Gagan Sandhu

Oh, thank you so much, Vince. This was so much fun. Thank you.

Oh, thank you so much, Vince. This was so much fun. Thank you.

Hey, thank you so much, Vince. Thank you so much for reaching out and rekindling old memories from business school. And I'm so happy to be doing this with you. And I'm a fan of you and what you're doing. So thank you so much.

Hey, thank you so much, Vince. Thank you so much for reaching out and rekindling old memories from business school. And I'm so happy to be doing this with you. And I'm a fan of you and what you're doing. So thank you so much.

Great. So my story is not very different from a typical immigrant to the U.S., and the U.S. is a big magnet for immigrants. So I came here in the early aughts, 2001, 2002, to pursue grad school at Arizona State, and I liked the way things are here. I got a job. Incidentally, though, even though I came here to do something related to tech,

Great. So my story is not very different from a typical immigrant to the U.S., and the U.S. is a big magnet for immigrants. So I came here in the early aughts, 2001, 2002, to pursue grad school at Arizona State, and I liked the way things are here. I got a job. Incidentally, though, even though I came here to do something related to tech,

My undergrad was in mechanical engineering, but I'm like, yeah, mechanical engineering, a lot of innovations happened in the 20th century. I should switch to something related to tech. So I went to grad school for that. By the time I graduated, nobody wanted to hire in tech because we were going through a huge recession. And

My undergrad was in mechanical engineering, but I'm like, yeah, mechanical engineering, a lot of innovations happened in the 20th century. I should switch to something related to tech. So I went to grad school for that. By the time I graduated, nobody wanted to hire in tech because we were going through a huge recession. And

What happened, I ended up again working in the mechanical engineering industry here in the U.S. That was my first job. But I kept at it. I kept working on the side and just doing things on my own, which helped me secure a job in tech, actually. That happened back in 2005. I know I'm dating myself here, but that happened in 2005.

What happened, I ended up again working in the mechanical engineering industry here in the U.S. That was my first job. But I kept at it. I kept working on the side and just doing things on my own, which helped me secure a job in tech, actually. That happened back in 2005. I know I'm dating myself here, but that happened in 2005.

And one quick note I want to share with the audience, given that people are looking for nuggets in terms of career and how to grow. I do want to share that by the time I got into tech, I was 29 plus years old, so close to 30. I was married and I had a child by then. So I just want people to realize and know that you can change careers and nothing's going to stop you if you put your mind to it.

And one quick note I want to share with the audience, given that people are looking for nuggets in terms of career and how to grow. I do want to share that by the time I got into tech, I was 29 plus years old, so close to 30. I was married and I had a child by then. So I just want people to realize and know that you can change careers and nothing's going to stop you if you put your mind to it.

I remember when my wife was pregnant with our first child and I was preparing on the side. I would take printouts, read all the time. I would install software on my laptop and write programs and write code and all that. And sometimes when my wife would have to, I would have to take her to the doctor's appointment for the wellness checks and all that.

I remember when my wife was pregnant with our first child and I was preparing on the side. I would take printouts, read all the time. I would install software on my laptop and write programs and write code and all that. And sometimes when my wife would have to, I would have to take her to the doctor's appointment for the wellness checks and all that.

While we were waiting for the doctor, I would be combing through the notes and the PDFs and all those things and just studying, just reading. And all that paid off. I got into tech in 2005. I moved to Boston, worked at a tech company called Akamai Technologies. I worked there for many years, first as an engineer, then as a manager.

While we were waiting for the doctor, I would be combing through the notes and the PDFs and all those things and just studying, just reading. And all that paid off. I got into tech in 2005. I moved to Boston, worked at a tech company called Akamai Technologies. I worked there for many years, first as an engineer, then as a manager.

Then I realized that Boston is too small for market, which we will talk about in more detail. But I realized that since I was 8,000 miles away from where I was born and where a lot of my loved ones lived, moving a couple thousand miles within the U.S. wasn't going to make a big difference to me. So we moved about, this was around the time when I was still in business school.

Then I realized that Boston is too small for market, which we will talk about in more detail. But I realized that since I was 8,000 miles away from where I was born and where a lot of my loved ones lived, moving a couple thousand miles within the U.S. wasn't going to make a big difference to me. So we moved about, this was around the time when I was still in business school.

We were still at Chicago Booth. And I got a job in Silicon Valley and I moved about 10 years ago.

We were still at Chicago Booth. And I got a job in Silicon Valley and I moved about 10 years ago.