In the case of Sandy Naidu, cofounder of WebileApps, he likens life as an entrepreneur to that of running a marathon. Naidu’s statement is particularly fitting, as he’s not just a young entrepreneur, but has also finished running a marathon in all the 50 states and 7 continents including Antarctica. In fact, Sandy is currently the youngest person in the world to do so. Like most entrepreneurs, Sandy didn’t follow any kind of structured path to leading his own companies. His experience is based on trial and error, self-education, and passion, which mirrors how he got into long-distance running. At first, he began running for fun. Eventually his running became an excuse to explore new places, travel, and challenge himself. It’s this same mentality that Sandy applies to both how he works and lives, a balancing act between passion and perseverance.
The First Mile
As a young boy, Sandy was raised to be immersed in scholastic studies. He earned good grades, listened to his parents, and followed through his expected check-list. After receiving his master’s degree, Sandy began to get some freedom, but worked a 9-5 job before deciding to follow his own path. At first, traditional constraints held Sandy in a place on the East coast. Between rent and bills, he did what many entrepreneurs do at first, which was having a side project. Before Sandy’s first metaphoric mile was complete as an entrepreneur, he made many mistakes. He pushed his body beyond what it was prepared for, all while running a marathon each month and not allowing himself to recover. However, he never gave up and kept saying he wanted to give it one more try.
Pushing The Limits
Entrepreneurs typically don’t fit traditional molds when it comes to business, let alone social norms. Work-life balance? More like work-life integration. Sandy, the once studious kid who always listened to his parents, not only pushed his physical self to the limits by running a marathon each month, he pushed his professional self by cofounding a business. He became a rebel. It may not sound like much, but the biggest challenge and catalyst that led Sandy to push past the 9-to-5 life was moving to San Francisco. Just as in business, Sandy also continues to push himself as a runner. Though always dedicated, he never put much emphasis on his pace, that is until recently.
Crossing The Finish Line
There is a common mentality between runners, perhaps more of a joke than anything. For each race, for the pain endured, there is a level of dislike that builds before crossing the finish line. However, once the race is over, the dislike immediately goes away and you’re ready to start preparing for the next challenge. No matter if a personal record was achieved or it was simply for completion, it’s about staying focused. Sandy went on to jokingly say that at times, he feels that he has a split personality, arguing, debating, having conversations with himself. “What does Sandy’s Brain say, and what does Sandy’s Heart say?” So he writes things down to decide what he should do, what he wants to do, and of course what he should avoid. This allows him to stay focused on the goals in front of him. In running and in entrepreneurship, Sandy is also generally very tough on himself. For Sandy, he initially started off as a solo runner, but found that group running helped him the most. He started running with friends and that pushed him forward. He believes in the “Power of the Pack.” Just as he did with training for a marathon, his co-founders and current team allows his work to thrive. This feature is part of an ongoing series to show the correlations between entrepreneurs and endurance sports (athletepreneuers), with a special focus on those who continue to push themselves to their limits. Stay tuned for additional features, interviews with the most popular tech and platforms for these athletes, and a downloadable version with exclusive content in the coming weeks.
