Golgappe

Growing up, I spent summers in India, and what I remember most clearly is not the heat or the noise or the cousins or even the cricket, but the golgappe wale. He would materialize at the end of the lane in the evening, and the neighborhood would quietly rearrange itself around him. The puri was the size of a golf ball, fried until hollow, and he would crack it open with his thumb, fill it in one practiced motion with tamarind water and spiced potato, and hand it over. You had about two seconds to get it into your mouth before it collapsed.

The technique is not negotiable. You cannot be precious about golgappe.

As a child I considered this the ideal profession. The economics were clear: you made a thing that was perfect, you handed it to someone, they were immediately happy, and then you handed it to the next person. The feedback loop was instantaneous and the product had a 100 percent satisfaction rate. I announced at some point that I intended to be a golgappe wale. The adults found this charming in the way adults find children charming when they say something that will obviously not happen.

I became a CEO instead, which involves different equipment and a considerably less satisfying product feedback loop.

My wife, when I told her this story, said that she had always wanted to marry a golgappe wale. I am choosing to interpret that as a compliment.

We eat them together now when we visit India, and she has the same look on her face that I must have had as a child - that complete and unconditional approval that is actually quite rare in life and should not be taken lightly when it shows up.

I did not become a golgappe wale. But I found someone who treats the things I make with something close to that same generosity, and I have built something from scratch that I can stand behind. The feedback loop has improved considerably.

That, I think, is the better outcome.

Nishan Kohli is Co-Founder and CEO of BIMstream.