Hey! If you are new here, Hi! My name is Pavan and I love talking about Business, People and Culture.
If you feel it’s a daunting subject, don’t worry! I keep it light and fun. (Just look at Micheal’s GIF below)
Today I want to tell you a story, a story of how I discovered the importance of Culture, which shapes your Business and the People involved.
In today’s edition,
I talk about failed startups
Finding a dream company (Work-life balance wise) and,
About how I was laid off. (Interestingly, I still love the company that laid me off)
- Pavan
Failed Startups
I studied architecture, I was naturally creative and I had immense entrepreneurial spirit. I read an article somewhere that Architecture was the fastest way to have your own business. That was a lie! But I was a problem solver.
So guess what I did straight out of college? Yes! I dove into my first business. (Which had nothing to do with my design course).
In short, it was a cheap version of a cycle roller in India (Bangalore, to be specific).
The lesson? Too niche for the Indian market.
The market was too small, and the niche professional cyclists could afford a more expensive cycle roller. (Because, cycling is a rich man’s hobby, atleast for now)
The real lesson? Know your audience.
But I was a true Entrepreneur, so guess what I did next? I dove into another business. This time I put my design degree to use. I built a social media company that managed company’s online presence.
This went well. Got a few clients. Onboarded a big corporate company. Life was good!
The next obvious step was to scale. This was exciting times for me, because I always dreamed of starting a business; having to expand and hire a team was the dream! So I did! I took a bunch of interviews, with a tight budget in mind, hired the most passionate person (because hey, they don’t care about the money right?) and got to work.
Until one day, it all came crashing down. The work wasn’t getting done, the new hires were not motivated, all the work at the end of the day had to be done by me. (Bad management? Maybe)
On one day I was a 24 year old who had a real business and the next day I watched it crumble in front of my eyes. I was naive at the time, I didn’t take any blame (Because I knew best). It got me thinking…
What was I missing? Why did I fail?
These questions had to wait, because I had to find a job! (Gotta pay the bills!)
Enter, Chargebee
Chargebee was a fintech, that manages the backend of subscriptions. (This is an oversimplification, you can read more here.)
Thanks to my entrepreneurial adventures, I managed to get hired for an entry level sales role. The company offered work from home forever, they had an unlimited leave policy, a very generous life insurance and even offered an above average salary. (WHAT?)
I come from an Architecture background and just a decent salary offering would have floored me. This is not a joke, Architects in India have the worst work life for the initial few years. Let alone additional perks.
This was a dream company for people who wanted a good work-life balance, heck when I saw the perks I freaked out. I was sure they would work me to death.
But Chargebee proved me wrong, I worked hard during the shift hours and when my shift ended I could just relax. This was unheard of in the design field.
They had a no meeting day, EVERY WEEK! Their meetings were always under 60 MINS, they even sent us GIFTS EVERY QUARTER. I remember thinking to myself why did I ever hate corporates? (I did initially, for no good reason)
I started to work harder, as they made it really simple for me to earn more money. They had perks for achieving numbers, exceeding targets and much more. Their recognition systems worked well to motivate me and I wanted to do better.
But that didn’t last, I got a mail one day with an emergency meeting link.
When I joined the call with several other employees, the CEO with a heavy heart told us some of us would have to be let go. Immediately after the meeting I got a mail about my layoff. 60 mins after that, I had a call with the HR discussing my severance package and the help Chargebee would provide to get me placed.
I didn’t have a personal laptop at the time, Chargebee sent me one! (In 2 days flat) until I could find another job. They provided hiring services for free, a generous payout and a promise to always look out for us.
What more could I want? (Keep my job maybe? I am kidding!)
Wait a minute…
Why did I not hate this company?
I was leading my best life, I was earning well, working hard, I had enough time to do other things, explore my interests, the company paid for my educational expenses (to up skill) and it was all taken away in just one night.
And yet, I didn’t hate the company.
Why? I was confused.
I had a lot of time to ponder and I realised the importance the company places on Culture. Every person hired has to fit into their culture. I even had a culture round in the hiring process which I didn’t pay much heed to. (Because it’s just fluff isn’t it?)
It works! Culture works! This was my first epiphany.
I then thought about my startup, why did it fail? That’s when I realised, I didn’t have any values myself, before I had set values for others to follow. I didn’t have the experience of leading someone, let alone a team.
I experience Culture first hand and I have never thought about running a business the same way again.
Phew!
Thats my story! It led to me starting ‘The People Perspective’
I talk about Business, People and Culture.