Community

Community building has run alongside my work for most of my career. Across Headstart, GDG Cloud Ahmedabad, Startup OG, and partner communities, I’ve hosted more than 200 events: meetups, workshops, founder sessions, demo days, and summits. A few of them are on the moments page. I learned early on that bringing people together teaches you more than just showing up.

Startup OG

I founded and host Startup OG (previously Entrepreneur’s Cafe), a community for founders and builders. Through podcast conversations, meetups, and events, we talk with founders across SaaS, fintech, ecommerce, marketing, and technology about what building a company is really like. It’s also how I keep learning from people who are a few steps ahead or taking a different path.

Headstart Gujarat

I’ve been involved with and led Headstart Gujarat. Headstart is one of India’s oldest and largest startup communities. My work there was about bringing founders, operators, and the wider ecosystem together through events and community programs.

GDG Cloud Ahmedabad

I founded and organized GDG Cloud Ahmedabad, a Google Developer Group that brought together developers working with cloud technology.

Open source, early on

Before any of that, open source was my first community. I took part in Google Summer of Code 2013, met the open source community at FOSSASIA, and mentored students in Google Code-in. I also served as Joint Secretary of the DA-IICT Alumni Association from 2017 to 2020.

Recognition

I received the Gujarat Entrepreneurship Award at the Sayaji Startup Summit for contributions to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Gujarat.
My story is a chapter in Where Ideas Take Off, the book Dhirubhai Ambani University published for its 25th anniversary. Read more.

Organizing something for founders and want a speaker or a hand? Email me at me@nikunjthakkar.com.