I failed IIT twice. Took loans I couldn't afford. Started as a Quality Engineer while my friends climbed faster. 25 years later, here's the timeline:
2000: Decided to become an Engineer from IIT
2004: Failed to get into IIT
2005: Failed to get into IIT a second time—reluctantly took admission in another engineering school
2006: Started preparing for grad school in US
2008: Ran around trying to get a loan to go to grad school.
2009: Graduated with an engineering degree in India
2009: Moved to the US for grad school at UPenn, started from scratch in a new country
2010: Struggled landing an internship, while all my friends had one.
2010: Clock was ticking on student loan installments
2010: Finally got an internship at a tiny startup
2011: Finally landed a job at the same startup
2012: Struggled through tech career beginnings as a QA engineer
2013: Doubted if I belonged, took a leap into customer-facing engineering
2014: Really felt like I'd arrived in my happy place—solving new business problems every day with engineering
2017: Google found me!
2019: Found this role called DevRel, found my love for learning out loud
2020: Launched some cool zero-to-one products
2021: Became a published best selling author
2023: Led Developer Advocacy for North America at Google Cloud
2024: Microsoft found me to lead Developer Strategy for GTM!
2025: Earned Wharton MBA, launched another best selling book, took the TED stage while building and leading a team with multi-billion dollar impact.
Story goes on...
The entire time, one truth kept me going: I had to believe in myself before anyone else would.
Failing IIT twice felt like the end of the world. But it wasn't my destination—it was just the beginning.
From a "Not-IIT" engineering school to leading developer strategy at the
world's biggest tech companies wasn't about being the smartest person in the room.
It was about showing up consistently, learning relentlessly, and never letting failure or fear make my decisions.
Don't give up on yourself. Your timeline is your own. Dream!
Dream big! You can only achieve what you can imagine..so don't hold back.
#hustle
Transform your Security Operations team with security analytics in Google Cloud.
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https://t.co/mQYzw5Frlj
@ReachoutToPhool Greetings for day !! I’ll be humbled if I get a chance to connect with respected Ankit sir.. I want to invest and work .. please suggest
आज अपने शक्तिकेंद्र गौर सिटी 2 के बूथ संख्या 35 (गौर सिटी 16 एवेन्यू) में बूथ अध्यक्ष श्रीमती प्रीतिका सिंह जी और सम्मानित बूथ समिति और कर्मठ कार्यकर्ताओं के साथ माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी का मन की बात कार्यक्रम सुना
@Bhupendraupbjp@Satendraupbjp@Gajendramavibjp
गौतमबुद्ध नगर के लोकप्रिय सांसद डॉक्टर महेश शर्मा जी आपको जन्मदिन की हार्दिक बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएं। हम ईश्वर से आपके उत्तम स्वास्थ्य और दीर्घायु की प्रार्थना करते है। 🙏💐
सेवा पखवाड़ा कार्यक्रम के अंतर्गत आज भारतीय जनता पार्टी जिला कार्यालय पर रक्त दान शिविर आयोजित किया गया । वहां माननीय मंडल अध्यक्ष @iMukeshBJP जी के साथ रहना हुआ और रक्तदान किया।
@OfficialGNIDA
ग्रेटर नोएडा वेस्ट में पालम ओलंपिया और एग्जॉटिक ड्रीमविले सोसाइटी, गौर सिटी २ के सामने ताज हाईवे की सड़क पर बहुत बड़े बड़े गढ़े पड़ चुके है जिस कारण जाम भी लगने लगा है कृपया उचित कार्यवाही करे।
@dmgbnagar@dr_maheshsharma@tejpalnagarMLA
@MoCA_GoI Dear Sir.. as we aware,flights are running between Delhi to Ayodhya but if someone wants to return on same day then there is no late evening flight schedule. Can we think on the same and make a plan! Definitely avenue growth will be happen @PMOIndia@CMOfficeUP
@MoCA_GoI Dear Sir.. as we aware,flights are running between Delhi to Ayodhya but if someone wants to return on same day then there is no late evening flight schedule. Can we think on the same and make a plan! Definitely avenue growth will be happen @PMOIndia@CMOfficeUP
आज गौर सिटी में बढ़ते ट्रैफिक समस्या को लेकर बड़े भाई सांसद प्रतिनिधि श्री संदीप शर्मा जी के साथ ग्रेटर नोएडा अथॉरिटी के अधिकारियों से मिलना हुआ। साथ में साथी कार्यकर्ता भी उपस्थित रहे।
@SandeepBjpGBN@OfficialGNIDA@Bjp4GbnagarUP