At Zoomcar I hired a Senior Finance Manager who had spent several years auditing companies at a Big Four firm. He was smart, fundamentally sound and dedicated to his work. We were excited to have him on board. One of his first assignments was to build an asset tracker to ensure the accuracy of our… Continue reading Own It
Category: Blog
All Software Tastes Like Chicken
I’ve worked in mining, mobility, and fintech. I’ve invested in companies making software, micro-irrigation systems, paper, animal feed and chilli sauce. One of my learnings through this journey is that the fundamentals don’t change. Or, as Robert Smith of Vista Equity Partners puts it, “All software tastes like chicken.” Porter’s five forces (or your framework… Continue reading All Software Tastes Like Chicken
“Our Customers are So Stupid!”
At one startup, I started an initiative where every person in the organization would spend a day a month answering customer support emails. We were a small team at the time and always constrained on resources. One of our senior engineers, one of the best I’ve ever worked with, was highly opposed to the initiative.… Continue reading “Our Customers are So Stupid!”
Disaster in Slow Motion
At two of the startups I’ve worked at, customers defrauded us of over a millions dollars. At three of them, employees defrauded the company of several hundred thousand dollars. Two times, we had a shortfall in customer support staff that caused a month-long wait time for responses. At one, the entire sales team quit within… Continue reading Disaster in Slow Motion
No Room for B-Grade
College was easy for me. I seldom had issues understanding what was being taught. This gave me the luxury of putting in only the amount of work I cared to. I diligently studied the courses the interested me and got an A grade, while sauntering through the others and being satisfied with a B grade.… Continue reading No Room for B-Grade
What if it Works?
When I was CFO at Zoomcar, our product head (who, by the way, I didn’t get along with) proposed that we launch a ‘zero deposit’ initiative, whereby certain customer segments wouldn’t have to provide the Rs. 5,000 deposit while booking a car. The hypothesis was that this would reduce friction and lead to higher bookings.… Continue reading What if it Works?
Why Do It?
When I joined Zoomcar in 2015, finance was a mess. We had a skeletal and unstructured team. Our financial numbers were (very) incorrect. We had very little tracking and control over our spending. We didn’t have a consolidated view of our cars. My team and I got to work. One by one, we figured out… Continue reading Why Do It?
Trust
In an interview some time back, the interviewer asked me, “Say, there’s an urgent deadline to meet and one of the key senior members of your team is not available. The work requires your remaining team to work nights and weekends. How do you ensure you deliver?” I don’t know what answer he expected, but… Continue reading Trust
Committed or Bust
I started Twish, my first startup, with three friends. Two of them were running another startup alongside Twish and the other was working a full-time job as he had some financial obligations to cover. I was the only full-time person on the team. Our initial product idea, financial courses with storylines and animation, generated no… Continue reading Committed or Bust
“Nobody cares, work harder”
I graduated from the best engineering and MBA schools in India. I’m an IIT-IIM. When I started working at Lehman, I had a level of self-importance that was significantly above my skill set. This led to some bad attitude and work quality issues. I took a few months to realize that my educational credentials had… Continue reading “Nobody cares, work harder”