Delhis odd-even conceptually illogical and

impossible to judge

Naga Kataru
created Google
Alerts. Now hes
an almond farmer
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By Sanskriti on April 6, 2016

When Naga Kataru rst

pitched the idea of Google
Alerts, it was immediately
rejected.
My manager didnt like it, said Kataru. He
said Google makes money when people
come to us. If we set alerts, then were losing
money because were sending people away
from Google.
Kataru trusted his instincts anyway.
I went to Sergey Brin and Larry Page. I said I
had a cool prototype with a simple user
interface to show them, he said.

The Google founders tested it right away, said

Kataru. In fact, the first keywords ever used to
test Google Alerts were Google and Larry
Page, he said.

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Naga Kataru on his farm in Modesto, California.

They both loved it, said Kataru, who is listed

on three patents for Google Alerts.
Google (GOOGL, Tech30) launched Google
Alerts in 2003. Its become one of its most
useful tools, with hundreds of millions of
people using it to monitor the web for specific
content.
When Google hired Kataru in 2000, he was
the 40th engineer at the 110-employee startup.
But just getting to Googles door was a
remarkable feat for a 25-year-old engineer
who first encountered a computer as an
undergraduate in India.
Kataru grew up in Gampalagudem, a farming
village in the southern Indian state of Andhra
Pradesh. He was a gifted student in a high
school where only half the students would
show up for class, because education wasnt
a priority for them, he said.

Kataru, as an undergraduate, on his way to

college in India.

His father, the schools principal, was

determined to keep his son college-bound.

So Kataru graduated with a college degree in

computer science and engineering and then
enrolled at the Indian Institute of Technology,
in one of the countrys best computer science
programs.
Kataru credits Google for spurring his
creativity as a technologist. There was so
much freedom to explore and invent, he said.
But after eight years, Kataru grew restless.
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I felt I was stagnating, he said. I had worked

one side of my brain for so long. I wanted to
explore the other side.
Kataru eventually left Google and jumped into
completely new territories documentary
short films and improv theater.
He applied to and was accepted into a
directing program at Second City, the worldfamous improv group, whose alumni include
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Katarus latest career reincarnation is as a
farmer. In 2008, he bought a 320-acre farm in
Modesto, California. It was only meant to be a
diversified investment.

Kataru in his office in Google in 2001.

I thought I would sell it after five years, said

Kataru.
But the farm reminded him of his life in India.
I missed the way the fruits and flowers
smelled differently in India, he said.
Instead of selling the money-losing farm, he
converted it into an almond farm, which
required one-third the labor.
I didnt know anything about farming. But I
love education and I taught myself, he said.
Today the farm, which also grows apricots, is
profitable and has eight employees. It
generates $2.5 million in annual revenue.
Kataru still isnt resting on his laurels. Hes
working on two degrees at Stanford an
MBA and an MS in Environment & Resources
to prepare him for his next challenge:
making farming more tech-savvy.
Its ironic that even though there are farms
just 90 miles outside of Silicon Valley,
technology hasnt been used much to improve
processes and crop yields, he said. As a
technologist, I think I can do something about
it.
(Source: CNN Money)

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