In this personal video journal entry, Sunny Ray steps away from his usual interviews to share his own origin story. Born in Edmonton, Alberta to parents from Calcutta, India, he studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Alberta before finishing his degree in Toronto, a city he instantly fell in love with. Sunny recounts his early career path, from working in the oil industry to landing an engineering role at clean energy company Hydrogenics, then briefly entering financial services before the 2008 crash, and later joining robotics firm Quanser for nearly eight years. He explains that a company posting in Bangalore, India around 2011 to 2012 became the turning point of his life. While living there with his grandmother, curiosity sparked by the Occupy Wall Street movement led him to discover Bitcoin. Six months of intense self-education followed, ending in his decision to fully commit to this new world. The episode sets up the origin story he promises to continue exploring in future vlogs.
Sunny Ray traces his winding path from engineer to Bitcoin believer, sparked by a life changing stint in Bangalore.
Who are you and where are you from?
I was born in Edmonton, Alberta to parents from Calcutta, India. I studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Alberta and finished my last few years at the University of Toronto. I have lived in Toronto for almost half my life now.
Why are you starting this vlog?
I have told my story so many times that I figured I should just capture it on camera. That way when people ask what my story is, I can send them a link instead of repeating it. Also, doing something uncomfortable like talking to a camera is exactly the kind of push I need in my life.
Why did you move from Alberta to Toronto?
After my first few work terms in the oil industry during university, I realized that was not the industry I wanted to spend my life in. I thought moving to a bigger city like Toronto would expose me to a different side of the world. Once I got there I fell in love with the city and the people.
What was your first job after graduating?
I was reading a magazine called Profit Guide 100 that listed the most profitable growing companies in Canada, and Hydrogenics stood out. I applied, went through a bunch of interviews, and got the job. That moved me out of oil and into the clean energy industry.
What led you into financial services for a while?
As a young engineer making a couple thousand dollars a month, it was hard to cover student loans, rent, food, and still have fun. So around 2006 or 2007, before the financial crash, I got licensed to offer mutual funds and insurance through a company. Eventually I felt that was not really my calling.
What was Quanser and how did it connect to your Bitcoin story?
Quanser is a mechatronics and robotics company based in Markham, Canada, and I worked there for nearly eight years. Around 2011 or 2012 the company had me living in Bangalore, India. While there, curiosity from the Occupy Wall Street movement got the wheels turning and eventually led me to discover Bitcoin.
How do you explain what Bitcoin is?
Bitcoin is the world's first open source, decentralized digital currency and payment network. People find it confusing because it is two things in one, a digital currency like dollars or rupees that is highly volatile, and also a payment network similar to Visa, Western Union, or PayPal.
What happened after you discovered Bitcoin?
I spent about six months in Bangalore reading and learning everything I could about Bitcoin, constantly telling my grandmother, who lived with me at the time, about it even though she had no idea what I was talking about. After those six months I finally said enough is enough, I need to make a move.
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