I recently returned from my first visit to the Gridstone Research facilities in Mumbai, India. Being a seasoned business traveler, I have gotten pretty adept at being able to anticipate what results to expect both from a business perspective and cultural experience during a trip. This trip exceeded all my expectations.

The Gridstone office facilities are truly impressive. From the highly functional office layout to the high tech training center and conference rooms, the Gridstone analysts have everything they need to perform their jobs at peak efficiency. Speaking of our analysts, they are the most highly motivated and knowledgeable group of people that I have come across in a very long time.

My visit coincided with earnings season. Anyone walking into the office couldn't help but feel the energy and sense of urgency that filled the air. Each conference room had a team of analysts engaged in animated discussion preparing for the next call. I sat in a few of these meetings and I found myself caught up in the conversation and was amazed at the level of detail that was being reviewed. It was very obvious that each team had a very deep understanding of the companies and sectors they covered. And if all this activity weren't enough, a group of 37 new hires were completing their fourth week of intensive training in the adjacent training center.

During and after each conference call, the teams diligently updated the company information while the quality control team meticulously reviewed the data as the final step before being published to the live production system prior to market open the next day. Having witnessed this first hand, I have a much deeper appreciation for the skill and talent that goes into the building of a Gridstone company "grid" with the detailed data and click through to text. I am amazed that so much detailed data can be captured, in context, with such high quality in a short period of time. This is a direct reflection of the superior talent level of each and every member of our Mumbai staff.

As far as Mumbai is concerned, I found the people and the Indian culture as a whole to be extremely friendly and helpful. I took the time to visit the center of Mumbai which was rich with Indian culture and some very interesting architecture. That said, I think I am still recovering from the frenetic pace and flow of the Mumbai traffic, including seeing a gentleman riding an elephant right up the main thoroughfare in the middle of the morning rush hour. A sight I will not soon forget.