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Interviews - The Rodinhoods 2014-11-23T14:21:54Z http://therodinhoods.com/forum/categories/interviews-1/listForCategory?feed=yes&xn_auth=no Meet Kanchan, the industrious HR manager. tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-10-15:6328457:Topic:243291 2014-10-15T13:23:12.107Z Sushrut Munje http://therodinhoods.com/profile/SushrutMunje

I met Kanchan when she joined GetMyPeon, taking over their HR reins. While she is vivacious, it took a…

I met Kanchan when she joined GetMyPeon, taking over their HR reins. While she is vivacious, it took a couple of short conversations to understand the impressive career journey she has had in an amazingly short period of time. I simply had to interview her for TheRodinhoods! :)

Entrepreneurs are go-getters as they work towards their goal. The long hours involve studies, updated knowledge, people skills and consciously grooming new skills. Kanchan represents the sincere and industrial side of entrepreneurship. My conversation with her-

Kanchan, what struck me was the transition from your academic performance in school (average) and in junior college (excellent). Do elaborate on what made the difference.

Yes, it is indeed striking how a just-about-distinction scorer made it to scoring 90s through the two years of junior college. After my school I had to run from pillar to poster for admissions. It came to a point where all my friends were already in college and I was still on the lookout for an admission. My mother relentlessly accompanied me wherever we went for admission. There was one such day when we went to a college to meet the Principal; this college was a part of a bigger group where I had no hopes to secure a seat. When we met the Principal, she said a point blank NO and Mamma broke, for the first time I saw her requesting with tears in her eyes. THAT day made a difference. We walked out of college and as Mamma was wiping off the tears from her eyes, I decided, 2 years from now and I would ensure my mother walks the same campus happy and proud.

"I have followed a simple rule - to be amongst the top 5."

Right enough, after my HSC, I applied in the parent group of the same college which had rejected me and got through in the first list itself. It did not stop there and by the end of graduation, I topped the college and will soon be delivering a guest lecture there :) The turning point was the helplessness I saw in my mother and that was the time I decided that this was going to be the end of all the trouble she went through to get me educated. There on, my efforts aren't to be the first but just to be in the first 5. Whether it be academics or individual assignments or work; the rule remains simple - just aim the first 5 and you are sorted because it saves you the stress to stand first while making sure all your energy is focused towards getting ahead.

Were you involved in extracurricular activities during school and college years? Did they contribute to your decisions taken later in life? Lessons learnt?

Sports were never my forte, as a matter of fact the only race I have ever nailed a medal has been "Potato Race" in the 3rd standard ;P And at that point, the idea was not to win, the idea was to get the potato before anybody else and get it to Mamma so she could make me French fries ;P

Apart from that, as a child, I took a keen interest in drawing and learning languages. I managed to establish myself amongst the top 3 rankers in the State level Marathi Language Proficiency examination in school. Also pursued a basic language proficiency course in Spanish and loved it! For a long time I used to teach when I was in school just for the sake of the happiness I got out of teaching with absolutely no monetary benefits attached.

Do share your experiences at your first job, and the key takeaways.

My first job was with a consultancy and at that time I had no comprehension of what it takes to be a competent Human Resource professional. The doorway for any HR job is Talent Acquisition and when I bagged it, I was happy for two reasons - my first breakthrough in my profession and because I was now able to contribute monetarily at home. It was an incentivized role so at the end of the month I usually took home more than the fixed salary by way of incentives.

"My first take away from the job was PATIENCE!"

We called up 20 people to get one candidate for interview and then groomed him/her for hours so that he/she got selected and then patiently waited for them to complete 3 months with the company so that we got our incentives. It also taught me to understand people over a period of time. We met everybody from genuine job seekers to bragging bullshitters and the art of distinguishing the former from the later was what I got from the job.

Transition to second job?
 Was it a different 'Kanchan' now? What had changed?

Yeah, the second job was a corporate profile so a lot had changed. The way a consultancy functions and the manner in which a corporate operates is a lot more different. You know the people around you are more experienced and are capable of talking their way to get things done. You transition from 6 day casual attire to a 5 day formal setting. You have deadlines and dual reporting now makes sense to you.

"In a corporate,
 you are directly exposed to the war of diplomatic minds."

Initially it was difficult because I was taken for a very junior role but over two months, I was doing more than I was supposed to. Nevertheless, I loved doing it all, loved the learning and the appreciations AND the escalations as well :) It taught me that the world isn't all that bad but it does come to bite you in the back if it doesn't get what it wants. My approach towards work, people and my career had changed. I could now relate my efforts to Business and that is what HR in a company teaches you.

Key projects which you initiated and delivered? :)

Mirah Hospitality has been my turning point and I thank God because it clicked in the most unusual manner. I was interviewed for a particular profile and shortlisted for some other profile. One project which is very close to my heart is the Development module I developed during Mirah. Everybody wants to learn English and the language not only is a medium to express but it instills confidence and enhances careers. Keeping this in mind, I developed a 6 month Development Module to train those who lacked prowess over spoken English. The module is like my baby because I had drafted, developed and facilitated it in entirety.

When at work, we have highs and lows. While Monday starts with a positivity of accomplishment, Friday ends with the fear of failure. To keep people high and happy and healthy in mind, I started the concept of "Saturday Story". These were short stories with hard hitting takeaways that any working professional could relate to. After having sent forwarded stories, I tried my hand on writing one on my own. After all, stories were once a life lived by someone.

What do you do at GetMyPeon? What excites you here?

Currently I am functioning as the Human Interface Specialist at Get My Peon. 'Human Interface' because as a human resource person, you first need to treat your people as Humans and later treat them as employees. While you need to fight for them, you also need to debate with them to strike a healthy employer-employee balance. My job is all about interfacing with people to get the right talent to work with us and to sustain them by working out their compensation, benefits and engagement policies.

What are you pursuing? Where do you see yourself in the next decade?

I am pursuing my part time MBA in Human Resource from Welingkar's. To a lot of people it seems to be just another part time MBA that helps you nail your long awaited promotion but to me it is a mental nourishment program that takes me through the nuances of Human Resource. I am also planning to do a specialized course in Payroll and Compliance because it shapes you into a holistic HR person - something I aspire to become.

Performance and how it affects all the aspects of a person and an organization is what interests me. Next decade is still too long, but in the next 5 years I see myself on the way of specializing in Performance Management.

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Why Kanchan inspires me -

A success strategy that is figured out.

Relentless pursuit of knowledge and experiences.

Open to shift in job descriptions and newer lessons.

Clarity on the bigger picture – she knows where she's headed.

Responsibility & Accountability – she knows what she's talking about.

Thank you, Kanchan. Best wishes from the community! :)

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About the Author: @sushrutmunje

I build Hammer and Mop - specializing in marketing, service and operations. I'm a published poet and a writer. Startups excite me. Have been a part of speaker panels and given guest lectures at business schools, been a speaker at Youth to Business Forums (powered by AIESEC) and I sit on Unltd India's selection board once in a while. Contributing as a business writer at TheRodinhoods - creating content, interviewing inspiring entrepreneurs / intrapreneurs / professionals and covering events.

 Meet Aakash, who is a mockingbird. tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-10-10:6328457:Topic:242907 2014-10-10T12:05:05.436Z Sushrut Munje http://therodinhoods.com/profile/SushrutMunje

I chose to interview Aakash Chaturvedi because being an engineer + MBA, he is building a career with an award winning marketing agency (Advocacy) yet making serious music. When time permits, he revisits his old job at…

I chose to interview Aakash Chaturvedi because being an engineer + MBA, he is building a career with an award winning marketing agency (Advocacy) yet making serious music. When time permits, he revisits his old job at Raconteur Walks, which introduce interested customers to various aspects of old Mumbai. It takes courage and a certain level of grit to have the best of both the worlds, and thus we seek to understand what drives Aakash at the core.

What strikes you is the ease in his approach towards everything. We ordered mugs of black coffee without sugar, because he had put it so eloquently-

"Bitter is the way to go, man."

Aakash is a voracious reader and in between the questions I asked, we debated on existentialism and individual decisions which have brought us where we are. It was a Mutual Admiration Club, where I complimented him for everything he is up to and he complimented me for starting up. I begged to differ, stating that starting up is the easiest thing to do, to stay put is the toughest thing and that applies to all careers- employer or not. He stressed his point-

"We have been blind, you have been blind enough.
That's the difference."

He represents the wild side on entrepreneurship, which adds beauty to a commercial transaction. He represents the freedom which helps us step out, create and build something so audacious, it's often rejected by others when first shared.

You were excellent in academics during school, Aakash.
What changed things in college?

I was an excellent student in school, in the conventional sense, considering I used to be one of those 'top rankers' – of course, the motivation was usually my mom buying me a Westlife, U2 or some cassette if I studied hard. I loved history! My performance dipped (thankfully) during junior college and Engineering because I spent more time discovering music, and singing and exploring other arts and thinking about girls most of the time. Being curious, I was drawn towards the ideas of Carl Sagan, Hitchens, Joseph Heller and started appreciating poetry (if that's the word) by listening to Pearl Jam, Zeppelin, Universal Hall Pass etc. I said 'thankfully' because by sidelining studies I have learnt a lot of interesting stuff, especially music.

I took a break after engineering under the pretext of preparing for MBA, but I just wanted to explore more, so I heard more music (discovered Massive Attack - great success!), questioned everything, became a tour guide and ended up in Welingkar's business school.

"In MBA, I stopped lying to myself."

I was convinced that I wasn't interested in academics at all and just managed studying enough to see myself through the exam. I wasn't interested in exams and would write enough to pass but hey- avoiding boredom is a great victory!

Describe your connection with music. How are songs different than poetry?

Music feeds my eccentricity, no questions asked. I love the respect you give by asking such a thing (as if I have won a Grammy lol) but music is focking awesome! I am growing up on a diet of different styles, and it has been the best thing to have happened to me! My cousin made me a mix tape when I was 15 and that is one of the few turning points of my life! The pop singers had style! It was like opening up a different world, and I wanted to sing that stuff, like them! I sang a lot, and kept singing and went from sounding like total crap to sounding better! Then I sang more, improved more - that's what I am still doing - getting better, little by little. I learnt arrogance from Oasis, moves from Robert Plant, insanity from Thom Yorke, divine perfection from Melissa Kaplan, and I am in a process of putting them together and building something of my own.

"I am a mockingbird - I learn everything by imitation."

For me, poetry is a result of something that comes by contemplation or a need to say something. However, when I am singing, I don't try to say anything, but just sing. It may be other way round for people like you - who are poets. Maybe for you - poetry is instinctive and songs have a thought process and ability to say things. I am a crappy poet but an okay songwriter, and I make up everything on spot. If someone is playing a piano or a guitar or an electronic patch - words come to me - that's how my neurons fire.

What is your choice of expression and why?

My choice of expression is humor - offensive or absurd, occasionally. I think guys like Joseph Heller, Ricky Gervais, Sacha Baron get more intense points across than a lot of so-called social commentators. Of course, it's always been a secret desire to be as funny, but I guess that's not going to happen.

I wanted to say singing is a choice but then I figured I almost always exclusively sung for myself and I don't know what I end up expressing when I sing and dance like a maniac.

Tell us how Raconteur Walks happened. How did you end up initiating the Bandra Walk?

My bro Avrosh who is also my partner in crime in Little Boys Who (our band, yo! Check us out! lol) first introduced me to this idea. He went "Dude, we get to talk cool stuff to hopefully cool people by walking around the sea and get paid!" It looked like a plan to us - so we went for the job interview.

It was my break year after engineering, and getting introduced to Viraat, the guy who started it all was the beginning of the coolest time of my life - finally we were doing something not many people were doing. I remember people saying - so you'll be guide after engineering and I went – screw you, yes!

After many fun walks and meeting many foreigners (who were only mildly interesting), Viraat asked if I wanted to do research on something new. I love history (and am sure I haven't mentioned that before)! I said yes, and did many recces, met people, took help of an awesome guy and co-Raconteur Jahan and finished designing it. Unlike South Bombay, Bandra has very little written history, so most of our research was based on word of mouth, and other non official sources.

"Bandra-ites know the art of cool."

I tell you this, Bandra is beautiful once you look beyond the pubs and clubs. Bandra-ites have figured their stuff out - most chilled out people I have met in Bombay err, Mumbai! (let me plug in "Jai Maharashtra" to be on the safer side)

Tell us about your current job at Advocacy. How does it excite you?

Advocacy is a dream job. The work, I daresay, is innovative. The culture, amazing. I got a chance to the interview through a friend who suggested I look at word-of-mouth marketing and I was really intrigued by what was going on in this sphere. I landed the job after two interviews with my COO.

"We believe that Marketing 'with' consumers and not 'at' them is the future."

We are actually the most awarded WOM company in the world. Most companies just let go of their satisfied consumers -who can be their biggest resource of generating positive impact. We try to tap into this consumer base and encourage them to do actions for the brand. Now, you don't want them to do boring stuff because that can be counterproductive! Hence Gamification of the actions they do! We take consumers through a gamified journey and get them to do fun stuff for themselves and the brand. We have worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, and I tell you this - the best companies across are quickly waking up to this concept! PS: I follow Hammer and Mop and the engagement you guys do is noteworthy!

*blush* Thank you.
 And what do you mean when you say "abstract" defines you?

Non practical, maybe dreamy, maybe something that cannot be realized. This may not be a dictionary definition. My friend Sandeep introduced me to Salvador Dali and his surrealist works blew me away! I got interested and now the more I dive deeper into arts of any sort, abstract becomes more real and provides me with sense of great escape. I think our mind is a world in its own and every second is waiting to be explored. We needn't always try to make sense of what we think of, what we draw, how we dance or how we sing. This is where abstract fits in. To me - it is the ability to consciously try and find meaning in things and put my own labels over where other labels pre existed.

"Being abstract frees me from fitting into frames."

I read Ernest Becker - and got more aware of an inevitable death that awaits us all. It was an amazing discovery and I still cannot comprehend the real beauty of the fact that we will die. Our time is limited, so our primary intention should be to consciously pursue pleasure. I, sometimes in everyday life, just don't find it necessary to make sense while talking, or giving opinions. Also, in a way I cannot explain - abstract thinking has also made me politically incorrect.

That's heavy, and deep. Where are you headed from here?

To being a worn out cult leader at some point, a tired traveler at 40, an artiste hiding from a bunch of people he badly offended , a world class musician already dead of drug abuse, a homeless man begging for food on the streets of Kurla for making all the wrong choices in his 20s. All of those are possible - especially the last one. I have no clue of anything except, as long as I live- I will stay interesting and have a couple of tales up my sleeve :)

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Key Takeaways from this conversation with Aakash:

Pursue your passion. Build excellence & originality around it. Wrapper sells.

Market 'with' your customers, not 'at' them.

Shrug off social norms & boundaries. Create your own.

Wear your identity on your sleeve, there's nothing to be ashamed of.

Meet people. Build relationships.

Follow him on Twitter (@mrwaterbead)

Thanks a bunch, Aakash. Best wishes from the community!

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About the Author: @sushrutmunje

I build Hammer and Mop - specializing in marketing, service and operations. I'm a published poet and a writer. Startups excite me. Have been a part of speaker panels and given guest lectures at business schools, been a speaker at Youth to Business Forums (powered by AIESEC) and I sit on Unltd India's selection board once in a while. Contributing as a business writer at TheRodinhoods - creating content, interviewing inspiring entrepreneurs / intrapreneurs / professionals and covering events.
 Meet Mridula Arora – The nurturer for mompreneurs tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-09-25:6328457:Topic:240688 2014-09-25T06:01:51.092Z Sunaina Shenoy http://therodinhoods.com/profile/SunainaShenoy

As a frequent traveler in the Delhi Metro, more often than not I have many moms as fellow passengers. And whilst the journey, I overhear them share their different stories with friends and peers. Stories of joy, stories of hard luck, stories of hope and so on. I listen to how…

As a frequent traveler in the Delhi Metro, more often than not I have many moms as fellow passengers. And whilst the journey, I overhear them share their different stories with friends and peers. Stories of joy, stories of hard luck, stories of hope and so on. I listen to how some mothers sometimes go sleepless at nights because their toddler is awake and yet reach their workplace as if everything is perfect. Of how their child's performance in school has been disturbing them, but they ensure they give their best at work. Of things they need to buy during the lunch hour so that they can save on a little time in the evenings to spend with their child. I also see ladies carry pocket sized books of different daily prayers and chant while standing or sitting. Leaving no duties unfulfilled, they work their way in pleasing both the family and the Gods! I watch how they call their maids and give instructions that need to be followed. And, as I type this out I hear a busy mother discussing with her friend trying to figure out where all her time is going. All these small little incidents everyday make me strongly believe that the art of balancing motherhood and a demanding career is a very delicate one. And since childhood having seen working women very closely balance out their personal and professional lives I understand that it's probably the toughest job to do.

Added to that, everyone knows for good that entrepreneurship on the other hand is no cake walk. And so as a matter of fact I then know that it can only get harder for those mompreneurs who are willing to take the big risk of starting and running a venture of their own.

So, even before I met Mridula Arora, founder of MyBabyCart I knew she would have an amazing story to share. And the conversation began with her saying "Women by default are enterprising in India". I couldn't stop smiling because I realized that there couldn't be a greater truth in the statement.

#about

Mridula Arora, an engineer by education moved to Bangalore in 2003 after she got a job with Infosys. She worked in Infy for 3.5 years before the urge to move into the start-up land grew. It's at that point that she joined a start-up venture mChek and saw it grow from a 15 to 150 strength. But, as she became a new mom, she quit her office to give time to family and be with her kid during his early years.

#MyBabyCart

In January 2012, she along with 4 founders started out Mybabycart (MBC). With initial funding from family & friends they managed to launch a website and began work. It started out as a platform for selling children products. However as time passed cash became a major issue and the other partners slowly quit one after the other. In Jan'13 while they were on the verge of closing shop she asked to retain the domain name and said she wanted to independently take forward the work. She took over and restarted from scratch. She set out planning to make MBC the platform for small players who had good products and were looking at reaching larger audience. But, things went otherwise as it became very difficult for her to convince offline retailers to source their products and meet their T&Cs.

Since her younger days she had always wanted to do something for the development and empowerment of women. The spirit still remained and that's when her mind struck a gold mine. She thought why not make MBC a platform for household women who make products relevant to new borns and kids. So, between Feb'13 and Nov'13 she set forth meeting many mompreneurs and explained and discussed her proposal. Lo, and by Dec'13 MBC had a new face to it; the hub for creative household women. She launched it with 5-6 mompreneurs' products. Mridula confesses that at that point in time, all she knew was that she wanted to make a big difference in these people's lives who had placed implicit trust in her. She had to help them make the most of this opportunity with her limited resources. She wanted to help those mothers who had no backing to establish shops of their own to still be able to sell. To be of assistance to those people who didn't have sufficient knowledge to start selling their stuff online. To give a face and a name to many of those whose talents were always carpeted.

#Fast Forward

"So what started out as an experiment is now a serious business", says Mridula. Today there are 100 odd mompreneurs active on MBC very happy with the way their life has unfolded.

Each one has a tale of their own, unique in their own way and a success story to their own name. About 98% of the products are related to infants and kids and just about 2% are women oriented. Since these are home based mothers, they have time under their control and chalk out their routines likewise. Mridula herself adds on that once she winds up for the day at 6:30 PM, the next three hours are completely set aside only for her son. Any pending work is taken up only after her little one is fast asleep.

In MBC each of them make limited number of pieces of any merchandise as per their capabilities. So though one may not get 100 pieces of a particular design one sure can choose from a 100 different varieties.

 #100% women oriented company

Mridula proudly says that though hers is a start up, all their systems are very much in place. Her inherent qualities of being well organized and a purely technical person has helped her structure the company in such a manner. The CRM system in MBC is used extensively and she says it's in par with or maybe even better than what established companies have. The customer service function is outsourced to 3-4 mothers who are working in different schedules. And, every slot has a back up! These mothers are chosen after a proper interview. Those women who have the ability to listen and the inclination to solve a problem are usually chosen for this task. They are given online training and the major point focused always is to assume that the customer is right.

MBC houses mompreneurs who excel in crochet and knitting. These women knit cute little blankets, sweaters, scarves and caps amongst other things. Some creative minds also are busy working on selling baby hair bands and clips. They craft out the whole piece with laces, beads, pearls and colourful flowers. Also women with their own clothing line or running a boutique are having bee lines for their products on MBC.

 some of the products on Mybabycart.... The creativity in a woman is untold for!

When a new mompreneur signs up, raw data is gathered from them. Prices are then discussed upon. And the agreement's ready. Mridula's team works on the cataloging and the design. The mompreneur then sets to do her work. Once the products are ready, a pick up request needs to be sent and MBC has the product picked from their place.

 "I make women sitting at home knitting, heroes"

#hairpullingmoment

Initially when she started out, everyone around her was wondering what she was up to. Clueless to her intentions and motives they couldn't relate to her work. Though she was lucky enough to get family support and no one questioned her ability but at times it would be really depressing when things didn't shape the way she wanted. She kept battling the question of "Am I doing right?" But today time has answered that question in the best way for her.

#dealing with glitches in running a start-up

Mridula like a true entrepreneur says that the last thing she does when a problem arises is to run away from it. Instead she analyzes it deeply, contemplates on the probabilities of different solutions and seeks out help every time she is stuck. She knows very well that many unpleasant situations are bound to arise but the trick is to handle them rather than ignore them.

#highlight of MBC

A daughter who helped her mother staying in Kurnool, a small town in Andhra Pradesh become independent and have a standing of her own. The mother was very good in crochet work and so the daughter asked her to make simple frocks, cute looking caps and other interesting infant wear. When the mother received her first payment, probably the first in her life it was the greatest moment of pride for the trio, the mother, the daughter and MBC.

This is what a typical Mompreneurs meet looks like... the smiles of achievement!!

#to all women

Whatever is your passion make time for it and follow it. Don't let your time go in vain. It is very necessary to have an independent footing, so irrespective of what you do or how much you earn chart out a course of your own. Always be willing to move out of your shells and keep learning new things.

@rodinhood

"You can't be thanked enough for creating such a wonderful community. You may not know how many people you have benefited. My first post that I read was on Marwari School and I could relate to it very well. The Doodh ka Doodh post still stands vivid in my memory. Each time I visit TRHS I go back learning something and implement it in my work. Thank you for the painstaking efforts in making so many of us widen our horizon of knowledge."

Website

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More often than not the greatest inspiration is not the person who is the most successful or the richest or the happiest or the most perfect but rather its the one who has walked a similar journey as yours and shown you that your dream is possible....inspire and stay inspired!!!

So to all ladies out there "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." ― Nora Ephron

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About The Author:

Sunaina Shenoy is associated with a startup, Parentune. And is involved in getting brands to leverage and engage the rapidly growing parent members' community. She is a proud rodinhooder and even more grateful to be an Editorial Asst. for The Rodinhoods. She takes delight in dabbling in different things and is still trying to find her mark in getting good at something. She likes to showcase unsung heroes and the story behind the story is what intrigues her the most. She enjoys travelling and exploring places. A hobby writer, she is developing her skills to get better at it. She has had her stint of failure with her own start-up but risen back to re learn the process. A huge proponent of giving back to society she tries to live up to it in any little way she can. And yes of course she is proud of being a woman!
 Great Places to Work - India features the Gozoop culture. tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-09-23:6328457:Topic:240647 2014-09-23T15:37:17.466Z Rohan Bhansali http://therodinhoods.com/profile/RohanBhansali

Interview on Greatness Diaries by Ritika Mulchandani.

Rohan Bhansali is the Co-Founder of Gozoop, a global digital services and products company based in India, UAE & Singapore. During his investment banking stint at JPMorgan, Rohan saw an opportunity in…

Interview on Greatness Diaries by Ritika Mulchandani.

Rohan Bhansali is the Co-Founder of Gozoop, a global digital services and products company based in India, UAE & Singapore. During his investment banking stint at JPMorgan, Rohan saw an opportunity in the digital space and chased his entrepreneurial dream by starting Raastudios, a web application development company, in 2008. Gozoop acquired Raastudios in October 2010.

Under Rohan's leadership, Gozoop increased its presence to Dubai in October 2011 & Singapore in May 2013. Gozoop acquired Red Digital in July 2013 and iThink Infotech in July 2014, thus increasing Gozoop's presence to 7 cities. Today Gozoop is one of the leading providers of digital services and products with clients such as Mumbai Indians, Ferrari, Asian Paints, Dell, High Street Phoenix, Tim Hortons, Mad Over Donuts and Rocket Internet. Gozoop's business currently consists of 3 verticals – service, products and web properties. Rohan was recently won the coveted Star Youth Achiever Award at the Youth Marketing Awards 2013.

Given below are his thoughts and beliefs about great workplace culture and how an organization can create and sustain a great workplace.

Q1. What, in your view, is the most interesting, comprehensive and simple way of defining a great workplace?

I think a great workplace is best defined as a "home away from home", where the people have a sense of belongingness and where there are more smiles.

Q2. In a hypothetical conversation back in time, if you were to convince a Slave Owner to stop practicing slavery, and instead, create a great workplaces culture for his people, what would you tell him? What will be your elevator pitch to convince him to change his mind?

I think words wouldn't work in this case. An actual experience would bring a better understanding. I would make the Slave Owner my slave for a day and force him to complete certain tasks. The next day I would take him through the larger vision on what we are trying to achieve and highlight the importance of his role towards achieving the same.

In this way he would experience both the aspects of treatment and then I would ask him which treatment he preferred and what motivated him to do a better job. This will help him understand that if in the long run if you make people a part of your vision rather than just telling him to do this or that, then that person will not only give his sweat and blood to the work but also his heart.

Q3. In your view, at a fundamental level, what would you say makes people happy at their workplace and what makes people dissatisfied at their workplace?

People are happy when they have a sense belongingness and feel that they are contributing towards something bigger. In a workplace this translates to having the sense that what they are doing is helping the company move towards it mission. On what tends to dissatisfy the people at their workplace, we can simply invert the above – that is not being heard and not being acknowledged.

Q4. If you were to interview and hire various people for an organization using just one question, what would that question be? What are the most important things to assess while hiring someone for an organization?

I would ask – How are you going to contribute to make Gozoop better? I would want to understand his motivation and whether it is beyond just the compensation and the title.

The most important things to assess other than his skill sets and motivations for the job is his character – honesty, integrity and humility.

Q5. What, in your view, makes someone want to do something? What makes people feel inspired towards a goal? If you had to inspire someone to do something, what will you do?

People would want to work towards their goal if they believe in it. I believe that giving the employees the larger vision about what we are trying to do in Gozoop as a whole and why that particular employee's role is important in that, makes a lot of difference in how that person feel towards his goal. When a person takes ownership of the work, feels that his work is meaningful, and is being acknowledged for that, and is inspired rather than forced to do his work, then it is the best way to get him to work towards his goal.

Q6. What are some of your best lessons on communicating with others – on getting a message across?

Initially I would talk more than I would listen. Overtime I learnt the importance of being a good listener. People love being heard so I try and talk less and understand what the other person has to say. There is this book I read by Dale Carnegie – "How to Win Friends and Influence People". There this chapter that speacks about the importance of starting a conversation with a "yes". I swear by it now as a "Yes" sets the right tone of the entire conversation.

Q7. If you could meet someone who works at your organization just once in a year and ask him or her just one question, what would that question be?

It would definitely be – Are you happy and what could we do to make you happier?

Q8. If you could teach just one thing to all the people at your organization, what would that be and what in your view is the best way to teach it?

I think it would be to treat the juniors with respect and I learnt this from my boss at JP Morgan. It kind of trickles throughout the organization if it is practiced by the top management because juniors pick up things from your immediate seniors and the chain goes on.

Q9. If you were to distribute a specific sum of profits earned by your organization between a bunch of people who contributed in different ways towards earning it, on what basis would you divide?

I would divide it equally. I would make a core team and give them a goal and if they reach the goal I would divide it equally. I don't want to say that you have 20% or 30% share because it is divisive rather than inclusive.

Q10. What in your opinion makes Gozoop a unique workplace?

It's the culture and the people that makes Gozoop a unique work place. I can only exemplify this through stories:

This was a while back. Our peon had gone on leave for a few days and the office had not been cleaned since a few days. So a few employees came together and decided to come an hour earlier than their working time, without telling me, and took the responsibility of cleaning the entire office.

Just last week I came to know that a Gozooper from our SEO team comes to office an hour early everyday to teach our peon English.

Gozoopers collectively decided to launch a kindness initiative called #1SmallStep, which is about anonymous acts of kindness. Check it out at 1-SmallStep.com.

As featured on Greatness Diaries
 Ashish, The Cakeman who delivers feelings not cakes! tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-09-17:6328457:Topic:239851 2014-09-17T05:32:27.727Z Sunaina Shenoy http://therodinhoods.com/profile/SunainaShenoy

"About 2 decades back, as a kid studying in a hostel I always longed to get letters from my near and dear ones. And whenever I would get those blue inlands my heart would be filled with happiness for a couple of days. So every time, I saw the khakee man with a brown jhola at the school lobby (I…

"About 2 decades back, as a kid studying in a hostel I always longed to get letters from my near and dear ones. And whenever I would get those blue inlands my heart would be filled with happiness for a couple of days. So every time, I saw the khakee man with a brown jhola at the school lobby (I kinda knew when he usually comes) I felt no different from the kid in the candy store. And, my mind would be busy making up stories of what the contents of my letter would be."

Coming back to the present when I saw this amdavadi chap sign off as cakeman who delivers feelings, nostalgia hit me. I saw my post man! And, I actually sense what Ashish Parik means when he says that.

Meet The Cakeman

Ashish Parik, the guy with a never say die attitude is the ultimate example for failing is learning. A 45 minutes conversation with him reinstalled in me the faith that winning and losing are just obnoxious words in the dictionary. The truth is that you can give up on your ideas/ventures/businesses umpteen number of times but must not give up on yourself. And, I swear by that!

Basically from a business family, his first entrepreneurial experiment was at the age of 12 when he tried his hands by selling 'goli' biscuits to buy a full pant and note books of choice. The definition of business changes with age and reason.

However the routine tensions related to business forced him to go for engineering so that he could "get a good white collar job with fat salary." He completed his BE (Mech) from government college of Engineering, Amravati, Maharashtra. With his circumstances then he had no option but to work at the first best place he got - a publishing house as a Store Assistant in 2003 and he worked there only for 13 days before leaving that place (even i was reminded of Vajpayee!).

He then moved onto another publishing house Chate Publications Pvt. Ltd. and in the process of discovering himself and finding what works and what doesn't, he finally shifted and settled in Gujarat with his family. He was working with ICICI bank when the startup genes reactivated. Ashish started working on an idea (on paper) for a colleague in 2010 and that traces the baby steps to what cakehunt is today.

His first venture ICS Trading services began with a single goal in mind - to deliver everything to everyone. Though it did not take off well he and his fellow guys decided to divide the whole pie into smaller pieces. So while ICS became a FMCG distribution company, Cakehunt was started to deliver cakes and flowers and Deliverybhai to deliver food.

"May be a decade later or whenever the right opportunity comes we will integrate all such small things and then we will continue our dream ICS24BY7"

Distinctive ingredients

Cakehunt is the first multi branded cake shop from where people can buy any cakes of their choice and get it delivered at the place and time they wish. A buyer actually gets the cake at a discounted price and also saves around 30%. Almost all the cakes are made on order and therefore delivered fresh. The smaller bakers also have been provided with a platform by Cakehunt and they now are getting recognition for their work. Deliveries are managed by in house team (yes, Ashish personally goes to do them) thereby punctuality and quality of service is maintained. Everyone seems to be getting a good share of the flavor, no?

The Downside

As with every business, Ashish says that Cakehunt also has its fair set of negatives to tackle. The average shelf life of a cake is 3 days. So to get a fresh cake baked every single time from the bakers when there is a same flavor cake already lying on their shelves becomes a challenge. The other problem he has confronted and managed to handle well is delivering the cake on time without spoiling the intricate designs. To match the speed of in-time delivery and ensure no damage to the cake itself requires great caution.

Ashish's happy customer - Raj (in green kurta) lives in USA and studies in ATM University. "He wanted cake similar to one which he saw in USA... Nobody was ready to give it in 2 Kgs. We agreed and arranged the best cake from the best baker in town. He and his family were very happy to receive it. Raj specially requested me to stand with him for a photo at the time of delivery."

Spreading the aroma

Ashish frankly says, "we do not advertise. Our service, cost and quality of products has taken us from no delivery to an average of 3.5 kg per day in one year's time!" As a person who refuses to accept no for an answer, Ashish proudly says that it's his relentless passion for his work and his undying sincerity that has got them a good footing in the gujju's minds.

He admits that though he may lack business intelligence but he keeps learning and is at it every day.

"We never rest when it's time to work. I am open to learning every single day and despite failures I will not give up."

No wonder they say that the best teacher is experience.

The cake wreck moment

A midnight cake delivery somewhere around July End. Ashish says he rang the door bell 25-30 times, called the recipient at least a good 15 times but to no response. He knew he could not leave the place without delivering the goods. The sender asked him to leave the gifts outside the door, but, he wasn't convinced and as a substitute rang the next door neighbour's bell. Being in the same community and with the same surname Ashish confesses he thought he would be helped but instead without listening to anything the guy started screaming and refused to accept the gifts. It was 12.05am, midnight! Ashish left dejected; a thankless job he thought indeed. But the next morning (or rather same morning) he woke with a beaming smile recalling the many others who appreciated his little effort to a big extent. He blushes saying "we get at least 1-2 appreciations every day." Now that's how you pull yourself up each day.

The icing moment

This August, there were around 3 deliveries between 9 pm - 12 midnight. The first two deliveries were in the old city area. When he reached his first destination, it started pouring heavily. None of his other partners were there to execute the deliveries as they were busy with some other work. It was then that his wife came forward and accomplished the task. Completely drenched in the rains, stuck in an area with water logging problems is when he got a call for a third delivery. Because of the strong family support he proudly says that they managed the third one as well and gives all the credit to his wife and his brother's wife.

However, the ultimate joy for the family was when the client from UK called up saying "You people deliver feelings in the true sense…Keep up the good work..." Ashish then added that it was the customer's wife's first birthday after their marriage. Sitting thousands of miles away he wanted to make her feel as special as possible. Cakehunt team sensed that and despite the odds made sure they did what their client wished.

Flavour which he relishes

"Through Cakehunt I feel like a messenger of love, feelings, gratitude and affection." And, that's what keeps him going. In these times of instant gratification, there are still many people who care so much about relations. "If they can take time and effort to order a cake, how can I feel tired to deliver it?"

"Many a times I sleep at 4-4.30 am and wake up at 6 am for a delivery."

Closing words on home delivery biz

 "Home delivery business has a very good future.. Keep the cost low. Give personal touch to the business and remember after all we are serving humans." Don't people love interacting with humans more than machines? He smiles off saying

"I want to be a part of my customer's special days and want them to remember me as a person who was a part of their wonderful moments."

Be their well wishers on Facebook

(Ashish, truly wish you nothing less than the best... May all your dreams come true. You are truly a wonderful person.)

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About the Author:

Sunaina Shenoy is a hobby writer, dreamer, eco-enthusiast, a wannabe philosopher, lover of good food but isn't a good cook. Likes to travel and explore places. She loves donning multiple hats in her work sphere and hasn't yet found her right fit. Currently she is associated with Parentune helping them bring brands on board and of course does her little bit as the editorial assistant with TheRodinhoods.

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 Startup stories the Bollywood way - Alok chats with Naveen Tewari at TechCrunch'13 tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-09-12:6328457:Topic:239183 2014-09-12T05:37:52.979Z Sunaina Shenoy http://therodinhoods.com/profile/SunainaShenoy

Before you start reading this post, you might first want to start out by mentally ticking the relevant bullets in the beginning. And the deal is that, if you have checked even one of it, then I promise there is priceless content coming your way.

I like to enjoy a quirky interviewer pulling the leg of a sportive interviewee.

I like to know what made the 'Japanese Bill Gates' write a $200 million cheque.

I like to see the founder of the world's largest…

Before you start reading this post, you might first want to start out by mentally ticking the relevant bullets in the beginning. And the deal is that, if you have checked even one of it, then I promise there is priceless content coming your way.

I like to enjoy a quirky interviewer pulling the leg of a sportive interviewee.

I like to know what made the 'Japanese Bill Gates' write a $200 million cheque.

I like to see the founder of the world's largest independent mobile ad platform making some honest confessions.

I like to spend 40 minutes of my day getting edutained.

I like to figure out about love & arranged marriage as well as relationship with in laws in the biz world.

I like to appreciate a duo that changed drowsy eyed audience to starry eyed viewers.

I am keen to understand what it takes to ask for a $250 million funding.

 And finally,

I want to take away some invaluable lessons from the experienced DNAs.

So here's to one of the most entertaining and delightful conversations between Alok Kejriwal and Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO of InMobi, the mobile advertising technology maker at Techcrunch'13.

(Unfortunately, this interview hasn't been available on YouTube, so I haven't been able embed it here in this post. I have linked the video in a couple of places. This is definitely something you mustn't miss watching.)

A neat video with brilliant analogies!

A few thought provoking tidbits from the interview

 Of Course, $200 million > $40 million

The interview begins with the 'gossip' of how Naveen managed to get funded by Masayoshi Son for this huge fund while rejecting a VCs almost done deal of $40 million. Naveen talks about how he had mastered the standard art of pitching to VCs but getting the golden egg opportunity was a different ball game. He says that "Unlike the VCs a lot of people in the world look for opportunities in a very different way." And these are investors with the entrepreneurial streak. They look for opportunities to try and go after, wanting to back even the slight chance that someone might make it.

What typically worked with the SoftBank CEO was that Naveen was absolutely confident that he wanted to play a different game to make it big in the mobile ad world. He wanted to be among the top three names in his space. The usual 30-40 million dollars wouldn't help him get there so he had his product and numbers well prepared instead to go seeking for a $250 million funding.

The moral of the story as Naveen quips, "Ask! You don't know when and what you will get."

The key takeaway in Alok's words "At times the imagination and vision that VCs of the stature of Masayoshi Son bring is something that even entrepreneurs aren't aware of."

Science of Advertising

The means to get lucrative in the mobile advertising space, one is definitely to have relevant and meaningful content. But, Naveen adds that having a clear understanding of your segment market right from the beginning also holds the key to success. There is no way you would want to go wrong with this. Segmentation in his words is to be crystal clear as in saying "I only want to target the 5% of the people with in app payments. The remaining I will target with advertising of which 5-10% will click on the ads of which I'll make significant money."

Heavy sales low on tech or heavy tech figure out sales later??? this has a precise answer unlike egg and chicken!!

The answer lies in as Alok repeats the words of a well known Venture Capitalist "you need to be a revenue company during the day and a product company during the night."

So while Naveen strongly believes in technology first. And, he says there is no other way to build long term sustainable businesses without focusing completely on technology and product, but, he is quick to point out that there are no VCs who simply pump in money into core product technology companies without revenue models. VCs need to see the market traction.

Key lesson here as Alok says "Something that you can create very beautiful and that gets consumed by millions of people will have a lot of value."

Also a good reminder for most entrepreneurs in Naveen's words is to spend enough and more time to prepare yourself to say "I will create the best product and then go to VCs." Make this your funda; works easier for both sides.

One of our Rodinhooders, Abhash Kumar, a live spectator to this event mentioned "Alok's session with Naveen from InMobi was perfectly named 'Star Chat'. The duo changed the drowsy-eyed audience, bored during the previous sessions, to starry-eyed viewers craving for more. The chat was peppered with one-liners, witty remarks and laugh-out-loud comebacks. All in all, it was BIG FUN."

Guiding principle for handling VCs and Investors

Be absolutely clear who is in charge. From a relationship management perspective with the VCs/ Investors, one just needs to know who is in control and in Naveen's case he confidently adds that he knows he is in control. It is his company and he takes every decision and runs the business.

Key point is even if you are heavily funded let the power to run the business lie with you.

Either you are one, two, three or ... errr you don't exist

If you are not there as 1, 2 or 3 in your field you are not there. Naveen bluntly admits that if you aren't in the top 3 names then change your biz model, innovate on it, figure out your niche and do what it takes you to be there.. else you might as well close shop. Yes, consolations are rightly termed!

The "damn man, why did I do this" moment in Naveen's life..

Naveen recollects that the biggest mistake in his start up journey was getting wrong people on board and keeping them for long. "Wrong strategic moves can be worked on but its the people centric decisions that stick with you and hamper the organization." Between being an emotional entrepreneur when it comes to people and being a tough task master you need to find the right balance and the way to deal with and make tough decisions.

Let me end this amazing star chat key notes with Naveen's killer line "Commitment made by your employees is bigger than that made by your Venture Capitalists."

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 Meet Sudarsan Ravi, who is building a Gamification company. tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-09-07:6328457:Topic:238720 2014-09-07T14:35:51.870Z Sushrut Munje http://therodinhoods.com/profile/SushrutMunje

We interview Rodinhooders because their stories are inspiring. 'Unusual' and 'Unique' will not be the appropriate terms, since all of us take pride in our individual…

We interview Rodinhooders because their stories are inspiring. 'Unusual' and 'Unique' will not be the appropriate terms, since all of us take pride in our individual stories. But if we accept the value these amazing entrepreneurs / intrapreneurs / professionals have to add in our lives, we would bloom.

Sudarsan Ravi is a postgraduate Dad-preneur who is building a Gamification company whose first product (RippleHire) focuses on gamifying employee referrals, thus helping companies hire faster & better. Below is an edited excerpt from my conversation with this amazing man.

What is your story, Sudarsan?

 I'm a Mumbai based entrepreneur married to the best angel investor in Lalima. I am a father to a 5 month old kid in Adith and a mother to RippleHire who is now 22 months old. I love the Rodinhoods forum and am happy to share my experiences here. Thank you for interviewing me.

 Your first step out in the big awesome world was as an associate at ICICI. What should one look to gain from a summer internship?

 The ICICI experience gave me my first taste of corporate life and subsequently helped land a job at Deloitte. "What will I gain?" is the wrong question to focus on. The biggest challenge with an internship is the duration. Two to three months is short. If you can leave an impact in those three months at the organization, you will automatically learn a lot. Go into an organization looking at what you could do and if you can make something better.

The key question to ask is "How can I add value?"

 Your experience working at Georgia Tech? Your perspective on whether something similar is possible in India. Was there a stark difference in the culture? Key lessons and memories?

 Before going to Georgia Tech, I lived like a king. I would be careless and spend my dad's money fairly easily. I remember going to Georgia Tech and picking up an apple for lunch and paying Rs.70 for it. I hated apples but it was the cheapest thing on the menu. That was a turning point. I knew spending in USD would just not work unless I earn in USD. I walked around the campus looking for a job for the next three weeks, knocking on every door only to be turned away many times. I did get one offer contingent on me changing my course altogether which did not make sense, but finally struck gold when the printing press manager agreed to get me on board as an assistant. Working at the printing press in college helped me pay for my tuition. I think the entire experience grounded me and taught me a lot of things.

Can this be done in India? Sure. There are loads of SMB's looking for people who are willing to work for them. As long as you are willing to make an investment of time and sincerity, it is not difficult to get into a small setup.

 What did Deloitte teach you which you would have found it hard to learn elsewhere?

 At Deloitte Consulting, we had a new project every six months. Each client problem statement, the environment, the culture, the politics and the team would be different. You start every project with a clean slate and you have to prove yourself each time in a different environment. Working on a new project meant that you ran into all kinds of people. It helped me hone my ability to work among different teams and at the end of the day, most industries in the world are defined and refined by people. So if I have to pick one thing, it would be people skills.

The best part of working at Deloitte was me learning
 the essential 'people skills'!

Would you recommend work experience before starting up? Why?

 Yes. I absolutely would. I worked at a startup after Deloitte before starting RippleHire. You learn a lot of what to do and what not to do in a short span when you work at a startup. It is important to learn the ropes and develop one skill that you are really good at. Big companies can teach you processes and professionalism both of which are necessary for scaling.

How did RippleHire happen?

 I had the opportunity to grow the PS business unit at Deloitte and experienced several hiring challenges when I was there. Post that, I quit to start off but wasn't quite sure on the idea. I looked at everything from Medical tourism to Hospitality to Technology. One startup later, I started to assess my strengths and see the areas that I could value to. I had always sat between business and technology. My consulting background meant that when we got down to RippleHire, we got a core team together and only focused on the problem. The problem we solve is that the best way to hire is employee referrals but it does not result in enough candidates. For the first year, we did not even sell. We only approached people in the talent ecosystem to understand their world and their problems. We would then define mock-ups and then our product would get rubbished repeatedly till a year later, I had a TA Head show serious interest.

 Your team and mentors?

 Our core team comprises of two sets of people. The first set has 8-10 years of experience and the folks have given up plush jobs after stints in the West. The second set consists of the folks who have given up openings at top MNCs (and in one special case, even an engineering degree).

All of us are now committed to the dream of building
 a top class products company out of India.

 We have been fortunate to be mentored by some top notch serial entrepreneurs and industry experts. They have taken us under their wing, corrected us and helped us validate our beliefs and ideas along the way. A big turning point for us as a company was the TiE Bootcamp. We ran into some serious entrepreneurs and gained valuable insights from the program. The best part of the program was the core team. I sincerely believe that Kanchan Kumar (who tweets here and heads the Bootcamp) will be the Paul Graham out of India. The value we have received is so strong, I highly recommend the TiE Accelerator if you're serious about your business.

 RippleHire would not be where it is today if not for our team and mentors. The credit to our progress lies in their ideas, efforts, support and dedication. I feel fortunate and proud to work with this team. We have a long way to go together on our journey.

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The highlights we can take away from a conversation with Sudarsan-

There's no alternative to humility & hard work.

Know what you seek to gain from where you work.

Persist and listen to your customers.

Build and value relationships.

Education is a continuous process.

Follow him on Twitter (@Ravi_Sudarsan)

Thanks a bunch, Sudarsan! Best wishes from the community.

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About the Author: @sushrutmunje

I build Hammer and Mop - specializing in marketing, service and operations. I'm a published poet and a writer. Startups excite me. Have been a part of speaker panels and given guest lectures at business schools, been a speaker at Youth to Business Forums (powered by AIESEC) and I sit on Unltd India's selection board once in a while. Contributing as a business writer at TheRodinhoods - creating content, interviewing inspiring entrepreneurs / intrapreneurs / professionals and covering events.
 A Travel through Traveller Kids' Journey tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-09-01:6328457:Topic:237682 2014-09-01T19:06:25.491Z Sunaina Shenoy http://therodinhoods.com/profile/SunainaShenoy

It was the innovation in a fascinating visiting card that caught Alok's eye at a Kids Expo in Delhi. And, it was this wonderful recognition that caught my eye on…

It was the innovation in a fascinating visiting card that caught Alok's eye at a Kids Expo in Delhi. And, it was this wonderful recognition that caught my eye on TRHS. The culmination of the two is what intrigued me to write what you'll read below :)

Education meets creativity and learning becomes fun; here's to a startup worth knowing about. Traveller Kids, Shitij Malhotra's entrepreneurial venture makes fun educational games and DIY activities that focuses on experiential learning for children.

Shitij, a computer science engineer by education, worked in a consultancy for a few years before he started his first company Fresh Lime Media. Priyanka, the co-founder completed her MBA in marketing, worked in digital advertising for 2 years before she hopped onto the entrepreneur bandwagon.

"Inspiration exists but it must find you working" - Pablo Picasso. And, this techie found his motivation in the words of India's former President. "Dr. APJ Kalam said something to the effect, if you don't have something available in India, create it, rather than migrating to the west." That coupled with the innovation bug of creating something absolutely new was what ignited the spark to start Traveller Kids.

Shitij says, he had just sold his first company that was into e-learning for Corporate before the idea for Traveller Kids came about. Once while he was casually travelling he realized that kids don't get to travel as much in life when young, so why not make them experience different countries from home. Their love for travel and the need to share this passion with everyone, especially the little ones is what shaped this unique business.They started with a subscription based service for getting country encyclopedias on auto pilot.

"While the product was great, it took a lot of convincing before anybody was buying. So we pivoted to just selling all the individual components in retail and it picked up!"

He recalls starting out initially from his mother's clinic. The patient's room transformed into a start up office! A small team with proven products; they seemed to have put in the right ingredients to get out a success story.

With 5 designers and no experience in the games business they forayed to make a mark in the market. Today they have moved to a level when their new games often sell out in the first month itself. They are present across 15 offline and 5 online channels and plan to hit around 500 stores in the next 18 months. "We have around 25 products and want to reach a portfolio of around 200 products in 2 years."

Small beginnings make great endings.. The enterprising duo

Traveller Kids products stand out for three reasons. Firstly, the educational value that every game has – which is all original IP, secondly for the international quality and design and thirdly and most important reason is that the products engage the kids in such a way that they want to spend more time with their games. And this means away from the TV, iPad, computer – something which every parent is worried about today.

His target customers are parents; progressive parents who want their kids to get access to the best education and entertainment available. "We originally thought it would be the educated double income middle class from Tier 1, but were pleasantly surprised to see some parents from extremely humble backgrounds and small towns who want their kids to be exposed to the best."

Interactive World Map Kit, Traveller Kids Flagship product

Their most popular product is Interactive World Map Kit. It's a non-tear fun colourful map, 3 feet x 2 feet in size, with capitals, famous monuments, seven wonders, highest/tallest/fastest in the world drawn on it. It comes with hundreds of stickers of country names, flags, currencies, names of monuments, etc. It's the best and most fun way to remember and learn more about different countries. Shitij quips in saying "Also we've made it really attractive (unlike the usual maps) so kids love it." "Our map now comes with an augmented reality app which lets kids see the countries come alive with multimedia." Now, that's a seller!

Next I move on to asking him his typical day routine to which Shitij confesses that contrary to what most people think – I don't make new games all day every day. Nor do I get to play them! Most of our day goes in tapping new markets and channels to sell our products.

"We have realized that even the best product needs to be aggressively sold to make an impact and that's where all our energies are." In office, I'm building the database of contacts, calling distributors, affiliates, and tracking sales from all our channels. All the other time goes in tracking and managing production. One week every month we spend on making new games – conceptualizing them and overseeing the design team and manufacturing team bringing it to life.

A satisfactory moment, the time to pat your back weaves in with every entrepreneur's story and Traveller Kids is also no different in here. It's of course when they receive awesome compliments, but the best part is when their customers choose Traveller Kids products as return gifts for their child's birthday after using the products. He sure deserves three cheers as he mentions that they get to experience this every week! And Shitij strongly believes that this re affirms his faith in why they are building this start-up.

Keen to know how do they go about marketing their business and what works best for them, I dropped in this question to him. Seeding products in different cities through exhibitions has apparently done very well. But, he is happier with the phenomenal job his channel partners are doing in spreading the word. "They do it both for money as well as because they believe in the product." Shitij adds.

With an aim to be the world's finest edutainment games company with a global brand recall, Traveller Kids is making a definite move everyday.

"We want our games to be part of every school's curriculum."

He admits that plagiarism, the fear of getting copied is what frightens him out of his wits. But a true entrepreneur that he is, he is quick to mention that the solution for this is to be stronger, move on and create better versions to be on top of the game.

His last word to fellow entrepreneurs before he signs of - "Build world class products out of India. You will be surprised by the amount of compliments and business which quality brings with it. Also, concentrate on sales. Product development is just 5% of a business, money is made when you are able to sell your products.

You can follow them on @TravellerKids

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About The Author:

Sunaina Shenoy is associated with a startup, Parentune. And is involved in getting brands to leverage and engage the rapidly growing parent members' community. She is a proud rodinhooder and even more proud to be an Editorial Asst. for The Rodinhoods. She takes delight in dabbling in different things and is still trying to find her mark in getting good at something. She likes to showcase unsung heroes and the story behind the story is what intrigues her the most. Knowing about new ventures interests her. A hobby writer, she is developing her skills to get better at it. She has had her stint of failure with a startup but risen back to re learn the process. A huge proponent of giving back to society she tries to live up to it in any little way she can. A clean India is her dream.

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 Meet Kaizad Patel, who is passionate about customer service delivery! tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-09-01:6328457:Topic:237816 2014-09-01T04:06:37.513Z Sushrut Munje http://therodinhoods.com/profile/SushrutMunje

Customer service is something that drives me in my company, and interviewing…

Customer service is something that drives me in my company, and interviewing Kaizad Patel was thus an honor. He runs SatisFIND, which uses qualitative and quantitative methods to understand how your customer experiences your brand and its offering. Kaizad was one of the first to venture into Mystery Shopping in India, back in 2001.

Do tell us about your school & college years, and key lessons learnt.

I was just a small town boy from Hyderabad who was raised in Bombay. My schooling was in Campion Boys School and it was a good grounding for me. I am still in touch with a lot of my batch mates thanks to Social media. I enrolled in Arts at the Elphinstone college but rarely attended classes. I had a summer job at Weekender (an apparel retailer) after the ICSE exams and I was enjoying it too much to get back to classes. I was, however, busy going through my admission process for Switzerland for a course in Hotel Management. The 3 and half years I spent in Switzerland were for me the most life changing, challenging and one that shaped me into the person I am today.

My family could not really afford an overseas education for me, but when they saw I was keen on this, my father sat me down and said we can fund the first year but we are really not sure how it will go thereafter. Our former prime minister, MMS, was the one who devalued the Indian rupee in 1991 and messed up all the calculations my parents had made when we embarked on my overseas education plans. I assured my parents that I would work hard and be able to fund my own education from year 2 onwards.

I really had no clue then on how, but with some good luck and my dedication paid off, and I was able to fund my education from year 2 onwards. As part of the hotel management course, one needs to do a practical semester (6 months) once each year, where one works in a hotel or restaurant. I was working in Zurich and my employer was kind enough to reward me for my hard work and I was able to pay the fees and manage my expenses at the same time. This, I still feel, is one of the most profound moments in my life.

At 17, I realized what hard work really meant and lived it.

Why Hotel Management & Hospitality?

I was exposed to hotels from a very young age, my mother at that time was working for Taj Hotels in the housekeeping department, and she would take me to her workplace. I was able to see the back-end operations of hotels from this young age and was always very intrigued by it. By the seventh grade, I was quite sure I wanted to make a career in the hospitality industry. It was a conscious decision even after seeing the hard work and long hours put in by my mother. When I told my parents I wanted to set forth and study hotel management, they were both concerned and wanted me to rethink my options. However, I was quite sure and they supported me fully. I was fortunate to study at Les Roches in Switzerland, which is one of the best hotel schools in the world.

What were your notable experiences working abroad?

I love to travel and have lived a significant part of my adult life abroad. Having studied in an international hotel school, I was exposed to a multi-cultural environment. We had close to 60 nationalities on campus and there was a time I could ask a girl for a date in more than a dozen languages!

Understanding people and how their background, culture and exposure affected their actions was very insightful for me, and helped me during the time I was working in the hotel industry and also now in reaching out to our clients, our CEAs (secret shoppers) and team members at SatisFIND. What might be considered wow in one part of the country may just be the norm somewhere else.

Perceptions of service and customer expectations vary vastly
 even within India.

Do take us through the journey from hospitality to mystery shopping?

I started my first entrepreneurial venture in 2001, it was a hotel consultancy service to guide small and mid-scale restaurant and hotel owners to establish their projects (restaurant/hotel/bar). To give you a background, my father and 3 generations before him all worked for the same company and all retired after a lifelong career with that company. Not working in the same company was already a surprise for some members of my family, secondly, not joining a Parsi company or the Taj Hotel was another shocker for my extended family who thought I was making a big mistake by becoming an entrepreneur. My parents did, however, support me fully and unconditionally.

My father got all my paperwork organized and I was all set to start my own business, but 9/11 happened 2 months later and no one was venturing into any new projects. At that time, a Swiss Software company appointed me as their exclusive dealer for a food cost and inventory management solution. Rising food cost was the concern and I did make some inroads into progressive hotels and restaurants who wanted to be on top of their costs by using this software.

I decided to call my company, Kaiz Hospitality Services, and there were some who advised me, don't you want to name it something else so if the business does not go well, your personal name will not be in any way affected? I thought the contrary, and told the naysayers that some of the biggest corporations and inventors had the guts to name their companies after themselves.

Failure in the long run was not an option
 once I set forth as an entrepreneur.

I worked from home and met clients at their restaurants or hotels. One of my projects was a health café in a Gym, and it was spotted by an architect who asked me if I would be interested in another similar project in Hyderabad, I agreed and in a few short months I got a loads of new projects in Hyderabad as compared to Mumbai and other cities. I decided to move to Hyderabad as bulk of my work was coming from there. In Mumbai, I was considered too young to be a consultant.

There was a mindset that you ought to be old and grey before you are wise enough to advise. Gladly that is not the case today.

I would be involved in the project stage in developing or fine-tuning the concept of the restaurant, hotels and bars, etc., setting up the kitchen / bar areas and setting up systems to follow and once the outlet / hotel was running, my role would typically be over. However my clients would always call me for advice on management decisions, which was no longer in my scope of work and they would not be paying for this service.

I decided to extended my services to include mystery shopping for the companies to evaluate the customer service offered and find out any areas of concern in the operations. I was one of the first companies in India to offer this service and joined the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Joining this association was good for both professional and personal reasons. I met Michelle, my wife at the MSPA conference in Singapore and we ended up being on the same committee in the association. No Bollywood-style romance but a Bollywood-themed wedding did pursue a few years later.

In 2010, Michelle and I merged our companies under the brand name, SatisFIND which was Michelle's company in the Philippines. We now have offices in India, Philippines and Singapore and offer our services from the Middle East to South East Asia. We offer Customer Experience Measurement (CEM), which is is more in-depth than a typical mystery shopping audit. It provides our clients with a snapshot of how their customers experience their brand. The program combines quantitative and qualitative methods of research and results are always actionable.

I moved to Philippines in 2008, and now mange the international operations from Manila. Michelle and I are a magnet for poor / bad customer service and we make it a point to let the top management of the company know when we are victims of poor service. Instead of ranting on social media, which is so easy to do these days, we would like to give the companies the opportunity to act on the complaint. SatisFIND is a response to the growing need in the market to close the gap between customer expectations and the mediocre delivery of service, while at the same time recognizing the "Service Stars" (service providers) who deserve to be commended as role models for others to follow.

Why should an organization have a customer-centric strategy?

Why else are they in business if not to meet customer needs? Even if you are only operating in the B2B model, you need to be doing it for the right reasons. Being honest with the customer, no bullshit claims and tall promises, on time delivery is key as well. Having the right mechanism in place to address customer complaints is very important in every organization. An empowered organization where decisions can be taken by the staff without fear of retribution from the management is what I feel makes an organization truly customer-centric. Focus on the customers, and do not see them merely as numbers and % points. At SatisFIND, we are currently looking for partners to expand across India but finding partners that share our mindset, values and passion for customer service is the current challenge for us.

Every brilliant marketing idea comes from a customer insight.

What are your passions & hobbies apart from work?

When I was younger, I liked horse riding but alas am unable to do so now due to a weak back and knee. My real passion really would be food. I love to eat like any typical Parsi, I guess it is in my DNA. In 2003, I made a comment to the then Editor of Hyderabad Times on one of my recent dining experiences and she asked me to send it to her by email. My feedback was shared in the newspaper anonymously and soon I was asked by Times to write a weekly restaurant review and also the food guide for Hyderabad in 2003 and 2007. During the time I was writing for Times, I must have dined in over 700+ restaurants serving all types of cuisine at different price points. This was in an era before blogging and Instagram became popular and people relied on restaurant reviews to know what to opt for and what to skip.

I gave that up when I moved to Manila, though. I love to listen to music (Rock genre and Queen are my top playlists) and I can watch some of my favorite films again and again especially the Godfather trilogy and Rocky, which both are inspirational for me. I also practice mixology as a hobby, to be able to mix and tweak drinks to match the palate of my friends and guests.

The highlights we can take away from a conversation with Kaiz-

There's no alternative to hard work.

Know what you really want, and follow through.

Focus on your customers, their retention holds the key to business growth.

Add to your competitive advantage by evolving your offering
 (not just Mystery Shopping but CEM)

Practice your hobbies regularly, they complete you :)

Follow him on Twitter (@kaizpatel)

Thanks a bunch, Kaizad! Best wishes from the community.

----------------

About the Author:

I build Hammer and Mop, specializing in marketing, service and operations. I'm a published poet and a writer. Startups excite me. Have been a part of speaker panels, been a speaker at Youth to Business Forums (powered by AIESEC) and I sit on Unltd India's selection board once in a while. Contributing as a business writer at TheRodinhoods. @sushrutmunje

 The Art of Winning by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar tag:therodinhoods.com,2014-05-24:6328457:Topic:221351 2014-05-24T11:00:20.356Z Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal http://therodinhoods.com/profile/alokrodinhoodkejriwal
Sometimes, the Universe grants you what you want, almost instantly!

Just out of the blue, it just occurred to me that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Guruji to many) is as much as an ENTREPRENEUR as he is a Guru, Spiritual leader, Yogi, Art of Living Founder, etc etc.

Now, if he IS an Entrepreneur, then WHY isn't Rodinhood (me) interviewing him? So, I just mailed Sri Sri's office with the pitch…

Sometimes, the Universe grants you what you want, almost instantly!

Just out of the blue, it just occurred to me that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Guruji to many) is as much as an ENTREPRENEUR as he is a Guru, Spiritual leader, Yogi, Art of Living Founder, etc etc.

Now, if he IS an Entrepreneur, then WHY isn't Rodinhood (me) interviewing him? So, I just mailed Sri Sri's office with the pitch that said, "Let me interview Sri Sri as an Entrepreneur so that all the startup entrepreneurs understand what it takes to build an organisation like the Art of Living directly from the founder and take away many precious lessons!"

Believe it or not, in less than 24 hours, I got a "We like your idea" mail from HIS office.

I was on the plane the next day, and interviewed Sri Sri (Magical "daadiwala" to me) in the cute media cottage next to his operating office in Bangalore!

Enjoy the interview that includes Sri Sri's secrets and failures and many other insights! The transcript with my favorite parts is produced just after the video!!

Photos from the Session:

Transcript:

The 'Art of Winning' Management Mantras …Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in conversation with Alok Kejriwal

Q: Sri Sri, everyone knows you as the CEO of AOL, spiritual master, global leader. But I would like to interview you on your incredible journey as an Entrepreneur-Guru.

SSRS: It was a very eventful and interesting journey. I started by taking responsibility of a sick school which had no funds. Promises made had not been fulfilled, therefore, the children were left without a teacher or a place to stay.

Neither had we ever asked anyone for money, nor did we have any experience of running a school. But I knew I had to do this. Soon, things fell into place and people came forward to help the school grow. Then I started teaching courses. The first course I taught in Shimoga was attended by 8 doctors and engineers. I never intended to start courses. My intention was just to share what I could.

Q:That is what all entrepreneurs say, but then it become so big…

SSRS: My passion was to do something for villages. I used to travel in villages, sleeping on the floor at their homes, talking to people, being with them, teaching them meditation.

Q: You are a science graduate. Why do entrepreneurs do the unusual? When you entered the realm of spirituality, why did you do the unusual? You could have been a tech guy, earning a lot of money, travelling everywhere.

SSRS: It was simply not my cup of tea. There was a calling, a feeling that there was something I needed to do. I had seen wealth and fame when I was with Maharishi. I spent most of my youth with elderly people, great poets, great entrepreneurs and people dedicated to a social cause. Their wisdom, simplicity and broad vision was so beautiful. We started very small, going from village to village. Then I started training people to be teachers.

Q:The famous story (in your life) of the train - one train going north and one south… that represents in entrepreneurial life one very critical decision, where there is nobody to tell you what to do. There is something intuitive, something from God. How do people make that one critical decision that can change their life?

SSRS: At Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's they wanted me to stay. On one hand I had all comforts. I had this comfort zone, but I chose to come out and do something that was more needed in society. Something essential.

Q. In startups that have succeeded, the first team members - 5 or 10 - they make or break a company. What did you do to form a team?

SSRS: I did not base this on anyone or on volunteers. I based it on knowledge and wisdom. There is one power that is going to take you through - Moving with passion and dispassion together. Praise, talent and adulation are things people aspire to see in their twenties, thirties and forties. I had seen all this in my teens. Time is only for caring and contributing. And then the path opens up.

Q: On Mondays people in organisations are crying, Tuesday they are frowning. How do so many of the people in the Ashram keep smiling?

SSRS: Moving with passion and dispassion together. That is the power of spiritual knowledge. It gives you centered-ness which recuperates your energy, keeps you enthusiastic, and brings the much-needed passion for work. You want nothing for yourself. That brings passion in work and dispassion in meditation.

Q: As you started up, I'm sure there were failures, hiccups and problems. Many good enterprises fail. Can you share…?

SSRS: Once I was invited to teach at the Vatican by the very powerful Priest's training college. The Rector told me that people are forgetting what they taught them and requested me to train one of their people.

Then there was a de-addiction camp. There were 50-60 people there and the head was using fear of the outside world to keep them there. I taught those people and there was such a transformation in them. They had tears in their eyes and said they had found a new way of looking at life. The head of the camp became paranoid. On the third day the head said that this was not a good thing as people there had no fear in them now.

There was an ashram in London. They begged me to come and stay with them. Those days I travelled with one assistant. On the third day the person there saw everyone coming to me, and he told me I could not stay there.  I had had just 6 dollars in my pocket. It was a cold winter. My assistant was worried, but I told him to relax. At that time a Punjabi man requested us to come and stay with him anytime that week. So I said,"Why some time, I'll come right now."

So where your intentions are pure and clear, nature will support you to go forward in unimaginable ways.

Q In entrepreneurship and spirituality we have a common problem. 5 in 10 IIM-IIT graduates want to start up and family members become cagey.

SSRS: They should do startups. 30 years ago there was so much prejudice against India. When we started the Prison-Smart Program in Boston they just gave us a small 10' by 15'cell to do our Sudarshan Kriya. It was a dusty place with a small window. But when we started the course it created a big breakthrough in the prisoners' lives, and the prison authorities said what they were seeing was a miracle. They then gave us a grant to do the course for 3000 people in another place.

So, wherever there is sincerity and talent there will be people who recognise it. It may take some time. You simply have to have patience and hold on.

Q. Sri Sri, we are talking about patience and time, but everyone wants to grow a rose-garden in a day. You are talking about 30 years (to build Art of Living). Lot of young people think startup means instant money. Nobody realizes the value of time and money. What is your advice to young people?

SSRS: You should not be feverish about it. When you are feverish about success you take wrong decisions. It is not difficult to climb up that ladder by hook or by crook, but then you fall down the ladder faster than when you climbed it. Realise that you have sown a seed and you have to let it grow.You have to have inner strength.

At every step you have to ask yourself, "Am I doing the right thing or not?" If you sit and worry "What about me" all the time you miss out on ideas because you are self-centred. If your goal is clear, your aim is clear and you have the patience to move in that direction, nature is with you.

Q: On the power of intuition, a lot of us who are trying a new business, have not done that before. How do we cultivate intuition, how do we draw on it?

SSRS: That is what spirituality is all about - taking that inner rest.That restful alertness of mind, meditation and seeing life from a broader context. Then you will not be so feverish. You will let things unfold. You cannot force a flower to grow. You simply let it be there. Now "let it be there" does not mean inaction. People take it to the other extreme. Either they are complacent or they are too feverish.

Q. Sri Sri, a lot of us find it hard to get success. 99% of the time it is not easy to do a startup. Then we start comparing ourselves with other, wishing we could be like others, or saying "I wish I could get that funding." A bit of Jealousy creeps in, and then it starts dominating our mind.

SSRS: That is because you don't recognise your uniqueness. In this creation everyone is unique. Nature has made us very unique and if we recognise and we honour our uniqueness, there is no jealousy or competition.

Jealousy is there when we want to possess things. When you know you are here only to contribute, how can there be jealousy? Here spiritual knowledge becomes so relevant. Firstly, it helps you to overcome all these negative tendencies, and secondly, it improves your intuitive, innovative abilities and communication.

Q: If you were to price everything you give at market-price then you would be in the Fortune 500. How do you create this unbelievable business model of giving away the (wealthiest ) things for free and yet making your organisation run?

SSRS: Because I don't know marketing! We have done some of the biggest mega-events. 1,100 sitarists on one stage, 30 pianos and 300 bagpipers on a single stage. 10 of our programs are mentioned in the Guinness World Records. We have not made any effort to market them. Not many people even know about them. Art of Living has grown by word-of mouth as the product speaks for itself.

Q: You have made a product that is popular in India and abroad. How did you globalize your product so fast and make it so popular?

SSRS: (laughs) Everyone is breathing ! Everyone wants to be in love, be happy and at peace. We just guide people what they already have in them. And I still feel it has not become as popular as a cellphone. Cellphones are useful as they help you in communication. In the same way, meditation is even more useful because it helps you communicate with yourself and with the universe.

Q; Many of us in India are taught from childhood not to fail. Parents drill this into us and entrepreneurs become defensive about failure.

SSRS: One of the failures was when I tried to stop the war in Sri Lanka. I made efforts to reach out to the LTTE's Prabhakar and tried to bring sense into them. On the other side I also spoke to the President of Sri Lanka. I tried a lot and went there several times. Some of our Swamis were also working there. Today we have two orphanages in Sri Lanka. But somehow there was a prejudice against our dress, or how we look, how we are. This came in the way of our efforts and had a toll.

Similarly in Iraq, when Saddam Hussein was still alive, we tried to speak to them. We have not had Government backing. I have always felt that if we had had a little backing from the Government, we could have done a lot more work to bring peace.

All we needed was a simple recognition from them that this NGO is for peace and let's involve them. You know, there is a hard power and a soft power, and this was a soft power which our country failed to utilize.

In fact they did the contrary. They tried to stop us so that we wouldn't get the credit.

That was so unfortunate - the mindset of our bureaucrats and politicians. They should utilize India's soft power to bridge people, to bring peace in the world, to resolve conflicts. We could offer a lot to the world. And this is a big failure on the part of our society.

Another time, in one of the South American countries they gave me the highest honour in the country and the Indian Ambassador refused to come saying I was a religious person. This has happened a couple of times. Once in Brazil they had a program. The Indian flag was to be hoisted, and the Indian Ambassador refused to come. So, there is prejudice at home and prejudice outside. But the Information Era has helped a lot. 30 years ago it was difficult. Those days yoga and meditation was not something people were doing. Today large companies make their people meditate for relaxation.

Q: This whole problem of competition becomes so serious that sometimes you feel like giving up. How do you keep yourself sane in in this competitive field?

SSRS: You should see the positive aspects of competition. Competition in business will help you be more innovative and alert. Every competitor can inspire you to do more, and if you look at it that way you will be more at ease, and it will not dampen your enthusiasm. Else you will burn with jealousy and depression and do unethical things.

If you go with this one principle that no one can take away my enthusiasm, happiness or disturb my state of peace, then you will see the difference.

Q; Seva, satsang and sadhana is the formula for spiritual success in Art of Living. Any formula for entrepreneurs to succeed?

SSRS: They should keep their mind open and not be too anxious about success. Put in your 100% effort and be open to new ideas instead of being stuck in old one. You never know what will work on this planet.

People should meditate at least twice a day, especially in a group. Then you will find the atmosphere is more humane. If there is a humane atmosphere, there is nothing you cannot do.

www.artofliving.org

----------------------------

 UPDATE JUNE 13, 2014: Excerpts of our interview were carried in ET Panache today!

******


text:
2011-12-01 10:00:00
"Maybe for a couple of years we lived and died by him more than we do now. There is veteran balance now. It's not always on him. If he's going through something or not scoring, if that's the case, it's not like we need him to score to win a game."
- Washington's Mike Knuble on star Alex Ovechkin.
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Should the late Pat Quinn be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders category?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
David Glasier
Phone: 440-951-7274
David has been a full-time writer with The News-Herald since 1984. He write about news, sports and entertainment, He served as president of the Television Critics Association from 1993-95.
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