TL;DR;
I’m Vaidy. I’m the founder and CEO of PracticeNow – a student acquisition, retention, and referral platform for vocational teachers. We currently work with Wellness, Dance, and Music teachers. But you could be teaching cooking or chess, and still, find great value with PracticeNow.
I’m married to my beautiful wife (and PracticeNow co-founder) Janaki. I’m also the proud dad of my little one, Shreya.
I have a range of interests and I get new ideas all the time. This blog is my cozy corner of the web, where I share some of those ideas with you.
Would love to hear from you. Write to me at vaidy@practicenow.us.
The longer version
Hello!
My full name is Vaidyanathan Balasubramanian.
I once had a Canadian friend who diligently practiced saying my full name for a few weeks. He came over to my desk one day (we were colleagues too), and then pronounced the full version of my first and last names…almost without error.
“Was that right?” he asked.
When I nodded, he expressed such satisfaction and joy, it was as if he’d achieved some kind of major feat. Poor chap, I still feel for him. (Dave, if you’re reading this, drop me a “hello”!)
To help the rest of you spend your precious time more usefully, I’ve now switched to an easier version.
You can simply call me Vaidy. Or Vaidy Bala. 🙂
Work
I invest a big chunk of my waking hours into PracticeNow – a business automation platform for vocational teachers. We currently serve Yoga, Music, and Dance teachers.
Before founding PracticeNow, I founded and ran Multunus – a software consultancy for 9 years.
Most of my days
I love my morning routine. I rise early, read a bit, practice Pranayama for 30 min, blog, practice Yoga Asanas for an hour, shower, and then pray for almost an hour every day.
I then work through most of the day afterward and then wind down to spend some time with family.
Interests
PracticeNow. Product Management. Yoga. Entrepreneurship. Habits. Parenting. Design. Remote work. Hiring. Happiness. Marketing. Practice. Spirituality.
Not in that order.
Philosophy
It took me a while to figure out that the best mantra for a great life is just two simple words: Peaceful Progress. Thank you for teaching me this, Vikas!
I’m a big fan of the infinite game. If we can perfect the art of full engagement in our pursuits where whatever we’re doing is in the service of others, rather than to prove a point or win a “race” – we can have so much more fun.
Yoga
I hope you haven’t bought into the reductionist idea that Yoga is about getting your body into pretzel-like shapes.
Rewind 10 years. My life was a wreck. I was an unhealthy, frequently angry, stressed-out workaholic.
Yoga gave me the promise of a better life. I had faith. I practiced diligently. And now I can see the results.
Today, I still have some moments of regrets, envy, and impatience but they’re sufficiently few and far in between. That means I’m happy most of the time.
If not for Yoga, I wouldn’t be here. And my journey has just begun.