Present
Continues to lead DCKAP and engage in speaking engagements at international conferences.
2023
Started experimenting with YouTube, sharing insights on technology and interviewing industry leaders.
2018
Inspired by the slogan "Readers are Leaders" and started prioritizing reading.
2018
Developed a habit of reading and realized its impact on personal and professional growth.
2013
Faced financial difficulties in DCKAP and began focusing on personal finance and reading.
2006
Moved to the Bay Area, California, to leverage the opportunities in Silicon Valley.
2005
Founded DCKAP, starting the company from a small apartment in Chicago.
2001
Graduated during a challenging job market due to the dot com bubble.
1982
Karthik Chidambaram is born in Chennai, India.
About Karthik Chidambaram
Thank you for reading my blog. I was born and raised in Chennai, India. Growing up, I have bullied people and have also been bullied. I firmly believe that 'What you give is what you get'. I am very thankful for a great childhood. My parents sowed the seeds of being honest and working hard. Growing up, I was encouraged to try different things. Though I was not great at everything I did, I always tried.
Language
Tamil is my mother tongue. During my school years, my Dad sat with me and taught me the language. He also helped me with school lessons. I enjoyed reading and writing Tamil. Being my mother tongue, I did well in elocution, writing and more, and won several prizes.
Read MoreCompetition
I used to take part in debating, elocution, writing, sports, and every other competition you could think of. There have been plenty of times when I ended up not getting a prize (and I have won quite a few too). Growing up in school, I always wanted to be in a class or on a team that had less competition.
Read MoreThankful for a US Visa
2001 was not a great year to graduate. There was a dot com bubble and no hiring across the board. Though I had a campus placement from college, the company that ended up hiring me did not call me to join.
Read MoreChicago, IL
My first year in the US was one of the best experiences of my life. I worked very hard and was very aggressive. Though I was in a private school, I was one of the very few students who got a full scholarship.
Read MoreDCKAP
In addition to having scholarships, I was also doing a lot of other work as a student. I was looking for a summer job and a Professor introduced me to several companies. I made connections and made quite a lot of money as a student.
Read MoreCalifornia
The Bay Area being known as Silicon Valley, I thought it would be great for business and decided to move there. I moved to the Bay area in 2006. The initial few years were great. This is the period I was focused on company growth.
Read MoreFinance
I was very bad at finances and never had the habit of saving money. This caused a lot of trouble and around 2013 or so, DCKAP faced a lot of trouble. There were a lot of bills to pay and no revenue coming in. This was one of the most challenging times of my career. (if I look back, it was one of the best).
Read MorePersonal Finance
DCKAP was running for over 10 years or so, and though we made quite a bit of money and lost even more than we made, we slowly started bringing the business back on track.
Read More
There are a few things that I believe in. Experiments is one of them. You will never know what will work and what will not unless you try, and one of the best ways to test is to run an experiment. I also believe in long term thinking. Some of these things take time and it cannot be changed overnight. Persistence is the key. Reading is important for one's growth. Readers are Leaders.
I also started experimenting with YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chatwithKC
It is not one or the other, it is everything together.
Thank you for reading.
Karthik Chidambaram.