How Harshit Became a Better Version of Himself With the Founders Program

My name is Harshit Agarwal. I’m the Co-founder of Appknox, a mobile app security company we started in 2014.

Our startup journey hasn’t been super smooth. We did get access to funding in the initial stages. Eventually, we ran out of funds. We also faced a lot of other challenges too. We found ourselves grappling with co-founder conflict and growth issues. I was also facing some major challenges in balancing my personal and professional lives.

The emotional effects of this weren’t pleasant. I would experience panic attacks, overreact to situations, and lose my temper easily. This led to a lot of hiccups in my personal life as well, and eventually also started affecting my professional life. I felt like I was under immense pressure. So when Upekkha and YourDOST initiated the Founders program, I thought of it as a nice opportunity to fix all these problems.

My experience with the program was really good. In its 6 weeks, I could notice a positive change in myself and how I handled various situations. It helped me achieve greater self-realisation. We discussed a few exercises to better manage my short temper.  We discussed a few exercises to better manage my short temper. I practiced these exercises and they proved to be very effective

I always wanted to start doing some Yoga and Cycling. After those 6 weeks of the Founders program, I felt motivated enough that once a week, I would take out time from my schedule to go for cycling. I also joined Yoga at a nearby studio. In the past I would just think about engaging in these activities but would never take the steps to actually engage in them. If it hadn’t been for my calls with Puroitree (My YourDOST coach), I would have still been in the same boat as earlier.

I would ask her about how I should manage my day. Then we would lay out all that needed to be done, followed by planning them out. But the thing is I would be able to do it on my own. Puroitree just nudged me in the right direction with her questions.

When COVID-19 struck and lockdown struck, both my team and I found ourselves grappling with some very new challenges. These challenges were very different from the ones I had faced earlier. Eg. Before lockdown, the challenge was to spend sufficient quality time with my wife. But now the problem was that we were in each other’s company all the time. I feel that this probably unraveled a lot of hidden issues that we both had. We would end up fighting almost everyday.

I was also under immense pressure at work. There was just so much uncertainty ahead. I had no idea what the future held for me and I started experiencing anxiety. At this time, Subho (My Co-founder) and I decided to resubscribe to YourDOST’s program and also made it available to our team members.

My sessions with Puroitree resumed. I also made it a point to make sure that my wife also ended up taking sessions with her. The difference it made was very stark. I could notice that after we both would speak with Puroitree, there would be a positive change in our interactions too.

At a professional level, speaking with Puroitree I felt reassured. I would realise that things are going to be ok, that we were actually doing fine given the circumstances. I also became aware of how I could control certain parameters to make things better.

Overall, I have come to the realisation that as founders, we often tend to keep whatever is troubling us to ourselves. But that creates a lot of new challenges. Think about it. You’re under so much pressure and whatever decisions you make are influenced by that pressure. On the flip side, if you’re a calmer and better version of yourself, you can overcome most challenging situations in a better way. So if you get the opportunity to become a better version of yourself with someone’s guidance, it’s worth taking it.