Guide To Work In A Company 2024 | Must Watch | Salaries, Equity, Raises, Negotiations
Summary
TLDRIn the wake of the pandemic, and following significant shifts in the Indian market with advances like Geo, the expectations from employees have dramatically changed. The speaker emphasizes that modern employees must focus on execution rather than theoretical knowledge. Companies today look for individuals who can solve problems and deliver concrete results. The emphasis is on taking risks, as ownership or equity only comes to those willing to shoulder potential failures along with the rewards. The speaker contrasts traditional career paths with modern expectations and highlights the gap between perceived and tested potential among today's youth. Given social mediaβs consumption, many young professionals are discouraged by distorted realities and instant gratification models. The narrative includes discussions on financial dynamics within companies, the value of working for established brands versus startups, and real versus perceived challenges in entrepreneurship.
Takeaways
- π Post-pandemic job landscape favors risk-takers.
- πΌ Companies value execution over theory.
- π ESOPs are often initially worthless.
- π° Working for brand value can outweigh immediate pay.
- βοΈ Risk vs. reward: foundational to career growth.
- π§ Mindset shift essential for modern careers.
- π Proven performance is key in modern work culture.
- π Common misconceptions fueled by social media.
- π Continuous learning critical in evolving markets.
- π Networking and recognition contribute to career leverage.
Timeline
- 00:00:00 - 00:05:00
In the modern post-pandemic workplace, equity is earned by taking risks, not just for work. Employees should focus on building products that solve problems as theoretical knowledge is less valued compared to execution. Interning at a reputable company like Apple can be more beneficial than high pay at an unknown company. The speaker notes the rapid increase in their company size and highlights the gap for young graduates who lack professional work insights due to the pandemic. The discussion aims to clarify employer expectations and how career pathways have evolved, using the speaker's personal growth and scaling experiences as a case study.
- 00:05:00 - 00:10:00
The speaker distinguishes between serious companies, which pay real money and deliver outputs, and unserious companies. Serious companies perform due diligence before hiring, seeking serious employees. The session will cover the perceived deterioration of the modern employee's mindset after the pandemic, clarifying the distinction between Founders and employees, explaining organizational financial operations, and outlining pathways for career acceleration.
- 00:10:00 - 00:15:00
The concept of a 'damaged brain' reflects frequent job changes and the influence of misleading online content, contributing to unrealistic success expectations among young employees. While social media glorifies minimal effort leading to high success, it omits the hard realities of professional commitments and the prolonged efforts required for substantial achievement. Social validation and perceived potential create a gap between reality and expectations, perpetuated by risk-averse older professionals obscuring the challenging truths of career paths.
- 00:15:00 - 00:20:00
Employing Socrates' allegory, the narrative argues that social media presents a skewed, incomplete picture of reality, propagating 'Lies by Omission.' The dramatized success stories don't represent the true dedication and resilient effort required over decades. The session intends to deconstruct these perceptions, focusing on the patience required for genuine success and highlighting the divergence between appearance and reality. It critiques the short-sighted pursuit of clout at the cost of long-term achievement.
- 00:20:00 - 00:25:00
Youngsters are often misled by the polished portrayals of success on social media, leading to distorted perceptions of easy success stories. The session emphasizes the importance of understanding the prolonged effort behind achievements and warns against overvaluing the trivialization of dedication. Success stories are frequently sensationalized, neglecting the consistent, mundane efforts behind them. The portrayal of exaggerated achievements without context fosters false aspirations among the young workforce.
- 00:25:00 - 00:30:00
The session highlights the misconceptions fueled by idolizing entrepreneurial icons like Elon Musk, who ostensibly multitasks shimmering success. However, his success story underscores the sustained effort and strategic progression over years. Icons like Musk aren't overnight successes; they embody decades of dedication which social media fails to articulate, underscoring the myth of effortless achievement.
- 00:30:00 - 00:35:00
Companies like Zomato and Flipkart exemplify long-term success built on a foundation laid decades prior, challenging the illusion of instant victories. The evolution of business models over years, adapting to shifting circumstances and technologies, shows that success is cumulative and strategic rather than instantaneous. The narrative illustrates how these business evolutions represent extensive, not overnight, achievements.
- 00:35:00 - 00:40:00
The speaker further explores the business evolution narrative, emphasizing the necessity to adapt to market changes and understand the DNA of business foundations as determinants of success. Current successful models cannot be exactly replicated, underscoring the need for innovation and adaptability. Key success factors involve recognizing and adapting to current market demands rather than replicating successes of the past.
- 00:40:00 - 00:45:00
The gap between the idea of success and actual execution is significant, as illustrated by differences in business models and market strategies over time. Social media and surviving biases distort the portrayal of business success, creating an unjustified hype around entrepreneurship without acknowledging the complexities involved. The discussion seeks to demystify illusions about business success, presenting a more grounded perspective on entrepreneurial ventures.
- 00:45:00 - 00:50:00
Entrepreneurship is highlighted as intrinsically challenging with a high likelihood of failure. Success requires resilience, courage, and extended efforts, refuting the notion of quick profit with entrepreneurship usually being less lucrative than stable employment. Longevity and persistence are essential in navigating business ventures, and humility is often instilled in successful long-term entrepreneurs through cumulative experiences.
- 00:50:00 - 00:55:00
Startup equity, typically misunderstood, represents the risk and ownership of potential success. Employees receive equity as acknowledgment of their potential and vested interest, though typically it's not valuable due to the high-risk nature of startups. The speaker emphasizes realistic expectations, the complexity of aligning motivations with equity, and the market dynamics that drive equity distribution in startups.
- 00:55:00 - 01:00:00
The disparity between employee compensation and company earnings stems from overlooked costs of running a business, including marketing, operational, and strategic expenses. The company's profit margins reflect risk-taking, building client trust, and maintaining relationships rather than mere service provision. Understanding these dynamics can resolve misconceptions about perceived inequities in employee compensation.
- 01:00:00 - 01:05:00
Startup operations entail multifaceted financial considerations beyond direct revenue, involving legal, marketing, and operational costs. These overheads justify the disparity in earnings distribution between company profits and employee salaries. The speaker dives into larger operational frameworks, illustrating how intricate operational management can be. Comprehensive financial management is crucial to sustaining business operations amidst inherent economic uncertainties.
- 01:05:00 - 01:10:00
Running a startup involves multifaceted financial burdens and responsibilities, emphasizing that founders primarily profit after managing extensive overheads. Entrepreneurs face enduring financial challenges, often burning out due to mismanaged expectations about entrepreneurship's profitability. Long-term strategies and thoughtful financial planning are critical for navigating the complexities of startup growth.
- 01:10:00 - 01:15:00
Entrepreneurship is characterized as demanding significant dedication and prolonged patience, driven by profit-centricity and authentic market engagement. The inflated entrepreneurial mindset, often fueled by external funding and misperceptions, overlooks the pragmatic challenges inherent in sustaining a company. Emphasizing actual economic contributions, the founder advises against adopting superficial entrepreneurial models detached from genuine market value generation.
- 01:15:00 - 01:27:30
Compensation negotiations involve recognizing the alignment between individual contributions and company performance metrics. Loyalty, performance, and understanding the company dynamics are influential factors in obtaining raises. The session underscores the importance of matching one's aspirations with the company's financial health and ongoing strategic goals. Founders value dedicated long-term engagement as a measure of an individual's potential contributions beyond immediate monetary results.
Mind Map
Video Q&A
What do companies expect from employees today?
Companies expect execution rather than theories, focusing on solving problems and delivering actual results.
Why are ESOPs often considered worthless?
ESOPs are considered worthless if they don't materialize into real financial value, which is rare without company profit or IPO.
How has the job market changed post-pandemic?
The job market now favors those who take risks and are adaptable to changes, with a focus on result-driven work rather than just effort.
What is important to remember while taking risk in a job?
It's crucial to understand that taking risks involves potential failures, but can lead to larger rewards, unlike guaranteed salaries.
Why is it better to work in a recognizable company even without high pay?
Working in a recognizable company can provide significant career leverage due to brand association, which can be beneficial long-term.
How does social media influence young professionals?
Social media often presents an unrealistic picture of instant success and wealth, which can mislead young professionals.
What is the difference between a founder and a regular employee?
A founder takes on more risk and responsibility for the company's success, whereas an employee typically focuses on defined roles.
View more video summaries
- 00:00:00something happened after the pandemic
- 00:00:01something happened after Gio in India uh
- 00:00:03the modern employees brain is gone case
- 00:00:05you actually don't get equity for doing
- 00:00:07work you get equity for taking risk
- 00:00:09companies don't want Theory anymore they
- 00:00:10want execution can you build a product
- 00:00:11that solves a problem for most of you
- 00:00:13any ESOP you get in any company whether
- 00:00:14here or outside just assume it's worth
- 00:00:16zero today you would rather intern at
- 00:00:19Apple for zero than get paid 30k a month
- 00:00:22at some Lalu Prasad company it will take
- 00:00:24you 20 years to make serious money if
- 00:00:25you work here or anywhere
- 00:00:28else so
- 00:00:30I'll repeat why I'm doing this I think
- 00:00:32we have rapidly
- 00:00:34scaled uh last year this time we were
- 00:00:38like six people or something like that
- 00:00:40uh and now we're a lot of people and a
- 00:00:44lot of you are fairly young this is your
- 00:00:45first job this is your second job and I
- 00:00:48think this is not just true for you but
- 00:00:51it's also true for the people that
- 00:00:52follow me on Instagram or YouTube and
- 00:00:55generally youngsters today right which
- 00:00:57is nobody has ever told you
- 00:01:00how to work in a
- 00:01:02Workforce cuz most of you graduated
- 00:01:04during the pandemic most of
- 00:01:07you have never worked professionally in
- 00:01:09your job and when you get fired nobody
- 00:01:10actually tells you why you're getting
- 00:01:11fired they say misper performance or
- 00:01:13this or that right so what is happening
- 00:01:15and this is something I've noticed from
- 00:01:17a very zoomed out perspective that
- 00:01:19you're getting information from the
- 00:01:21wrong sources and you are taking what
- 00:01:25other people are creating as content and
- 00:01:27thinking your life is supposed to be
- 00:01:28like that which is not not really how
- 00:01:30it's supposed to be so hopefully this
- 00:01:32session teaches you two things one what
- 00:01:34we expect as employers and not just us
- 00:01:38but I think General companies in India
- 00:01:40right most startups most companies in
- 00:01:41India what we expect and number two how
- 00:01:44you can actually progress in your career
- 00:01:46cuz careers today are very different
- 00:01:48from careers a decade ago a decade ago
- 00:01:51or 20 years when my my mom let's say was
- 00:01:53working in banking it took her many
- 00:01:55years like 30 years of grinding same
- 00:01:58company maybe one company shift after 15
- 00:02:01years it's very different now you have
- 00:02:03plenty of options you have like the
- 00:02:05world has changed so hopefully this is
- 00:02:07useful for you because I think in
- 00:02:10general I've thought about how can this
- 00:02:12be how can this lead to success for you
- 00:02:14so it's called Rules of Engagement which
- 00:02:16is what do companies expect from you and
- 00:02:18what you expect from what you should
- 00:02:19expect from companies and yeah it's a
- 00:02:22guide to the to working in the modern
- 00:02:23Indian Workforce can we go to the next
- 00:02:25slide please okay now serious companies
- 00:02:29and that two kinds of companies okay you
- 00:02:31you'll see see this now there are two
- 00:02:32kinds of companies where there's some
- 00:02:34companies who are serious who are
- 00:02:35scaling who pay employees real cash
- 00:02:39where they have real clients and you
- 00:02:41have you provide a service or you build
- 00:02:43a product or something and there's a
- 00:02:44bunch of unserious companies as well and
- 00:02:46more and more unserious companies are
- 00:02:47popping up we'll talk about this um
- 00:02:49serious companies only want to work with
- 00:02:51people who understand the roles of
- 00:02:52Engagement it's like I don't know if you
- 00:02:55know this but today let's say if you
- 00:02:57leave here and go work at another
- 00:02:59company
- 00:03:00do you know what the first thing the
- 00:03:02other company will do after you
- 00:03:04interview anyone has any
- 00:03:08guesses yeah so mum want to answer that
- 00:03:10so what mdom said is they do a process
- 00:03:13called due diligence how many of you
- 00:03:15have not heard of due
- 00:03:18diligence okay just so you know suppose
- 00:03:20you leave here and you join another
- 00:03:22company or forget about us right like
- 00:03:24suppose you worked at Flipkart and you
- 00:03:25left Flipkart and went to another
- 00:03:26company the HR at the new company will
- 00:03:28call your old company
- 00:03:30and they will ask them how is this
- 00:03:31person did this person behave well like
- 00:03:33was he useful right and we get lots of
- 00:03:36such calls right people who join us and
- 00:03:38then move on Etc and it's not just here
- 00:03:40but in every other company so stuff like
- 00:03:42that serious companies only want to work
- 00:03:44with serious people so when they call
- 00:03:45they mostly asking about seriousness
- 00:03:47right does is this person worth hiring
- 00:03:50so we're going to cover four things
- 00:03:53today the first one is the invasion of
- 00:03:55the modern employees brain I think
- 00:03:57something happened after the pandemic
- 00:03:58something happened after in India uh the
- 00:04:01modern employees brain is is gone case
- 00:04:05hopefully we can correct some of that
- 00:04:06today and what is a founder and what is
- 00:04:09the difference between a founder and
- 00:04:10employee because today being a Founder
- 00:04:12is cool but it wasn't always so third
- 00:04:15one is organization structure and
- 00:04:16expenses like if we are charging a
- 00:04:19client let's say five lakhs or 10 lakhs
- 00:04:21how much money do we make out of it how
- 00:04:22much money do you make out of it how do
- 00:04:24we calculate the expenses all of that
- 00:04:26we're going to reveal all of that cool
- 00:04:27stuff today and how you you can really
- 00:04:30make
- 00:04:31money okay so we're going to cover all
- 00:04:33four of this how you can accelerate your
- 00:04:35career how you can grow whether you want
- 00:04:36to become a Founder tomorrow whether you
- 00:04:38want to become a senior executive here
- 00:04:40or at any other company we're going to
- 00:04:42cover all four of it next
- 00:04:44slide this is a healthy
- 00:04:47brain and see
- 00:04:49nice pink
- 00:04:52pink smooth brain okay let's see an
- 00:04:55unhealthy brain now
- 00:05:02this is a damaged
- 00:05:04brain
- 00:05:09uh okay this might sound like a joke
- 00:05:12especially this last one here 10 jobs in
- 00:05:15two years plus six
- 00:05:16agencies but it's not actually a joke
- 00:05:19like me Rohit ronit Lavina we sit in
- 00:05:23that room sometimes hiring people I'm
- 00:05:25sure you know AOS slabs is also hiring a
- 00:05:26bunch of people uh and when we see the
- 00:05:30number one thing that most people say is
- 00:05:32yeah you know I did this then 3 months
- 00:05:34later I did this then 3 months later I
- 00:05:35did this and then you know I've started
- 00:05:38a company and then I'm I also run this
- 00:05:40company and we've had so many of these
- 00:05:42people now that it's like now become
- 00:05:44like a chronic pattern and it reminds me
- 00:05:46of when I was like 20 years old and
- 00:05:48confused and I wish somebody just like
- 00:05:50picked me up by the year whacked me one
- 00:05:52time and said no this is not how you do
- 00:05:53things here is the better way to read
- 00:05:56your career so I think everyone has a
- 00:05:58damaged brain but it's not your fault
- 00:06:00you know whose fault it is it's our
- 00:06:02fault the people who make
- 00:06:05content right because and not us
- 00:06:08specifically but content creators right
- 00:06:09in general today Instagram is flooded
- 00:06:11with content saying you know buy 25
- 00:06:13you'll be millionaire mindset driving a
- 00:06:16Rolex or sorry a Lamborghini and like
- 00:06:19wear a Rolex and you know you'll be
- 00:06:22working four hours a week or whatever
- 00:06:24nobody here who's made it I I I get to
- 00:06:27work with some really Fascinating People
- 00:06:28has have you seen any of them work 4
- 00:06:30hours a week no they're here like a long
- 00:06:34like a lot of the time and they're here
- 00:06:35Saturdays and Sundays as well so it's
- 00:06:37really different from what people think
- 00:06:39it is next slide so I'll tell you why no
- 00:06:43one tells you the truth on social media
- 00:06:46you would expect by now people to tell
- 00:06:47the truth on social media to come out
- 00:06:48and be like what what it's actually like
- 00:06:50to work at a company but there's a pro
- 00:06:52I'll tell you the challenge challenge is
- 00:06:55today social media is mostly young
- 00:06:57people mostly people that 20s 21 22 23
- 00:07:01some something in that age range right
- 00:07:04young people are mostly playing status
- 00:07:05games as an extension of college most of
- 00:07:07you went to college yeah and in college
- 00:07:10you had status
- 00:07:12games
- 00:07:15popular Branch you know you're just
- 00:07:19extending that most of these people are
- 00:07:20just extending that in the social world
- 00:07:22I see one tweet every day of somebody
- 00:07:23else you know saying oh you know this
- 00:07:26person got placed for this but why am I
- 00:07:27not getting a job for this whatever
- 00:07:29right it's an extension of college and
- 00:07:33the this is the most important thing
- 00:07:35right the third thing and it's something
- 00:07:36I suffered from when I was very very
- 00:07:38young everyone here if especially if we
- 00:07:40have hired you you are super high
- 00:07:43potential and everyone sitting watching
- 00:07:45this kind of content especially online
- 00:07:47you're super high potential but there's
- 00:07:50a gap between potential and tested
- 00:07:53potential and I wish I understood this
- 00:07:55when I was younger I'll tell you what
- 00:07:56this means in your head you might think
- 00:07:58okay I can do this and this I'm the best
- 00:08:00video editor I'm the best software
- 00:08:02engineer but being tested is
- 00:08:06hard like most people when they get
- 00:08:09faced with this test and we'll talk
- 00:08:10about the test later right in every
- 00:08:12person's career you have to go through
- 00:08:13this one test with tests not just can
- 00:08:16you do the skill but can you provide
- 00:08:18outcomes there's a very big gap between
- 00:08:21the two and every year that passes I see
- 00:08:23this gap for most people like widening
- 00:08:27and lastly older people the reason no
- 00:08:29one tells you the truth is that older
- 00:08:31people people in their 30s they have no
- 00:08:33incentive to go on social media and tell
- 00:08:35the truth a because they don't want
- 00:08:36competitors to come like do the same
- 00:08:37thing that they're doing and B there are
- 00:08:40people like Naran morti who have tried
- 00:08:42to tell the truth that you have to work
- 00:08:43X number of hours or whatever it is and
- 00:08:45really got cancelled for it nobody wants
- 00:08:47to take the risk and I know lots of
- 00:08:49founder friends right they're all like
- 00:08:51damn scared they're all like you know
- 00:08:55if I say this world people say of
- 00:08:57me will they go cancel my app that stuff
- 00:09:00happens that's a real fear in many
- 00:09:01Founders heads so they just don't say
- 00:09:03anything online so what happens this
- 00:09:06first crowd the first two crowds right
- 00:09:08people playing the status game the young
- 00:09:09people playing the status games are
- 00:09:10flooding social media with all sorts of
- 00:09:13things that are not really true because
- 00:09:15you only find out what works or not in
- 00:09:16your career by the time you're 30 I'm 31
- 00:09:18today and I had to go through I had to
- 00:09:21do a lot of wrong things to then
- 00:09:22eventually do the right thing all right
- 00:09:25next slide this is a picture of Socrates
- 00:09:27you know Socrates this a this of
- 00:09:30probably an artist rendition okay I'll
- 00:09:32tell you a very interesting story about
- 00:09:34Socrates I'm butchering the
- 00:09:37details
- 00:09:38but Socrates
- 00:09:41was exiled and then eventually he was
- 00:09:44asked to take like a cup of poison this
- 00:09:46is Poison by the state do you know
- 00:09:50why cuz Socrates told the
- 00:09:53truth Socrates told his students I'm
- 00:09:55just I'm making a very simplistic story
- 00:09:57out of this he told his students go
- 00:09:59question
- 00:10:00everything if there's somebody being
- 00:10:02religious go question them why why and
- 00:10:06you know how young people are right they
- 00:10:07started questioning
- 00:10:08everything they went to all the priests
- 00:10:10they started questioning them this that
- 00:10:12so the state found him guilty and said
- 00:10:14boss you're making everything unruly and
- 00:10:17uh you know just throw away everything
- 00:10:20you've said just say you know I was
- 00:10:21wrong about everything and we'll let you
- 00:10:23go but if you don't if you stick to your
- 00:10:26ideals we're going to make you drink
- 00:10:28some poison so stood for the truth he
- 00:10:31stuck to his ideals he ended up having
- 00:10:32to drink poison the lesson from this is
- 00:10:35not stick for stick for the truth and
- 00:10:37drink poison or whatever the lesson to
- 00:10:38learn from this is a lot of people are
- 00:10:41put in this especially people who are
- 00:10:42successful are put in this position
- 00:10:44where they can't go out publicly tell
- 00:10:46what made them successful or what the
- 00:10:48rules of success are because firstly the
- 00:10:50rules are not as like do 1 2 3 4 five
- 00:10:53it's a little bit complicated and it's a
- 00:10:54lot of hard work stick around for 20
- 00:10:56years and it's not good content if I
- 00:10:58made a video saying here's how you get
- 00:11:00successful and I said it takes 20 years
- 00:11:03or 10 years all of you would click away
- 00:11:06be like n a trick faceless Channel what
- 00:11:09is the trick today to be successful so
- 00:11:11nobody nobody says it because there's no
- 00:11:13incentive you'll just shout at them in
- 00:11:15the comments anyway next slide so social
- 00:11:18media therefore is Lies by
- 00:11:21Omission which means and this is Plato's
- 00:11:24it's a it's a it's this allegory of the
- 00:11:27cave where there are some
- 00:11:29prisoners and you can see
- 00:11:32some uh they can see some
- 00:11:34Shadows but what they're seeing is
- 00:11:37somebody holding up like a cat or
- 00:11:38whatever and they're seeing a cat here
- 00:11:39so they think there's actually a cat
- 00:11:41there so you're not actually seeing
- 00:11:43reality for what it is you're seeing
- 00:11:45social media which is a mirror of
- 00:11:46reality so reality is here it's a mirror
- 00:11:49and it's coming back to you but reality
- 00:11:51is different it's messy and hopefully
- 00:11:53through this deck we are able to you
- 00:11:55know tease out reality a bit so for
- 00:11:57example the one person or the few people
- 00:11:59that go out and actually say it takes
- 00:12:01hard work and energy and really lots of
- 00:12:04failure and lots of you know careers ups
- 00:12:06and downs when they go say these things
- 00:12:09nobody likes it and it becomes national
- 00:12:11news next
- 00:12:13slide okay now again I'm repeating this
- 00:12:16for the nth time but most this is what
- 00:12:18most youngsters think how many of you
- 00:12:20think you'll be a millionaire by
- 00:12:2325 millionaire 8.4 crores okay we have
- 00:12:27one person there yeah this might sound
- 00:12:29like a joke but especially if you go to
- 00:12:31tier 2 tier 3 India a lot of people
- 00:12:32really believe that cuz you can see from
- 00:12:35their feed no ultimately whatever is on
- 00:12:37your feed you end up thinking that that
- 00:12:39is true some of you especially Engineers
- 00:12:42right believe that you build some
- 00:12:44magical X technology it's going to make
- 00:12:46you super rich and that can be reached
- 00:12:47through pure skill maximization as of
- 00:12:50the MD of Google in of YouTube uh a week
- 00:12:54ago or something like that we were at
- 00:12:55Google marketing live and interesting
- 00:12:58interesting thing he said is Google is a
- 00:12:59product company but in India we have so
- 00:13:01many people it's like a services company
- 00:13:03but everyone still especially Engineers
- 00:13:06have that myth that you build a
- 00:13:07technology and you do something and then
- 00:13:11like that Social Network movie that you
- 00:13:13get rich some of you on the other side
- 00:13:16creators think you create content every
- 00:13:18day it's going to make you rich um I
- 00:13:21think ronet told me this very funny
- 00:13:23thing he told me which is the minute I
- 00:13:25see one of our employees creating
- 00:13:27content I'm like has he left
- 00:13:31so everyone thinks that creating I mean
- 00:13:33everyone does like so many people have
- 00:13:35done this right we are a very very young
- 00:13:36company we just started but like people
- 00:13:38will leave us sometimes and then very
- 00:13:41next week there's like they start doing
- 00:13:42content right and they do it exactly for
- 00:13:442 weeks and then they give up because
- 00:13:46obviously as you know in two weeks
- 00:13:48nothing happens so people think creating
- 00:13:51content is going to make you rich and
- 00:13:52famous some of you who want to be
- 00:13:54entrepreneurs think funding is easily
- 00:13:55available you know this is very specific
- 00:13:59to the online audience More Than This
- 00:14:00audience but this idea that you can just
- 00:14:03go to an investor and it'll give you
- 00:14:05like 1 CR 5 crores 10
- 00:14:07crores it just doesn't work that way
- 00:14:10especially now it just doesn't work that
- 00:14:11way it's actually really hard to raise
- 00:14:12funding and uh it's very rare for you to
- 00:14:16be able to raise funding in this climate
- 00:14:19without having like history of building
- 00:14:21something reasonably
- 00:14:22successful next thing is you can have
- 00:14:24the ideal life without trade-offs or
- 00:14:27sacrifices actually
- 00:14:29the people who work 4 hours a week and
- 00:14:31are rich the people I know let's say
- 00:14:33have actually spent a decade
- 00:14:36working 10 hours a
- 00:14:39day it's like it's almost like you first
- 00:14:41have to do the hard work the extreme
- 00:14:43hard work and then you can spend the
- 00:14:45time
- 00:14:46chilling I've
- 00:14:48actually I mean there are examples of
- 00:14:50people working 8 hours a day and doing
- 00:14:52reasonably well but it's very hard to
- 00:14:53start your career saying I'll work 4
- 00:14:55hours a day for the next 30 Years but
- 00:14:56get rich it's very very difficult to do
- 00:14:58that
- 00:15:01the last problem which is the system is
- 00:15:03broken I was like this when I was young
- 00:15:06it's like government sucks these guys
- 00:15:09suck politicians don't know anything
- 00:15:10nobody knows anything my teachers are
- 00:15:13idiots system is completely broken I can
- 00:15:15fix it I think my ideas are better but
- 00:15:19what I didn't realize when I was 20 and
- 00:15:21between 20 and 30 is the gap between
- 00:15:23ideas and execution is huge it's massive
- 00:15:27and we'll go through why it's hard and
- 00:15:29lastly there's Elon Musk itis the most
- 00:15:32popular influencer in the world is not
- 00:15:33Mr Beast in my opinion it's Elon Musk he
- 00:15:35has the he has like hundreds of millions
- 00:15:37of
- 00:15:38followers and Elon Musk has convinced
- 00:15:40everybody that you can start five
- 00:15:43companies at one time and do really
- 00:15:45really well and make a ton of money
- 00:15:47and be really popular on social media
- 00:15:50and he's done like deep tech companies
- 00:15:52right so it's not easy and if you look
- 00:15:53at Elon musk's like career graph he
- 00:15:56started very very early and his first
- 00:15:58success was actually
- 00:15:59X right the PayPal what they did with
- 00:16:02PayPal so he's had time to become Elon
- 00:16:05Musk it's very hard to be an Elon Musk
- 00:16:07at 20 or
- 00:16:0822 okay next slide so I want to tell you
- 00:16:12what reality is really like some stories
- 00:16:14of successful companies how long it
- 00:16:16actually
- 00:16:17takes this 2008 this is I'm sure this
- 00:16:19picture is not from 2008 but I couldn't
- 00:16:21find an old picture of zato this is a
- 00:16:25old uh article about flip cart uh
- 00:16:29Flipkart opens his first office in
- 00:16:30bangaluru pin code
- 00:16:3356034 they delivered 3,400 shipments
- 00:16:38successfully okay and there's some
- 00:16:40factors that led to success today
- 00:16:42Flipkart is massive sorry uh zomato is
- 00:16:45massive so is Flipkart flipcart IPO
- 00:16:47billions of dollars zomato billions of
- 00:16:50dollars and it's look at the gap 2008
- 00:16:52and 2024 you're hearing about zomato
- 00:16:54Flipkart now it's been popular in the
- 00:16:57last like 3 4 years it's really been in
- 00:16:58your
- 00:16:59business case studies are made of out of
- 00:17:01it but look at the Gap what's the what
- 00:17:03is 2024 minus
- 00:17:052008 16
- 00:17:07years the guys who made money the guys
- 00:17:10and girls who made money at zomato and
- 00:17:11Flipkart in the early days have probably
- 00:17:13worked there for a very long
- 00:17:15time and they've been there
- 00:17:17early right they have thousands of
- 00:17:19employees now but I'm sure the first 100
- 00:17:21are treated like royalty but more
- 00:17:24importantly the factors that led to
- 00:17:26success of zato Flipkart it's very hard
- 00:17:29for you to replicate them today in the
- 00:17:31same way the software methods and
- 00:17:34Frameworks if a zomato guy 10 years ago
- 00:17:37like I I remember there is one very uh
- 00:17:40interesting article by Shopify about how
- 00:17:42they shifted from a monolithic service
- 00:17:44to microservices have you guys heard of
- 00:17:47this thesis you heard of this right that
- 00:17:48Shopify that famous article where they
- 00:17:51shifted from monolithics this thing to
- 00:17:53microservices and everyone said Ah
- 00:17:54that's the way to do things right and
- 00:17:57there's so many debates I'm sure sure
- 00:17:58there are debates even today of zomato
- 00:18:00uses this or Z or or Flipkart uses this
- 00:18:03but remember that's probably not why
- 00:18:04they got successful they use it because
- 00:18:06it's a relic of the fact that it's so
- 00:18:08complicated as a system now it's hard
- 00:18:10for them to change next is the type of
- 00:18:13marketing you know there are many
- 00:18:15businesses that grew purely on ads
- 00:18:19actually that was a primary way to grow
- 00:18:21in India or any other country you would
- 00:18:23run ads you know how You' run
- 00:18:25ads you put them in the newspaper social
- 00:18:28media I mean Instagram faceb Facebook
- 00:18:31Google ads how old are these
- 00:18:33companies what happened before that what
- 00:18:35happened 100 years before that so
- 00:18:38advertising as a medium has changed in
- 00:18:40my opinion now ads are also dead like
- 00:18:43today if you see ranir Singh in another
- 00:18:45ad you're like whatever you scroll
- 00:18:48like right so advertising has also
- 00:18:51changed and in fact you guys know the
- 00:18:54d2c companies that we're now seeing that
- 00:18:56are becoming very very successful are
- 00:18:57becoming successful on the back of
- 00:18:59influence of marketing right so they're
- 00:19:01the way they are growing the way they
- 00:19:03are scaling has become completely
- 00:19:04different now and I think in the last
- 00:19:06one year we have been seeing this rise
- 00:19:08at least in India of like YouTube driven
- 00:19:11businesses we've seen this in the US 3
- 00:19:13four years India is always lagging
- 00:19:14behind us for a bit but we've seen this
- 00:19:16in the US right Mr Beast you go to any
- 00:19:18store in New York you go to any store in
- 00:19:20La there is a damn Feast tables right on
- 00:19:23the table Prime in every fridge so
- 00:19:27building distribution first first free
- 00:19:29advertising you spend zero your cost of
- 00:19:31acquisition is zero and then you build a
- 00:19:33business on top seems to be the way that
- 00:19:35people are doing it now but if you go
- 00:19:36back a lot of people like sometimes you
- 00:19:39know Saga and shans have to deal with
- 00:19:40this all the time right where we work
- 00:19:41with some Brands and they're like What's
- 00:19:42the treatment of this
- 00:19:44video right where they're still thinking
- 00:19:47like 20 years ago where they're still
- 00:19:48thinking like 30 years ago uh Market
- 00:19:51opportunities changes and
- 00:19:53challenges Market has also evolved a lot
- 00:19:56like today you would find it very
- 00:19:58difficult
- 00:19:59to make
- 00:20:01a d2c brand that does what let's say um
- 00:20:07I don't know like a nikar does cuz it's
- 00:20:09already clogged it's already saturated
- 00:20:11like the reason we I think got some
- 00:20:13traction is because AI became a new
- 00:20:15inflection point and we said okay we can
- 00:20:16create content around this it might be
- 00:20:18useful but Mo many people with ideas
- 00:20:21often say okay we'll do the same as
- 00:20:22somebody else but like 500 people doing
- 00:20:25the same thing okay and lastly even the
- 00:20:27founding DNA
- 00:20:29right the founding DNA that you needed
- 00:20:31back then was like a proper dhundha pnl
- 00:20:33guy like in India this is a known fact
- 00:20:36right if there's some laa type guy
- 00:20:37sitting there thinking
- 00:20:40through that's like the way to succeed I
- 00:20:43still believe you need some of that but
- 00:20:45I think the DNA of the founders now has
- 00:20:46started to change more in terms of this
- 00:20:48is my opinion whoever is able to
- 00:20:50advertise and Market best get their
- 00:20:52product in front of as many eyes as
- 00:20:53possible wins this is why our clients
- 00:20:55really come to us right at Yas where
- 00:20:57they want us to do you for them it's for
- 00:20:59the same reason because they're starting
- 00:21:00to realize actually Building Products is
- 00:21:02getting easier over time building
- 00:21:03distribution is getting harder it's it's
- 00:21:05something that people have started
- 00:21:06realizing over time hardik Panda from
- 00:21:09not from the Indian cricket team but
- 00:21:11from um uh unacademy has a great thread
- 00:21:14on this I'll read it out for you because
- 00:21:16I think the screen size is small I've
- 00:21:18interacted a bit with the genzi
- 00:21:20workforce in the last few months you
- 00:21:22would see a consistent pattern around
- 00:21:24their casual disregard for hard work
- 00:21:27longevity of a career and the trade-offs
- 00:21:29involved the their argument and I I know
- 00:21:32many of you are argument and many people
- 00:21:34online as well is that work has
- 00:21:36evolved it has but here's what hasn't
- 00:21:41jenzi speaks fondly about setting their
- 00:21:42own terms for time
- 00:21:44commitment not making as many sacrifices
- 00:21:47defining their own benchmarks of success
- 00:21:49I'll create my own agency how many of
- 00:21:51you think you'll create your own agency
- 00:21:52or business at some point honest truth
- 00:21:54from
- 00:21:56everyone everyone else come on
- 00:21:59I know I've spoken to some of you who
- 00:22:00wanted to start your own agency or
- 00:22:01company at some point there's a lot of
- 00:22:02hands right so I'll create my own agency
- 00:22:05I'll freelance from Goa how many people
- 00:22:07ever thought at least once I'll
- 00:22:08freelance from Goa just look at the
- 00:22:10number of hands in the room how many of
- 00:22:12you have thought I'll build my own
- 00:22:13YouTube
- 00:22:16channel okay that's literally every hand
- 00:22:18in the room I want to build a community
- 00:22:20and Mentor
- 00:22:21people right lot of hands problem is
- 00:22:25when proded enough you learn that their
- 00:22:27willingness usually stems from the pride
- 00:22:29of having figured out a market
- 00:22:31Arbitrage okay you know what a market
- 00:22:34Arbitrage is it means you've learned
- 00:22:35something that nobody else
- 00:22:36knows that's what an Arbitrage is
- 00:22:38basically you're you're saying I have
- 00:22:40some information that nobody else does
- 00:22:41I'm going to take advantage of this
- 00:22:44information and as if they landed on
- 00:22:46this asymmetric advantage that wasn't
- 00:22:48afforded to the folks before them the
- 00:22:50problem about market arbitrages and he's
- 00:22:52very right about this because just so
- 00:22:53you know I wrote a book in 2018 called
- 00:22:56pajama profit where we literally covered
- 00:22:57lots of this
- 00:22:59it's called pajama profit it's about
- 00:23:00literally sitting and freelancing
- 00:23:02obviously we didn't talk about companies
- 00:23:03as much but we spoke a lot about
- 00:23:04freelancing we also spoke about building
- 00:23:06a personal brand there's a chapter in
- 00:23:07the book
- 00:23:092018 6 seven years ago right the problem
- 00:23:13with Market Arbitrage is they spread
- 00:23:14like wildfire and in no time everyone
- 00:23:16knows about them now you all know the
- 00:23:18techniques of how to build a Channel or
- 00:23:20how to go freelance or whatever right to
- 00:23:23exploit an Arbitrage you still need to
- 00:23:25be in the top 1% of what you do so not
- 00:23:27only do you need to find an advantage
- 00:23:28you also need to be in the top 1% of
- 00:23:30that Advantage it's really hard and the
- 00:23:33last thing is no Arbitrage is enough to
- 00:23:35sustain a 25y old career let's say you
- 00:23:37build an agency on something new how you
- 00:23:39going to sustain it 25
- 00:23:41years right so these things are not
- 00:23:45unique to you like sometimes some people
- 00:23:47wake up and they're like oh you know I
- 00:23:48have this unique idea I'll build this
- 00:23:49agency or I'll do this YouTube or I'll
- 00:23:51freelance from go
- 00:23:53out this is now the most common thought
- 00:23:55on social media especially in India you
- 00:23:58need to find find something new next
- 00:23:59slide so the problem is you are not only
- 00:24:02getting wrong information you're also
- 00:24:04getting delayed information like I said
- 00:24:06from the zato story your takeaways from
- 00:24:08what framework they use what stack they
- 00:24:10use how they did things are so old that
- 00:24:13you're making life decisions on what
- 00:24:15worked one or two decades ago there are
- 00:24:17some people who making life decisions
- 00:24:18based on what worked even before that
- 00:24:20like all the guys going to entrance
- 00:24:21exams right now nothing against them if
- 00:24:23you're in the top 1% you'll win but if
- 00:24:26you're not in the top 1% your life is
- 00:24:27going to be hell there's a reason
- 00:24:29today's Founders for example are
- 00:24:30building on top of YouTube and WhatsApp
- 00:24:33we're not stupid we know how to build
- 00:24:34products we built scenes a couple of
- 00:24:36years ago right where we built out the
- 00:24:38entire expans by ourselves but we
- 00:24:39learned a very important lesson which is
- 00:24:42that building on top of YouTube and
- 00:24:44WhatsApp are much more valuable because
- 00:24:46you're taking advantage of their
- 00:24:47inherent distribution and your costs are
- 00:24:49lower right like you want to do video
- 00:24:50streaming by yourself tesis will tell
- 00:24:52you all the bills if you want to build
- 00:24:53video streaming by yourself this is for
- 00:24:55more for the engineers but the last gen
- 00:24:57did things differently
- 00:25:00but you have to keep evolving with the
- 00:25:01times right and the algorithm only
- 00:25:03surfaces successes and flashy
- 00:25:06Lifestyles your algorithm will not show
- 00:25:08you some struggler it will show you beer
- 00:25:10biceps and then Dru rati and then the
- 00:25:13next success and the next success and
- 00:25:15then ktic Arian McLaren car whatever the
- 00:25:18algorithm is built for that and it's
- 00:25:21giving your brain like like cancer or
- 00:25:25something so and there's also massive
- 00:25:27amounts of surviv ship bias right right
- 00:25:28the people that did the exact same
- 00:25:30things but failed you can take what I've
- 00:25:32done in the last like 6 months 8 months
- 00:25:35or you can take let's say what roit has
- 00:25:38done and you can find five other guys
- 00:25:40who've done exactly the same thing with
- 00:25:41the exact same steps but because they
- 00:25:44missed one or two things they weren't
- 00:25:46able to make it you know how many clones
- 00:25:48there are of some of the businesses we
- 00:25:50have here the minute we make something
- 00:25:52work we'll see one clone and you
- 00:25:55know it's it's so strange right like
- 00:25:57there's nothing against the Clone it's
- 00:25:58just they're doing exactly the same
- 00:26:00thing but there are some factors or
- 00:26:01timing that made our thing work at the
- 00:26:05time that it worked so I feel like and I
- 00:26:07we're still not a big company we're
- 00:26:09still a very tiny company right but I
- 00:26:11don't think copying another business
- 00:26:13would work so easily and a change in
- 00:26:15what is school so what is what was
- 00:26:18school 10 years ago entrepreneurship was
- 00:26:20not cool 10 years ago Suddenly It's
- 00:26:22become cool so you're also tracking what
- 00:26:24is on TV and what is on social media
- 00:26:26today next slide this is a picture of me
- 00:26:28from
- 00:26:302015 it's almost 9 10 years ago that is
- 00:26:33me in Delhi with three other co-founders
- 00:26:37running a company called job Spire this
- 00:26:38is a makeshift microwave I mean this is
- 00:26:41a microwave but it's a makeshift
- 00:26:43standing table I had a back cake back
- 00:26:44then and enjoyed my back or something
- 00:26:46it's my MacBook and this is like a
- 00:26:50really old building in Delhi I started
- 00:26:53there I'll tell you one thing in 2015 it
- 00:26:55was uncool to to run your own company in
- 00:26:57India you looked at as unemployed my
- 00:27:00parents didn't know how to explain what
- 00:27:01I did to their friends and everybody
- 00:27:02else and startups there was some hype
- 00:27:06around startups but it was still seen as
- 00:27:07a an uncool thing to do okay and then we
- 00:27:12had social network pictures Silicon
- 00:27:14Valley media started talking about
- 00:27:18it funding suddenly it became
- 00:27:22cool
- 00:27:24right next
- 00:27:25slide and that's why in my head and I
- 00:27:29know this is true for some of our
- 00:27:30leadership as well there are two kinds
- 00:27:32of Founders okay like I told you there's
- 00:27:36one kind of like this is that's Shar
- 00:27:37Bambu I have crazy amount of respect for
- 00:27:39him he has hundreds and zo is a client
- 00:27:41as you all know hundreds of thousands of
- 00:27:43employees he's working full-time he has
- 00:27:46a real board real consequences I don't
- 00:27:48know if he has a board but there are
- 00:27:49real consequences he's actually made
- 00:27:51money he looks at everything in
- 00:27:52tradeoffs right money time Peace of Mind
- 00:27:55much less concerned about status because
- 00:27:56he already has the serious people
- 00:27:59already know who he is and very
- 00:28:01respected in the
- 00:28:02community right now I'm making some
- 00:28:04assumptions but I'm saying that in
- 00:28:06general this kind of founder these
- 00:28:08Founders I look up to as well right now
- 00:28:10there's another kind of founder which
- 00:28:11I've been seeing a lot of lately and
- 00:28:15there's nothing wrong with this but this
- 00:28:17is this is
- 00:28:18generally what social media encourages
- 00:28:20where you're founder for the status you
- 00:28:23just want to you know be cool and you're
- 00:28:25doing a lot of things at once and
- 00:28:27there's nothing wrong with doing a lot
- 00:28:28lot of things is runs but one thing has
- 00:28:29to work one thing has to generate cash
- 00:28:33for you to be able to take multiple bets
- 00:28:35you can't do too many things and that's
- 00:28:36the Nuance right you can't do four
- 00:28:39things together unless one thing is
- 00:28:41absolutely crushing it and we are a good
- 00:28:43example of this by the
- 00:28:45way yet to breach any reasonable Revenue
- 00:28:48has no employees therefore no real cost
- 00:28:51okay very young therefore lower risk do
- 00:28:54you know the risk of a Founder who is 30
- 00:28:56years old who has two
- 00:28:58kids or let's say 35 years old two kids
- 00:29:01parents to take care of three
- 00:29:04employees versus a 20-year-old who's
- 00:29:06like I started a agency today do you
- 00:29:08know what the risk profile difference
- 00:29:09between these two is massive Gap you
- 00:29:12can't even call them the same type of
- 00:29:14the the odds for the the stakes for both
- 00:29:16these kinds of Founders are so
- 00:29:18different that's why when somebody's 35
- 00:29:21and they start a company I take them
- 00:29:22seriously I'm like oh big deal for
- 00:29:24you and I think Main thing is and this
- 00:29:29is the thing that really confuses us
- 00:29:30many of these guys are looking for jobs
- 00:29:32it's like wait aren't you like a Founder
- 00:29:35like run your company why why you
- 00:29:36looking for a job unless you've shut
- 00:29:38down your company then then it's fine
- 00:29:39then it makes sense but yeah it's just
- 00:29:42confusing and they yet to earn the
- 00:29:43respect of existing Founders but that's
- 00:29:45okay that's a
- 00:29:46technicality all respect can be
- 00:29:49earned like it might take you half a
- 00:29:52decade 5 years 10 years 15 years but you
- 00:29:55can earn other people's respect so this
- 00:29:57is just a temporary pit Stu stop next
- 00:29:58slide please the reality is that
- 00:30:00entrepreneurship is really
- 00:30:01hard uh it takes 10 plus years to make
- 00:30:04real money 2015 is when I started I
- 00:30:06think I still haven't made like crazy
- 00:30:09money it takes a long time to make real
- 00:30:11money most people will
- 00:30:14fail 90% of people will fail the ones
- 00:30:17who succeed make very little money worse
- 00:30:20than a job there not a false stat just
- 00:30:23because you hear of the same 50
- 00:30:24companies in the news half of which are
- 00:30:26going to dive they're unicorns but they
- 00:30:28don't have real profit so they might die
- 00:30:30there's so many
- 00:30:31Founders
- 00:30:34who it looks like a success but they've
- 00:30:36not made real
- 00:30:39money it's worse than a job honestly and
- 00:30:42they' just wasted their time it's not
- 00:30:44real risk if you're hedging with a job
- 00:30:47good Founders will not take you
- 00:30:48seriously and like I said family and age
- 00:30:51shoot up the risk and the thing about
- 00:30:53being a Founder is you have some good
- 00:30:55months and you make zero on the other
- 00:30:57months
- 00:30:59everyone there at least knows this right
- 00:31:01some good months but you make zero on
- 00:31:03other months and you'll often have
- 00:31:05radical pivots you look foolish for
- 00:31:07decades earlier I used to look at
- 00:31:09somebody like let's say a G mjal right
- 00:31:11and I look at them pivoting I like ah
- 00:31:14why they pivoting but now I get it I'm
- 00:31:16like yo what you're trying to seek is
- 00:31:17not the validation of other people
- 00:31:19you're trying to seek something that you
- 00:31:20can build that works that people pay for
- 00:31:23and sometimes you will get it wrong so
- 00:31:26sometimes I will come to you and be like
- 00:31:27sorry this was not the way to do it
- 00:31:29let's do it this way it's not because
- 00:31:30I'm dumb or scatterbrained or whatever
- 00:31:32it's because I'm looking for something
- 00:31:33that the market will pay for cuz I've
- 00:31:35learned the hard way that if you build
- 00:31:37something just based on your conviction
- 00:31:39and you don't make money out of it
- 00:31:41everyone Burns Out you will all run out
- 00:31:42of motivation you'll leave two years
- 00:31:43later or 6 months later whatever it is
- 00:31:46so you have to look for pmf and
- 00:31:48sometimes you look foolish for a long
- 00:31:49time doing
- 00:31:50that your friends would make more money
- 00:31:52than
- 00:31:54you this is kind of obvious anyone with
- 00:31:56a job stable job especially your company
- 00:31:58doing well will make more money than you
- 00:32:00and this is more for the engineers but
- 00:32:02courage and staying power are far more
- 00:32:04important than intelligence Twitter now
- 00:32:07is like filled with like oh if you're
- 00:32:08not like 190 IQ and this and that you're
- 00:32:11not going to make it that's not true
- 00:32:13like go talk to any real estate guy or
- 00:32:15anyone any broker or something they're
- 00:32:17making far more money than many of these
- 00:32:18engineers and they're not really over
- 00:32:21reliant on intelligence they're actually
- 00:32:23reliant on Courage relationships and
- 00:32:25staying power and like I said the arena
- 00:32:28will knock humility into you if you're a
- 00:32:31Founder for 10 years I've never met a
- 00:32:32Founder who's been around for 10 years
- 00:32:36and
- 00:32:37cocky never seen never seen that
- 00:32:41especially if they bootstrap right like
- 00:32:43but the ego and arrogance of a Founder
- 00:32:45who just raised 5 million oh my God it's
- 00:32:47next level but the minute you've been in
- 00:32:48this game for 10 years whether you've
- 00:32:49raised money or not you're like anything
- 00:32:52can take me out
- 00:32:54anytime right so it will knock humility
- 00:32:57into you and and that's why I love
- 00:32:58spending time with Founders who've been
- 00:33:00around for like a decade longer than
- 00:33:02that because they just know so much and
- 00:33:04they're also so
- 00:33:05humble it's the opposite of you know
- 00:33:08what you get to see at least on social
- 00:33:10media next slide
- 00:33:12please okay so now let's get into your
- 00:33:16parts of the equation has anyone
- 00:33:17wondered why you don't have Equity
- 00:33:19Equity no nobody else knows what Equity
- 00:33:22is I see bat I see
- 00:33:24Vishal okay I see mdom I see a bunch of
- 00:33:27other people okay so I'll tell you the
- 00:33:29difference between why Founders get
- 00:33:30equity and how Equity works as Founders
- 00:33:33cuz I've had weird conversations with
- 00:33:36this over the year because this is just
- 00:33:37not taught in college this is not taught
- 00:33:39this topic is not taught in college so
- 00:33:41you have no idea especially because like
- 00:33:44startups happen slightly later than when
- 00:33:46College curriculums sort of froze in
- 00:33:48India people think you get equity for
- 00:33:51doing work you actually don't get equity
- 00:33:53for doing work you get equity for taking
- 00:33:55risk this is a very
- 00:33:58important concept to drive home okay
- 00:33:59this has nothing to do with
- 00:34:00foundershield
- 00:34:27profit and we are only like whatever 6 8
- 00:34:30months old
- 00:34:33right most companies are bootstrapped
- 00:34:35and funding is an anomaly I did some
- 00:34:38research on the math I don't know how
- 00:34:39accurate this is this is from whatever I
- 00:34:41found on Google there are 1.66 million
- 00:34:43active companies in India barely any are
- 00:34:46F
- 00:34:47funded so this entire like Equity you
- 00:34:51have a percentage of the company and
- 00:34:53then you know when the company IPOs you
- 00:34:56make crazy money
- 00:34:58that barely happens in India actually
- 00:35:00investors get Equity this is investors
- 00:35:02not Founders who just put in cash get
- 00:35:04equity for taking Capital risk not for
- 00:35:06doing work okay and a lot of people get
- 00:35:09pissed off sometimes like especially
- 00:35:11when I was younger and I didn't know
- 00:35:12what Equity really stood for and I was
- 00:35:14negotiating equ with other people the
- 00:35:15thing that whenever the conversation
- 00:35:17broke up let's say I want to start a
- 00:35:19company let's say selling candles and I
- 00:35:22was talking to another guy and he wanted
- 00:35:2350% I said no I don't think you're worth
- 00:35:2550% I'm worth 70% whatever it is
- 00:35:26whatever the number is
- 00:35:28and the guy says no I will go start my
- 00:35:29own thing if an equity conversation
- 00:35:31breaks down between Founders they move
- 00:35:33on one of the founders moves on and
- 00:35:36either he starts the same business or
- 00:35:37different business or go gets gets a job
- 00:35:39or whatever but the math is simple 100%
- 00:35:41of zero is
- 00:35:43zero so a lot of people really optimize
- 00:35:45for ownership without realizing actually
- 00:35:47and I'm a good example of this
- 00:35:48especially now right where I'm not
- 00:35:50optimizing for ownership in any company
- 00:35:52I just want to own enough but I want
- 00:35:54other people to be heavily incentivized
- 00:35:55as well because I realize that 100% of 0
- 00:35:58Z what's the point of owning everything
- 00:35:59but not you know making profit not
- 00:36:01having other people
- 00:36:02contribute now here's the part that is a
- 00:36:06little bit hard to digest for most
- 00:36:07employees but y combinator will Echo
- 00:36:10this most other companies most thiss
- 00:36:12will Echo this right if you are paid a
- 00:36:14market rate salary the amount of equity
- 00:36:16you take home is
- 00:36:18zero it's a controversial point but it's
- 00:36:20a true Point Equity is a measure of risk
- 00:36:23okay let's say you could either get a
- 00:36:25job at TCS or some other com company
- 00:36:27whatever some let's say the some of you
- 00:36:29might be working at some other agency or
- 00:36:32whatever right and let's say you know
- 00:36:34you were paid 3 lakhs anim plus one lakh
- 00:36:38stock I'm just giving some random
- 00:36:39numbers so let's say four lakhs anim you
- 00:36:41were getting okay now the question to
- 00:36:43ask is is that market rate for you would
- 00:36:46the market pay you more okay I'll give
- 00:36:48you an example of somebody taking risk
- 00:36:50there's a guy that I really want to hire
- 00:36:53he's superb guy but very expensive right
- 00:36:57it might run into 40 50 lakhs which I
- 00:36:59can't afford at this point in our career
- 00:37:00considering a bootstrap right so I'm
- 00:37:03like yo take a 90% salary cut and come
- 00:37:06work with us but I'll give you Equity
- 00:37:08how much Equity well we'll value the
- 00:37:10thing and we'll figure it out now
- 00:37:12whether he'll say yes or no I don't know
- 00:37:14but that's a big deal he's 35 years old
- 00:37:16he has two kids and y y he's he already
- 00:37:19has a job an active job with very he
- 00:37:21spent n number of years with them so
- 00:37:25generally we don't give Equity to people
- 00:37:27who are paid market rate or very close
- 00:37:29to market rate okay but we are trying to
- 00:37:32change that right in the sense that we
- 00:37:34still like let's still incentivize you
- 00:37:36to play the long game with
- 00:37:38us right in some cases not in all cases
- 00:37:40in some of our companies so employees
- 00:37:43with market rate salaries are still
- 00:37:45given some amount of equity to align
- 00:37:47motivation right just so you're still
- 00:37:49motivated to do the thing now in the way
- 00:37:52we are structured some of our companies
- 00:37:53Equity is actually valuable some of our
- 00:37:55companies Equity is completely useless
- 00:37:56especially in ag gencies my opinion is
- 00:37:58equity is not very useful unless you
- 00:38:01know you decide to IPO tomorrow like a
- 00:38:02TCS or a vipro or something like that we
- 00:38:04have no plans of IPO in N9 out of 10
- 00:38:07times though Equity is worth
- 00:38:09zero so the guy who's coming in from
- 00:38:12Google or whatever company right let's
- 00:38:14say whoever I convinced to come at one/
- 00:38:15Tenth of the salary and come do a very
- 00:38:17big role here nine out of 10 times he'll
- 00:38:20probably make zero out of that it'll
- 00:38:22just be pure risk for him it would
- 00:38:23basically be like he's thrown his money
- 00:38:25into the and whatever he currently has
- 00:38:28into the fireplace that's his risk to
- 00:38:31take that's why I no longer Hard Sell on
- 00:38:35this I'm like yo it's your choice here's
- 00:38:36the risk you want to come come here's
- 00:38:39what you're giving up and nine out of 10
- 00:38:41times they say no to me which is fine
- 00:38:43but they need to be very clear about
- 00:38:44what the risks are before coming in
- 00:38:46aligning motivations of several people
- 00:38:48even with money is damn hard in fact if
- 00:38:50I would argue what the Crux of
- 00:38:51Entrepreneurship is this it's two things
- 00:38:54right one is finding a market Gap and
- 00:38:56number two is getting the first 10
- 00:38:58people to come work with you for lower
- 00:39:01price and incentivizing them in whatever
- 00:39:03way possible is the hardest part because
- 00:39:06I'll tell you one thing when you start
- 00:39:07you have nothing you start from A500 squ
- 00:39:10foot house we had nothing anyone taking
- 00:39:13a risk on us back then was
- 00:39:15foolish but again it's very hard with
- 00:39:19money but there it's easier to do with
- 00:39:21something like an equity or a profit
- 00:39:23share be like I don't know where it's
- 00:39:24going to work out but at least you have
- 00:39:25a chunk of it at least you try it hard
- 00:39:28at least we tried hard we gave it a shot
- 00:39:30next
- 00:39:31slide okay the next question that most
- 00:39:34of you have is why does the company get
- 00:39:36paid so much more than
- 00:39:38me have you ever thought of this how
- 00:39:41many of you thought of
- 00:39:42this hands up come on want to see more
- 00:39:45hands a lot of people online have
- 00:39:46thought about this this is a subar
- 00:39:48called developers India
- 00:39:49where the this thing says just got to
- 00:39:52see today how much my boss charges the
- 00:39:54client I'm working at a services company
- 00:39:56and I'm the old developer in one of the
- 00:39:58projects I'm working on I'm paid well so
- 00:40:00can't really complain my boss doesn't do
- 00:40:02anything besides just talking to the
- 00:40:03client and understanding requirements
- 00:40:05but yesterday I got to see how much he
- 00:40:06charges the clients and blew my mind
- 00:40:08it's more than five times I'm getting so
- 00:40:10I wrote to the client if he wants to
- 00:40:11hire me directly but he forwarded the
- 00:40:13email to my boss and I got questions why
- 00:40:15I did
- 00:40:17that don't clients know how much it cost
- 00:40:19to hire their own developers if I were
- 00:40:21to do freelance work how can I get
- 00:40:22clients like this this has 620 likes by
- 00:40:24the way which is pretty good engagement
- 00:40:26for developers India are for a Reddit
- 00:40:28Community is pretty good engagement
- 00:40:30first comment honestly I'm still
- 00:40:31surprised your boss hasn't fired you the
- 00:40:34premium they pay is for the trust
- 00:40:35associated with the company past
- 00:40:36experience and so on I'll tell you what
- 00:40:38I think I think this Gap comes from not
- 00:40:42knowing how much it costs to run a
- 00:40:43company that's the thing right like when
- 00:40:45you've been a Founder for a while then
- 00:40:46you kind of get this thing of the cost
- 00:40:49every week when we discuss pnl with the
- 00:40:51team it's almost like we paid for
- 00:40:54that also when did this expense
- 00:40:56come up now we have to pay deposit
- 00:40:58oh the last house that we vacated
- 00:41:00deposit only half came back cuz the
- 00:41:02owner scammed us all of that like it's
- 00:41:05just every week it's like it's like I
- 00:41:09sit with the teams and I'm like
- 00:41:11uh I'm like where did the money
- 00:41:13go but it's important to understand this
- 00:41:16because we'll break down the math next
- 00:41:18slide okay so I just want to briefly
- 00:41:22explain why do I get paid X when company
- 00:41:23makes y first thing is business
- 00:41:26relationship shs are built on Discovery
- 00:41:30okay first you the client has to
- 00:41:31discover you let's say you running an
- 00:41:32agency let's say you were running an
- 00:41:33agency all of you started an agency
- 00:41:35tomorrow
- 00:41:36called YouTube ABCD
- 00:41:39agency okay there are four things you
- 00:41:41have to do first you have to get
- 00:41:43Discovery you need to get a client to
- 00:41:44know who you are to be attracted to you
- 00:41:47okay then you need to convert them just
- 00:41:51being attracted is not good enough just
- 00:41:53bringing someone into that room is not
- 00:41:54good enough they have to convert you do
- 00:41:56a sale okay then you have to do first
- 00:41:59time proof of delivery you to do one
- 00:42:02video like as a video agency we do one
- 00:42:04video as the um as AOS slabs we have to
- 00:42:07do one you know AI campaign for
- 00:42:10them and then there's continued trust if
- 00:42:13you've done one good one with them then
- 00:42:14they're like okay let's do it again
- 00:42:15let's do it again let's do it again I'm
- 00:42:16going to break this down because this is
- 00:42:18we are talking about businesses here
- 00:42:20Discovery is
- 00:42:21marketing how do you get a client to be
- 00:42:23attracted to you is marketing now there
- 00:42:25are many ways to do marketing but
- 00:42:26whatever it's marketing conversion is
- 00:42:28sales it's what gurmit does right it's
- 00:42:32like somebody's already coming there's a
- 00:42:33lead but GM's got to go close that
- 00:42:36lead then there is first time proof of
- 00:42:39delivery which is almost always
- 00:42:41discounting we probably lose money on
- 00:42:44the first thing we do for any client
- 00:42:45there are some rare exceptions but
- 00:42:47usually we lose money on the first
- 00:42:49delivery for any client okay continued
- 00:42:51trust which is relationship maintenance
- 00:42:54quality of service meeting them once in
- 00:42:55a while making sure that you know if
- 00:42:57somebody leaves we replace that person
- 00:42:58is a continued headache okay now
- 00:43:01remember four rules Discovery is
- 00:43:04competitive versus other service
- 00:43:07providers we are not the only company in
- 00:43:09India that does AI campaigns we are not
- 00:43:13the only company in India that does AI
- 00:43:15Business Solutions we're not the only
- 00:43:16company in India that does uh video
- 00:43:19editing or uh YouTube as a service so
- 00:43:23discover is competitive versus other
- 00:43:24service providers sales and conversion
- 00:43:27of are
- 00:43:27unreliable just because gurmit has 5,000
- 00:43:30leads it doesn't mean he will get 5,000
- 00:43:33conversions right it's unreliable
- 00:43:35sometimes it works out sometimes it
- 00:43:37doesn't and even gurmit can't walk into
- 00:43:38a sales meeting knowing will this guy
- 00:43:40convert or not it's very challenging
- 00:43:43discounting loses the company money the
- 00:43:45first time I do anything for a client we
- 00:43:47probably lose money it's we know we're
- 00:43:49losing money but it's okay we're like
- 00:43:51we're hoping that we do such a good job
- 00:43:53that the client does a second thing with
- 00:43:55us a third thing with us whatever it is
- 00:43:57Trust erods on the tiniest of things
- 00:44:00okay I'll give you an example the
- 00:44:03example was of kosek okay Kosik is young
- 00:44:06but Kosik is not a very good
- 00:44:08communicator he's very very good at what
- 00:44:10he does but not a very good communicator
- 00:44:12and when Kosik spends less time
- 00:44:14communicating with the client even if we
- 00:44:16doing work it erods the client's
- 00:44:19trust and you might think but that's so
- 00:44:22silly I I'm doing a good job yeah but
- 00:44:24the client's not seeing it from the
- 00:44:25client's perspective it's like these
- 00:44:26guys
- 00:44:27they told me 2 weeks ago this is going
- 00:44:28to be done but 2 weeks later I haven't
- 00:44:31even heard from them right and then the
- 00:44:33next day if you send them the final
- 00:44:34footage they're actually surprised
- 00:44:35they're like wait you actually worked on
- 00:44:37this right so trust erods on the tiniest
- 00:44:40of things so there's this overhead
- 00:44:42communication overhead of how can we
- 00:44:43keep you know telling the client every
- 00:44:45day every week what we're up to and
- 00:44:48keeping them a breast right and if
- 00:44:49things are not working out telling them
- 00:44:50things are not working or you shouldn't
- 00:44:51be doing this or you should cut your
- 00:44:53losses next slide so I'll tell you how
- 00:44:55the internet and most of you do the math
- 00:44:56for for a 10 lakh deal let's say we're
- 00:44:58getting a 10 lakh deal okay one let's
- 00:45:00say per quarter we're getting a 10 lakh
- 00:45:01deal first GST will go Modi sir will
- 00:45:05come remove 18% you know 8.2 lakhs fine
- 00:45:10okay now the way we let's say we do the
- 00:45:13math and these are not our numbers but
- 00:45:15I'm just saying let's say a sales gets
- 00:45:16paid 30 30k a month okay let's say a
- 00:45:20project manager gets paid 60k a month
- 00:45:22okay let's say an engineer gets paid 50k
- 00:45:24a month let's say it's an engineering
- 00:45:25project let's say we're doing something
- 00:45:27let's say one of our clients let's say
- 00:45:28dwat okay let's say roughly this is the
- 00:45:30math I'm I'm taking average math now you
- 00:45:33do quarterly so quarterly that sales rep
- 00:45:36is being paid 1.2 lakhs project managers
- 00:45:39being paid 2.5 lakhs Engineers being
- 00:45:41paid 2 lakhs so total is 5.6 lakhs
- 00:45:44correct what's the profit 8.2 minus 5.6
- 00:45:47what's the profit okay whatever the
- 00:45:49profit is next slide okay the real math
- 00:45:53which most smart people will think for a
- 00:45:5610 lakh deal it's still fake math but
- 00:45:58I'll tell you why so you have sales rep
- 00:46:00project manager engineer then you have
- 00:46:02an internet fee we spend like Martin
- 00:46:05what's our internet fee what is
- 00:46:08it yeah we spend 7 and a half lakhs a
- 00:46:10year on internet just internet for the
- 00:46:13office okay so let's say whatever I'm
- 00:46:16breaking it down I'm just saying 10K a
- 00:46:17month or a quarter it's 40K electricity
- 00:46:20bill our electricity bill is huge but
- 00:46:22whatever there's an electricity bill
- 00:46:23then there's office rent we forgot in
- 00:46:25the last mon month that there's office
- 00:46:27rent so there's office rent on this then
- 00:46:29there's a marketing cost remember we
- 00:46:30said Discovery is a cost how do you get
- 00:46:32visible in front of another client in
- 00:46:33our case let's say if it's hosting a
- 00:46:35dinner hosting a conference whatever it
- 00:46:37is whatever the way you acquire ads so
- 00:46:40you can do this math whatever this math
- 00:46:41comes up to okay and still looks like
- 00:46:43it's profitable but I'll tell you this
- 00:46:46is still fake math I'll tell you what
- 00:46:48the real math is like the math that I
- 00:46:49see and China sees and Hara sees and
- 00:46:52whatnot next slide I've added
- 00:46:55some I've added some descriptions
- 00:46:57through chat GPD because I didn't want
- 00:46:58to write it down but I'll tell you what
- 00:46:59all it is there's legal fees you
- 00:47:01incorporate a company there's some cost
- 00:47:03that's a onetime cost but fine it's
- 00:47:04there's still ongoing cost in some some
- 00:47:06cases right contracts with clients every
- 00:47:08contract we do the client is reviewed by
- 00:47:09a legal team it's not here the team is
- 00:47:11not here but we have a client we we have
- 00:47:13a legal team then there's licenses and
- 00:47:15permits in some cases our business maybe
- 00:47:18not but we you need specific licenses to
- 00:47:20sell stuff then there's office rent
- 00:47:22there's security deposit there's
- 00:47:23utilities okay then there's furniture
- 00:47:25and Equipment you think the are free
- 00:47:28they're not free these are expensive so
- 00:47:31there's desks chairs computers printers
- 00:47:33software licenses there's every day I I
- 00:47:36wake up see the pnl it be an adobe bill
- 00:47:38on the pnl I'm like right
- 00:47:42telecommunication systems Etc then
- 00:47:44there's recruitment cost do you know
- 00:47:45there's a cost to hiring a
- 00:47:47person especially people who are wasting
- 00:47:49who come in and don't end up getting
- 00:47:51hired sometimes we work with agencies to
- 00:47:53help us hire people right so there's
- 00:47:55entire recruitment cost here then
- 00:47:57there's advertising online ads print
- 00:48:00media promotional materials and we do
- 00:48:03spend such a news spend on ads right
- 00:48:05where suchin yeah you spend on ads so
- 00:48:08there's advertising cost then there's
- 00:48:09website cost obviously we don't we we're
- 00:48:11a video company we don't give two shits
- 00:48:13about websites anymore then there's
- 00:48:15networking which is if you want to get
- 00:48:17to an industry Association you want to
- 00:48:19go to a conference you need membership
- 00:48:21to go into some of those and some of
- 00:48:22those conferen are very useful Hara will
- 00:48:24tell you the cost of flying to that
- 00:48:25conference and probably getting deal and
- 00:48:27coming back is worth it right so there's
- 00:48:30some networking costs then utilities
- 00:48:32we've already spoken about then
- 00:48:34insurance right all our companies have
- 00:48:36some form of insurance or the other
- 00:48:39right then there is maintenance which
- 00:48:41is somebody cleaning this on an everyday
- 00:48:44basis somebody walks in cleans this
- 00:48:46walks out right and I'm just going to
- 00:48:49keep going through this right because
- 00:48:50these are all real expenses there's
- 00:48:51accounting and bookkeeping sushmita
- 00:48:53where
- 00:48:54susm yeah susmita is there she she book
- 00:48:57she does bookkeeping for us then there's
- 00:49:00office supplies postage travel expenses
- 00:49:02whatever then there's bloody AWS in
- 00:49:04Cloud flare that that walk in the room
- 00:49:06right AWS should be like I want this
- 00:49:08much
- 00:49:10gpus and every every week we have that
- 00:49:12discussion should we buy the gpus or
- 00:49:13should we you know use an AWS but
- 00:49:15eventually it always comes down to AWS
- 00:49:17because of ease of convenience it's just
- 00:49:19easy to use an AWS spin up something or
- 00:49:21use a replicate or something like that
- 00:49:23right then there's software I'm sure you
- 00:49:25guys use some software or the other I
- 00:49:27was seeing tesis look at the linear
- 00:49:28website I was like please not one more
- 00:49:30subscription by the way you you guys
- 00:49:33spend like 50k a month on
- 00:49:36Zoom do you know
- 00:49:39that spent 50k a month on Zoom then
- 00:49:42there's we don't have data security
- 00:49:44right now uh because we don't you know
- 00:49:46have any client data uh then there's an
- 00:49:49emergency fund and I think that's the
- 00:49:51most important thing right remember we
- 00:49:53did quartly math and the reason we did
- 00:49:54quartly math is you need to make sure
- 00:49:57you have enough money in the bank
- 00:49:58because if you have a bad quarter you
- 00:50:00need to be able to use that previous
- 00:50:01month to be able to pay for this month
- 00:50:03because for you and this is slightly
- 00:50:06different in the US with many jobs but
- 00:50:07for you it's like this this thing of I
- 00:50:09get a salary every month for me and the
- 00:50:13core team here it's always like okay we
- 00:50:14need to make sure across the year we are
- 00:50:16able to pay this person this much right
- 00:50:18it's almost like ours is more one shoted
- 00:50:23and we absorb the risk to to give you a
- 00:50:25chronic consistent salary it's much
- 00:50:28easier for funded companies to do much
- 00:50:29harder for bootstrap companies like ours
- 00:50:31to do then there's expansion cost
- 00:50:34sometimes you're planning for growth you
- 00:50:35want to hire more people and every day
- 00:50:37someone or the other comes here and says
- 00:50:39oh I want to hire this one more person
- 00:50:40because my back is aching I can't do
- 00:50:41this whatever it is right so that's a
- 00:50:44cost right then there's tax corporate
- 00:50:48tax comes in uh then there's whatever
- 00:50:52Professional Services if we need
- 00:50:53advisors if we're not sure about
- 00:50:55something and we need somebody else's ad
- 00:50:57advice okay there's also an employee
- 00:50:59that doesn't work out cost one of the
- 00:51:00biggest costs if I hire somebody let's
- 00:51:02say 5 laks anim and you don't work out
- 00:51:06for the company and you've been there
- 00:51:07for 6 months because now we're starting
- 00:51:09to scale and we don't have time to sit
- 00:51:11on top of everybody's head it's just a
- 00:51:14waste of
- 00:51:15money it's almost like somebody else is
- 00:51:17doing one deal just to keep your salary
- 00:51:19alive then there's income tax
- 00:51:22rate 30% in India there's also a search
- 00:51:25charge of 7% % of your income ranges
- 00:51:27from 1 CR to 10 crores so yeah basically
- 00:51:30my point is you should run a company
- 00:51:33once it's not that's why I said right
- 00:51:36serious founder that that's where I
- 00:51:37started from because the minute you're a
- 00:51:38serious founder it's like you're going
- 00:51:39through this one every week and then you
- 00:51:43know every day somebody will come to you
- 00:51:44and be like compan is doing well
- 00:51:46whatever it is right next slide okay
- 00:51:49after all this the founders get paid
- 00:51:51being a bootstrap founder is the most
- 00:51:54inconvenient way to make money and I
- 00:51:56don't know why you guys want to start
- 00:51:58agencies the minute it works it will
- 00:52:00burn you out that being said I'm a
- 00:52:02Founder so I love people who want to be
- 00:52:03entrepreneurs and do it themselves but
- 00:52:05also prepare for 10 years of pain if
- 00:52:08you're not prepared for 10 years of pain
- 00:52:09don't do it you can still have like you
- 00:52:12can still work from 20 to 25 make good
- 00:52:14money have fun make the network Etc and
- 00:52:17then start a company you know my biggest
- 00:52:18regret at 20 when I started job Spire I
- 00:52:21was like the problem is I don't know
- 00:52:23anybody in the ecosystem
- 00:52:27today a lot of our success whatever said
- 00:52:29and done is because I know people in the
- 00:52:30ecosystem I'm able to just call up
- 00:52:31people and be like hey can we do XYZ for
- 00:52:33you can we do YouTube for you or can we
- 00:52:35do AI business solutions for
- 00:52:38you but I didn't have that at 20 and I I
- 00:52:40feel like if I done a job till like 24
- 00:52:4325 it would have been much more
- 00:52:44beneficial for me but then I would have
- 00:52:46probably been successful at 35 5 years
- 00:52:49later and I I still don't feel I'm
- 00:52:50successful I still feel there's another
- 00:52:52five years left so maybe I'd make money
- 00:52:54at 40 right so just saying every this
- 00:52:57it's this is the worst way to make money
- 00:52:59next slide so again the problem is many
- 00:53:01youngsters have not tried this seriously
- 00:53:03full-time for sustained periods of
- 00:53:05time okay fundraising has convinced a
- 00:53:08cohort of Founders that these
- 00:53:10miscellaneous expenses should not be
- 00:53:11kept in mind while determine unit
- 00:53:13economics they're like bottle
- 00:53:17manufacturing I'm selling it for
- 00:53:1970 okay and all of us do this like
- 00:53:22especially the people who do business
- 00:53:23case studies I get damn angry with them
- 00:53:25cuz they're like they only take the cost
- 00:53:27of the item the manufacturing the item
- 00:53:28and how much the margin is I'm like bro
- 00:53:30you're running a business no in the
- 00:53:31middle of this you're running
- 00:53:32acquisition all of that in the middle of
- 00:53:34this no how why are you why are you just
- 00:53:36taking the cost of how much it cost to
- 00:53:38manufacture like people keep making this
- 00:53:40claim with apple oh Apple manufactures
- 00:53:42their phone at whatever price margin but
- 00:53:45they run a business huge business it's
- 00:53:47the best advertising business in the
- 00:53:49world you don't think that cost
- 00:53:51money Engineers today can build ml
- 00:53:54models this is especially true for
- 00:53:56Twitter where many Engineers will be
- 00:53:58like yeah you know I can build this
- 00:53:59model I can do this but cannot
- 00:54:01understand Excel okay and this is
- 00:54:02especially true for our experiments team
- 00:54:04right Shashank and
- 00:54:07Vishal continually
- 00:54:10dumping no offense to you guys I'm just
- 00:54:12saying in general any experiments team
- 00:54:13we have we we would ever have right
- 00:54:16continually dumping non-profitable risk
- 00:54:18on the company for personal exploration
- 00:54:20which is status need this is not a
- 00:54:22trivial problem I'll tell you why uh
- 00:54:24there was a Labs there was a kid I'm not
- 00:54:27going to take his name but he really
- 00:54:29wanted to do research at the company and
- 00:54:32while I really respect that okay here's
- 00:54:37my thesis around it why do you want to
- 00:54:39do the
- 00:54:40research okay and if you really PR deep
- 00:54:43enough they want to do the research
- 00:54:45because they want to post post a tweet
- 00:54:46about it they're like see I I built this
- 00:54:48I made this whatever it is have status
- 00:54:51among their peers but
- 00:54:53really research like especially if you
- 00:54:55start with research
- 00:54:57it doesn't make any profit for us your
- 00:54:59salary is basically just a cost and
- 00:55:02you're getting brownie points off of it
- 00:55:04you're putting up an open source GitHub
- 00:55:06repository that you know I I saw one guy
- 00:55:08do it for another company where he
- 00:55:09didn't even mention the company's name
- 00:55:11and he didn't on the company's salary
- 00:55:13like what is wrong with you
- 00:55:14guys right so it's for your own status
- 00:55:17need and the way we do research is very
- 00:55:19nice at Labs where we like first we'll
- 00:55:22we'll use third party models if it
- 00:55:23really works you know then we'll see can
- 00:55:26we can we make a better model out of
- 00:55:27this can we fine tune it for our needs
- 00:55:29cuz we are a bootstrap company we are
- 00:55:30still in the philosophy that first let's
- 00:55:32make cash after we make cash you'll have
- 00:55:35excess then you can now we have a
- 00:55:37experiments team but I'm very this thing
- 00:55:39that experiments team has to be two
- 00:55:41people and not 50
- 00:55:43people right but there are some startups
- 00:55:45that do this completely inverted by the
- 00:55:47way where they're like okay first we'll
- 00:55:49do research and experiment so many
- 00:55:50people who have been funded so many
- 00:55:51people who are building uh local
- 00:55:53language
- 00:55:54llms I'm like where is the business it's
- 00:55:58better to do a business use case for it
- 00:56:00sell chat GPT Plus+ do F tune one of
- 00:56:03those existing models prove that there's
- 00:56:06money in the market for this then build
- 00:56:07the model but no everyone's like doing
- 00:56:09it the other way around next slide and
- 00:56:12this is true for the people who want to
- 00:56:13work on the hardest problems this is
- 00:56:14true for filmmakers who how many of you
- 00:56:16are filmmakers in the companies in the
- 00:56:18company who want to like make films
- 00:56:21theyan like he put his hand up and then
- 00:56:23he put his hand on he's like I know I'm
- 00:56:25going to get
- 00:56:28okay I'll tell you the problem this true
- 00:56:29for filmmakers and like really really
- 00:56:31deep tech people right you have to
- 00:56:33choose between not getting paid for
- 00:56:35decades starting your own company or you
- 00:56:37know taking a huge risk and you know
- 00:56:39doing it at a company where you're not
- 00:56:41really getting paid cash up front or
- 00:56:43you're getting Equity instead or go work
- 00:56:45at Google in the filmmaker case go work
- 00:56:47at Hollywood or Bollywood or something
- 00:56:50okay if you can get
- 00:56:51in early stage startups who haven't
- 00:56:54raised too much money and this is more
- 00:56:55for the startup and angle should be
- 00:56:58careful of absorbing expensive Talent
- 00:57:00without cash inflow from customers or
- 00:57:02exceptional fundraising ability some
- 00:57:04people are able to fundraise like I look
- 00:57:05at them and I'm like wow the company
- 00:57:08doesn't even do anything and you've
- 00:57:09raised like 50 million wow I don't know
- 00:57:11how they do it and that's my lack right
- 00:57:14like I just maybe I don't know the
- 00:57:15internal workings of this system but
- 00:57:17still unless you have exceptional
- 00:57:19fundraising ability you should avoid
- 00:57:21absorbing expensive talent that wants to
- 00:57:23do things for personal exploration like
- 00:57:25film Mak we are in the game of
- 00:57:26efficiency can we do it in a studio in
- 00:57:28as short a period of time as possible
- 00:57:30can we use existing models and build use
- 00:57:32cases that customers pay for much
- 00:57:34simpler problem statement right it's
- 00:57:37wise to solve problems first that don't
- 00:57:39require too much upfront investment and
- 00:57:41there are enough and more problems in
- 00:57:43this country to be solved without you
- 00:57:45having to go invest 20 crores into the
- 00:57:48business till now we've never done that
- 00:57:50invest crazy amount of money or anything
- 00:57:52we're not a real estate
- 00:57:54company NeXT slide so this is not just
- 00:57:57true for you in this room but it's also
- 00:57:59true for everybody watching this online
- 00:58:02which is now everything will be
- 00:58:03performance-driven 2001 we had this time
- 00:58:05where everyone could come people have
- 00:58:07worked in unprofitable companies for
- 00:58:09five six years of their lives they've
- 00:58:10never seen they've never worked at a
- 00:58:11company making profit your marketing has
- 00:58:14to now Drive conversions if you're a
- 00:58:15marketing person now it has to drive
- 00:58:17conversions your content now has to get
- 00:58:19views and engagement time pass you can't
- 00:58:21do content saying I want to do this
- 00:58:22everyone comes to us and says now I want
- 00:58:23to start this kind of Channel like you
- 00:58:25get us views in engagement then we'll
- 00:58:26talk about it right after that we'll
- 00:58:29we'll take the risk but till then you're
- 00:58:30on your own your code has to make money
- 00:58:33can't be code for the sake of code right
- 00:58:36so I there's this temptation with most
- 00:58:38Engineers to build the next build a
- 00:58:40framework or and this happened in Google
- 00:58:43where they incentivized people to go do
- 00:58:45experimental projects and people just
- 00:58:47did that for promotions just build
- 00:58:48experimental projects that made no money
- 00:58:50your salary has to make sense in the
- 00:58:52p&l so some of
- 00:58:55you I won't say you guys because we have
- 00:58:57been pretty careful about this but when
- 00:58:59people come in they're like some crazy
- 00:59:01salary expectation that they've heard on
- 00:59:03Instagram that and that's the problem
- 00:59:05with marketing one guy will make a post
- 00:59:07saying oh you know
- 00:59:09today this role let's say um let's say
- 00:59:13typist is now making three lakhs a month
- 00:59:15or whatever or 30 lakhs an here's how
- 00:59:17you can make that's everyone's hook
- 00:59:19right
- 00:59:20that's
- 00:59:22hook here's how this guy is making 75
- 00:59:25lakhs and
- 00:59:26doing
- 00:59:28this this Baki it's not his fault it's
- 00:59:31the game that's the problem with social
- 00:59:33media so 20 21 free hits are over okay
- 00:59:37uh Theory and a lot of you are very
- 00:59:39Theory this thing right like I know many
- 00:59:42people both on the content side as well
- 00:59:44as on this side I know how to do this
- 00:59:46crazy effect
- 00:59:48video or someone on the engineering side
- 00:59:50who will be like yeah you know we should
- 00:59:52do this theory is no longer sought after
- 00:59:55companies don't want Theory anymore they
- 00:59:56want execution can you build a product
- 00:59:57that solves a problem or can you give a
- 00:59:59service that solves a problem it's so
- 01:00:00simple it's so easy but yet we go back
- 01:00:04and we like maybe you know what we're
- 01:00:06lacking is Theory it's the entire Indian
- 01:00:07education system problem it's like a vaa
- 01:00:10system you know what the W system like
- 01:00:13it's the W fication of work I have to go
- 01:00:17I read cracking the uh coding interview
- 01:00:20I go into the engineering you know
- 01:00:22interview and I have to answer these
- 01:00:23question 10 questions right answer that
- 01:00:25once specific pair programming Challenge
- 01:00:27and then I'm in but that's not what
- 01:00:29people want anymore people are like I
- 01:00:31don't care you work here you give me
- 01:00:33output client is happy with your work or
- 01:00:35you're building a product and you're
- 01:00:36doing it fast enough great that's all I
- 01:00:37want so world is changing and the gap
- 01:00:41between potential what you think in your
- 01:00:43head that you are and success is proven
- 01:00:46performance now you need to prove sain
- 01:00:49now needs to prove that he's good at ads
- 01:00:51he can't just
- 01:00:52say now he has to prove that he's good
- 01:00:54at it
- 01:00:56right so I call this the test because to
- 01:00:59be honest for many years I I had this
- 01:01:01idea in my head that I have crazy
- 01:01:03potential when I was young but I got
- 01:01:04belted by the test and at some point
- 01:01:08it's inevitable everyone has to go
- 01:01:09through the test in your career and I
- 01:01:11can tell you in this company everyone
- 01:01:13who's done well has been through the
- 01:01:16test something where they were really
- 01:01:18put on the spot and they had to pull a
- 01:01:19miracle off for the client or whatever
- 01:01:22they're building right and most
- 01:01:24youngsters have been far disconnected Ed
- 01:01:26from commercial outcome of the business
- 01:01:28an editor is completely disconnected
- 01:01:30from the outcome of a Creator's earnings
- 01:01:32do you know this do you know what that
- 01:01:35means you don't
- 01:01:37know and same for engineers right an
- 01:01:39engineer at zomato doesn't know well
- 01:01:41this line of code that I shipped how
- 01:01:43much is it making or saving for zomato
- 01:01:44same with an editor do you
- 01:01:47know Video Edit how much does that
- 01:01:50increase the top line of the Creator's
- 01:01:51earning you have no idea but sales guys
- 01:01:54on the other hand
- 01:01:57they damn well
- 01:01:59know right a sales guy knows I have
- 01:02:01contributed this much to the company I
- 01:02:03have cost the company this much I've
- 01:02:04contributed this
- 01:02:06much right and sales is ultimately what
- 01:02:09makes the company money
- 01:02:11so I wish everyone was able to work in
- 01:02:14sales for a few week of of their lives
- 01:02:16so they just got this this thing of
- 01:02:19actually few months of their life so
- 01:02:20they at least knew know how much it
- 01:02:22costs to do what they do on a daily
- 01:02:24basis and just be given the freedom to
- 01:02:25do creative
- 01:02:28stuff next slide so this is the test
- 01:02:32okay this is a I'm I'm I'm this is hyper
- 01:02:37buly but nine out of 10 youngsters I
- 01:02:39meet think they'll be the next Elon Musk
- 01:02:40roit was telling me this we're sitting
- 01:02:42in the room and we had some guy come in
- 01:02:45and he was like uh he said something and
- 01:02:47he left and Ro was like Elon Musk like
- 01:02:49me and Ro just have this thing we we
- 01:02:51pointed guy and we're like this guy is
- 01:02:53like Elon Musk right in their mind that
- 01:02:56potential is unlimited like me when I
- 01:02:57was young I was I'm also guilty of this
- 01:02:59this is not unique I started consuming
- 01:03:02content far before anyone else did
- 01:03:04because I got an internet connection
- 01:03:05early in my life and it was us Reddit
- 01:03:08in my head when I was younger
- 01:03:10right so that potential has to meet
- 01:03:12ground
- 01:03:13reality okay this is measured in
- 01:03:16commercial performance how much money do
- 01:03:17you guys make the company or how much
- 01:03:18money you make
- 01:03:19yourself most collisions of your
- 01:03:22potential in your head and ground
- 01:03:23reality leads to ground reality winning
- 01:03:25it's actually damn hard to build a
- 01:03:26successful business right and a lot of
- 01:03:29people who have left us to go start the
- 01:03:31exact same thing are realizing this now
- 01:03:33it's actually damn hard to make
- 01:03:34everything play together and make money
- 01:03:36seasoned tested Talent is humble because
- 01:03:40they know the test is
- 01:03:41hard and has lower expectations when
- 01:03:44you're seasoned now you come in and
- 01:03:46you're like okay now I know this is hard
- 01:03:49I know this is not worth taking on like
- 01:03:51that's why I love working with people
- 01:03:52like haran and Tas right they're like
- 01:03:54yeah we can build a product
- 01:03:56but that's crazy amount of risk for the
- 01:03:59company to absorb right now and the ROI
- 01:04:01is
- 01:04:01unclear most people go decades without
- 01:04:04the test you could live your entire life
- 01:04:07not being tested on whether you have
- 01:04:09driven leads conversion anything for the
- 01:04:12company but the minute you align you're
- 01:04:14like my job whatever I'm doing has to
- 01:04:16align to give leads to the company when
- 01:04:17you're editing let's say for the waron
- 01:04:19Maya Channel and you're like okay we're
- 01:04:22doing a brand deal for this company can
- 01:04:24we drive can we do something that
- 01:04:27doesn't piss off our audience but drives
- 01:04:29more conversions for the company what's
- 01:04:30a better narrative instead of somebody
- 01:04:32else telling you that if you can think
- 01:04:34through that you have passed the test or
- 01:04:37you're getting close to testing yourself
- 01:04:39sagur is a great example of this Saga
- 01:04:42literally scaled a channel by himself
- 01:04:43and he was like like he's very confident
- 01:04:46he can do it again that's the thing
- 01:04:48about the test once people have pass the
- 01:04:49test they're confident now I can do it
- 01:04:51one more time I can do it two more times
- 01:04:52next slide okay I'm going to change the
- 01:04:56table till now I've been speaking as an
- 01:04:57employer now I want to tell you how you
- 01:04:59can take advantage of
- 01:05:01me and all of them this is how employees
- 01:05:04can now leverage and take advantage of
- 01:05:06their employers right this also for
- 01:05:09people online it all flips around once
- 01:05:12you passed the test once something you
- 01:05:14have done has led to commercial
- 01:05:17meaningful commercial outcomes whether
- 01:05:19directly or as directly as possible some
- 01:05:21of you are slightly indirect like an
- 01:05:22engineer would be slightly indirect but
- 01:05:23still you'll know whether you've
- 01:05:24contributed to some outcome you have a
- 01:05:27new asset the asset is
- 01:05:30leverage you have proven leverage if you
- 01:05:32can perform again and again you gain
- 01:05:34even more leverage you know why people
- 01:05:35really come to us today at least on the
- 01:05:37content side we do the AI side and the
- 01:05:38content side people really come to us on
- 01:05:40the content side
- 01:05:42because we get people
- 01:05:45performance eight out of 10 times sure
- 01:05:47we still fail 20% of the time because
- 01:05:48this content so hard but eight or 10
- 01:05:51times when a client comes to us we get
- 01:05:52them the views on the AI business
- 01:05:55Business Solution side when a client
- 01:05:57comes to us like Amazon Prime for
- 01:05:59example we do such a good job on the
- 01:06:01first one and we' lost money on the
- 01:06:02first one where the second time they
- 01:06:04come back and they love us they built a
- 01:06:06relationship and that relationship
- 01:06:08continues to compound so if you can
- 01:06:10perform again and again you get even
- 01:06:12more leverage and people with leverage
- 01:06:14can demand any price they want and are
- 01:06:15widely sof sought after the table is not
- 01:06:18like once you gain leverage it's not
- 01:06:20that you make 10% increment 20%
- 01:06:22increment you can ask for whatever you
- 01:06:24want once you have real leverage and
- 01:06:27this cannot be faked with credit taking
- 01:06:29we have too many people who go out there
- 01:06:30and say I built AOS I
- 01:06:33built Labs we really have these kind of
- 01:06:36people by the way it's so stupid because
- 01:06:38everyone like I said they do D they call
- 01:06:41us so you cannot fake this with credit
- 01:06:44taking because eventually okay even if
- 01:06:46you get a deal saying I'm really great
- 01:06:48at content Ed for this other company and
- 01:06:49I did everything end to end the other
- 01:06:51company can you perform for them because
- 01:06:54if you don't perform for them then
- 01:06:58next slide there are nine types of
- 01:07:00Leverage okay
- 01:07:03skill management
- 01:07:06ability experience in a specific
- 01:07:09domain relationships and distribution
- 01:07:12cash data assets technology brand next
- 01:07:15slide okay skill and Technology are
- 01:07:18getting commoditized and maybe also
- 01:07:21because of how we've built the company
- 01:07:22right uh video editors is not a like
- 01:07:25finding a skilled video editor is not
- 01:07:27like a like an insane challenge for us
- 01:07:30it's getting commoditized finding a very
- 01:07:32skilled developer today especially after
- 01:07:33lots of people are being laid off is not
- 01:07:35too much of a challenge and even the
- 01:07:37technology it's not like today Hollywood
- 01:07:40has some you know there was a time by
- 01:07:42the way when I was younger I went to
- 01:07:43this some animation Academy when I was
- 01:07:46like very very young right to learn
- 01:07:47animation and that time they had
- 01:07:49exclusive licenses of Maya I don't know
- 01:07:51whether they had pirated it or what but
- 01:07:54that was like 3D software 3ds Max and
- 01:07:56Maya I was like crazy these guys have
- 01:07:59this software how do I don't I don't
- 01:08:00know how to get it at home and they are
- 01:08:02on discs and all today everyone has
- 01:08:05blender in 3D so the tech there was a
- 01:08:09time where live streaming only few
- 01:08:10companies can do now everyone can do so
- 01:08:13technology is getting commoditized over
- 01:08:14time so you have to rely on one of these
- 01:08:17few
- 01:08:18things next slide okay let me tell you
- 01:08:21something about skill okay Supply demand
- 01:08:23economics exists in all kinds of
- 01:08:25Leverage to okay for example we posted a
- 01:08:28post recently about we have a job board
- 01:08:31do you know this on super DM we got
- 01:08:341,600 rums for full stack developers but
- 01:08:38just four rums for VFX artists if you
- 01:08:41are and this is more for people online
- 01:08:43right because everyone here already has
- 01:08:44a job if you're looking for a job why
- 01:08:46would you do add one more number here
- 01:08:48why not add one number here sure the
- 01:08:51number of companies here hiring is
- 01:08:52lesser but the competition here is so
- 01:08:54much more I think it's better to do this
- 01:08:57and do Discovery a little better no you
- 01:08:59can't go where the traffic is if you're
- 01:09:01looking for a job especially and this is
- 01:09:03even for people here who might be
- 01:09:04looking for a job outside for Whatever
- 01:09:06Whenever 3 years later 5 years later
- 01:09:07whenever it is tomorrow whenever it is
- 01:09:10you can't go by the traffic is you have
- 01:09:11to do something sufficiently different
- 01:09:13from the rest of the world that the
- 01:09:14world really needs being early to a new
- 01:09:18industry or solving a problem for Less
- 01:09:20sexy industry is better and again more
- 01:09:22for the people online where
- 01:09:26there's a line of people outside of cred
- 01:09:27saying I want to be a designer for cred
- 01:09:30but that same line isn't standing for a
- 01:09:31real estate company and if you're a good
- 01:09:33designer and you're able to build a
- 01:09:35relationship like I said relationship is
- 01:09:37a leverage you can get paid just as much
- 01:09:40in a good real estate company helping
- 01:09:41them sell their products they make more
- 01:09:42money they make real hard cash for VCS
- 01:09:46in 2021 and this is the other side of
- 01:09:48the table right cash was not the
- 01:09:49leverage as Supply demand got
- 01:09:50temporarily skewed in 2021 if you went
- 01:09:53and said you know one VC is ging me 3
- 01:09:56crores 10 other VCS are standing in line
- 01:09:58saying 3.1 CR 3.5 CR that time is over
- 01:10:02but that time cash stop being The
- 01:10:03Leverage for a short period of time so
- 01:10:05you need to find what has leverage
- 01:10:07now okay so and this is also all these
- 01:10:11lever also the intangibles you get from
- 01:10:12working in the company when people look
- 01:10:14at
- 01:10:15package okay you see okay I'm getting
- 01:10:18whatever X number of laks per 10 lakhs
- 01:10:20inm 20 lakhs inm 5 lakhs inm but you're
- 01:10:23not seeing that every company gives you
- 01:10:24intangibles
- 01:10:25not only is a company helping you gain
- 01:10:27skill okay because you're working on the
- 01:10:30job that's the only that's the best way
- 01:10:31to learn you're also Learning Management
- 01:10:33ability because you're managed by people
- 01:10:35above you you learn okay like a Barat
- 01:10:37will say okay this is how Harsha is
- 01:10:38doing this okay maybe I should learn
- 01:10:40from that because Hasa has had a few
- 01:10:41years doing management right but you
- 01:10:44also get the opportunity to manage
- 01:10:46down right so for example in Ian would
- 01:10:49be like okay how do I handle how do I
- 01:10:51manage dops or theyan should be like how
- 01:10:54do I manage the dops
- 01:10:55you learn that experience the hard way
- 01:10:58right okus has learned the hard way how
- 01:11:00to manage people
- 01:11:03downwards how do I deal with this so you
- 01:11:05gain that experience right some this not
- 01:11:07this cannot be taught it's very hard to
- 01:11:09teach this experience in a specific
- 01:11:11domain so if you're working let's say
- 01:11:13with us you gain experience with content
- 01:11:15we are mainly focused on content and you
- 01:11:18learn a lot right if you're a developer
- 01:11:19and you're here you still learn so much
- 01:11:20more about content if you're a filmmaker
- 01:11:22you're like oh this is how VFX is done
- 01:11:24you see all the experiments happening
- 01:11:26life so you learn stuff then there's
- 01:11:28relationships and distribution tomorrow
- 01:11:30if you want to start a company the best
- 01:11:31people to start a company with even
- 01:11:33though I'm shooting myself in the foot
- 01:11:34for saying this is people around you I
- 01:11:36didn't have this network when I was
- 01:11:37young
- 01:11:39Engineers you know software Engineers
- 01:11:43designers uh VFX artists video editors
- 01:11:47some robotics guys sitting there right
- 01:11:50so you have like this relationship set
- 01:11:52that you build and even if if it's not
- 01:11:54like you going and starting a company
- 01:11:55with them that's too risk that that's
- 01:11:57high risk it could also be like maybe
- 01:11:59you move on and you need some help from
- 01:12:00somebody somebody who in the industry
- 01:12:02who know something you have people
- 01:12:03around you very hard to do especially
- 01:12:05lots of kids who want to do this work
- 01:12:06from home you have zero like you're
- 01:12:09basically losing this entire leverage
- 01:12:12even the experience you're losing
- 01:12:13leverage because some you can just walk
- 01:12:14to our studio and be like okay what are
- 01:12:15you guys up to right which you don't
- 01:12:18gain work from home this is for the
- 01:12:19people online especially then there's
- 01:12:22cash there's a difference between doing
- 01:12:23something by yourself and doing
- 01:12:24something with company resources all the
- 01:12:26filmmakers here the equipment we have
- 01:12:29today which we built over the last let's
- 01:12:30say 4 months how how would you get this
- 01:12:34otherwise be expensive right so you're
- 01:12:36basically using the assets and the cash
- 01:12:39of the company to do things that you
- 01:12:40wouldn't have been able to do otherwise
- 01:12:42right and even I see it the same way by
- 01:12:44the way my company's assets are not mine
- 01:12:47my company it's not like I own the
- 01:12:48company's assets and you know it's like
- 01:12:50I get to take it home every day it's
- 01:12:52like okay this is an asset I use it and
- 01:12:55it's also for use for everybody else
- 01:12:56let's see if we can use these to
- 01:12:58generate more cash if we have better
- 01:12:59green screens or whatever it is right
- 01:13:02then there's of course data and I think
- 01:13:05we have now some data here and there to
- 01:13:08know not just in terms of insights data
- 01:13:10as in which clients but also in terms of
- 01:13:14we have our backend YouTube
- 01:13:16dashboards we know roughly what works
- 01:13:18what doesn't you know for many years I
- 01:13:20used to go to many creators I've done
- 01:13:21this with sharan I've done this with tan
- 01:13:24I've done this with probably every
- 01:13:25Creator I've met show me YouTube
- 01:13:27dashboard I want to see your
- 01:13:29stats I'm notorious for doing this so
- 01:13:31I'll go I'll see the stats I like I'll
- 01:13:33be like okay why is this low why is that
- 01:13:35high why did this video do well so data
- 01:13:38is very valuable and data only comes
- 01:13:39from proximity right like sitting next
- 01:13:41to somebody then of course technology
- 01:13:43which again in our case is assets and
- 01:13:45then there's a brand today you would
- 01:13:49rather intern at Apple for
- 01:13:51zero for zero pay then get paid 30k a
- 01:13:55month at some Lalu Prasad
- 01:13:59company
- 01:14:00why cuz your next employer will look at
- 01:14:02Apple on your CV and say oh my God he
- 01:14:05worked at Apple I'll tell you one thing
- 01:14:06we have also been guilty of this if
- 01:14:09there's a big name on a CV we will take
- 01:14:11an interview like theying like let's see
- 01:14:13if he's good or not like the one way to
- 01:14:16be uncluttered in interview is go to a
- 01:14:17company that people recognize serious
- 01:14:19companies like I spoke about so if you
- 01:14:21worked at any serious company from the
- 01:14:23zero of the world to the blinket of the
- 01:14:24world whatever if we recognize the name
- 01:14:27and to be honest with
- 01:14:29AOS we are now even though we're very
- 01:14:32young we starting to become more
- 01:14:33recognizable so AOS on your CV means
- 01:14:35something it's not baked into your CDC
- 01:14:36but it's meaning something to your life
- 01:14:38but the minute you stay there for three
- 01:14:39months and then say I built AOS that
- 01:14:41doesn't work you got to be there for a
- 01:14:42while and people look at how long you've
- 01:14:44been at a certain place somebody's gone
- 01:14:46to like you know like a Facebook but
- 01:14:49work there for 2 months even we don't
- 01:14:50take it seriously employers are not dumb
- 01:14:53next slide yeah this is a truth you
- 01:14:55can't say on social media by the way I'm
- 01:14:58taking a risk by saying it one of you is
- 01:15:00going to feed me
- 01:15:02poison which is that actually interning
- 01:15:05for zero at an apple will do more for
- 01:15:06your career we don't have an internship
- 01:15:08I don't think we do internships at the
- 01:15:09company we just do full-time salaries
- 01:15:11for everyone we just like let's not get
- 01:15:12into this junj but interning at Apple
- 01:15:15for zero will do more for your career
- 01:15:16than a 50k per month job at some no-name
- 01:15:19company because it's apple and apple
- 01:15:21rarely hdes that's such a that's such a
- 01:15:24filter right
- 01:15:25so that's brand leverage in action and
- 01:15:27this is a truth you can't say on social
- 01:15:29media right that's why I said you can't
- 01:15:32say enough truths on social media next
- 01:15:35slide now I'm going to tell you
- 01:15:36important part how to negotiate for a
- 01:15:39race okay I'm telling you a little bit
- 01:15:42of founder psychology so I'll tell you a
- 01:15:44little bit of my my psychology and the
- 01:15:45founders we have here and also the
- 01:15:47founders outside most Founders are
- 01:15:49lonely they've been through a 5 10 year
- 01:15:52Journey before they are in a position
- 01:15:53where they can give you good cash or
- 01:15:55they're VC funed and you know I don't
- 01:15:56know what works for them because they're
- 01:15:58not really thinking it through they're
- 01:16:00not stable companies either bootstrap
- 01:16:03Founders will never part with cash up
- 01:16:04front unless there's appropriate value
- 01:16:06provision okay so if you come to me and
- 01:16:08you say vun there's this project and
- 01:16:11it's making X and
- 01:16:13I'm I'm why in this and then after all
- 01:16:16your whatever costs you're still making
- 01:16:19good this thing or you're expanding
- 01:16:20revenue for us if you come in and you
- 01:16:22expand revenue for me that's a very big
- 01:16:23deal for me like with the Hardware team
- 01:16:25now with the experiments team now we're
- 01:16:26trying some VFX because if that works
- 01:16:28that expands revenue for us right so
- 01:16:31that I don't mind taking up The Upfront
- 01:16:32risk for it because I'm like okay if it
- 01:16:34works I can see how it expands Revenue
- 01:16:36Founders really value loyalty there used
- 01:16:38to be a time where how many of you
- 01:16:40believe so there's two things right
- 01:16:42loyalty and meritocracy you know what
- 01:16:43meritocracy is what's a meritocracy
- 01:16:47basis Merit basis skill there if I were
- 01:16:50to promote choose between two people and
- 01:16:52promote them or or give them benefits
- 01:16:55who would I choose Merit and loyalty
- 01:16:59what should I choose
- 01:17:02rationally okay everyone said
- 01:17:05Merit some people are saying loyalty
- 01:17:07okay somebody who said Merit tell me why
- 01:17:10Merit mhm because like one paper is
- 01:17:15better than skill wise okay why would
- 01:17:18the other people choose loyalty actually
- 01:17:20one of the one of those guys there tell
- 01:17:21me Hara why would you choose actually
- 01:17:23will any of you choose loyalty
- 01:17:25yeah okay why would you choose loyalty I
- 01:17:27choose loyalty
- 01:17:33longy
- 01:17:38ISM loyalty
- 01:17:41longm yeah so because I have a mic on
- 01:17:45I'll just repeat what he said he said in
- 01:17:46the short-term meritocracy works in the
- 01:17:49long-term loyalty is better I'll tell
- 01:17:50you what the one of the challenges of
- 01:17:52being extremely
- 01:17:53meritocracy with being a pure Merit Aug
- 01:17:56right so people come in they're
- 01:17:57extremely you know good at what they do
- 01:18:00but the problem is like I said skill is
- 01:18:02commoditizing right and actually it's
- 01:18:04finding I'm finding it harder to keep
- 01:18:05people for like 2 years 3 years whatever
- 01:18:07we're young and we mostly we've managed
- 01:18:09to keep everybody but most Founders have
- 01:18:11a hard time keeping really good talent
- 01:18:13because really good talent right now is
- 01:18:15is very distracted so it doesn't matter
- 01:18:17how good you are if you aren't willing
- 01:18:19to commit for a year or two years right
- 01:18:21for a while what's the purpose of being
- 01:18:23good if you can't commit it's like
- 01:18:25saying I'm getting married but for one
- 01:18:28month but she's the best girl
- 01:18:31ever it's useless it's like it's not a
- 01:18:35it's not something that's valuable
- 01:18:37especially through the hard years just
- 01:18:38like we're having good times today we
- 01:18:40will have bad times at some point I'm
- 01:18:41damn sure of it because I've eaten dirt
- 01:18:43for 10 years so Founders really value
- 01:18:46loyalty especially during the hard times
- 01:18:48right and extraction of value from a
- 01:18:51relationship again I'm batting for your
- 01:18:53side is best done after few years cuz
- 01:18:56it's very hard to say they go one month
- 01:18:58you know I've done this I'm very loyal
- 01:19:00to you now give this thing there have
- 01:19:01been people around for a year two years
- 01:19:03actually people who are making the most
- 01:19:05amount of money in this company are
- 01:19:06people who' have been with me for many
- 01:19:07many years and I'm sure they will treat
- 01:19:09their employees in the same way you've
- 01:19:10stuck around with them for 3 four years
- 01:19:11you get everything especially as the
- 01:19:13company does better you get more and
- 01:19:14more and more if you've been around for
- 01:19:16a while cuz we know we can trust you we
- 01:19:17know we can count on you that's the
- 01:19:18hardest thing today actually and
- 01:19:21knowledge of a company situation is
- 01:19:22valuable if a particular company company
- 01:19:25and especially because we are a bunch of
- 01:19:26companies if you know that the company
- 01:19:28is doing well it's easier for you to ask
- 01:19:30for a raise if you know a company's
- 01:19:31margins are lower it is harder for you
- 01:19:34to ask for a race right and it's best
- 01:19:36done after a few years so our race cycle
- 01:19:38is once a year so let's say you join on
- 01:19:41Feb first you you can only talk about a
- 01:19:43raise Feb first the next year so
- 01:19:46whenever you join one year from there
- 01:19:47you can ask for a raise we don't do
- 01:19:49Midway Rays we're not too big for that
- 01:19:51to you know continuously revise numbers
- 01:19:53or whatever and we're also not there was
- 01:19:55a time when we started where we didn't
- 01:19:56have crazy budgets but now we don't have
- 01:19:58we still don't have crazy budgets but we
- 01:20:00pay everyone Market salary or close to
- 01:20:02Market salary what you're looking for
- 01:20:04for success in general this is not just
- 01:20:07related to you is you're looking for a
- 01:20:09fast growing company fast growing in
- 01:20:11terms of profit not in head count profit
- 01:20:14with close proximity to decision makers
- 01:20:17there are companies you would work at
- 01:20:19maybe real estate and all that where you
- 01:20:20wouldn't even be able to talk to the
- 01:20:21founders you won't even know what's
- 01:20:22going on in their head you won't even
- 01:20:23know what's important to them right so
- 01:20:25fast growing company close proximity to
- 01:20:27decision makers in profit successful
- 01:20:30Founders are tested and hence value
- 01:20:32humility dude I had a guy come the other
- 01:20:34day to the office I'm not going to take
- 01:20:36names but the most 20 years old obvious
- 01:20:40normal I was like that probably where he
- 01:20:43came and he's like you know we're doing
- 01:20:45this we know this zero humility right of
- 01:20:47understanding that this is damn hard and
- 01:20:49doing this 10 20 years it'll burn you
- 01:20:51out anyway whatever so good Founders
- 01:20:54values humility if you come to me and
- 01:20:55say this is 100% going to work I'll be
- 01:20:57like
- 01:20:58really you'll prove it to me 100% will
- 01:21:00work but I prefer people who come and
- 01:21:01say there's a 50% chance this will work
- 01:21:04and these three parts I don't know but
- 01:21:05we'll figure it out right I love people
- 01:21:07who can figure it out I love working
- 01:21:09with people who can figure it out not
- 01:21:11just me every founder if you say vun I
- 01:21:13will take time but I'll figure it out
- 01:21:15and if it's not possible I'll tell you
- 01:21:16it's not possible and you want an
- 01:21:18accurate assessment sometimes Vishal
- 01:21:20comes to me and like it's not working
- 01:21:22it's a problem with this system I'll be
- 01:21:24like no I've tried it before it works
- 01:21:26and then he'll tweak it and it'll work
- 01:21:28and he'll be like yeah it's working now
- 01:21:30so as much as I respect Vishal for like
- 01:21:34always eventually figuring it out it
- 01:21:36also worries me when he gives me an
- 01:21:38inaccurate
- 01:21:40assessment right sometimes okas does
- 01:21:42this inaccurate assessment of where
- 01:21:44it'll go so I I I'm I like optimism most
- 01:21:48Founders like optimism but you have to
- 01:21:51we don't mind people saying we don't
- 01:21:53know or we'll figure it out
- 01:21:55uh but you can't use that for everything
- 01:21:57Steve Jobs has this quote between the
- 01:21:58janitor and the CEO excuses stop
- 01:22:01mattering so the janitor you know what
- 01:22:03that means like if maid comes in and
- 01:22:05Maid says door B fair I understand our
- 01:22:09argument but if you the CEO and you say
- 01:22:11I wasn't able to add whatever my Target
- 01:22:14in Revenue nobody's going to save you
- 01:22:16you can't give an excuse if you're an
- 01:22:17executive and you're being paid an
- 01:22:19executive you have to get results by
- 01:22:21hook or crook last thing staying in the
- 01:22:22company for long periods of time is a
- 01:22:24hidden level leverage and we have proof
- 01:22:26of that in the company Tas Hara they've
- 01:22:29been with me in previous companies also
- 01:22:31sidhant uh you know staying staying
- 01:22:34around really matters and actually
- 01:22:37having lower expectations also really
- 01:22:38matters because Ron is an example of
- 01:22:40this where he came in he had low
- 01:22:42expectations and then he did just did
- 01:22:44such a good job that we like you you
- 01:22:47have won my trust right let's do
- 01:22:50something cool together okay this is the
- 01:22:53last slide I think
- 01:22:54of but one slide so you now can go break
- 01:22:57out for lunch dinner whatever it
- 01:22:59is uh there are three ways to make big
- 01:23:02money the first one is you stay in a
- 01:23:05fast Growth Company for years and hope
- 01:23:07for your esops to materialize most of
- 01:23:10the time it doesn't work out so you
- 01:23:11could join like a the next startup that
- 01:23:15raises $30
- 01:23:16million straight out the bat join them
- 01:23:18hope the esops materialize you're not
- 01:23:21betting on anything apart you're not
- 01:23:22betting on the founders ability to build
- 01:23:24technology
- 01:23:25you're not betting on the Founder's
- 01:23:26ability to do marketing you're betting
- 01:23:27on the founders ability to make profit
- 01:23:30okay and not just profit but also IPO
- 01:23:32because most people who I'll tell you
- 01:23:33the problem the problem is most people
- 01:23:35who can make profit won't IPO especially
- 01:23:38if you know how to make good profit do
- 01:23:40you know
- 01:23:42why why would you want to be controlled
- 01:23:45by the
- 01:23:46market every day anything you do
- 01:23:48anything you say the market saying good
- 01:23:50things bad things about you you can't
- 01:23:52live your life it's like being in
- 01:23:53shackles private company bootstrap is
- 01:23:55the best the minute you've raised
- 01:23:56funding also you have to listen to
- 01:23:57investors so most people who can turn a
- 01:24:00profit they to them esops is not as
- 01:24:03meaningful but still if you look at zero
- 01:24:05that they do BuyBacks they buy back some
- 01:24:07of the esops over time so there are ways
- 01:24:09it can work out but you're really
- 01:24:10betting on somebody's ability to do
- 01:24:12profit for most of you any ESOP you get
- 01:24:14in any company whether here or outside
- 01:24:16just assume it's worth zero toilet paper
- 01:24:19basically the next thing is start a
- 01:24:21company at an inflection point something
- 01:24:22has just changed and you think there's a
- 01:24:24company required here it's very risky
- 01:24:26takes 10 years to work out timing has to
- 01:24:28be perfect actually I don't know if you
- 01:24:29know this but I've been doing 3D avatar
- 01:24:32stuff now for like four 5 years much
- 01:24:36longer than that I started with game
- 01:24:37engines when I was with reality Factory
- 01:24:40like I was 13 or something 13 14 or
- 01:24:42something and there are videos of me old
- 01:24:44videos where even before metahuman we
- 01:24:46were doing like a 3D avatar right so
- 01:24:49we've been doing this Avatar replacement
- 01:24:51for a long time it's just now it's
- 01:24:53become good on on reals on and
- 01:24:56shs
- 01:24:58um so you need to also time it such that
- 01:25:01what will be popular in 10 years take
- 01:25:02the risk now and then play out those 10
- 01:25:04years in life very very hard to do it's
- 01:25:07really hard to do and last the easiest
- 01:25:09way in my opinion gain leverage and get
- 01:25:11to a senior position at a well-known
- 01:25:12company and work for 20 to 25 years this
- 01:25:15is something never told on social media
- 01:25:18it will take you 20 years to make
- 01:25:19serious
- 01:25:20money if you work here or anywhere else
- 01:25:23and I can guarantee you you for most of
- 01:25:26you it will take this much time to make
- 01:25:27good
- 01:25:28money retirement level money 20 25 years
- 01:25:31just like it was for your
- 01:25:32parents nobody wants to hear this you're
- 01:25:35like 5 years how do I get a lambogini
- 01:25:37and get out of
- 01:25:39this but it takes time even if you're
- 01:25:41damn smart even if you're damn connected
- 01:25:43it takes time last thing is gamble
- 01:25:46invest in some crazy risky thing some
- 01:25:49new coin this that whatever some or
- 01:25:52the other keeps coming out but there
- 01:25:54the risk is almost certain and you but
- 01:25:56you'll still find one guy you know who
- 01:25:58has invested in like some something and
- 01:26:01they've made 100x their money or
- 01:26:03whatever and then you'll be like but
- 01:26:05that's the problem by the time the guys
- 01:26:06invested it's already too late now you
- 01:26:08can't invest and make that money but
- 01:26:09you'll have such people you should never
- 01:26:11look at them and say oh he's doing
- 01:26:12better in life than me he gambled and
- 01:26:14won it's like looking at a guy who won a
- 01:26:16lottery ticket and being like and
- 01:26:18envying his life it's so strange I I've
- 01:26:22seen it with some of you right
- 01:26:23especially with the crypto boom and you
- 01:26:24looked at your friends making some crazy
- 01:26:26money in crypto like oh you made so much
- 01:26:27money but it's like looking at some guy
- 01:26:30who won a lottery ticket and saying why
- 01:26:31does he have oh he made so much money
- 01:26:33you don't envy a lottery ticket guys
- 01:26:34lifestyle so why are you envying the
- 01:26:36crypto guys lifestyle it's fine it's one
- 01:26:39wins 100 day anyway do you have any
- 01:26:42other
- 01:26:43slides that was long and I'm sorry for
- 01:26:47taking so much time but I
- 01:26:49think it was important that I told you
- 01:26:52how youngsters were thinking because 90%
- 01:26:54% of you were kind of thinking something
- 01:26:55along these lines I thought might as
- 01:26:57well tell you what it took for us and
- 01:26:59how long it'll generally take nobody
- 01:27:01wants to plan out 20 years of their life
- 01:27:04but you need to right and we don't know
- 01:27:07what's going to happen in 20 years AI
- 01:27:08might come anything can happen but
- 01:27:11long-term loyalty really matters in any
- 01:27:12company especially as AI comes around
- 01:27:14the corner and skill becomes less and
- 01:27:16less important loyalty and just being
- 01:27:18around being able to absorb
- 01:27:19responsibility and risk
- 01:27:22matters yeah that's it
- 01:27:24for everyone online bye
- Pandemic
- Indian workforce
- Risk-taking
- Equity
- Social media influence
- Career progression
- Company expectations