Arpit Kaushik
Arpit is the CEO of the teach start-up Hypha and a published poet. He graduated with an MA in Writing Poetry in 2019.
About Arpit's career
Describe your current role:
I am responsible for running the operations of a Tech Startup in the B2B SaaS (business-to-business Software as a Service) space. We make a strategic ideation software (Hypha) that helps innovators bring relevant information together and build ideas based on that. I am responsible for fundraising, investor relations, cashflow management, board meetings, management meetings, sales proposals, copywriting, website, social media, legal & compliance and HR/team performance. My first collection of poetry, What we say is home, was published by Broken Sleep Books in 2020. I published four new poems in An Anthology of Creative Writing (2024) from the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts, edited by Professor Alex Pheby.
"The lessons elevated my craft of writing poetry; in fact it was a quantum leap."
How did you get into this role?
I co-founded the startup. Creating and running the underlying systems and processes that enable teams to focus on their core job, is what I excel at. So the Chief Operating Officer was a natural fit for me.
Studying an MA in Writing Poetry at Newcastle University
How has studying the MA in Writing Poetry helped you in your ambitions or plans?
The MA in Writing Poetry has inculcated in me an appreciation for ambiguity, seeing beyond the ordinary and bringing creativity to my job. I write for our social media channels and almost every post is framed like a poem - short lines, lots of line breaks, white spaces, a turn, and a contemplative ending. Whether it's an email or a social media post, it is informed by poetry, all of which I learnt during my MA in Writing Poetry.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in writing poetry?
Don't wait for inspiration or the perfect moment. Motivation is a losing strategy. Just write. In addition, always have a mentor or a friend who can give you honest feedback on your work.
What, for you, was the best thing about studying the MA in Writing Poetry at Newcastle?
The teaching staff. Studying under three recent T.S. Eliot Prize winners, Jacob Polley, Sinéad Morrissey, and Sean O’Brien, was an amazing experience. It changed the way I looked at the world. The lessons elevated my craft of writing poetry; in fact it was a quantum leap.