My Story
“This is not the correct path you are on. Girls should complete their studies and get married,” this is all I have been told since childhood, but I always wanted to do something.
After completing my Masters, I spent about seven months at home, searching for career opportunities, wanting to prove myself. If you come from a working class family, you may have heard that lofty dreams and goals belong to the rich. Everyone kept telling me that I would never get a job because I chose the wrong subjects. Days passed, and I began to accept the discouragement.
Fate had other plans, and I received a call from Unived for an interview. “Are you interested?” Ameya asked.
Without hesitation I replied, “Yes sir, what time?”
My interview was scheduled and I prepared myself to not lose out on the opportunity. As I approached the office, I was surprised to see some of my batch-mates at the entrance. They had just completed their interviews at Unived. “Don’t go for it, Vaibhavi, it’s a start up, they don’t even have a product as yet,” they said. Being a fresher, this is exactly the opportunity I was looking for.
We had two interview rounds. I remember that after the second round I asked Amit, “What are your expectations of me?”
He replied with a great smile, “I want you to fly.” After my parents, he is the only person I’ve met who wanted me to fly. The journey officially began on my mother’s birthday, 2nd December, 2011.
I joined as a research assistant. I began to train with Amit & Ameya (at that time, it was just the three of us), and started understanding the product development process. After a lot of guidance from this dynamic duo, I began and later successfully completed my first project – COLOX.
Time began to fly, and with days & months rolling on, we began to blossom as a team. Along with us grew emotions of happiness, fear, and lots of excitement. Each time we completed a project, I would look back at it and think if I had missed anything, I didn’t want to let down our promise of a quality project. These were the golden days of my life.
When someone trusts you, you end up giving them your best. This is what I have observed and learned. We are now 10 years in, but even today when I start my day at the office I feel as though it’s my first day. I feel peace with myself and an excitement to work – while this may be seen as a modest form of success, for me, it’s massive.
There is still a lot of hunger inside me. There is a lot more to come. What Unived has taught me is to always believe in myself, to believe in my potential. Our limitations are only those that we set upon ourselves. Unived has nourished and nurtured me and is now my family.
I’d like to share a thought with you – if you want to be successful in this World, follow your passion, not a paycheque ~ Jen Welter (NFL’s first female coach).
Vaibhavi Walke
Joined – 2nd December, 2011.
