I have an idea. What do you think of it?

It doesn’t matter what me or anybody else thinks. You do not need permission. Skip talking to “experts” and find out directly from your customers. Nobody can know for sure whether something will work or not. Conviction is a luxury for those on the sidelines. Our world is also big and diverse enough for each and every idea to be seeded and developed. The only thing that matters is that you have customers and they are deriving value from your offering. Make it happen.

We wish to invite you as a judge for our hackathon / startup / other program in our college

One category of invitations I religiously decline are the ones to be on judging panels. I view my role as that of a facilitator and not soothsayer. I also believe that everyone is capable of navigating to good outcomes given sufficient time & required guidance. This can be viewed as a direct extension of our stated credo since Startup Village days of “We don’t judge ideas”. Given this context, I patently find it not fitting for me to be on judging panels. The answer hence is no.

Will you refer / recommend me?

Not if we haven’t worked together enough for me to be able to vouch for your work.

Please share.

I don’t care much for such requests. Tell me what it’s about, and let me decide whether to share with whom and how. An image or video on WhatsApp with the message “please share” - that’s just plain rude.

Accept this as a token of our appreciation

I don’t accept mementos. I acknowledge its a gesture but wish to respect the fact that it’s an inconvenience to me - just plain carrying it back, keeping it at my place and throwing it away at a later point in time. Different people have different preferences and ways of viewing things. This is respecting mine.

Can we get on a call / can we meet?

Write to me first. Let me know what it’s about. Pique my interest. Or secure a reference.

I tried calling

I don’t prefer calls. Email works best. I also don’t pick calls from unknown numbers.

It’s urgent

People operate with different scales and thresholds for urgency. I also generally don’t work well with urgent requests. Let me know what it’s about.

I have emailed and haven’t heard from you

I read all. I write back to the ones that pique my interest when I can and feel like. Most times, my processing rule is also that I don’t consider replying unless the person has followed up once or twice. I am also working on a whitelist for my email. Once that is also in place, most likely your email would come to my attention only few days down the line.