Pay it FWD: Dheeraj Pandey has gone fishing
He walked into the office, dressed in a crisp shirt, smart blazer, tie, and trousers and shook hands with me as if we were long-lost friends. Dheeraj Pandey is unique.
When Dheeraj walked into the Accel office all those years ago, I had heard of him from my friend Vijay Rayapati. In 2018, Vijay sold his company to Nutanix, and the deal had just been completed. Vijay was enamoured by the Nutanix team and its CEO Dheeraj. At the two-hour dinner, Vijay spent 100 minutes discussing Dheeraj, Nutanix, the culture and the ambition.
I realised at the time that I would like to meet Dheeraj. A few months later, the opportunity presented itself. Accel, at the time, was organising a talk for founders in their portfolio and wanted a scaled founder to discuss strategies and learnings. From everything Vijay had told me, I guessed that the person that they were looking for was Dheeraj.
Ten minutes into pitching the name, it was approved and Dheeraj was making plans to fly to India from the US to talk to these founders. Up until now, my interaction with Dheeraj was over a very cordial email, so when I would meet him, it would be our first interaction.
Once Dheeraj walked in, he shook hands but his eyes shone warmly. We had never met but the affection in his voice convinced a lot of people standing around me that Dheeraj and I have been friends for a decade.
In the session, I watched enraptured as Dheeraj spoke eloquently about problem-solving. Whenever someone would ask him questions, Dheeraj never replied with a direct answer, instead he built scaffolding so the founder could find their answer. While seated in the back, watching the exchange, I was reminded of an adage, “Give a man fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” Dheeraj was teaching founders how to fish.
But that’s how Dheeraj has always been. It was not just his founder peers whom he helped counter-intuitively, it was also his friends.
Over the years, I’ve come to call Dheeraj a friend. We’ve met a handful of times but he’s always been around in times of need. When I was about to join SaaSBoomi in a full-time role, I remember a chat I had with him. He insisted that I think of our community as a product company. He forced me to analyse different sustainable ways of growing and adding to our community. Even when asking for advice, he never gave me answers but insisted I find my own and he would be my guide through it. But that never means he dissociates from the problem. He internalises the question and then tries to build out an answer with me.
These are all breadcrumbs that lead us to how large-hearted Dheeraj the person truly is. I am often reminded of a story Vijay told me all those years ago at that dinner. Dheeraj lived in the US, while he ran Nutanix, and he had a colleague in India. This young man, who we will keep nameless for now, was getting married. It was a celebration and he invited everyone from the company to attend his big day. Dheeraj being all those miles away had to beg out. But on the day of the marriage, who shows up? Dheeraj. The CEO and chairman of a multibillion-dollar company, took the red eye, just so he could be part of the celebration of an employee he had barely met.
His generosity of spirit is something that he has displayed throughout his volunteership at SaaSBoomi as well. When we first wanted to explore the India-US corridor, Dheeraj opened his contact book to every blue-chip VC in the Valley. There was not one, whom he didn’t write to.
Today, all those years later, Dheeraj and I have both changed. The man who always dressed in a suit now shows up in a t-shirt, denims and a baseball cap. He laughs louder, feels happier and always has an interesting quote from Winston Churchill in his quiver. But as much as he may have changed physically, his heart is still the same.
Here’s to more adventures, Dheeraj!
