Ujwal Arkalgud

Toronto

Executive Vice President and Writer at Lux Research

Founder, MotivBase (exited) | Advisor to PE/VC | Anthropologist | Working on solving Enterprise Productivity challenges | Obsessed with coffee, natural wine.

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Articles

The Exit Wasn’t the Win

1 week ago | hackernoon.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

For months after exiting my company, that question felt less like a conversation starter and more like a verdict. It almost broke me. On the surface, things looked great. I moved my family to the South of France for a year. But this wasn’t a victory lap. It was an emergency brake. My nervous system was fried. Years of scaling a business had rewired me to operate at 150%, 24/7. Lately, in my work with other founders, I see myself in them.
What Will You Do If You Sell Your Company?

3 weeks ago | medium.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

I used to think selling my company would simply mean “freedom.” But freedom doesn’t parachute you into a better life — it asks you to decide what “better” actually looks like. Here are five things I wrote on my wish list before the acquisition, and how they forced me to rethink what comes next:Choosing where to live, not where I have to live. I’d always dreamed of spending a year in the South of France but felt tethered to the office.
It’s all about Moral Credibility

1 month ago | medium.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

I was broke. I had lost everything, then I made $50M. Yeah…not quite…but that’s the type of crap that “sells” on LinkedIn. Why? A lot of it has to do with gaining moral credibility which is far more important in modern society than subject matter expertise (the way we think about credibility in the logical sense).
70% of B2B AI Features Go Unused: The Seamless Integration Hack to Win Users Now

1 month ago | medium.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

Embed your AI assistant into three daily rituals — no jargon, no new playbook — so it feels like it’s been there all along. Imagine launching the next “must-have” AI assistant only to watch it collect digital dust. Today I’m pulling back the curtain on the invisible codes — my secret weapon as an anthropologist-turned-founder — that decide whether new features become daily rituals or vanish into the backlog.
The Startup Playbook Is a Lie. Ask Better Questions.

1 month ago | hackernoon.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

We all hear the “reasons why.” Industries run on them. “We prioritize X because it’s efficient.” “Our media covers Y because it’s newsworthy.” “This is the path to success because it’s proven.” For years, I nodded along, trying to fit my own entrepreneurial journey into these accepted narratives. But something always felt… off. The stated reasons rarely told the whole story.
Finding the Open Door: How One Secure Ally Helped Us Navigate the Insider’s Game

2 months ago | medium.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

There’s a frustrating pattern you learn when you’re trying to build something new from the ground up. You go out looking for partners, for ways to collaborate, hoping to add something valuable to the ecosystem. But more often than not, you find doors closed. Not because your idea isn’t sound, or your product isn’t ready. It’s simpler, and sadder, than that: the person holding the key is often just afraid. We learned this lesson sharply in the early days of MotivBase.
What If the Only Thing Holding You Back Is an Invisible Rule You Never Questioned?

2 months ago | hackernoon.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

Decoding the Invisible Rules That Almost Derailed My 8-Figure ExitThere I was, standing outside a downtown office building, clutching a presentation I’d spent weeks perfecting. My hands were clammy. My heart was racing. In just minutes, I’d be pitching my vision for an AI-powered anthropological research platform to a roomful of executives who probably had a dozen other meetings that day. Looking back, I realize that moment wasn’t just about landing a potential client.
From Bar Fights to Boardrooms: How I Built a Business While Fighting to Be Seen

Mar 25, 2025 | medium.com | Ujwal Arkalgud |Smillew Rahcuef

Ujwal Arkalgud·FollowPublished inThe Pub·10 min read·--I never wanted to talk about race or racism. It’s not because I didn’t experience it — I did. It’s because talking about it makes people uncomfortable. They’d think I was making excuses. That I was trying to play the victim card. But there’s no victimhood in acknowledging what’s real. And now, with the business sold, I can be honest about those moments without feeling like I need to justify myself. The truth is, it began early.
The Lie We Tell Ourselves About Money

Mar 24, 2025 | medium.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

And Why Performance-Based Pay Sucks!Ujwal Arkalgud·Follow5 min read·--There’s a dangerous lie we keep telling ourselves in business. That money is a motivator. That it brings alignment. That it drives performance. Bullshit. I’ve seen firsthand how money — specifically, performance-based compensation — doesn’t just fail to motivate people. It destroys culture. And I say that as someone who has tried every variation of the “incentive” playbook.
3 Power-Flipping Sales Tactics That Turn Dismissive VPs Into Eager Buyers

Mar 11, 2025 | medium.com | Ujwal Arkalgud

How to WIN When They’re Scrolling Through Email During Your Sales PitchUjwal Arkalgud·Follow2 min read·--Let’s talk about that moment we’ve all experienced: You’re mid-pitch, and the VP across the table is clearly more interested in their inbox than your innovative solution. Their body language screams “hurry up” while you haven’t even gotten to the good part yet. The power dynamic is so lopsided it feels like you’re trying to sell umbrellas in a desert.