Travails of returns - Part 4

3 weeks back, I started writing on building businesses in India. I covered the fundamental choice of financial model to begin with. Then, the first execution step, which is founding team building. Then, the ten commandments or the values we started with.

Now, onto execution. The 1st was to set up functions and the people therein.

As a theme, we set up functions which could lead to immediate cash flow or vital to us starting off. So, our initial team was 2 engineers, 1 accountant, 1 recruiter, 5 sales guys (who started out in operations to begin with and doubled up in sales). Most other functions were led by founders, who anyways spent a bulk of their time in these core ones.

For about 3 months, they were the only ones at @OfBusiness (@Oxyzo wasn’t born till then). We did a few things that we stick to this day.

We chose an office to work from home on Day 1, no co-working, no garages, no working from homes. We always come to office and work from there, it’s a home dearer than home. Came to help us during the big, bad Covid times. We just sprang back to work.

While in office, they loved each other’s company. They sat next to each other, and I remember we breaking the partitions between rooms. To this day, we have no rooms, (except meeting rooms).

They worked crazily and partied that way too. A culture that has lasted to this day, and when there is a thing to celebrate, everyone joins in.

They all did each other’s work; everyone was a multi-tasker. It helps us in starting new things cost efficiently, we don’t start with new people, we just take it as extra-curriculars for the already present.

Given all the above, they would do anything for each other. And slowly as the number of each other’s increased, the each other’s morphed into the company. All would do anything for the company.

lifeatofbusiness
lifeatoxyzo

Also Read:- Travails Of Returns – Part 3