Just saying hi, maybe a little more!
A little about my company, my passion and my love for product building
Shameless plugin: Art by PixelGen
(PixelGen is a no prompt AI image generator)
Hey there, thank you for stopping by. You didn’t have to, but you did, and I appreciate it.
I am Anand, founder and CEO, of Greyfeathers, and I am going to use this space to write about my company, Greyfeathers, the products we have built, our philosophy in product building, the challenges we face, and the emotions I go through as a founder.
We have built six of our products,
Docpod - A privacy-first document manager for Android
The beautiful menu - Redefining the way QR code menus should work, and much more
PixelGen - Probably the world’s only No prompt AI image generator
YABA - A foolproof way to take control of your finances. (in early beta)
Profilepot - Everyone deserves a personal website to tell their professional story, and we help you bring that dream alive (releasing Apr 14, 2024) - Let me know if you would like to try the beta
TripExpensor - A clean way to plan and record your trip’s budget
We have built seven products for our customers. And we did all of this in one and a half years. So, occasionally, I may use this platform to talk about our product-building discipline and how we can build products with speed. Here’s our website.
Having said that, I am not an experienced product manager. I am a mechanical engineer turned data scientist turned entrepreneur. I know nothing about product building aside from the desire to create. I find product building magical, opening up a realm of possibilities to solve problems and do something useful. I haven’t read many books or articles on product management because I prefer to try things on my own (there’s a kick to that). So my views are just that: mine. I encourage you to consider my viewpoints with common sense and decide for yourself if they resonate.
I don’t want to leave you hanging, so let me write something today. I think the name would make a good start. Greyfeathers, and why Greyfeathers?
Why does a company from a Tier 2 city called Madurai in Tamil Nadu have this very English-sounding name?
Ah, to know the why, you will have to become acquainted with who the founder is. The founder, simply put, is a borderline geek with an appetite for problem-solving, coupled with the laziness of a sloth on a summer's day.
Given this unique concoction, he dedicates more time to pondering solutions than trivial matters like naming products or companies.
So when he was tasked with the arduous task of choosing a company name, he named the company Doorknobs. It wasn’t something born out of a 10-hour mediation session or a week of philosophical thinking. It was simply the first thing he saw when we woke up. A nice bronze 10-year-old door knob his mom had installed 14 years ago.
Like a good geek, he quickly purchased the domain. So it was going to be doorknobs, he thought. But life had other plans. When he registered with the company, he had something awful in store for him. Doorknobs sounded very similar to another company called Doorknob, and the Government of India (credits to them) was not going to allow that to happen.
He was chatting with his CA when the bombshell dropped. His CA asked, "Got any backup names? If not, can you think of something quick?" Our founder was walking on the balcony of his two-bedroom house when he heard this news and was mourning the loss of his dream company name (seriously, it felt like a breakup). Right then, a pigeon came out of nowhere, straight out of a Hitchcock movie, swooping in, followed by its pigeon pal. They sat and started talking. They might've been discussing the latest in weather trends, but it looked more like a cosy cuddle session. Entranced, our founder forgets he's on a call and starts bird-watching. Abruptly, the CA's voice jerks him back to reality with a "Hey, you there?" The sudden jolt sends shivers down his spine, startling the innocent pigeons nearby, who make a swift exit, leaving a few grey feathers in their haste.
And so Greyfeathers came into existence, inspired by two unsuspecting pigeons simply minding their own business.
In the years that followed, Greyfeathers would come to symbolize much more. Yet, perhaps unknown to those pigeons, the very name of a company dedicated to creating products rooted in empathy, love, and freedom was born from their feathers.
The end!
If you have read so far, I think this is where I ask you to subscribe, or if you accidentally subscribed before beginning to read, to not unsubscribe... yet!
See ya!
P.S. It feels fantastic to be back in the writing groove after years. I owe a huge thanks to my friend Shashank, who never failed to encourage me with his constant refrain of "You should write" in every conversation we had. A big shoutout to him and to the incredible community of newsletter writers I've been lucky enough to be a part of. I'm not sure where this journey will take me, but I have a strong feeling it will be of value to someone, somewhere.