Thank you for subscribing to this blog. I had been writing blogs at Curiosity Center for over five years now. I am excited to announce that going forward, I will be blogging from my personal website at www.nirmalthapa.com. I really hope that you will join me at my new domain and continue to look forward to your comments and feedback. Thanks again and Happy New Year 2017.
I was visiting Chicago for the weekend from New York. I had been to Chicago a few times before. But this time around, the atmosphere in Chicago was different. The energy was different. Game 5 of the World Series was at Wrigley Field. Games 3 and 4 had been played at Wrigley Field in the past two days.
To get the experience of a lifetime, we decided to visit Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30th. Getting off the train was a struggle as hundreds of people were on the station. Walking around the ball park, you had a chance to experience all the excitement of the game that was about to take place tonight inside Wrigley Field. Throngs of people stood below the Wrigley Field sign and took pictures. People were buying Chicago Cubs gear left and right. We walked into a sporting goods store opposite of the ball park and there was literally no place to move. People were grabbing anything that had the Cubs logo on it. Back on the street, there was one guy handing around posters that read Make Someday Today. I also took home a poster as a souvenir. We spent more than two hours walking around the ball park to fully experience being in that moment of history.
Chicago Cubs would go on to win the next three games including Game 7 against the Cleveland Indians to clinch the MLB World Series.
I have been pretty lucky to have had the opportunity to work in both Kathmandu and New York City. I love both cities for their own reasons. The statements below are based on my experiences working in a technology company/teaching at a college in Kathmandu and working in technology companies/financial consulting firm/law office in New York City.
For me, working at a growing technology company in Kathmandu has an underdog feeling to it. One is constantly reading online of major news happening in the US such as acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft , space tourism, commercial drones etc through tech blogs, YouTube etc. Being in Nepal, I felt that Nepal was highly underrated on the technology map of the world. We were not making newspaper headlines for advances in technology or doing innovative things with technology (at least not in a major way yet). I day dreamed of Google knocking down on a startup’s door, buying the company and becoming the first company being bought by Google in Nepal. When I attended a Startup Weekend Kathmandu or a Entrepreneurs for Nepal’s Last Thursdays event, I was always excited to hear and feel the hunger and enthusiasm of the youth. These events made me confident that we also have dynamic entrepreneurial individuals making an impact. In contrast, working in New York City makes me feel like I am where the action is. I walk down the street and people are rushing-rushing to be somewhere. Here, it seems like people are finding so many different and creative ways to make money. There are world renowned entrepreneurs, rising entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs in every corner of New York City. When I attend a Salestech Meetup in Manhattan or a Nepalese in Entrepreneurship event in Queens, you get inspired by the backgrounds, achievements and passion of the people you meet at these events. What makes working in New York City exciting is the energy, the passion and the ambition of the people living here.
I will be sharing more of my experiences in the coming days relating and comparing many things Kathmandu and New York City. Stay tuned.
I am very excited to share my experiences and insights on technology entrepreneurship in the Nepalese context at an event in New York City. Besides sharing my experiences as an Operations Manager at Fusemachines Nepal, I will also highlight the current technology entrepreneurship ecosystem and opportunities in technology companies in Nepal. Organized by Nepalese Young Professionals in New York (NYPNY), this forum will feature various managers and entrepreneurs sharing insights and experiences from starting and building their businesses. Speakers in this forum include Nabin Banskota, Niran Shrestha , Nitin Sharma and Pawan Tamang.
This is an exclusive event to hear from entrepreneurs and managers so you can learn from their experiences and be a better entrepreneur, manager or a leader. In business, there is no better teacher than experience. This event is for you.
Visit the Nepalese Young Professionals in New York (NYPNY) Facebook page today to sign up and start making an impact right away.
Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/380497872074540/
Date and time: October 1st (Saturday), 2016 1pm-3pm
Location: Malingo NY – https://www.facebook.com/himalayan.malingo/
We travel from one place to another. Before we go on a trip or an adventure, we pack up things that we believe are the most important essentials needed for that occasion. How you pack, what you pack and when you pack depends on your personality, preference, time etc.
I usually like to get started early when going on a trip. When I pack a few things on my suitcase, I feel like I’ve started the packing process and on my way to finishing it soon. The later I start, the more I feel like I will miss out on packing something important. Some of the travel hacks that I used for a recent trip came from these websites:
24 Of The Smartest Travel Hacks You’ll Ever Need. #22 Is Crucial.
Here are some tips on how to better manage your inbox.
Glocal, a company based in Kathmandu, Nepal managed a two day event through King’s Multi Dimensional Program at King’s College. The objective of the program was to discuss current business situations, challenges, opportunities in Nepal to guide college students and budding entrepreneurs.
I attended many sessions during the two days and enjoyed listening to the panelists. On the CEO UNPLUGGED – Communication Panel, I keenly listened to the perspectives shared by the panelists and asked a question on company culture during the Q&A session(48:20). Enjoy the video.
I finished reading THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK by Tim Ferriss. In the book, Tim shares his perspective on time management, productivity, income generation, world travel, mastering any skill among many other things. I still revisit the book to certain sections that are of interest to me and consider the book a useful resource for the current era.
If you have not read the book, this is a very good and concise summary of The 4-Hour Workweek. If you have read the book, this is still a cool video to look at. This is an animated book review by FightMediocrity which I recently found on YouTube. Have a look.
Yes, you can!!! Nowadays, there are so many resources on the web for someone who wants to travel the world. One particular website I had visited (expertvagabond.com) a while back was filled with amazing content (travel tips, photography etc). I visited the site again today and got more insights from Expert Vagabond | Adventure Travel Blog .
The blog that I really enjoyed reading was My 30 Best Travel Tips After 4 Years Traveling The World. I could relate to some of the tips shared on the website such as Meet Local People, Smile & Say Hello, Splurge A Bit and Keep An Open Mind among others. These tips were very useful when I visited Thailand a few months ago.
Go and discover the world around you!
I spoke on the topic “AI in Business” at ICT Meetup V4.0 at Prime College.
Read more about ICT Meetup at https://www.facebook.com/ictmeetup/
Coverage of ICT Meetup on The Himalayan Times
Curiosity Center 