Progress | Maanasa Gopal

Progress Tracker

I like building in public and sharing what works / doesn't work as it collectively saves all of us time. Here’s a list of projects I'm working on and the progress I'm making on them (updated: 09/2023):

• I've written notes under each project along with what worked, didn't work, outcomes, & insights. Also, this page is best viewed on a desktop. Please feel free to send me your feedback, it helps me improve.

‍While we're here, let's make your inbox interesting again! Get notified whenever I make progress 🤙

Done

Paid Internships Abroad

Found a way to fund traveling & get past rules during undergrad in India via. an academic loophole

🗓️: 2016, 2017, 2018 (19-21)

📍: 🇲🇺 🇦🇺 🇮🇳 🇸🇬 🇮🇩

01: View Progress

I wanted to travel abroad but had no money.

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Figured out I can fund myself with an academic loophole - paid internships abroad.

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Applied to 196 internship programs / contests / fellowships.

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Got rejected 189 times.

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Got 7 acceptances, took up 4, & convinced my university to let me skip semesters/classes as long as I got good grades

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Here are the results:

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2016 - 8 weeks UN internship on conservation of coral reefs in the East African coastline 🇲🇺

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2017: 6 weeks WSU internship on carcinogens in Sydney's water supply system in Australia 🇦🇺

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2017: 4 weeks internship on granular materials with the Director of IIT Bombay 🇮🇳

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2018: 6 months NTU internship on biomaterials for skincare in Singapore 🇸🇬

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Bonus (2018): traveled across Indonesia with remaining stipend savings 🇮🇩

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Done

Make $ during undergrad

Goal was to be financially independent and find ways to fund backpacking adventures

🗓️: 2014,2015,2016,2017 (17-20)

📍: 🇮🇳 🇻🇳 🇰🇭 🇹🇭 🇮🇷

02: View Progress

Took it up as a challenge to be financially independent by 20 and find ways to fund travel

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Here's what worked & didn't:

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Tried selling consumer care, Pizza Hut, doing school home-work but it didn't yield much

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Joined a company as a part-time marketing manager and worked for 3 months - they refused to pay me 🥲

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Read University website's fine script & figured I can get the 'special merit scholarship' if I got a 9+ GPA and did extra-curricular. Joined debate team, met the criteria, & got ₹50k/y

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Started tutoring school students at ₹625/hr (math & science)

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Got paid internships abroad which paid for the travel expenses + stipend (savings)

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Got Currency-exchanged stipends. Due to PPP, dollar stipends went a long way in low income countries

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Travel: Paid internship travel: Mauritius, Australia, Singapore; Solo-backpacking: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, India, & Iran during semester breaks.

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Done

Learn Japanese

Tried picking up a new language during undergrad. Self-prepped for 6 months & qualified JLPT 🇯🇵

🗓️: 2015, 2016 (18-19)

📍: 🇮🇳

03: View Progress

Got selected for the India-Japan Meet program during 1st year of undergrad. Made a lot of Japanese friends & decided to learn a new language.

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Joined different tuition centers

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But it didn't work out and I wasn't making much progress

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Decided to take things into my own hands & learn Japanese via. man's best friend - internet

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Here are the results:

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2016 - Did 6 months of self-prep using free internet resources, PDFs, & YouTube

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2016: Practiced talking with my friends and using iTalki

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Dec 2016: Attempted Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)

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Jan 2017: Qualified! Watch me speak Japanese (YouTube)

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Present: Languages need constant usage or you forget it, as of 2023 I can't speak fluently anymore or read well :(

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Done

Get a job abroad after UG

Didn't have money to do Masters but wanted to get hired abroad after undergrad in India

🗓️: 2019, 2020, 2021 (22-24)

📍: 🇸🇬

04: View Progress

Didn't have money to do Masters (hate debts) but wanted to get hired abroad ($ >> ₹ income)

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Had no connections / contacts; job fairs/recruiters didn't work

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Did groundwork during 3rd/4th year, made new connections during the internships abroad

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Sent solid applications during the last semester, landed 3 offers before graduation: Researcher in Singapore & Germany; PM in Singapore

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Outcomes and Insights:

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2019 - Took up the Researcher offer in Singapore (🔻 taxes + no capital gains tax, 🔻crime, ease of travel + visas, reported directly to boss)

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Worked 3 amazing years at NTU on genetic engineering bacteria to digest plastic, UV-response of melanocytes, and COVID-19 related anosmia

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2022 - got a direct PhD offer / promotion but declined it to stick to my original plan - accumulate $, quit 9-5 by 25, & work on my own projects

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Insight 1: It's possible to get hired abroad without masters or connections, don't give up

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Insight 2: Aim for internships at your target companies first - this increases your chances of converting full-time

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Insight 3: STEM roles (software, research) have higher chances of working out.

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Done

Learn to code + design

Goal was to learn to Web Dev. + design and not be intimidated by tech bros in conversations

🗓️: 2018, 2019, 2020 (21-23)

📍: 🌐

05: View Progress

I had many product & design ideas but had to depend on others to bring it to life + I wanted to get over my fears

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Initially, I was all over the place, then I zeroed down on my #1 want : Web Dev

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Took up Colt Steele's web dev bootcamp + learned how to use Figma by just trying

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Here are the outcomes:

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2019 - made my first index.html page

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2020 - took the pandemic-induced WFH to design & develop websites + apps + learnt building w. Webflow

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2022: Launched SitesGo to experience running a productized service & it now powers websites/designs for Asia's largest conferences !

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Didn't work out

Nekochan

Tried building an Augmented Reality based learning app for schools but it failed (link)

🗓️: 2019 (22)

📍: 🇸🇬 🇮🇳

06: View Progress

Aditthya and I wanted to build a tool to better learning + attention retention in schools

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We built an Augmented Reality based learning app with live assessments

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We launched it in schools in Singapore & India for children with learning difficulties

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Here's why it didn't work out:

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Creating new AR-geared curriculum with experts was a very slow process (5+ years)

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Regulations blocked using existing curriculum

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Nekochan didn't have product-market fit

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Didn't work out

asapmenu

QR menu before it was a thing - engaging digital menu + online storefront + contactless ordering

🗓️: 2020 (23)

📍: 🇸🇬

07: View Progress

Aditthya and I wanted to solve the problem of digital storefronts for restaurants & grocery shops, start of 2020

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We built the prototype and got LOIs from restaurants in Singapore

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We applied to YC after the batch started but asapmenu ended up as their top 10% startup apps. + got investment interest from Shark Tank folks

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Here's why it didn't work out:

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We sat on the idea / perfecting the launch that we launched only at end of 2020 - the market got saturated by then

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We weren't passionate about it

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Didn't work out

Project Poles & TDTL

Built environment driven ideas (one of which won $377k in prizes at SWS Hackathon 2021)

🗓️: 2021 (24)

📍: 🇸🇬

08: View Progress

Worked on social impact projects with Vaish & Aditthya that are environmentally driven

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Built TDTL (Two Degrees Too Late): purchase-based carbon-offset consumer app

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Built ProjectPoles: social media for climate change

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TDTL ended up winning $377k in prizes at SWS Hackathon

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ProjectPoles gained sign-ups from the Antarctic climate ambassadors community

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Here's why it didn't work out:

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We weren't entirely convinced of the carbon-offset premise

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ProjectPoles just needed more time (might take it up later!)

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Done

Get Singapore's Entrepass & register a company

My goal: quit 9-5 at 25 & work on my projects, here's my progress:

🗓️: 2021, 2022 (24-25)

📍: 🇸🇬

09: View Progress

My goal since 19: quit 9-5 at 25 & work on my own projects.

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Rationale to choosing SG:
• Biz. registration in <24h
• Clear tax (corp. / income)
• No capital gains tax
• No need to be in SG to run the company/keep Entrepass

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I wanted an Entrepass bc:
• Get to run a biz. out of SG
• Sponsor my own residency

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Here's how I went about it:

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2019 - started groundwork on possible routes & found 3: incubators, own investment, prev. business experience

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2020 - applied for a few incubators & they rejected me

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End of 2020 - applied for EF and got in.

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2021 - applied for Entrepass via. the incubator route & my application got accepted in 4w.

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End of 2021 - quit my job

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2022 - got residency card and registered my company (used Osome) SuperNeo Pte. Ltd.

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Done

Get brand deals w. no clout

Fundraised for the Intl. Antarctic Expedition (IAE) 2022; Challenge: $40k in brand deals with no clout

🗓️: 2021, 2022 (24, 25)

📍: 🇮🇳 🇸🇬 🇦🇷 🇨🇱 🇦🇶

10: View Progress

The IAE is taken to work on climate causes + Antarctic protection (Madrid Protocol). Challenge: I wanted to raise $40k in brand deals but had no clout on any social media

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1: Spoke to expedition alumni

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2: Reached out to CleanTech companies/folks on LinkedIn

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3: Reached out to brands

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Here's what worked & didn't

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Environment sector companies / orgs. were not interested

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June 2021 - Sent a cold email proposal (link) to Metapurse, foodpanda, alma mater

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Aug 2021 - 3/3 worked! Raised $40k in brand deals for IAE!

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Mar - Jul 2022 - fulfilled the deliverables (content, interviews, social media)

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Result: My work for foodpanda (world's longest food delivery to Antarctica) became viral (500K+ engagements, 200+ articles) organically with $0 PR spent; Google it and I'll pop up

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I used 100% of the funds to support climate causes + expedition costs - took $0 for myself; the goal was to pull this off, not the money.

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Done

Travel across all 7 continents

Since teenage, I dreamt about traveling across all 7 continents. It took 5 years & a lot of planning!

🗓️: 2017 - 2022 (20-25)

📍: 🌏🌍🌎🇦🇶

11: View Progress

Solo-backpacking across all 7 continents as a girl with no $ and a weak passport was an exciting challenge at 19

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I had to solve for money, visa, time, logistics, and safety

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Money - (19-21): Paid internships abroad, (21-24): full-time job in SG, 25+: biz. revenue + capital gains

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Visa: Having residency in Singapore made it easy to get other visa (US, EU, SEA, etc.)

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Time - (19-21): University ODs, (21-24): accumulated corp. holidays (54 days/yr. incl. WE), 25+: self-employed

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Logistics - Google is my friend, learnt everything from it & planned all trips by myself

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Safety - relied on my intuition which became very accurate by the end of the 7/7 journey

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Here's my journey:

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2017 (20) - Africa (🇲🇺), Oceania (🇦🇺), Asia (🇮🇳, 🇻🇳, 🇰🇭, 🇹🇭)

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2018 (21) - Asia (🇸🇬 🇮🇩)

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2019 (22) - Asia (🇮🇷 🇹🇼 🇹🇭 🇰🇷 🇶🇦 🇵🇭 🇦🇪), Africa (🇿🇦 🇿🇼 🇧🇼 🇿🇲), Europe (🇳🇱 🇧🇪 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 🇨🇿 🇦🇹)

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2020 (23) - pandemic

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2021 (24) - pandemic

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2022 (25) - South America (🇦🇷 🇨🇱), Antarctica (🇦🇶), North America (🇺🇸)

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This journey broke the simulation for me - it made me realize anything is possible.

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Done

Work on show production

Wanted to take up creative gigs - applied to work at the Good Time Show with Aarthi and Sriram

🗓️: 2022, 2023 (25, 26)

📍: 💻

Sriram Krishnan (Maanasa Gopal (Progress Tracker))

Aarthi Ramamurthy (Maanasa Gopal (Progress Tracker))

12: View Progress

I want to spend 25 - 30 on creative pursuits and explore the show business world a bit

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I've been a long-time fan of Aarthi & Sriram; so I decided to reach out to them to work on their show production

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The Show interviews leading tech founders / creators. Past guests: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Gary Vee, a16z, A.R.Rahman, Virgil Abloh, Naomi Osaka, and more.

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Here's the blog and Twitter thread on how I pulled it off

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Here's the progress:

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2022 - Met them at a mixer & cold-emailed them a pitch-deck on why they should hire me. It worked!

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2022-2023 - I work on creating content for the show - newsletter, social media content, graphics, ideation etc. Got to also learn from their working style & the guests!

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Done

Become a $100k ARR Founder

Goal: I like solving real-world problems and getting paid for it while being a digital nomad :)

🗓️: 2022 (25) - present

📍: 💻🌏🌍🌎

13: View Progress

Goal: experiment different ideas under my SG company, and hit $100k in ARR + learn from my mistakes during this process.

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Some banter: I used to idolize bloated startup valuations until I realized it makes no sense bc not all startups need VC $. I identify with the Indiehacker movement.

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More banter: I strongly believe if your startup is not revolutionary, the Million Dollar valuations are useless - what's your MRR.

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In Drake's words: "fuck a valuation, show me personal funds".

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Experiment 1:

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SitesGo: productized web-service for academia

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Update from 9/July/2023: SitesGo has now expanded to different niches and now has new pricing structure

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Update from 8/Sep/2023: SitesGo is now at ~$10k MRR!

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Update from 11/Nov/2023: SitesGo hit its first $18k month!

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Experiment 2:

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NinjaReach.io: NinjaReach works with global brands helping them grow their loyal fanbase through strategic branding & super creative marketing campaigns

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Reached out to 34 brands and emailed ~180 contacts (total sends = 450 emails)

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Update from 9/July/2023: Signed GoPro, Insta360, Starlink!

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Update from 12/Jan/2024: NinjaReach is a full fledged marketing agency at $20k/quarter!

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In-Progress

Learn Filmmaking from scratch in 6 months

Goal: learn filmmaking and put out my films even if they're bad.

🗓️: 2023 (26) - Present

📍: 🇮🇳 🇮🇩 �

14: View Progress

Here's my learning list: scripting, shotlisting, camera, filming, FCP, SFX, VFX, Color Grading, Export

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Fear of problem >> Problem; I get anxious whenever I try to create a new film.

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Update from Aug/2023: Completed my learning list

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Update from 9/Sep/2023: My first film premiers on 29/Sep/2023: DJI by Maanasa!

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Update from 17/Jan/2024: I'm good at learning not so much at putting my artistic stuff out, I want need to change.

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In-Progress

Write a Book + Movie

Always dreamt of writing/working on a movie set/ being an author. I'm very nervous but will try.

🗓️: 2023 (26) - Present

📍: 🇮🇳

15: View Progress

While I didn't expect it, last year my Antarctica + delivery story blew up - I got approached by a couple networks to do a movie on my solo-backpacking journey across all 7 continents.

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I've always loved writing, filmmaking but it's 100% intimidating to me. I'll give it my best but I'm nervous...

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I'm currently working on a series-bible, book, & content to analyze traction (will update when I have developments)

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I need help:

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If you have any contacts with streaming services, please lmk; would love to pitch!

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I'm currently learning filming techniques, writing scripts, & creating content. If you have any advice for me, please lmk!

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In-Progress

Get strong, improve stamina

Often, I get busy on my projects & deprioritize my health. I want to change.

🗓️: Constant

📍: 💪

16: View Progress

Splits

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Headstand (July 2023)

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Handstand (supported)

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Front flip (trampoline)

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Deadlift 50 kg

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Run 10km (26 Sep 2023!)

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Need advice to get better at:

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Handstand

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Do 20 pull-ups

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Do 20 push-ups

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5 Muscle-ups

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Deadlift 65 kg

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Squat 50 kg

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Front flip

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Backflip

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Cliff jump/dive

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In-Progress

Lead expeditions in Antarctica

~100 yrs of polar exploration yet very less Indian women in the space, I want to change that.

🗓️: Dec 2024

📍: 🇦🇶

17: View Progress

Currently figuring out - Funding, route, physical fitness, gear.

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Completed my second Antarctic expedition: this time I camped outside and slept on Antarctic ice to practice for the polar trek!

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More details coming soon!

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Yet To Figure Out

Upcoming unplanned goals

A few of my unorganized dreams; I experienced some of them, the rest is yet to figure out

🗓️: Future

📍: ✨

18: View Progress

Take parents on first vacation

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Adopt Minimalism

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Coachella

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Fly a private aircraft

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Take up house renovation

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Experience digital nomad-ing

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Be a talk show audience
(Stephen Colbert 2022)

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Get over imposter syndrome

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Travel next to Arctic, Paris, Iceland, Germany + South Europe, NYC, London, Canada, NZ, Japan.

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Learn VR design + sculpting

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Live in europe for a while

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Drift in a pink sports car

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Create Indian summer video

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Trek to South pole

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Figure out home base

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Build something that people want

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Buy parents a house

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Build an animal shelter + school

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Buy an island and build a boat

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Figure out cryopreservation

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Go to space

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