Graspr (sharing the wealth of knowledge)

A Qik tour of Graspr's new office in Mountain View

I was talking to Vishvesh Avashia (our India development partner's team leader) this morning and he asked me how our new office looked & felt like. My quip - "wait for me to hang up and then point your browser to my Qik profile and I'll give you a live tour using my Nokia N75".

Below is a 3-minute tour of the Graspr office space. As you can see, the place is not yet fully inhabited - the data connectivity is still a few days away.

New Graspr digs in Mountain View

Sometime in January, after our newest engineer (Amol) joined Graspr, we knew we had outgrown our digs at PlugandPlayTechCenter, Sunnyvale. While the bull-pen still looked & felt cozy, our elbows were telling a different tale. Thus began an earnest search for Graspr's pseudo-permanent (there's no such thing as a 'permanent' permanent) new home. We were fortunate to find a very capable commercial real estate agent who, after getting the spec rundown from Teresa, promptly found a neat location in Mountain View. One sunny Friday afternoon (~ 3 weeks ago), Chanda, Amol, Ninad & I clambered into Teresa's car to go see 779 E Evelyn, Mountain View, CA - we unanimously approved. A few weeks later, the paperwork had been completed and we were shopping around for connectivity options.

Turns out we are still shopping for connectivity options, so how will we get online on Feb 25 (our 1st day at the new office)? We are thanking Google Wifi for this stroke of luck. Our address happens to be on the Sunnyvale border so I worriedly scanned the Google Wifi Coverage Map as the sales agent at ExpressNets recommended the right Ruckus Metro Flex modem to bring Google Wifi indoors. Although the nearest Wifi node was 600 ft away (usually works within a range of 500 ft), because there was no obstruction, we were getting a decent signal. Tomorrow morning we'll find out how good the Ruckus Metro Flex really is.

In other updates, we spent the last 2 weeks doing a combination of working from home and public wifi hotspot hopping. A few of the public wifi hotspots deserve honorable mention

• Bean Scene Sunnyvale
• Le Boulanger - Castro St, Mountain View
• Coffee Society (opp. De Anza College), Cupertino

The Three P's

You can go out for dinner, play on a sports team, go to a party on Friday night, take a dance class.  Sometimes it’s great and sometimes it just sucks.  What makes a job, spring break, a trip, a party or a retreat the best or the worst time you ever had?  It’s the people—am I right or what? That’s what really makes anything different, isn’t it? 

Okay, so I was trying to figure out why I feel so different working on Graspr’s team than I did in my last job.  I love Graspr—I didn’t love my last job.  I was consulting on a great project, with great people, but wow, the dynamics were awful.

At Graspr, there’s too much to do, everyone’s cup is running over, and things are constantly changing.  I’ve started referring to meetings with our founder (Teresa Phillips) as “drive-bys.” She squeezes in between investors, focus groups, networking, finance & planning—not to mention new baby #2.  Vishy Kuruganti, Graspr’s co-founder is so consumed with leading the team that’s developing our next production push that he’s become a master of one-line emails.  Other team members are so many hats, even Dr. Seuss would be envious.  But, it’s good.  It’s very very good.

My role at Graspr is business development.  That means doing what’s needed to create partnerships, build audience, meet our growth goals, to keep things interesting for our users, and attract great producers.  My last job was challenging, unpredictable, fast-paced and required the ability to respond at the drop of a pin.  I love that environment too, but I didn’t love that job.  Why not?  There were nice smart people there too. What’s so different between that job and Graspr?

 

I’ve racked my brain for an answer and I finally got it--People, passion and purpose.  All the people at Graspr--its employees, its Producers, and its users—are coming together for a reason.  They have knowledge to share, or they’re seeking knowledge.  They come to Graspr with a purpose. When users find what they want, they’re excited about it because it’s helped them solve a problem.  When Producers gain a meaningful audience that’s growing and succeeding because of the knowledge they provide, they are recognized and feel appreciated.  I believe that’s what sparks the passion.  It feels so good to give and to receive, and it feels good to work here.

What do you know that can help others?  How to dance?  How to walk in high heels?  How to perform an intervention?  How to choose a political candidate?  How to make Christmas cookies?  How to install a toilet?  How to miter molding?  How to make your dog listen?  How to meditate?  How to overcome depression? How to create art with spray Paint?  How to ride a horse?  How to come out of the closet? How to draw comic book characters?  How to evaluate your race track driving skills?  How to solve a calculus problem?  How to prepare for SATs?  How to avoid a catastrophic date?  How to passionately kiss?  How to elevate your cleavage?

 

Hey man, this is fun, this is meaningful and this is where you go to get it.

So, why are so many really GOOD people gathering at Graspr?  I’ve given this a lot of thought.  I think it’s because we’re here for the right reasons.  We’re all here to either get something we need, or give something others need.  It does feel good to give and to receive.  It also feels good to see people who’ve discovered they’re genuinely good at something, that others value it, and that they’ve found a way to share it.  Everyone is good at something.  Sometimes others see that in us and sometimes they don’t.  Sometimes, valuable knowledge and self-worth can go unrecognized for an entire lifetime.  Graspr is a place where people can share what they know and find others who want and appreciate it.

That’s it.  I love my job; I love my colleagues, and I LOVE OUR PRODUCERS.  They are passionate about their knowledge, passionate about the videos they’ve created to package their know-how, and passionate about contributing to Graspr—a place where people can come to share knowledge and I’m excited and grateful to be a part of it.

I’ll be posting here to provide you all with Graspr development updates and upcoming features and events.  I’ll also be sharing my insights on various Producers to help you get to know them a little better.  I’ll also be reaching out to let you know when we need your help getting the word out on something, or when we’re seeking specific types of content.

Please reply with any questions, responses or general comments on the blog or anything else.

Remember—People—Passion & Purpose…join & contribute!

--Trish Maher (alias grasprgal)