Dash Dhakshinamoorthy helps people become founders of their own lives. He is the creator of act2 and a pioneer of Effectuation in Malaysia.
Portrait
The man behind the work, in his own words.
Meaningful Work
People usually come to me at a turning point:
- An aspiring founder who has tried the usual programmes and wants to start differently.
- A senior executive leaving employment, unsure what comes next.
- A seasoned corporate leader moving into entrepreneurship, with deep expertise in management and planning, but needing to learn how to start, and the art of being entrepreneurial.
- A company looking for its next growth engine, and wanting its people to think and act more entrepreneurially to build it.
- A professional returning after years away, wondering if it’s too late, and where to begin.
- An organisation helping its people through a transition with dignity.
Each one needs two things: an inner shift, and the know-how to take a first step they’re comfortable with. This is where I do my best work.
What I live by
Not beliefs. A daily practice.
- My truth: no self.
- The “I” is an illusion, a story the mind tells. My practice is to observe my thoughts without becoming them, and to be the witness.
- Dharma.
- From the Sanskrit dhṛ, “to hold up”. To live in a way that upholds life.
- Staying educable.
- Always learning, from anyone, at any age.
What nourishes me
- Reading
- Music: Carnatic and jazz, instrumental, and old classics in Tamil, English and Hindi
- Time with family and friends: my wife Vani, our children, my grandson Harvey, and Wookie
- Swimming and slow jogging
- A lovely meal with people I love
- Connecting with people, and conversations that matter
- Being true to myself
Ideas that shape my worldview and life philosophy
Books, across every genre. Conversations with thoughtful people, especially those I don’t immediately agree with. Serendipitous encounters. Theatre and the arts. Travel. Journaling. Long walks. Sometimes idleness, and simply being.
A few books that left their mark:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig · Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach · Illusions, Richard Bach · The Awakening of Intelligence, J. Krishnamurti · Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse · The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry · Post-Capitalist Society and Management, Peter Drucker · Effectuation, Saras Sarasvathy · Why Buddhism Is True, Robert Wright · Food Rules, Michael Pollan · Exercised, Daniel Lieberman · The Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana · Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman
And many more, including biographies and autobiographies of remarkable people and leaders.
Watch, listen, read
- WatchThe Restart, my TEDx talk ↗
- ListenThe ‘Good Enough’ Entrepreneur on BFM 89.9 ↗
- ReadUnleashing Ideas, my blog from the early years of building Malaysia’s startup ecosystem ↗
Three things people always ask me
- The black. I wear only black. It isn’t about colour; it’s about restraint. Ask me about it when we meet.
- The hair. It has had many lives: Afro, gelled back, crew cut. Now the curls do what they like.
- The cap. For years, a newsboy cap went everywhere I travelled. Good friends kept gifting me more, and I now have a whole collection, from Australia to Chicago. People who know me still ask when they’re coming out again.
Three ways to introduce me
For anyone putting me on a stage, a panel or a page. Use whichever fits.
Dash Dhakshinamoorthy is an entrepreneur, Effectuation educator and next act guide with more than 35 years of building behind him. He brought Global Entrepreneurship Week to Malaysia, founded StartupMalaysia, and was one of four Malaysians selected for President Obama’s inaugural Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship as a US State Department IVLP Fellow. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship from Cambridge Judge Business School and an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, and is a Certified Professional Coach and TEDx speaker. He is also co-founder and Country Head of CAMentrepreneurs Malaysia, part of a Cambridge University entrepreneurship community. A student of Saras Sarasvathy, he is the creator and co-founder of act2.
Sold matchbox cars and fighting fish as a boy. Has been building things ever since: ventures, a few of the country’s firsts, and one masterpiece in progress, act2. Wears only black. Swims long distances.