The Power of Music: Tanmaya Jain's self-taught music therapy

For 28-year-old Tanmaya Jain, music is cathartic and he uses it to great advantage for work, especially remote work. “Sometimes, in the middle of work—say at lunchtime—I’ll just go, play a song and come back—and it feels incredible,” says the Founder and CEO of employee experience start-up inFeedo—that provides conversational AI chatbot Amber to more than 225 brands like Tata, Samsung and Airtel. The start-up calls Amber the Chief Listening Officer of its clients and it helps HR teams engage remote employees and uncover hidden gaps in their culture, in more than 60 countries.

By his own admission, Jain is a self-taught musician (“I learnt from YouTube”) who plays the saxophone and piano. Music came to his aid during one of the most difficult times in his life. In 2018, Jain lost his 17-year-old brother to cancer. His brother used to play the saxophone, and after his brother’s passing, Jain picked it up. “When you are at your absolute lowest, you have to dedicate yourself to something. I gave my heart and soul to music—and that’s when music really took off for me,” he says. He took to the piano later.

Gurugram-based Jain, who started his entrepreneurial journey in 2013 and speaks on mental health at various fora, says learning a musical instrument on one’s own is very similar to the journey of a founder. The initial learning curve for both, he says, is “mind-boggling”. The first few minutes with an instrument “makes you angry, impatient and you feel like quitting within 10 minutes. That’s what it’s like being a founder in the early days.” The instrument, he says, teaches you patience and gives you the joy of accomplishing something that is very challenging.

“You need to be committed and let the process take over—it’s easier said than done.” But Jain has learnt to do it somehow.

@abhik_sen