The journey is better than the inn.
- Cervantes
Raj and I ran our first-ever class at The Quad on Sep 19, 2011. The 9 years since have been a period of personal growth, of figuring things out, of trying to stick to our guns and doing things our way, of making silly mistakes.
And of professional growth too. We work with 700+ students with a third of them all across the globe. We have 30 amazing colleagues that we work with, who believe in the same mission.
We love what we do. And because one cannot stand still, we are constantly looking for improving our services and products, on how we can help more people fall in love with fitness, on how we can coach better. It keeps us mentally stimulated and the same-but-different analogy that applies to training applies here as well.
The best part though is the journey. While it has been 9 years officially, The Quad's journey started 10+ years ago. In our one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. In Raj & Vidya's apartment in Sunnyvale. In parks in the Bay Area. In umpteens of restaurants over hours and hours of conversation.
From heading out to get Fro-Yo perfectly timed before they close, to sitting in Barefoot Coffee for hours to write a business plan, to breakfast at Hobbes, and in conversations in Joshua Tree national park - there are a few of the places and instances where something about what would eventually become The Quad came into being. The excitement of building something together, the bond of friendship between the four of us, the stupid ideas we would throw around at each other - all of it still ring fresh. And we still do these today, albeit in different surroundings.
As the quote says, an inn is a pitstop. Sure, you hang out there and you celebrate. Yaay, we hit 100 students or 500 students. Or we squatted our new personal best. Or we pressed that bell we've been working hard towards. Definitely a time to celebrate. But the next day, you pack up your belongings at the inn and you get on your journey. Because that's the best part.
It is the best part about strength training.
It is the best part about building a company.
Not the pitstops. But the banter. The mistakes. The slip-ups. The dinners. The tangential conversations. The stupid ideas. The stupid ideas that become brilliant insights.
So, while we will celebrate with our community this evening with our Sports Day, and chill together after, and while it will be 10 years in a year and all that - the best part is the journey together. Now, we have 30 other people to share it with as well. And 1000s of people in our community to share it as well.
But it started with the four of us. And it will always be that way, wherever it goes. So, while I look forward to the inns, the 10 years and the 20 years and all that, each day that we do this is amazing.