A seed of HOPE

Change is the only thing that is constant in life. And, a proof to the statement is Narayan K Murthy’s career moves. From being a computer science professional, a consultant to running his own businesses, Narayan has seen it all. Now as the managing director of GoodSeeds, he is a proponent of organic, sustainable living. “My shifts in career were more due to circumstances and then passion followed. It was not like I had a vision and was following it,” he shares.

First job

Since his college days Narayan chose subjects that excited him. With a computer science degree from BIT (Birla Institute of Technology), Mesra, Ranchi. He got into programming and later was one among the six from his college chosen for TCS in Chennai. His shift to the US in ’93 was to fulfil his American dream but with Y2K panic all around, he shifted to another job in three years. “I always wanted to be unique; Ttat was the problem,” states Narayan with a smile.

Being a programmer didn’t excite him and when he read the book Barbarians at the Gate, he imagined his life as an investment banker cutting deals and handling mergers, acquisitions. Although he got into University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, Chicago, he couldn’t move forward. “There was a huge personality requirement. One had to be cut throat to cut deals. I was from an average conservative middle class TamBrahm family from Chennai. The reality was I couldn’t even speak up or raise my voice. I knew I would get killed if I continued.”

Speaking about his next role as a consultant with AT Kearney, he recalls, “I engaged with businesses to help with their strategy and operational challenges but increasingly the focus shifted towards making more money for big businesses and their shareholders at the expense of workers in the US.”

He moved to India for personal reasons and started with Microsoft to help them with their approach for emerging market needs. “I soon realised that we were looking at issues at the bottom of the pyramid; at a superficial level. I also fell in love with creating user experience for businesses, who in turn would serve their customers better.”

Organic and more

The organic story began in 2012 when one of his friends Sujatha, a vegan spoke how hard it was to get organic items in the city. GoodSeeds was launched by him along with three other like-minded individuals who have now parted. “The notion was to seed and nurture lifestyle ideas to promote holistic health based on our traditional wisdom and engage and benefit the local society and facilitate living in harmony with our mother earth.” He shares the experience: “Now I bring in my earlier expeirnce and understand the minutest problems like why we should not deliver at 6 30 pm in Gachibowli or how to pack a leafy vegetable. I am giving ideas and I never thought of this level of detail.”

He has been living in Hyderabad for eights years and admits initially he didn’t like the city. “I hated even India as I found everything amusing or annoying. Now, I feel I belong here at the end of the day. I am more comfortable with the people here. I was an introvert but now have become an extrovert.”

Summarising his thoughts, he concludes, “I believe we all have a purpose for our lives. I feel my purpose is being useful to others, also do something to earn a living too. Whenever I feel I am not being purposeful enough or see an opportunity to be more impactful, I switch to newer things. This is especially true in my career moves.”

The column features people who dared to give up their lucrative jobs in pursue of their dream