Amit @NextFive

Hi, I’m Amit!

This is where I write about myself without needing it to be useful. Putting this here also makes it easier for me to copy and paste the following when asked.
Credit for the note: Sloane

Last updated: June 2026

About me

I’m currently exploring the intersection of creation, learning, and connection.

More than anything, I want to make: articles, essays, books, software, systems, and ideas that help people think differently about their lives and work.

I work best in 2-3 focused blocks per day with ideally not more than 2-3 longer term goals over a period of 3-6 months, with weekly calibrations.

Recent explorations

More updated version of what I’m doing now here on my now page

Exploring the path towards maximising impact while retaining creative independence - through writing, building products, and creating community. The focus is on freedom: control over my time, being useful to others, and building things that exist independent of me.

Some recent work:

• CareerMap: Making non-obvious career paths visible. Built on the premise that people can only want what they can see exists. The first vertical: independent and micro-economy careers.

• Orbit: An experiment in redistributing network capital. Financial capital has microfinance. Skills have vocational training. But network capital (access to the people who open doors) has no redistribution infrastructure. Testing whether that can change, starting in Bangalore.

• Guide: A tool for managing goals, tasks, and thinking. Built for myself first.

• NextFive Publisher: A single-file tool for publishing to Jekyll/GitHub Pages blogs. So I could start posting short bits on the go, like Twitter. Part of a collection of small, useful web apps.

• Writing: Mostly because it helps me think. Also practicing thematic writing on Substack, with essays on how systems work, why some problems stay invisible, and what happens when you try to change that. But I’m still exploring the identity of EarlyNotes.
• Listening and sharing stories: With a bunch of interesting folks at Listeners’ Circle and Creative Mornings Bangalore.

Timeline for context

• Late 2000s: Software engineering
• 2010s: Moved from engineering to Product management: Across B2B platforms. Built analytics platforms across Travel, HR and analytics workflows.
  You probably encountered my work without knowing it at:
  • Financial anomaly detection at investment banks
  • Border security systems for visa processing and passenger manifests (Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia)
  • Modern reporting for Human Capital Management (17% chance your US-based company uses it)
  • NLP solutions for data de-duplication and survey analysis
  • ServiceNow platform analytics (if you’ve raised a support ticket at work, there’s a good chance)
• 2025 - Now: Deliberate exploration beyond full-time employment: Tinkering, building, writing. Testing ideas. Learning to earn without salary.

What I’m drawn to

• People who stretch, strive, and grow. I connect with curious folks exploring their own paths.
• Storytelling and writing. How to communicate ideas clearly. How narratives shape thinking.
• Making things. Articles, essays, software, systems, ideas that help people think differently. But especially tools that help people navigate complexity and make better decisions.
• Serendipity and novel experiences. Meeting interesting people. Traveling. Conversations that shift perspective.

• Systems thinking. Creating structures - whether in apps, communities, or workflows — that make things work better.

• Photography. I’m always interested in the interplay of contrasts - of subjects, themes, colors, light. Gravitating towards slice-of-life frames. My work is at Flickr.

How I Work

I prefer one-on-one conversations over group hangouts. Quality over quantity of connection.

I'm deliberate about my choices. I don't believe in "I can't help the way I am." Life is something you design, not something that happens to you.

I hate wasting time. Hours matter. I imagine my time as valuable - worth protecting - and ask myself what's worth that investment. Though I often feel like I make wrong choices. But I have also noticed a tendency to judge myself harshly. I'm working on both.

What matters to me

• Autonomy: Control over my time and what I work on.
• Usefulness: My work should help people in some immediate, real way.
• Durability: Creating things that outlast me. Writing, software, ideas that stand independent of my presence.
• Growth: Always learning. Always pushing into unfamiliar territory.
• Genuine connection: Real conversations with people doing interesting things.

What doesn’t matter

• Money as a metric of success (i.e. beyond financial freedom to choose my work and occasional indulgences).
• Fitting in or following the expected path.

Life philosophy

I'm skeptical of fixed beliefs - the opposite of what I believe is probably also true. But currently trying to be more aligned with these principles:

• Action over planning. Move fast from thinking to doing. You discover what matters by trying. Something I’ve struggled with. Getting better.
• Focus. Say no ruthlessly. Protect time for what matters. Working on this.
• Iterative improvement. Done is better than perfect. Iterate toward better.
• Be useful. Help people. Make things people need.
• Dailyish is consistent. You don’t need perfection. 3-4 times a week is consistent enough.

Other interests

Sci-fi movies. Watched all the good ones (80s onwards). Always looking for recommendations.

Privacy, free software, smartphones. The importance of controlling your own tech.

Narratives. How stories shape thinking and decisions.

Running. Have gotten past 21km mark in 2 hours 15 minutes a few times now. Nothing record-breaking. But mine. Read about it.

Right now

I’m in a deliberate exploration phase. Building, writing, meeting interesting people. Testing ideas. Learning what resonates and what doesn’t.
So for me it’s more about “What can I build or write that matters to me and helps others?”
I’m taking my time with that.

More here

Let’s talk

Questions? Thoughts? Coffee? Just reach out. I always love a good conversation.

Email:
Schedule time: cal.com/amitkumar

About “NextFive”

You’re probably wondering about the name.

“Amit Kumar” is taken everywhere. Gmail. Discord. Bluesky. Every platform worth its name.

NextFive came from that frustration. Also, I’m always exploring about 5 new things simultaneously. And it sounded fun. The name stuck.

NextFive.in is where I build. NextFive.xyz is where I write. Yes, it’s confusing. Working on consolidating.

P.S: Nod to Derek Sivers for the home-page structure inspiration.