SAT version of the app is now the 3rd best app for SAT

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The first thing I see everyday morning is my dashboard. I was surprised to see that the IntelliVocab for SAT app was ranked as 3rd best SAT app. It was also ranked as the 7th best app in the free education app category.

Today is the 12th day since the release and reaching 3rd position is an amazing feat. We really didn't expect this. SAT space is the most competitive space on app store with over 1000 SAT apps.

We are working on releasing the version 1.2 of the app soon.

It is also rated as 5th on the top 50 free education apps list. http://www.appstoreapps.com/top-50-free-education-apps/

Vocabulary Builder for Business Communication

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I have been working hard for last few weeks on the vocabulary builder for business communication. The app is coming along pretty well. I have few icons, which I can share as of now.

The above image is the icon for the product. Below I am including the splash screen image as well.

My team @ Faqden Labs is very excited and looking forward to its release. Like the SAT and GRE version of the app, we are hoping this will be a huge success as well.

New release of IntelliVocab

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We at Faqden Labs are excited about the latest release of IntelliVocab for GRE and GMAT. We were working on it for over 2 weeks now and finally it is done. There was a weird bug which troubled us for many days.

Things are looking really good with multiple products in the pipeline.

Release Notes:
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1. Fixed the Crash issue
2. Improved algorithm to mix up the practice words with different characters
3. Added rate it feature
4. Added color coding to highlight the antonym question

Writing an e-book

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Writing an e-book is tougher than I imagined. I am working on it along with my co-author for last 2 months and we are making very little progress. I am hoping, now that I am done with school and have some free time, I can focus on it.

It all boils down to concentration and focus. When I started, I had a very clear picture of what I wanted pen down, but sitting and getting it done is a complex task. Actually more than complex it is boring! It is not as much fun as I thought. I actually have to convince myself to write everyday. Of-course my co-author is no different.

Anyways, lets see how it ends up in the end.

WORDS-N-EXPRESSIONS: IPHONE APPS BUSINESS: AN INSIGHT FOR DUMMIES

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WORDS-N-EXPRESSIONS: IPHONE APPS BUSINESS: AN INSIGHT FOR DUMMIES: "With the popularity of iPhone (for that matter Apple’s all other products such as iPad and iPod Touch) in the global market, the iPhone ..."

SAT sales have been disappointing so far!

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Going into it, I was aware of SAT being a competitive space and expected tough path for SAT version of the IntelliVocab. But sales have been more disappointing than I imagined. I guess, I will have to work on the marketing for the SAT version.

GRE version almost took of instantaneously with a silent launch. It was getting downloaded over 150 per day without any marketing effort.

Check out the SAT version here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/intellivocab-for-sat/id436685357?mt=8

In terms of content it is still very basic, but I am planning to keep adding more words and improving the interface over time. Currently we are more focussed on releasing the business communication version of the app.

It finally ended!

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Yesterday was the last day of my academic life at MIT. I had to endure a 3 hr final test in finance to earn the freedom. I know I am going to miss being at MIT, but for now I am glad its over.

I completed my degree in 13 months (3 semesters + 1 month IAP). I had taken summer off. Of the three semesters, I spent half of fall in India working full-time for Sourcebits, so it was technically just 2.5 semesters :).

Waking up today morning it felt weird. Not having to run to any class, no assignment to submit, no meetings to attend. It almost felt lonely and exciting at the same time. Now that I am done, I will catch up with all the activities related to Faqden Labs and focus on releasing amazing products in months to come. 

I am also planning to write reviews about various classes I attended and tips on getting the most out of those classes. My only regret is that I didn't attend any Harvard classes, but I guess you cannot have it all. 

from MIT alum!!!!

IntelliVocab is now the top 5 vocabulary building tool on the Apple store

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Today IntelliVocab reached top 5 ranking for GRE on the Apple store. It was lingering around 8 - 10 ranking for over 4 months now, so to finally see it in the top 5 was a pleasant surprise for us at Faqden Labs.

IntelliVocab has come a long way since its launch on app store back in Jan. We went through over 5 upgrades and reached a point were customers are asking us for upgrades and are willing to pay for it. With over 15k installed user base it has a strong following and a reputation in the market.

Horizontal scaling of the product into various domains like SAT and business communication will help it expand its user base further. Now that I am almost done with MIT, I can devote more time to this.

It all comes down to the final week @MIT

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It all started with the SDM boot camp back in Jan 2010. After over 16 months, including 6 months at Sourcebits (India's top mobile application development company), the final week is here. This semester was the toughest (2 different Research Assistant, thesis, 4 courses and Market Lab with Microsoft).

I still have 2 more days to withdraw from graduation and believe me, I am tempted :). I feel sad leaving MIT after spending such an amazing time. I had a great learning experience, returning to education after 9 years of full-time work. Having successfully climbed the corporate ladder at Verizon, I was convinced that I do not need a management degree.

But after I joined Murex, my perspective changed completely. I was in a situation where I was not the one with most information and hence managing by influence was very difficult. Moving into a new industry(finance) and a new company I suddenly realized all the skills I lacked, including how to effectively rally a group behind you, when you do not have 8 years of credibility to bank on, like I had at Verizon. Also meeting colleagues from big name schools like Harvard, Columbia, Chicago Booth-made me feel... lets just say insecure.

I can truly say MIT exposed my greatest weaknesses, including the overconfidence that I know what I am talking about. People here are seriously smart!! I was also able to validate that there are some fields I really hate and would never fit in like finance and energy.

I explored some new domains like sales, marketing and strategy which I love and am moving into semi-sales/strategy role. I will write about my experiences with various classes and labs in detail in coming weeks.

Now back to preparing for boring financial theory.

Finally uploaded the Vocabulary Builder for SAT to app store

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After working on it for over 2 months, I was finally able to upload the IntelliVocab for SAT to the app store.

I am still waiting for approval, but this is the second product released by Faqden Labs. We are working on the vocabulary tool for the business communication and should be releasing it soon as well.

IntelliVocab for GRE and GMAT is really doing well and is almost touching 500 downloads per day. We are getting many requests for releasing the paid version with more words, so currently evaluating it.

After finishing MIT in 2 weeks, I should be able to focus on releasing more products. 

SCRUM Redefined!

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Faqden Labs has created a subsidiary unit to focus on tablet based enterprise products. We will be blogging about our efforts during development and some cool tips about using SCRUM at  http://blog.xibird.com/.

The first tool in the enterprise product line is Xibird, a SCRUM tool leveraging collaboration and enterprise social networking. We are yet to create the product backlog, but currently we have some fancy ideas. Our main competitor is Pivotal Tracker.

I will blog about it from time to time and link it here. With this endeavor Faqden Labs is official launching a enterprise product line.

My partner in crime is Sridhar, you can check out his blog @ http://www.3dminds.blogspot.com/

Nostalgic about my days as a developer

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One of my buddy sent me this old picture and it brought back nostalgic memories of my days as a developer. Those long nights cranking away code at rapid pace were the best days of my life. Life was so simple. All I had to do was be able to talk to computer efficiently and I made good money. No strategies, no marketing, no people skills, no leadership skills, no socializing, no networking. Well, good old days!

I always said the same thing to my manager, that there is no need to test my code. It will work perfectly, just send it to the build. I guess every developer during his early days suffers from grandeur about his coding skills. 

Anyways, this picture made me laugh a lot and brought back memories from good old days.