Journey

Born in a small coastal city in Gujarat. This is where the paper was made. Before it was folded, before it had a direction. Bhavnagar gave the plane its material. The rest of the journey would give it shape.

Fifteen years in a city that runs on chai, monsoon rains, and a kind of warmth you don't realize is rare until you leave. Ahmedabad taught me that generosity isn't a gesture. It's a reflex. Gujarati hospitality isn't something you learn. It's something that happens to you over thousands of small moments until you realize you've been shaped by it. The first fold in the paper. The deepest crease.

The Atlantic Ocean between everything I knew and everything I didn't. Moving to the US is the kind of fold that changes the shape of the whole plane. Long Island was the arrival. The first American chapter, the adjustment, the recalibration. A necessary stop between who I was and who I was becoming.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A BSc in Accounting and Information Systems, then a Master's in Accounting. Cornfields in every direction and a campus that ran on ambition and late-night study sessions. This is where the paper plane first caught wind. I learned how to think in systems, read balance sheets, and, more importantly, how to be 8,000 miles from home and make it feel like yours. The Midwest taught me that people are kinder when there's nothing to prove.

ServiceNow wanted me in San Diego, so I went. New city, no safety net, no one waiting for me at the airport. Balboa Park on a Tuesday afternoon. Sunsets over the Pacific that made you feel small in the best possible way. The sun was everything I wanted. Building a life from scratch when you're used to having your people around you — that was the hard part. It taught me things about myself that comfort never could have. San Diego didn't break me. It built a version of me that was ready for what came next. I still love that place and go back whenever I can.

I asked to come back. Not for a job, not for a promotion — for the people. Chicago is where my friends are, my community, the life I'd already built. Deep dish arguments that never end. Jazz bars on a Wednesday. The lakefront trail in October when the wind isn't trying to kill you yet. Celtic Crossings with a Guinness. Comedy shows in basements. ServiceNow downtown, supporting the CTO's office, building things that matter at scale. San Diego taught me that sunshine isn't enough if the people who matter aren't there. This is where the paper plane is parked right now, but the engines are still running. 31 new states planned for 2026.