“What important truth do very few people agree with you on?”

It’s what Peter Thiel calls the central question behind all innovation in his book Zero to One. And while I have my own answers, to me, innovation lives in the courage to step into uncertainty and leave behind a world more meaningful and a little better for others. It is also an echoing instinct from my father, a physician who often reminded me that the best kind of success is the one that helps people lead meaningful lives.

My first humbling experience in putting that belief into action came during my time at IIT, while I was pursuing a course in Product Design. I was part of a team which was tasked with building an exoskeleton - a wearable device used to augment human performance while walking. We designed a prototype that used spring resistance to support walking for the physically challenged. The initial results were promising, but the device posed a serious limitation - designs that enabled people to climb the stairs stumbled on flat terrains, and designs that walked fine barely helped to climb. During our journey to fix this rather nagging issue, we learnt the hard way that building for people is not just an engineering problem; it’s a human one.

A few years later, this realization resurfaced. While studying how users behave in an online marketplace, I stumbled upon Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational, and it changed how I saw human behavior.

Today, I research behavioral science with data and product thinking, an intersection that has led me to create Humble Fork. Humble Fork, while still evolving in scope, serves as my ongoing thought experiment on how psychology meets design, technology, and decision-making. I spend my free time reading, exploring podcasts, learning music and travelling occasionally.

A music afficionado, I drew inspiration for Humble Fork from the song Time of Your Life - which has lyrics,

“Another turning point, fork stuck in the road.”

It’s a reminder that every moment in life presents a choice, and each choice you make, no matter how small, leaves behind a quiet lesson in humility and time. 

With that, I welcome you at Humble Fork!