The startup landscape is replete with stories of serendipity. We got a taste of it recently. It is sweet and delicious.

We have been struggling to get a Technical Architect on board for some time now. A lot of interviews. Many no-shows. I was beginning to get worried. (A friend/advisor jokingly reassured me – “You are in deep shit. That’s a key trait of a good startup.”)

A few weeks ago, I spotted a photograph in the newspaper that looked familiar. The name listed against the photograph was familiar too. I say familiar because the picture matched a guy I knew but the profile description did not. So I Googled the name and lo and behold – found that this guy was indeed the guy I knew from a previous life. To make a long story short, I emailed this guy, we got together a few times, I made him an offer and he accepted. I couldn’t have found a better person for this role – he is a brilliant geek, a very nice person and, the best part – I know him.

The path to serendipity may not be very pleasant, but when you get there, you realize that the journey was worth it. What may look like setbacks in the short term, turn out to be building blocks of eventual success.