Nakul Kumar gives us a sneak peek into the man behind Cashify, the re-commerce marketplace
The Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one’s personality. It has its origins in a parlour game popularised by Marcel Proust, the French essayist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature.
Nakul Kumar co-founded Cashify in 2013 with a vision of making the sale of old electronic devices a simple affair by helping customers with price discovery and cash in hand. Cashify is a re-commerce market-place, which offers an online platform to sell old, or used electronic gadgets - primarily smartphones, followed by laptops, tablets, desktops and Gaming Consoles. Founded by Mandeep Manocha, Nakul Kumar, and Amit Sethi, Cashify started with a team of three people in 2013 and have expanded to more than 800 employees, 15 offices and 1000+ cities in a span of six years.
Prior to Cashify, Nakul started his first innovation solutions company right after completing his MBA called ReGlobe, one of India’s first recycling facility to convert scrap tyres and rubber into fuel oil. While working in ReGlobe, he was involved in waste management projects with the Indian government agencies like Indian Railways and top brands like Nokia and HP. He was awarded the Social Entrepreneurship Award from IIM Lucknow in 2012.
Here are his responses to our Proust questionnaire….
What's your idea of perfect happiness?
There is no such thing as perfect. It’s a hypothetical state which does not exist in reality. But if there was one, I would define it as living with my family in a healthy space minus all environmental and societal hazards.
What is your greatest fear?
Fear is a negative word which results in negative thoughts. My dictionary is void of negativism.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
There is nothing in me that I deplore.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
One thing that I dislike would be dishonesty.
What is your greatest extravagance?
I am a very calculative person and do not go around spending frivolously. But yes, since I’m a foodie and since I love tech, so I do spend money on trying different cuisines and buying gadgets.
What is your current state of mind?
Wondering why I am being asked so many questions.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
The term “Domain Expert”. Learning never stops and you should keep pushing your boundaries.
On what occasions do you lie?
I only lie to myself when I eat junk food.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Absolutely nothing. I love myself. The first thing someone should do is love himself. You will never be able to please everyone, so one should focus on other better things.
Which living person do you most despise?
Despise is a very strong word. I would not like to use it for anyone.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
The qualities that I appreciate in a person are truthfulness, dedication and sincerity.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Same as above.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Cashify”.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My work and what we have built at Cashify is the greatest love of my life.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to know how to shake a leg or two to my favourite songs.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I wouldn’t like to change anything about myself.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being able to build a product that enables customers to sell gadgets and get the apt price for them which is driven by algorithm and is not baseless.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
Maybe as a bee for two reasons. They have to ability to fly and see things from smaller perspective.
Where would you most like to live?
A place which is healthy with the least negative environmental impact. But I’m sure no such place exists.
What is your most treasured possession?
My learnings.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
To give up on your passion.
What is your favourite occupation?
What I'm doing right now, of course.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I am a go-getter. I only stop when things get done and I don’t give up mid-way.
What do you most value in your friends?
Honest feedback about me and the services we offer. Your loved ones are your true critics and I really look forward to all such feedback from family and friends and work towards improving things.
Who are your favourite writers?
My content writers are my favorites. They write amazing, unbiased reviews for upcoming gadgets.
Who is your hero of fiction?
It keeps changing with time. Currently it is Elsa (result of watching Frozen too many times with my daughter).
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I am not a great fan of what is gone. I believe in looking forwards and making the present and the future better.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Elon Musk and my god, Sachin Tendulkar
What is your favourite name?
Cashify.
What is it that you most dislike?
I dislike the fact that though Indians are so talented, they have to struggle to get a decent job.
What is your greatest regret?
I don’t harbor regrets. What is done is done, we should accept it and move on instead of reminiscing in the past.
How would you like to die?
I think I’m going to die now answering so many questions. 😉
What is your favourite journey?
The journey of starting with ventures, failing and again coming back stronger than ever. Nothing can beat this.
What is your motto?
Never stop learning.