DIPAK VADERA
Fulltime Backpacker & Digital Nomad
I have always been fascinated by Lego, besotted with the idea that one can build something truly extraordinary by combining a series of blocks. This is where my passion for building things stems from, starting with the initial block and seeing it through until the unveiling of the final result.
Born and raised on an island in the Canaries in the south of Spain, I was 15 when I started my first company, providing copywriting & translation services. What started off as a side hustle alongside my fulltime secondary education, ended up becoming a viable business that I managed up until my 2nd year at University.
Post-Academia, I immediately made my way into the corporate world, working at mammoth Enterprise IT corporations, VMware & Infor. These experiences served as a good foundation but it didn't take me long to realise that I yearned for a challenge...
I wanted to help build companies and witness them 'make it' (to then be able to tell a good story!)
I was there when Uber first launched in the UK, when HootSuite became the world's leading social media management platform and when Leadfeeder became the leader in website identification software.
CUPS OF COFFEE
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
COUNTRIES AND COUNTING
EDUCATION
BSc Business Management, First Class Honours (4.0 GPA)
University of Surrey
2010-2014
BSc Business Management
Nanyang Technological University
2011-2011
EXPERIENCE
LIFE AS A DIGITAL NOMAD
Self-proclaimed "Fulltime Backpacker", I am an active ambassador for remote working, balancing work and travel by staying no longer than 3 weeks in one place!
Howerver, it wasn't always like this...
Let me take you back to the start.
From a young age, I developed a passion for travelling and exploring the unknown (thanks to my parents!). Therefore, having "a job that I could perform from anywhere" was the ultimate career dream.
May 2017 - I quit my well-paid job at Hootsuite in London (much to my colleagues' surprise), moved out of the place I was renting, placed all my belongings in storage and off I embarked on a journey of a lifetime, backpacking full-time (hence the nickname) across 12 countries.
During my adventure, I took part in some unique experiences, some of which include:
- Feeding, swimming with and bathing elephants at a sanctuary
- Volunteering with Pandas at a Rescue Centre
- Hiking and camping on the Great Wall of China
- Living with Buddhist monks in the mountains of Wakayama
- Hiking to the summit of Mt. Fuji
any many more!
Fast-forward to today, I am living that dream and have no intention of returning to the 9-to-5 lifestyle.
My Life in Pictures
![#HappyBirthdaytome! 🎉 I spent the days leading to my Birthday going through photos from the last decade, looking back on everything that happened, reminiscing on memories that feel all so ancient (some events really do feel like they took place in another lifetime!). Those distant memories and occurrences feel ephemeral, despite their long-lasting impact on me as an individual, contributing somehow or other in helping me become a better version of myself. "Oh wow, can't believe that's me!", I chuckled whilst going through some old snaps, turning to the mirror once or twice to compare and appreciate where I currently am. Whilst reliving all those moments through a myriad of photos & videos, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic thinking about the notion of time, how transient our day to day really is in the wider picture of life. On one hand, I was celebrating what I have lived through, and in a way mourning it. We get too caught up with life that we divert our attention from the present, yet we often yearn for bygone days or spend time picturing what the future holds. What we don't realise is that by not living in the present, we lose track of life which inevitably goes by. Each innocuous minute adds up to days, weeks into months that gradually start piling into years. That's time for you, it flows in an incessant continuum and it's exactly just that which makes it our most precious and finite asset. Blink and poof, that moment's now gone. Being cognisant of the above, I have spent the last couple of years building and living a meaningful life, wholly immersing myself in the present in order to make the most of every single day to the fullest. Quoting Nicholas Furlong in Avicii's track, 'The Nights', "don't forsake this life of yours [...], live a life you will remember." On this Birthday, I am reminding myself to live in the moment, to enjoy the now, to truly cherish the temporary because that's the one moment that truly exists. So if you'll now excuse me, I have to go cut a cake 🎂 Here's to another year, 2️⃣9️⃣ 🥂 📸 Photos from 2011, 2016 and 2020 #BirthdayBoy #5thofMarch #anotheryearolderanotheryearwiser #ageisjustanumber](https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.29350-15/156868827_1070164353488592_7321875859616924447_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=sU-6AgPDEDwAX9yTWDf&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AT95H63TA8p7PYqL91cGCjtzOPb54gSORQ1ZZ8RiYmR41g&oe=626FB316)
