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It’s really hard, but so powerful. The "hack" culture of Facebook or the "do no evil" approach of Google or the "respect everyone" culture of the Mahindras. It is amazing to see what great things can be accomplished when a founder drives core values effectively through an organization.
I was recently asked the question, who inspires you and why. The who part was easy, but when I sat back and thought about why, the answer to that was really inspirational.
As a builder of early stage businesses, I find that I often struggle with the challenge of how to retain the culture that starts with the founders as the companies grow. An idea starts with one person. Culture is easy. Then it's shared and there is a co-founding team, managing values are a little more difficult, but the team spends so much time with each other that the fundamental principles become clear and shared.
But once scale starts to creep in and a company is formed, how do you make sure that the principles you hold near and dear (that you feel are self evident) are retained? This is the crux of building a great company and something that I think the best companies have been able to create. Whether it is the "hack" culture of Facebook or the "do no evil" approach of Google or the "respect everyone" culture of the Mahindras, it is amazing to see what great things can be accomplished when a founder drives core values effectively through an organization.
A person who inspires you and why?
Since moving to India 9 years ago, I have had the fortune to get to know Anand Mahindra and have always walked away from my meetings with him inspired - both personally and professionally. On the professional front, I am amazed at the clarity with which he has built his federation of companies and the efficiency with which he executes his business. On the personal front, I am inspired by the genuineness with which he approaches his relationships and interactions - no matter who you are, he takes the time to make you feel important. While both of these factors are inspiring, what makes him an inspiration to me, is that he has figured out how to drive these qualities across his organization... everyone I have interacted with at M&M seems to embody these attributes. It is one thing to be disciplined and diligent in how an individual manages oneself, but scaling that across an organization is a truly amazing feat and this is what I find inspirational in Anand Mahindra and M&M.
Hitendra and I discovered this opportunity through an iterative set of conversations that took place prior to funding the business. It was this deep engagement and exchange of ideas, even before there was an economic incentive that allowed for a strong relationship with an open exchange of ideas to develop.
Look for an empty work station, a chair and get ready to go
When we first met to discuss starting a fund, one of the things that we all had in common was that we were entrepreneurs. We had launched our own companies, gotten rejected by investor after investor, produced good and bad products and experienced failure after failure. We were start up warriors and had the battle scars to prove it.
Those that make it through are not unscathed – they have battle wounds. The challenges of the first year take their toll… emotionally, organizationally, culturally. While the first year has likely felt like a sprint, it is important to remember that this is a marathon and it is impossible to continue to run a marathon at a sprint pace.
The best thing a startup can do for its brand is to invest in creating experiences that make people whip their phones out to tweet or instagram immediately. Your brand isn’t what you say about yourself, it’s what people say about you.
Tech companies are nothing without growth. The real value creation will take place in companies that are able to demonstrate differentiated growth by taking advantage of the imminent technology boom (a result of the explosion in data & apps).
Handling a downturn has little to do with what you do when the downturn starts, but more to do with how you built during the boom. At the start of a downturn, if you’re asking “What do I do now?” it’s probably too late.
We are at the cusp of creating great technology businesses in India. It can’t happen without the right support from a great board. And a great board needs independent directors.
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