Hi, I’m Lux Narayan

Actually, it’s Lakshmanan, a name pronounced in 18 different ways. My friends call me Lux. I enjoy:

  • Storytelling. I believe it to be an art and a science necessary for life and work. Videos below

  • Founding unique companies and creating world-class technology products like StreamAlive. Details below

  • Writing stuff, stand-up comedy, and Name, Place, Animal, Thing, an Amazon Bestseller. Summary below

  • The outdoors. I am an avid hiker and a certified diver. I hope to be licensed pilot some day.

I live in Basking Ridge, New Jersey with my wife, adult children (when they’re home), and Nymeria, our ‘rescued’ dog from the time Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. I am bi-continental and spend a lot of time in Chennai & Shillong, India where many of my family & colleagues live.

LinkedIn is the best place to connect with me. If you’re into Linktree, here’s mine. It includes recent podcast interviews.

Storytelling…

Talk at the TED main stage: What I learned from 2000 obituaries

 

I read the New York Times everyday and usually start with the obituaries. They’re often a masterclass in lives well led. Coupling this with my interest in data driven narrative became a TED talk I gave on lessons I’d learned from analyzing 2000 obituaries. Viewed over 2 million times, NPR’s Guy Raz also interviewed me about this talk.

Name, Place, Animal, Thing: An Amazon Bestseller. Buy it here.

 

The text below has been reproduced from the back cover:

“So...What do you do?”

It’s a question we’ve all answered, not too well. Don’t you wish you had a better answer than your job? Join Kai’s life-changing journey in this modern fable by entrepreneur, stand-up comedian, and TED Speaker Lux Narayan.  

Soul-searching at that all-too-familiar crossroads in life and career, Kai learns to outgrow an impending sense of personal crisis when a series of eye-opening encounters reveal the building blocks of a fuller life, all rooted in a childhood game: Name, Place, Animal, Thing. This practical wisdom for a life lived beautifully comes together into a one page visual; a do-it-yourself blueprint for reigniting a life of curiosity, humility, and empathy - a picture that’s worth more than a thousand words. Try it now. What is your Name, Place, Animal, Thing?

Performance at Comedy Cellar, New York City

 

Thanks to a momentary lapse of reason, I performed a stand up comedy set at the Comedy Cellar in New York. This was scary. It was certainly the most difficult piece of storytelling I’d ever done. I have also studied improv comedy and love it. I will be doing more comedy in the future. Our world can certainly use more laughter and more “Yes, And”

If you hadn’t guessed, I enjoy speaking and presenting, and love what we do at our company, StreamAlive. More below…

Companies…

 

I am a co-founder and the CEO at StreamAlive, a category-creating audience engagement platforms for slide-streamers and livestreamers. It works with online, in-person, and hybrid meetings. Do take a look. The website also has a sandbox to see it in action immediately.

Before this, I’d co-founded and headed Unmetric up to our acquisition by Cision, the world’s largest “earned media platform” that’s now a part of Platinum Equity.

I was the first volunteer at ShareMyCake, a unique non-profit founded by my wife, Lakyntina.

I’m on the advisory board of two privately held tech product companies, and was, for a while, on the board of RS Software, a public FinTech company. Informally, I often advise startups and non-profits and enjoy helping folks who can benefit from my own learnings and my mistakes.

Writing, etc.

I wrote an Amazon Bestseller titled Name, Place, Animal, Thing - an inspiring fable about hope, positivity, and living your best life. It’s a practical guide to answering the ultimate question: “So, what do you do?” The book has an occassional companion newsletter (subscribe below for free).