On Complementing People

I was walking towards an event venue yesterday when I saw Girish Mathrubootham, the founder of Freshworks and a legend among Indian SAAS founders, waiting to cross the road. I saw him and took about a minute to look at him and recognise who he was. I thought of going up to him but then stopped myself - what would I say to him? I think he saw me, too, and expected me to walk up to him, but I did not. Then, two other founders came on the same street, went up and introduced themselves, and shook his hand. I did the same, but I think Girish had marked me as arrogant by then.

I thought about this encounter the whole day. What do you say in such a situation? I did not want to look like a fawning fanboy and say something like, "Big fan." - I am from Mumbai - we don’t even say that to movie stars. I also did not want to talk about any news surrounding him as there is a familiarity difference—I know more about him from public sources than he knows about me. I did not want to say something like - you have lost a lot of weight. While that is an achievement in its own right - it is not the core reason why I admire him.

Many standup comedians talk about people recognising them but not walking up to them. They talk about how they would like to be recognised and complimented. It boosts their self-confidence and motivates them to be on the same path of creating content.

While I am sure Girish does not need compliments from me, it would be nice to let him know my genuine respect for him. Somewhere, I stopped complimenting people and telling them why I respected them. I think they might already know that. What would I add? However, in my life, whenever I have received compliments, it has always made me feel good. Moreover, there are times when a kind word of encouragement or respect has helped exorcise the demons of self-doubt, which crop up occasionally. I have always liked it when people have genuinely complimented me, and I am sure that would be the case with others.

So, how do you compliment people? It has to be genuine. People can spot a fake comment from a mile away and bracket you as somebody seeking favours. It should articulate your respect and how it has inspired you or why you genuinely think what they do is unique. It should validate them.

So what should I have said to him - “ Hi Girish, I am <my name>, you and your journey at Freshworks have inspired me. Thanks for building such a great company from India and giving back to the community to inspire people like me. I am here to attend SAAStr and Caravan.

Short, genuine, to the point and something which I genuinely respect about him.