Mot(s) Juste
A non-obituary for Rajeev Motwani
by Ramneek Bhasin

June 21, 2009

The edge is finally coming off the pain and I can turn to some fun and memorable

Rajeev Motwani

moments with Rajeev Motwani ('Mots' to his friends). The last time we chatted was at the Jagjit Singh concert, just a few days before the ill fated accident. Quite coincidentally, we reminisced about the first time each of us had heard the maestro.

Prompted by the folks at Indogram to write not an obituary, but a personal anecdote or two, I’ll begin with my very first recollection of meeting Rajeev… in 1978. The mind is a strange muscle indeed when it comes to sifting through and mining gobs and gobs of data. Ironically, Rajeev would have enjoyed this analogy.

Our first encounter was a very typical one during freshman ragging season at IIT Kanpur. Here was this nerdy-looking, bespectacled guy with a low (great) JEE rank that we sent to the mythical IIT Simla. (For those who may not know, there is no IIT in Simla. This is the moniker given to the crawlspace between the top of the dorm-room closet and the ceiling).

The only way to get out of there was to answer a few really crooked math problems, or sing the corny, obscenity laden IIT anthem. Needless to say, Rajeev chose the math option, and you guessed it – answered any and all problems thrown at him. Now, in hindsight, it seems obvious. At that time 30+ years ago, who would’ve imagined that I was ragging someone who would become a world authority on algorithms!

Email exchanges with Rajeev

Fast-forward to circa 2000 — way before angel investing had become a passion for Rajeev. Having been in the Bay Area since the mid 1980’s, our paths would cross socially every now and then. However, it was not till Gautam Bhargava (Rajeev’s IITK batch-mate and a mutual friend) and I teamed up to form Vialto, raised an angel round and started exploring VC-funding, that I got to know Rajeev at a professional level.

I am taking the liberty of posting a snapshot of my mailbox from those early days of forming the company. I chanced upon this gem as I flipped through my mailbox -- the text is self-explanatory. Rajeev is exhibiting simple purposefulness — to advise, help, invest and offer any associations he can. In short, he and his wife Asha (DotEdu + Deutsche Banc) were the first institutional investors in Vialto and the catalyst for us eventually securing a VC-round. Rajeev did, finally, join our advisory board and continued to help the company through its multiple ups-and-downs, all the way to the exit/acquisition. There are now several such similar stories that are emerging. [See Renkoo, Adchemy, Chingari as examples]

Over the years of my now-professional friendship with him, rather than struggle with some ill-conceived ideas or incomprehensible technogreek, I would shoot off an email to Rajeev. He would reply, often within minutes, frequently during the wee hours of the morning. He always had a point of view, or a link to a referred contact. Our email exchanges slowed a little as he amassed his massive portfolio of emerging startups.

Rajeev's FB wall on Jun 21, '09. Wall post at bottom by Sunil Singh (IITK 78-83)

Later, some of these exchanges moved to Facebook. It is the social media that he used, characteristically and unassumingly, that truly showed the way he viewed the world – one big connected universe of entrepreneurs and friends. Whether it was household names Larry and Sergey, or the wannabees Gautam and Ramneek, he was the connection, the channel, and never hesitated to foster the links.

Thinking about him, 30+ years blur in to one giant memory – as I realize what an honor it was to have been a small part of his large life, incredible legacy and, in all humility – just knowing him.

Ramneek Bhasin is a Bay Area entrepreneur. His blog is at http://ramneek.bhasin.com.

Photo from wikipedia.org

Comments on this Article

Chandra Gururswamy [New Jersey. Jun 24, 2009 6:53:48 PM]
Nice article. Cute title!

Rakesh Somaiyya [Atlanta, GA. Jun 24, 2009 4:47:04 PM]
Very inspiring story of what one person can do. Kudos to Mr. Bhasin for his touching memories of his friend.