourist […] https://chandnimenda.com/archives/c4e-interviews/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/c4e-interviews/ Mon, 14 Aug 2023 03:30:00 GMT “I’ve “interviewed” (read: warm, intro call) over 40 people in the past year, for C4E. And, here are a few things that I do to make the other person comfy. 💣 A warm welcome: Just as in any social interaction, a warm and friendly welcome sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. Even a […] https://chandnimenda.com/blog/on-self-belief-and-action/ https://chandnimenda.com/blog/on-self-belief-and-action/ Fri, 11 Aug 2023 07:10:00 GMT In one of his recent pieces about how to be successful, Sam Altman said, “have almost too much self-belief. The most successful people I know believe in themselves almost to the point of delusion.” While I read this a long time ago, it is only dawning upon me now. Maybe because I’ve been thinking about […] https://chandnimenda.com/archives/anna-gat-session/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/anna-gat-session/ Fri, 23 Jun 2023 10:31:00 GMT “Attended Anna Gát’s session on ‘The Art of Hosting Salons’ last night and here are a few lessons that I found SUPER helpful! If you’ve been hosting online sessions, discussions or salons, this is for YOU. A. On silence Silence is scary to a lot of us. I’ve also been here – if I’m hosting […] https://chandnimenda.com/archives/been-18-months-since-ive-been-with-c4e/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/been-18-months-since-ive-been-with-c4e/ Tue, 20 Jun 2023 22:55:00 GMT “Been 18 months since I’ve been with C4E, seeing it go from a team of two to the collective it is today and there’s just one thing that keeps us intact – our ethos. At C4E, we embody a culture that makes us who we are and helps create an environment for each person to thrive in […] https://chandnimenda.com/archives/no-10-year-plan/ https://chandnimenda.com/archives/no-10-year-plan/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 10:51:00 GMT “I DON’T have a 10-year plan. Each thing I do should either get me money, influence, or independence. Ideally, all three. Two weeks ago, a friend and I were casually discussing where we see ourselves in 10 years. It didn’t start with a specific question, but with a random prompt – which city do you […]