The Summer Heat
Man, summer has come to roost.
I can feel it in my underarms and around my fat folds.
It’s getting hot, and as usual, my feet sweat a lot. Moisturiser has become pretty much useless too.
This week has basically been a movie spree, Hail Mary, Dhurandhar, and Dhurandhar 2. It’s been a rush, just running through movies non-stop. I would rate Hail Mary slightly higher than Dhurandhar, but all of them conveyed a really wonderful message in their own distinct ways. So, no complaints.
I’ve been glad to spend a good bit of time with Mum, Dad, and Supra, whether at the dinner table, on the sofa, or outside. Yesterday, it was pretty fun taking Mum on the Triumph and getting a good mango milkshake at Sagar. It was really fun.
I also can’t let go of the fact that I got to just sit and drink beer with my dad, alone at a pub. It was really special. These kinds of father-son moments are something I’ve always wanted, and to finally experience it, I guess only a handful of people do.
I’d like to make a mental note to take them out more often, cafes, pubs, or any activities. It’s really reassuring for both me and them that I’m actually present with them, that I hear them, and that I genuinely enjoy their time. Over 2025, they had, rightly so, been led to believe that home was just a place for me to sleep, eat, and bounce off to work or friends. I don’t blame them for thinking that, given my poor attempts at reassuring them.
Since the accident, however, I think I’ve started to communicate how valuable they are to me. Spending more time, making a conscious effort to talk to them, and simply carving out time in my day for them goes a long way. It’s also dawned on me that this might be the last year I wake up to their faces every day, so I need to make the most of it.
Yeah, I think my attitude towards my parents has changed. I hope it stays this way, and I can take even better care of them. I want to hear more of their life stories, record them, and remember them. Hearing snippets of their lives makes me feel both jealous and sad, to think such wonderful stories are at risk of being forgotten. And that’s simply because people, kids and parents alike, were too lazy to write them down. This has only worsened in the digital age. How will we keep memories alive if all we have are screens plastered in front of us?
I tried getting fit again the week before last, but this movie week has completely thrown me off. I can feel the fat everywhere now, and trust me, it isn’t a welcome feeling. I’ve signed up for a 38 km run, my longest ever, slated for July, so it’s a welcome challenge.
Getting back to running feels surreal. I have 16 weeks left, and the gears need to fire on all cylinders. Consistency is what matters, and I suffer from a significant deficit of it. I hope to rise to the occasion.
The burden of “What does the FO do next?” is an interesting problem we’ve faced. While Shrishti had somewhat lost her marbles, I was getting nervous too. The heat was gradually getting to us. In panic, after the lab visit, both of us started booking meetings with the founders ourselves. We felt maligned, and while one could argue otherwise, the feeling was grounded in belief. A lack of FO syncs, lack of coordination or direction from the founders, and an overall absence from our day-to-day work, it felt like the founders at Dognosis had forgotten us.
It came to a head on Thursday and Friday. I spoke to Itamar, and Shrishti spoke to both of them on Friday. We pretty much spoke our hearts out, lack of direction, lack of regular 1:1s, and poor strategic or founder context were our main concerns. To their credit, they took the feedback well. They heard us, reassured us, and suggested what we should do next. This wasn’t something I expected. For me, Itamar has now placed me squarely at the Med Affairs or Product intersection, asking me to build this out while balancing the hiring pipeline. Shrishti has been tasked with marketing. All’s well that ends well, I guess.
These events, however, serve as an eerie wake-up call. It’s easy to pin the blame on the founders. Yes, they were distant. There was no coordination, no context-building mechanisms, and poor feedback loops. But it took us three weeks to clarify these issues, three weeks of anxiety, hesitation, and unnecessary mental and physical strain. Why?
It was easy for me to dismiss these founders while elevating Anuruddh’s reputation. But why? I’m not helping myself. Anuruddh has pretty much forgotten about me, and the bridge between Itamar, Akash, and myself only widened. By placing him on a pedestal, I shot myself in the foot. Anuruddh became a convenient excuse to justify my lack of dedication.
“I’m not taking work seriously here because Akash and Itamar don’t coach me like Anuruddh. I don’t upskill here like I did in August.”
Yes, August was a great learning experience. But even that had started to plateau. I had been pushed into growth, unwillingly. Dognosis, on the other hand, gives me time, energy, and interesting work to pursue. Yet I chose to cloud my own judgment.
Note this, Divith. Don’t blame yourself entirely. Some of the blame does lie with the founders. But I’m more concerned with how I handled the situation.
It started with slight angst, then dismissal, then rage, then visceral resentment, and finally confrontation. The confrontation was emotional but resolved amicably. Still, I can’t help but feel it could have been handled better.
My thoughts keep returning to an idea I had after the 1:1. It’s easy to spiral like this when you feel wronged. But is it worth it? Yes, it feels good to bad-mouth and compare, to reduce people to something you dislike, but does it help?
I don’t think so.
You might have been wronged. But holding grudges or reacting emotionally is a zero-sum game. You either resolve it or walk away. But how you handle it is entirely in your hands. Even if you’ve been wronged, even if a project has been mishandled by incompetent colleagues, or a problem lands on your desk out of nowhere, assume ownership. Assume you caused it. Now fix it.
Silicon Valley folks might call it “agency.” Stephen Covey calls it being proactive. But both are just ways of describing accountability.