Every week we ask a Terra team member to let us know who they are. Here's Akshit:
What wearables do you use?
I use the Garmin 245 Forerunner, which I primarily bought for running. Before that, I was wearing a TomTom watch.
TomTom.. Isn't that the GPS?
Yes, they also used to sell watches, and I got the TomTom watch from my coach back in the day. During covid, I had a coach, who is one of my best friend's dad, and he pushed me to set a goal of running 10 km - and once I had completed that feat, I would upgrade to a Garmin watch.
Inspiring stuff! Besides running, what type of training do you do?
I love running, but I have very much been pushed into weightlifting here at Terra, too, haha! Elliot helped me get going with my first deadlift, which I completed with 108kg! Like they say, "it's all in the mind" haha!
Any favorite hobbies outside of sports?
I like to read books. My favorite genre is probably non-fictional, and I mostly read books centered around business and start-ups. My current favorite is Zero to One by Peter Thiel.
What are your favorite foods?
Ouhh, it must be Lebanese!! I can eat that any day.. I also like Indo-Chinese food, but it's hard to find in London. That being said, it's a lot of great food places here - today for example, I had an Indian wrap from the Seven Dials market close to our office in Holborn, it was delicious!
Do you consider yourself a good chef?
Me? I can't cook.. I can make ‘maggie' (instant noodles) hahaha !!
Do you like to travel?
In the last year I've actually been to 13 countries in total! I'll try to list them all here: Estonia, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Finland, UAE, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium, Monaco, and Portugal. I love to travel and explore new places and cultures.
That's quite a travel resume.. So where did you grow up and how did you end up in London?
I'm from India, I lived in Delhi until I was 14, then our family moved to Bangalore. I studied a dual degree in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at BITS Rajasthan (Birla Institute of Technology and Science), and then I moved to London to study the MSc International Management programme at Imperial College London.
How was the transition to the UK? Is fish and chips now officially your favorite food?
Hahaha!! When I came to London in 2021 I had zero expectations, but I met amazing people - I really enjoyed our cohort at Imperial, and I've really enjoyed the first few weeks here at Terra.
With regards to my favorite food, it's unfortunately not fish and chips.. haha! New favorites of mine, surprisingly, are ramen and sushi.
How did you end up at Terra?
I have always worked in start-ups and actually founded my own start-up in the e-commerce domain - I ran several brands and sold one of them, which had grossed $1 million in revenue after a year of starting the company..
Wow.. that's impressive!
..after I sold that, I wanted to learn more from founders who I feel know more than me - I was looking for mentorship from successful founders. That's when I came across Terra! I also love the idea behind the company, as I am passionate about fitness, and I feel that Terra is at the right place at the right time in its journey for me to become a part of it and make a difference. I feel it's on a journey to make a big impact and I wanted to be a part of something bigger than me.
What do you think of ChatGPT? Can it replace humans?
No, I don't think so - I don't think it can replace humans. I believe it will have a greater impact if we work on it collaboratively. I think human + AI is always greater than AI by itself. That being said, I have been really surprised by some of the things it can do. For example, I asked it to make a headline for some marketing emails, and it came up with some really quality ideas!
What do you think is the future of wearables, any particular changes you would like to see?
It's just getting started, in my opinion. We are at a very early stage of adoption overall; more and more people will adopt it as they will start getting more benefits from it in their daily lives. For example, insurance companies - have you heard of Vitality? It's an insurance company that gives great rewards if you achieve some step count targets or workout targets throughout the day.
Lastly, what was your secret Santa gift this year? And who do you think was your secret Santa?
I got gym gloves! Honestly, it was spot on - I was thinking of buying it already. I actually have no idea who it was!! My wild guess would be either Elliot or Alex, as I often go to the gym with them.
