The “Hall Manager” — My Sounding Board & Confidante — Sairam Krishnan #JeenaIsiKaNaamHain

Vulnerability can be double-edged. And we have all been vulnerable at some point.

During our lifetime, we will make many friends, grow close to a few and even fewer with whom we can let our guards down and express vulnerability. Rare, when the person across also trusts us and sharing is reciprocated. Strong friendships grow over time and often follow a similar pattern.

Far too many times, humans have expressed vulnerability only to have it used against them when the relationship sours, and that’s why expressing vulnerability is not without high risk.

Sairam Krishnan is one such friend with whom I share a unique bond and can trust completely.

Our conversations have evolved in the last 12 years. What was once about countless hours spent discussing business ideas, event agenda & format, etc., transitioned into the sacred space of family and career where we leaned on each other for direction. Work life balance, one day we realized, was not about “balance” any longer but integration. While one is never completely switched off in a fast-paced career one learns to stride the two worlds with less resistance. It’s also good to have a friend like Sairam with whom you can let your guards down because integration is never easy.

At the NPC (NASSCOM Product Conclave) in 2011, I got connected to him for the first time. Sai was with Freshdesk, one of the early employees of the company. As Plus 10 in his expansive portfolio, Sai volunteered to play a key role at the marquee NASSCOM event.

He was in charge of one of the halls where the top draw was keynotes by globally acclaimed speakers. And he did a remarkable job in managing the hall in a high-pressure environment. Initially, and for easy recall, I had his number saved as “Hall Manager”.

Fast forward two years and I met him again — I was with iSPIRT by then. This time we forged a stronger bond. He came across as a very humble person and a keen listener. With time, he started looking up to me as an elder brother. Every time we connected, it left a warm feeling.

Also, around that time I started taking more interest in writing, and while I had my thoughts in place, I needed someone who could polish my documents, do the edits and make the content more impactful for the readers. Sai has always been a prolific writer and a storyteller so for him it was natural progression, and he segued into the role where he would assist me in writing blogs.

Soon, at iSPIRT we initiated SaaSX, a platform for startup founders and we had planned to onboard around 60–70 of them. Sairam led the marketing & communication strategy which went a long way in branding, clear messaging and cementing the program successfully.

We met our targets. Today the platform boasts of 5k+ founders, and a lot of credit goes to Sairam for articulating the value proposition with great impact, early on. For many events in the ensuing years, we leveraged Sairam for marketing & communication, and he knew exactly how to expand the outreach with impact through social media.

He would speak very highly of Girish Mathrubootham and the Freshworks culture. Clearly, a lot of his skill-building and professional maturity were attributed to the immensely successful founder and the great company that he had built. It was Sairam who connected me to Girish and the rest is history, as they say. When I look back with fondness, the connections I managed to establish were forged through trust and friendship built assiduously over a long time, sometimes going back two decades or more.

Sai is an Airforce kid and has spent many years in Delhi and picked up Hindi very well. His Chennai background never hindered his Hindi speaking ability, so much so, that we usually converse in Hindi when we connect. A common language between two people is a strong ground on which trust can be established a lot faster. In this case between a North Indian and South Indian, and Hindi being our national language.

Sai has mentored many folks in the marketing & communication domain, and he epitomizes the spirit of pay-it-forward. He is very generous in sharing his insights and many people have learnt the finer points while leveraging his experience. Sai is working on a book on Pondicherry — his hometown — and I am eager to see it published. I am sure he is putting in a lot of effort and though his great storytelling ability, we will have a great read.

Sai, thank you for always being there.

“THE” Hall Manager!