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Story of QYON
Before they left their mainstream careers, Saurabh and Preeti spent time seeking what would bring them true happiness and meaning. QYON was born out of this churning in 2017.
They felt our world could do with more clarity, which would lead to more conscious living. They wondered whether we all were making poor decisions and prioritizing the wrong things, both at the level of self and society. To be able to question, learn or unlearn, one has to have the time and space to reflect and introspect - a luxury one hardly has in our world today. Their clarity came from raising questions and reflecting. And this is what they try to enable for others through their work at QYON. Instead of one job, they now do multiple things. They dabble in diverse areas of their many interests. They teach, mentor and coach, facilitate, offer workshops, engage in community work and are constantly learning and growing.
When they started they only knew that QYON was their purpose and passion, something they would enjoy doing. How and why it would in turn fulfil or nourish them was a connection that was revealed only later! They feel a deep sense of gratitude for the work that they get to do through QYON and for all those who make it happen.
So far, QYON has grown only by word of mouth and they have deliberately kept QYON away from anything that can become a distraction or dilutes the core purpose and values of QYON.
People at QYON
Saurabh Mittal
Saurabh wears multiple hats. He is an executive coach, board advisor, startup mentor, teacher, and leadership facilitator. He is an alumnus of Said Business School, University of Oxford where he was a British Chevening scholar (2000) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He has had very diverse learning experiences and is a highly sought after senior leadership coach working with CXOs. He has lived and worked on four continents. He ran a global consulting practice out of NY, was an executive team member of a cutting-edge AI firm, did a non-profit entrepreneurial stint in Europe and taught kids in remote areas in India. He co-founded QYON with Preeti. He serves on boards of several educational institutes, innovative initiatives and start-ups and has supported hundreds of start-ups in their journey. He has done extensive work in the Himalayan region to nurture entrepreneurial talent. He is most passionate about education, entrepreneurship and capacity building.
Preeti Mann
Preeti Mann trained as a cultural anthropologist and completed her D.Phil from University of Oxford. She is also an alumna of Delhi University. Her research interests include well-being and progress, indigenous communities, modernity and its implications. She has had a chance to work both as a development anthropologist and as an anthropologist of development in India and overseas. She has done stints with international aid organisations, worked at the grassroots and been part of the academia. She co-founded QYON with an intent to operationalise life lessons from the liberal arts, anthropology in particular, in the way we go about leading our day to day lives. The richness of world views from across cultures and wisdom traditions inform her work. Her public talks showcase the alternative worldviews of indigenous communities and how they have helped shape her. She lives in the foothills of the Himalayas in India, in a small village close to Dharamshala.