01Apr

How to choose a career

[mashshare]

Do you feel chills when you’re asked about your career choices?

Are you pretty much dumbstruck or do you fumble sometimes or just answer it for the sake of answering. Probably that’s the time when you pressure yourself with the question in your mind: How To Choose A Career?

Sooner or later everyone deals with this question.

Don’t be in a dilemma! Career choosing can be theoretical sometimes, sometimes impossibly mechanical, and at other times routinely confusing. When we look back to those time periods, ( SSC,HSC, and Graduation) we’ve been envious of those focused kids who knew what to do, when to do, and eventually learned how to do it. They guided themselves or were guided so well, that there was no confusion when they made their decisions.

But, for the people on the other side of the spectrum, “Choosing a career” rings a thousand bells.

The best advice given to me on choosing a career is, ‘Ask yourself, What career would you choose if money wasn’t a constraint?” Once you have the answer, choose that as a career and trust your decision. Money is never the constraint until you make it!

8 points to keep in mind when choosing a career:

1) Make a gist of your interests:

Jot down what intrigues you to choose it as a career. It may be in the fields of fashion, art, cinema, finance, business.. and so on. Your mind helps a lot when you do things that interest you.

2) Study yourself. Explore!:

This is for all those who are unaware of themselves and their talents. Knowing yourself better, gives a clear idea on who you are, what you like and eventually helps you land on a smooth decision.

3) Don’t join the rat race:

Don’t choose finance or marketing because your best friend chose it as his/her career. Take your time and help yourself choose the career that is YOU!. Trust me, you’ll be only happier.

4) Suggestions/Opinions/Advices:

Take suggestions, opinions and advice from peeps. (But make sure you end up brainstorming with none but yourself. Remember the suggestions that you think are helping, and forget the rest. Take suggestions from many, but don’t let them hamper your choices. You don’t want to end up in confusion. Eventually, your choice matters the most.

5) Research:

Do it on your chosen interests and gather statistics of how much scope they carry in a long run.

6) Meet:

Have a small meet-up with the ones who’re already working in that field. Post your queries, and connect with them on a networking site.

7) Financial Status:

Don’t be doomed thinking that being poor will not let you pursue the career you choose. There are scholarships everywhere. Make a small research on how much the career you would like to choose may cost you.

8) Believe in your instincts:

Do what the gut feeling says. Believe yourself, your choices, your instincts and guts. They’re there for a reason.

Choosing your career shouldn’t be based on what you can afford. There’s no such barrier for the ones who’re poor. Being unwealthy doesn’t restrict you from pursuing your careers. There’re a lot of scholarships and other helpful enrolling programs for students with an unstable financial background. Breaking the ice with your own mind is the very initial part of self-knowing. Be your own friend first. Explore yourself and know yourself better, know your choices even better, and initiate your career with an amazing choice.

As I’ve said before, “The best advice given to me on choosing a career is, ‘Ask yourself, What career would you choose if money wasn’t a constraint?” Once you have the answer, choose that as a career and trust your decision. Money is never the constraint until you make it!”

28Feb

Waqar Azmi (Founder & CEO, Sutra Services) featured on BBC news

BBC

Mr. Waqar Azmi, our founder and CEO, featured on BBC news as an expert in a bulletin discussion on emerging recruitment trends (airing date-26th February 2015).

Waqar shared his expert opinion on the new and innovative mediums that recruiters around the world are using to acquire great talent while easing out the recruitment process.

Here is an excerpt of the same.

Over the years, we have been covered by a number of media organisations. Check out some of our media mentions on our YouTube channel SutraTV

24Feb

12 Pages Why You Should Join Us

[mashshare]

“HR”, does it ring any bell? Well, most of us perceive this profession to be revolving mainly around two things; hiring and firing. SutraHR exposed a fresh new side of HR in the year 2008 and has been working constantly since then, towards striking a balance between HR as a profession and as a passion. This time too, we have come up with a remarkable way of exhibiting it’s extraordinary growth opportunity, amazing learning experience, super cool work culture and loads & loads of fun elements in the form of a photobook.

Do feel free to share the same with your friends. In case you want to know more about us checkout our Careers page.

28Jan

Plug-n-Play Startup Office (11 Seater+Conference Room+Pantry) For Rent In Andheri (W), Mumbai

Are you a startup looking for a spacious and enthusiastic office space? We have a great workstation with vibrant colours on the walls, modular design interiors and full length windows overlooking skyscraper skyline.
[Do check-out the pictures of the office space in the end]

Location Features of the Place

Located in the heart of suburbs, Andheri-lokhandwala area, making it accessible via Bus Depot (3 mins), Jogeshwari/Andheri Stn (10/15 mins), Airport (30 mins).
The building houses companies and other major business offices.
Walking distance surroundings include malls (Mega, Infinity & Citi), best restaurants (close to 30 of them), and corporate offices.

The Workstation consists of

11 seater (570 sq. ft.) office space
CPU trolley/cabinet
On-desk Softboard
Comfortable adjustable chairs.
Ample storage space

Ready-to-use Office Features

Professionally designed interiors
Fully furnished, wooden-floored conference room
Fully functional Pantry
High speed wired/wireless internet connectivity
Split AC

Price/Details

Rent- Rs.45000 per month (incl. of all above features).
Minimum of 3 months rent in advance and 1 month rent as deposit, both are refundable if unused.

The above facility is ideal for startups or small/medium companies who want to use a small office.
To discuss this in detail, you can email us at sales@mumbaicoworkingspaces.com or call +91 922 221 4183 / (022) 4266 9487.

07Jan

How to leave an Organisation without burning the bridge…

[mashshare]

Looking for a new workplace? Feeling restless? As soon as the news is out, you would be likely to get targeted with lot of questions of When, Why, How? Do you have answers to all? Did you try to sit with yourself to answer the same and get the appropriate solutions?

Leaving an organisation or stepping down from a very critical position in a company and venturing to a new place can cause discomfort, sometimes not only to yourself but to others around you too. It is said that “A known devil is better than an unknown angel”. Hence, before you take the leap of faith you need to evaluate all the reasons for the change and the possibilities to give it the one chance to confirm if your decision is right.

Let’s evaluate the possible reasons why the questions will pop-up at the first place. If it does here’s a guide to help you know how you can go about it and do it right:

[sociallocker]

1. Better Prospects:
• Need of Either or / and: Better package, different role, promotion
• Office relocation, travelling constraints
• Change of company policy, work culture
• Management problems, people problems

Huge credit card bills, loans piled up, lifestyle trauma, peer pressure, household responsibilities makes one wander to the thought of ‘money is everything’. These are the trying times when any philosophy does not make sense. You just want to fire the gun and get into the money rat race. Earning more money and better pay package is absolutely ok, but at what cost you choose to do is the question. One needs to keep the following things in mind while dreaming off to future plans with the money that you may be offered:

• Am I getting the right profile?
• What stability is displayed in my previous and current job?
• Have I fulfilled the commitments and met the expectations of my current organisation?
• Am I moving up the ladder or for money taking a level below to start?
• How this new role will help me in the next 3 years in comparison to the current one?
• Is the new place accessible?

What if the situations above are the concerns in the current workplace which provoked the decision of moving to a new place? Then the immediate action you need to do is ‘Speak’.

Who to approach?

Speak to your immediate Supervisor. If the relationship with your Supervisor is sour, then, move to the HR for resolutions. At any level, ensure you have heart-to-heart chat. You can do this privately in office in closed doors or maybe outside office where you can be comfortable and open with your thoughts. Share your darkest fears concerning your job and keep no stone unturned in getting all your issues addressed. You and the resolver should have complete confidence mutually. Keep a responsive and open communication channel. This way you can get a neutral perspective and if necessary the discussions can move to the appropriate senior level management.

Before you resign, please ensure that your conscience is absolutely clear on what and why you have made the decision and if you have factored all the possibilities with your current company. A quick run through or checklist can be as follows:

Salary revision if possible in the current organisation or may be incentivising a part of work where it’s mutually beneficial.
Enhancement in the current role or any training can be arranged to acquire competent skills to come at par with the current market trends.
More accountability and responsibility can be entrusted to you. A team management role wherein you can train and guide new employees.
Any reward and recognition program round the corner, want to feel more appreciated.
Opportunity in the branch offices where the employee is relocating.
Work from home options or weekends off.
If any change is brought into the company then why and how the change can be instrumental to your growth. Get familiarised with the vision and future plans of the company.
There can be a value conflict or your thoughts are not in sync with the colleagues. Resolve it through confronting them humbly or by various skip levels or by looping in HR.
In case, you have wronged something and are not sure how to undo it seek counselling and guidance.

2. Personal Reasons:
• Marriage or family planning
• Relocation

For most, this phase of life is inevitable, where the decision is not made by the employee alone but along with the life he/ she will lead with the better half. Before you take the decision of jumping off from one boat to another, you may want to evaluate the options with your Supervisor / HR, like: Long planned leave, maternity benefits, full-time/ part-time work from home options and opportunity in the branch offices where the employee is relocating.

• Further Studies

Leaving the comfortable job and immersing yourself into old fat books, are you sure? Are you not used to the regular income, good lifestyle, outings, online shopping etc? Leaving this behind and taking up a course for career advancement can be a tough choice. This is the time when your mentors can step in, be a career guide and make avail the best of counselling for you to ensure that you take the right decision and right ‘course’ in your career life.

Quit only for the top tier education, which can be applied in the line of work in future. Think hard, if the educational degree will add value to your job role later or not. Instead, if you can choose to stay with a fast-paced growing company and reach a level of salary / position without the degree, then why invest your hard money along with time. You can develop your skills on the job.

Company can also provide options like: Sponsoring education if the line of career continues to be in line with the business function, skill based training from the current company, secured job to the employee after successful completion of the study course with better role and compensation, flexibility of work hours (like part-time option), in-house projects during internships to stay connected, study leave as when required.

3. Health Reasons:
• Illness / Physical fitness issues

Prolonged illness or sporadic absence from work can take a toll on your performance at work. It can leave you feeling guilty and raise a lot of questions on your accountability. In such cases, instead of you quitting altogether on your job discuss it with your Supervisor / HR for the options like: Sabbatical, leave without pay for a decided period where you can address your personal well-being and resume back with fitness certificate, work from home. There are no specific guidelines to address health issues as the situations are unpredictable and decision depends on the business impact. The company can arrange backup, replacement or make a do without someone for some time.

One of the major reasons where any relationship breaks away is due to communication gap, hence make sure to communicate what you want, and listen to what your co – worker wants, too. Either one should be clear about each other’s needs. However, if you have lost your passion and joy at the current job, the spark is not motivating enough, you have evaluated all the possible potential options. After all of the above you want to let go and your mind is made up about the way that you feel, submit your resignation letter highlighting the reason.

One should move on and resign in a professional way leaving a good impression on your company folks. The process can differ from company to company but once can ensure the following things:

• Succession planning is one of the key things one has to take care of. Identify the person who will shoulder your responsibilities in your absence. If there is a replacement to be hired from outside keep a tight check on when the person is joining and ensure your availability for knowledge transfer.

• Prepare a detailed handover sheet with all the necessary details and assign if any point of contacts required. Complete the tasks and assignments at hand. Be mentally prepared to extend the notice period if required especially when you are at the senior position.

• Do not disclose your exit news to your colleagues or other cross functional co-workers without the permission of your Supervisor or HR. If the news is disclosed, ensure that the reasons you cite are positive and consistent in nature.

• Keep your Supervisor in loop on all the activities during your notice period and you may want to check sometimes what reason to disclose to your co-workers/clients so that the office decorum is maintained.

• Be open to a heart to heart retention discussion or a possible counter offer for consideration which may help you be absolutely sure of the decision once again.

• Notice period is a transition period for the employee and the employer where a smooth transfer of work along with the mental preparation of the employee’s absence has to be guaranteed / secured.

• Maintain integrity till the last minute of your work time with the company. Do not speak ill about anyone and keep the company’s reputation intact.

• Always keep in touch with everyone, don’t burn the bridge. You never know when you might need someone’s help or may need anyone’s recommendation.

• Do give feedback and suggestions to the company HR / Supervisor so that you make way for new improvements for the existing employees.

Always walk through the door gracefully and keep the door open behind to walk back.

[/sociallocker]

01Jan

Top 100 Startups in India to Watch in 2015

As we welcome the new year, SutraHR is delighted to present the list of top 100 startups to look out for in 2015. After the overwhelming response to our last article — list of top 100 startups to watch in 2014, we are back with a compilation of some of the most promising and ambitious Indian startups. Majority of the companies which featured in our list last year went on to achieve huge success and established themselves in their respective domains. Along with expert inputs from Mr Waqar Azmi, CEO, Sutra Services, we’ve collated this list of ingenious startups which we think will make their mark on the startup fraternity of India.

Updated List: Top Startups in India 2023

New Year has rolled and the list of 2018 has come in too!

AdPushup – Helps optimize online ad revenues by using advanced automated A/B Testing.
All India Bakchod – India’s edgiest comedy collective running a popular podcast on YouTube.
Alma Mater – ,Online store providing apparel and memorabilia to alumni students from schools and colleges across India.
AudioCompass – “Turns smartphones into personal audio tour guides, and helps travelers explore India.”
AxisRooms – Allows hotels to update and share their inventory status with agents and portals in real time.
BankBazaar – “Internet-based multi-brand financial product comparison platform, designed to aid applicants with choosing loans and credit cards online, without need of any paper work and offline processing.”
Betaout – “Develops cloud-based platforms and tools that enable digital agencies to manage content production.”
Browntape – Helps online retailers manage listings and sales on multiple online stores.
Capital Float – An online platform that provides working capital finance to SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in India.
Cardback – “A predictive Android app that alerts users about which of their credit, debit or loyalty cards will give them the best deal, based on their card options and current location.”
CarIQ – “A connected car platform that offers tailor made services and products that allow users to remotely manage, monitor, and interact with their vehicle.”
ClearSharp – An online platform for filing income tax returns in India.
CouponDunia – A digital coupon marketplace connecting consumers with retailers and brands.
Coverfox – Focused on helping customers evaluate insurance plans.
Culture Machine – “Optimises one’s digital and analog presence to grow his/her YouTube channels via collaboration with creators and their fans, besides helping him/her build an audience.”
DocTree – Helps patients secure a negotiated and guaranteed price for procedures and enables them to search for and select healthcare providers through a two-way dynamic online process.
Dream11 – A unique and innovative platform that enables users to showcase their cricket knowledge and skill to win cash daily in their fantasy leagues.
Eatlo – “A platform where food lovers come together to eat, explore, share and gather their food intelligence.”
Embibe – An online test prep portal specializing in engineering entrance exams.
eShakti – An online women’s apparel company that offers Size 0-36W and specializes in mass-customization on designer clothes for women.
Explara – An event solutions platform offering discovery to users and sollutions to event organizers.
FirstRide – A complete solution provider for all your car related requirements.
FixNix – Provides GRC solutions to growing markets like India and Africa.
Flatchat – Enables networking within a community of people looking for common accommodation.
Floh – An invitation only platform which connects single men and women.
Frankly.me – “A platform which enables people to ask questions to celebrities and other users and get answered in the form of video selfies.”
FreshMenu – “A meal kit delivery service aimed at the busy urban individual who seeks nutritious food, but may not have the time or inclination to prepare one.”
Frilp – An online platform that helps users discover a shop or service through their friends and people they trust in the real world.
Frrole – A big data startup specializing in analysing Twitter data.
frsh – Serves corporate clients in Gurgaon looking for healthy food.
Function Space – “Network for students, researchers and enthusiasts in Mathematics, Physics, and other sciences.”
fusedcow – Offers a platform for real estate developers to sell customised apartments to end customers.
Gigstart – Marketplace that facilitates quick and transparent connections between entertainers and party planners.
GoPaisa – Enables users to avail cash back or a cash reward on their purchases from 300+ retailers listed on the platform.
Greencart.in – E-commerce platform specializing in fresh produce and gourmet food.
GROFERS – A logistics company that has a fleet of foot soldiers and tie ups with local merchants for delivery of goods to customers from shops around them.
GrownOut – A referral hiring solution to make recruiting more efficient and cost-effective.
HackerEarth – Helps other startups hire programmers through technical challenges.
HelpingDoc – A gateway for health care providers to connect to their patients.
hopscotch.in – E-commerce startup selling products for infants and kids.
HotelsAroundYou – A website that allows customers to book quality hotel rooms at the last minute.
Housejoy – A website that provides home services like plumber / electrician / carpenter etc.
Instahyre – A career marketplace that connects the best talent with tech companies in India.
Junglee Games – A fast growing legal cash gaming company.
LimeTray – “A platform that provides restaurants with a platform to run day-to-day operations including ordering, online presence management, and CRM.”
Linkstreet Learning – A software company that provides technology solutions and high-end support for education and learning.
Lookup – A free messaging app which helps consumers to chat with local businesses.
Lybrate.com – “A healthcare platform that connects patients and doctors making healthcare more accessible, opening up more possibilities for patients and more time for doctors.”
MartMobi – “A mobile technology company that enables world’s leading eCommerce sites, Brands, Retailers to go instant mobile and tablet across all existing mobile platforms.”
MiCar – A Delhi-based self-drive car rental service company.
MyRefers – A referral based recruitment platform.
Nearify – A mobile app that collates information on local events.
News In Shorts – An app that provides readers with crisp news in sixty words.
Octro – “A mobile multiplayer gaming companythat makes digital versions of popular local classics, such as card game Indian Rummy or the bingo-style Tambola.”
OnlinePrasad.com – An e-commerce site that offers home delivery of religious items from over 50 temples.
Overcart – A company that helps other e-commerce companies manage their customer returns and sell their unsold stock to end consumers.
OYO Rooms – A website that provides marketplace of branded budget rooms with standardization of experience.
Phone Warrior – App for Android and iOS that blocks mobile spam calls and text messages.
POKKT – An alternative monetisation platform for app developers and publishers.
POPxo – “A dynamic digital media startup and a growing fashion, beauty and lifestyle website for women.”
Posist – A cloud-based restaurant management platform.
PressPlay – A startup that distributes tabs that are preloaded with content to make sure your travel is a breeze.
Primaseller – A cloud-based POS system for vendors to list their products and download orders from eBay and Amazon.
Printvenue – Rocket Internet-backed online printing solution.
Purple Squirrel – Provides an industry-based experiential learning program for students enabling them to make informed career choices.
Qikwell – ,Online doctor appointment booking platform.
RapidValue – “A software sollution that helps companies migrate their business operations to laptops, tablets and smartphones.”
Red Monster – “A mobile social gaming company.”
RezNext – A real-time distribution technology company.
Roposo – “A fashion focused social-network that allows women to discover and shop new products through trends which are liked, curated, personalized and updated from online brands and e-commerce portals.”
Sapience – Provides employee productivity improvement solutions to enterprises.
ScoopWhoop – An Indian-focused entertainment media startup.
Scroll.in – A digital daily that features original reporting and stories from leading publications from around the world.
Scrollback – A free open-source chat platform for online communities.
ShopClues – An online marketplace on which merchants from all over India sell millions of products.
SocialCops – A data and analytics startup that aims to power decision making through high quality data sourced from the grassroots.
Sourceeasy – “A web platform for designers, ecommerce stores, brands to source their private label apparel online.”
SquadRun – A crowdsourcing platform that connects business to a smartphone enabled workforce.
TalentPad – An online recruitment platform that connects talent with employers in the technology/internet/analytics space.
Talview – A video interview platform based on the concept of asynchronous video interviews.
TaxiPixi – A transport technology provider startup.
Teabox – “A speciality e-commerce startup based in the North Eastern town of Siliguri, serves fresh tea packages across Russia, US, China and Japan.”
Testbook – A website that provides a variety of mock tests to give student’s preparation a final shape for most of the competitive exams being conducted online in India.
Timesaverz – An online platform to obtain people for home services.
TinyOwl – A Mumbai-based startup that offers a location-based mobile app for food ordering
Toppr.com – An online exam preparation platform.
TravelTriangle – An online marketplace where travel agents hawk the best customised holiday deals.
TripFactory – A online service that helps users search and discover relevant content and make travel plans.
TripHobo – An online trip planning platform.
Tripoto – “An online platform that brings together travellers from around the world to share and discover real, and actionable crowd-sourced travel stories.”
Vee – Help users find out companions around their area and get into mutual relationships.
TheViralFever – One of the first Indian channel on Youtube to create original comic videos.
Venturepact – An invite only marketplace that connects companies with trusted software development firms.
Vistaprint – An online provider of marketing products and services to small businesses and independent professionals.
Vox Pop – An online portal that offers licenced apparel merchandise.
WizRocket – “Enables web messaging, push notifications, in-app messaging and reaching out to customers via SMS or email.”
Wonobo – A street view mapping service.
Woo – “Helps you meet people who are similar to you in terms of lifestyle and interests and are looking for meaningful relationships.”
Yup! – Android and iOS based messaging app.
Zippr – A central location management service that enables users to create and share short codes.

Notes:

We have listed out the startups based on:

Traction: How well these Indian startups are receiving a market validation for its business model. Basically, how well the consumers are taking to the product/service.
Potential Market: How big is the market share for the respective product/service. Will the product be welcomed with wide arms in the market or will it be just another not-so-great product.
Pedigree of the Team: The background and professional credentials of the startup’s team members. Many of these listed startups are by IITians and past employees of big MNCs as well as professionals with a rich experience in the field.
Scalability: Even if the initial idea of the product/service is extraordinary, is there a chance for the business to grow? These startups have shown great potential and many have also received fundings, while others are not so far behind in line.
Execution:Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the men from the boys. A really great team finds its happiness in execution because it is more likely to succeed than one which focuses just on ideas.

Disclaimer: We have worked with many startups mentioned in the list, and have built teams & hired extensively for them.

If you want to build a team for your startup, click here.

…Or click here, if you are looking for a job at an awesome startup.

06Oct

Navratri Festivities at Sutra: Come See How The Young and The Loud Partied It Up!

[mashshare]

If you work at Sutra, you are offered the loveliest and arguably the most balanced work mantra; which is to work hard but party harder. So, this time we decided to put together snippets (not the embarrassing ones, obviously!) of an office party at one of the best companies to work for in Mumbai. And trust us, in the video we’ve only showed you half the madness that went down this Navratri. Speaking of which, please pardon some of the nautanki in the video, we’re just a bunch of young, loud and free individuals 🙂

Sutra’s employees showing off their traditional outfits and pearly whites, ready for a real rager at the awesome office terrace. This is only half of us though, the rest are pulling hookah in the conference room…

Our founder, Waqar Azmi reciting the ingredients for a customized wrap (frankies) at the office pantry. I mean, what’s a party without delectable munchies. And our parties always have something yummy laid out, whether it’s kebabs or biryani or dosas or pizzas, we know the importance of a satisfied gut!

The dhoom dhamaka continues. All smiles, gearing up for a dancing session. After all, what’s a balanced work mantra like ours without some music and masti!

But first, picture time! Decked up and gleeful Sutra employees in a group picture with Waqar.

Back to the dancing. And as you can see, there’s some fun shaking of tail feathers and swishing of hair here and there.

Well, not only do you attend the parties, you may even volunteer to be part of the fun commotion of preparation and setup!

And finally, at Sutra, everyone can freely have inspirational one-on-ones with the founder of one of the best companies to work at in Mumbai.

Think you’ve got what it takes to follow our balanced work mantra to work hard and party harder? Do you see yourself fitting right into this crazy, hard working and happy-go-lucky work culture?

Visit our Careers page for job openings in Mumbai. We are looking for awesome people to join our teams:
1) HR & Recruitment
2) Sales / Business Development
3) Marketing
4) Operations
5) Technology
6) SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

You can also call Namita on +91 922 045 9226 or (022) 4266 9487 or send us your resumes at careers@sutrahr.com NOW!

05Sep

40+ Angel Investors in India Every Entrepreneur Should Know About

[mashshare]

We’re currently floating in what is called a startup ecosystem. Everybody has an idea, and surprisingly enough, these ideas aren’t all that bad. In fact, they’re spinning us clever Indians a few million bucks every year. Seriously! Check out these startups in India that fared well this year.

But not everyone with a brilliant idea is born with a silver spoon in their mouths and the monetary capacity to start something all by themselves. Here is where the awesome angel investors come in. These are usually experienced entrepreneurs (‘experienced’ being key here because their guidance would be studied and most of all, precious) that believe that your ideas aren’t complete nonsense. I mean, it takes some guts to provide capital for a business in its early stages! So we’re helping you brilliant minds out there with a list of angel investors in India you should definitely check out.

40+ angel investors every entrepreneur should know about:

1) Abhishek Rungta
Along with being an entrepreneur and strategist, Abhishek Rungta is the founder & CEO at Indus Net Technologies, a web development and digital marketing company. Flexible and focused entrepreneurs are his usual target as candidates for investment. He has invested in companies like iDubba, Shoppo.in, Morpheus Tritya, CarSingh, EduOra and Azoi Inc.

2) Ajeet Khurana
Avid Indian angel investor, business consultant and mentor, Ajeet Khurana is a part of the Board of Directors of Carve Niche Technologies and a member of Mumbai Angels. He is famously known to invest about ten thousand dollars in eight startups every year! Ajeet has invested in companies like Rolocule Games, ShepHertz, Maximojo, United Mobile Apps, Carveniche Technologies, Karmic Lifesciences and PickMe eSolutions.

3) Alok Mittal
Alok Mittal is actively a part of various angel investment networks; founding member at the Indian Angel Network and Band of Angels, India. Additionally, he heads operations at Canaan Partners, India. This seasoned angel Indian investor has invested in companies like Unitedlex, Consim Info, Globalthen, Taxspanner, Viedea Capital, MotorExchange India, iYogi and Equitas.

4) Anand Ladsariya
The CEO of a privately owned manufacturing and exports company (Everest Flavours Ltd.), Anand Ladsariya is an active Indian angel investor with both Mumbai Angels and Indian Angel Network. His list of investments is long and boasts of names like Traffline, Exclusively.in, Aurality, Dexl, Speakwell, Framebench, Asiatic, Serial Innovation, Morpheus Tritya, Mobiquest, No Paper Form, Algorhythm, Trikal, Svasti Microfinance, Wild East, Talent Bridge and Reverse Logistics Corporation.

5) Anand Rajaraman
Anand Rajaraman co-founded Kosmix with the vision of connecting people to information that makes a difference in their lives. After the acquisition of Kosmix by Walmart, Anand worked as the Senior Vice President at Walmart Global. His investments include Facebook, (one of the earliest angel investors in 2005) PunchTab, AppNexus, Hightail, Trifacta, LocBox, Gild, BlueShift Labs, Glooko, Joyus, Gigaom, Aster Data Systems, Qubole, TiE LaunchPad, Efficient Frontier and Chaupaati Bazaar.

6) Anuj Pulstya
Apart from being the founder of Mute Health Bar in Delhi, a restaurant that serves healthy fast food, Anuj Pulstya is an experienced tech enthusiast with a Master’s degree in Computer Science and experience in entrepreneurship. He has invested in companies like Zuvvu, Ideophone, Croak.it, Framebench and Innovese.com.

7) Ashish Gupta
Ashish Gupta has co-founded two successful companies – Tavant Technologies and Junglee.com and is currently the managing director at Helion Ventures Pvt Ltd. He is known to prefer working with entrepreneurs that are flexible and open to changing themselves according to the needs of the organization. His investments include ShopSocially, MakeMyTrip, Daksh and Mu Sigma Analytics.

8) Bala Parthasarathy
Bala Parthasarathy has built three companies, one of which was Snapfish. (later bought by Hewlett Packard in 2005) As General Manager and managing director for Snapfish International, he was the brains behind it becoming the world’s largest online photo site with over a hundred million users in over 20 countries in Europe and Asia Pacific. He has made investments in companies like GROMOR and Synup.

9) Deepak Shahdadpuri
Over a decade and a half of experience with private equity along with being the founder and managing director of DSG Consumer Partners, we have Deepak Shahdadpuri. He is also on the strategic advisory board of Magic Bus India, a non-profit organization helping underprivileged kids through sports activities. His list of investments boast the likes of Cleartrip, Rockbot, Addy, Authy, Weaved, Birdi, Syndicates Fund 1, Skykick, RedMart, ZipDial, OYO Rooms EkStop and Doonya. The list goes on; Indian Home Gourmet Pvt. Ltd., Exito Gourmet, Bakers Circle, Veeba Food Services, Digital E-Life, Sula Wines, Saraf Foods Ltd and Tierra Food India.

10) Dhiraj Rajaram
Dhiraj Rajaram is the founder of Mu Sigma, an analytics services provider. He serves as Mu Sigma’s Chairman of the Board and CEO. Dhiraj was a former strategy consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton. He has invested in Box 8, a new Indian Quick Service Restaurant that offers fresh and healthy alternative food options to young working professionals and customers.

11) Freeman Murray
Famously and magnanimously known for setting up Startupschool.in in Kochi, (a residential mentoring programme made to help young and budding entrepreneurs create mobile and internet-based start-ups) Freeman Murray is currently the founder and director at Jaaga.in. His investments include Recruiterbox, HashCube, Innoz, iBloom Technologies and Beevolve.

12) Ganesh Krishnan
Serial entrepreneur and promoter, Ganesh Krishnan has founded a number of companies like bigbasket.com and tutorvista.com. He is also currently the chairman and co-founder of Portea Medical and a member on the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. His investments include Must See India, Syndicates Fund 1, SilverPush, HackerEarth, Overcart, Oximity, Browntape.com, delyver.com, onlineprasad.com, Marketics, bookadda.com and avagmah.

13) Gaurav Kachru
Seasoned investor Gaurav Kachru has led over 15 successful transactions spanning investment, divestment & fund raising across sectors. He is currently the founder and managing partner of 5ideas Startup Superfuel, a seed-stage startup fund. His investments include DataWeave, Giveter.com, Bigfoot Retail (kartrocket.com) and roposo.com.

14) Kanwal Rekhi
Known to be the first Indo-American founder & CEO to take a venture-backed company public on the NASDAQ, Kanwal Rekhi is currently the managing director at Inventus Capital. He has invested in technology companies like Hotmail, Exodus, Kaboodle, Apptivity, CyberMedia, Mediaway, Zietnet, Sierra Atlantic, and Versata.Ensim, Instantis, 123SignUp and Paramark.

15) Karthik Reddy
Karthik Reddy is the co-founder and managing partner at Blume Ventures, an angel and seed venture fund that helps startups with both funding as well as mentoring. Karthik himself has invested in companies like TripVillas, ZipDial, Aurality, Recruiterbox, HashCube, Pugmarks.me, WebEngage and Adepto Solutions.

16) Kunal Bahl
Kunal Bahl is the co-founder and CEO of Snapdeal.com which is India’s second largest online marketplace. He has studied Manufacturing Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania as well Marketing and Operations Strategy at The Wharton School as part of a dual degree. Kunal’s angel investments include Olacabs, Housing.com and Unicommerce.

17) Maneesh Bhandari
Entrepreneur turned active investor, Maneesh Bhandari was previously the founder and CEO of IT firm – SENA Systems. He has collected experience of over two decades in entrepreneurship, mentoring and consulting social enterprises, technology and finally investing. Maneesh’s investments include Tookitaki, Actionrun, Ideophone, Framebench, Mobiotics, Lets Intern Career Solutions, Innovese.com, Krayon Pictures and LetsIntern.

18) Mukesh Bansal
Mukesh Bansal is the founder & CEO of Myntra.com, an Indian e-commerce company of fashion and casual lifestyle products. Within the first three years, Myntra became the country’s largest personalization platform with over 50% of the market share. Mukesh has previously worked as a software engineer and senior product manager at places like Centrata, Ewanted.com and Nextag.com. His angel investments are Zopnow, UrbanTouch (sold to fashionandyou.com) and Kae Capital (Angel Fund).

19) Mukund Mohan
Mukund Mohan is the CEO of Jivity, a leading social commerce company. He has previously founded (and later sold) BuzzGain, a do-it-yourself PR enterprise. Additionally, he has founded and successfully sold three Silicon Valley startups in the internet & enterprise software markets. His investments include Plivo and Azoi Inc.

20) Naveen Tewari
Naveen Tewari is the founder and CEO of InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. He is also the founder and chairman of India SchoolHouse Fund, a nonprofit enterprise that works to ensure effective delivery of education in poor rural areas of India. Naveen’s investments include tushky.com, moneysights, Mettl.com and Lets Venture (Angel Fund).

21) Pallav Nadhani
Co-founder and CEO of Fusion Charts and RazorFlow and CEO at Collabion, seemingly a serial multi-tasker, Pallav Nadhani has also started an angel fund – seeders.in. Angel investor in mainly tech companies, his investments include Plivo, iimjobs, The Morpheus, Azoi Inc., iDubba, Shopo.in, Eduora, CarSingh, CapricornGifting, Cropex and Eduora Technologies.

22) Pankaj Jain
Pankaj Jain is the founder & country coordinator of Startup Weekend India. His list of investments is long and pretty impressive; 500 Startups, Partender, Holidog, 9slides, SilverPush, Sourceeasy, eponym, Tamatem, Gazemetrix, WalletKit, Credii, Admission Table, Junglee Games, ThingLink, inSparq, AbbeyPost, TargetingMantra, TradeBriefs, Instamojo and SchoolAdmissions. In addition, he has invested in PriceBaba, tushky.com, CultureAlley, Chaldal.com, ZipDial, Social Cops, Seat 14A, DataWeave, KartRocket, BlueGape and Zaankay.

23) Rahul Khanna
After returning from Silicon Valley in 2005, Rahul Khanna has played a pivotal role in the development of the venture ecosystem in India; he is recognized as an active investor in various high growth enterprises. This Indian angel investor is currently the managing director at Canaan Partners and his list of investments include Games2Win, Unmetric, AdNear, Loylty Rewardz, Cocoberry, BillDesk, Motor Exchange and Reviews42.

24) Rajan Anandan
Rajan Anandan is currently the managing director at Google India. His previous work experience boasts of him as the Managing Director at Microsoft India and Dell India. His long list of investments include MissMalini.com, ABreakPlease.com, WebEngage, StepOut, MyShaadi.in, iDubba, Sourceeasy, 24/7 Techies, Instamojo, CultureAlley, Social Cops, Mobilewalla, Socialblood, DataWeave, Druva, Emo2, HashCube, Airwoot, Sapience, Explara, Giftery.in and Snaplion. In addition to these, Rajan has invested in Lumos Design Technology, Goonj, Taxspanner.com, Letsventure, CHERISH, skoolshop.com, Digilogues, Kwench, exclusively.in (acquired by Myntra), wiziq.com, Peel-Works and Travelkhana.

25) Rajesh Sawhney
Founder of Global Superangels Forum (GSF), Rajesh Sawhney prefers investing in startups with ideas that stand apart, people that like to dream big and look to target bigger markets. His investments include Autowale, Chhotu, Viki, SilverPush, MobStac, HackerEarth, tushky.com, Overcart, Little Eye Labs, Browntape.com, AirStream, Gingr, TripMD, Dexl, Speakwell and Serial Innovations.

26) Ram Shriram
One of the first investors in Google, Ram Shriram is also a board member at the technology giant. He has previously served as an officer at Amazon.com. His investments include StumbleUpon, Cleartrip.com, Google, Pinkberry, Bump Technologies, ZenPayroll, Expa, MightyText, Mint, Nebula, Heap, Campanja, Perfect Audience and Skycatch. Additionally, his further investments are InMobi, DataFox, Callaway Digital Arts, Anchor Intelligence, Voxel, Inkling, Tellme, Zazzle and Platial.

27) Ravi Gururaj
Serial entrepreneur with five ventures and two public exits, Ravi Gururaj is the chairman & co-founder of Frictionless Ventures where he is building and investing in innovative software products mainly in the cloud, mobile and data segments. His investments include Iron.io, GrexIt, Tookitaki, Graymatics, Socialblood, Gridcentric, PrettySecrets, Explara, SyncUsUp, VMLogix, Core Mobile, Handy Elephant, Aurus Network Infotech Pvt. Ltd, Imly, Systemantics, HomeKart and Routo.

28) Rehan Yar Khan
Rehan Yar Khan was recently in the news for raising INR 300 crore for his maiden venture capital fund, Orios Venture Partners. He has led investments in over 15 early stage companies and is a board member at Harvard Angels. His investments include Exclusively.in, Olacabs, Jigsee, PrettySecrets, Sapience, Kwench Library Solution, Docsuggest, Unbxd, Druva Software, Groffr, Snaplion, Reach Accountant, Buytheprice, Taxspanner and Polama.

29) Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal
Sachin and Binny Bansal are, like any news reading Indian already knows, the founders of Flipkart. Sachin is the CEO and Binny the COO of this leading ecommerce website. Interestingly enough, this clever Bansal duo initially wanted to get into the gaming world; Sachin, a professional gamer and Binny, a builder of computer games. Their investments include Roposo.com, TouchTalent.com and Giveter.com.

30) Sandeep Singhal
Sandeep Singhal is currently the director at Datagres and Cloudbyte Inc. He has also held senior roles at McKinsey & Company, Digital Equipment and EDA Systems. His investments include Suminter India Organics, Sedemac Mechatronics, Scalarc, Eka Software, Altruist Technologies and Netmagic Solutions. Many of his previous investments have had successful exits, including CustomerAsset (acquired by Firstsource), Intigma (acquired by Emptoris) and MakeMyTrip (sale to SAIF Partners).

31) Sanjeev Aggarwal
Engineer turned investor, Sanjeev Aggarwal is the co-founder and managing director at Helion Ventures Pvt Ltd. Previously, he has worked for a number of leading technology companies serving the Indian market, including Motorola, Digital Equipment Corporation and 3COM. He has invested in companies like Kirusa, Mindworks, Zmanda, Anantara, Komli, Gridstone and Makemytrip.com.

32) Sasha Mirchandani
Sasha Mirchandani is the Managing Partner of Kae Capital and co-founder of Mumbai Angels. He has previously served as the Managing Director at Blue Run Ventures India before which he was CEO and founder of Imercius Technologies, a BPO focused on the healthcare space. He is also a Board member at Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd., Algorhythm Tech, Akasaka Electronics Ltd., Mojo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Sasha’s investments include vetted, CultureAlley, Trace and Airwoot.

33) Sashi Reddi
Say hello to but another serial entrepreneur in our list, Sashi Reddi. He is currently a board member at several companies including Hello Curry, ShepHertz Technologies, YuppTV and Glassbeam, Inc. Sashi prefers investing in companies with a strong and focused founding team so that he may be able to give a standing contribution. His investments include Oximity, Glassbeam, KonciergeMD, Shopo.in, Edutor, GIBSS.in, Silicon India and Yupptv.

34) Sharad Sharma
Ex CEO of Yahoo! India, Sharad Sharma is a member of the Indian Angel Network and co-founder of iSPIRT Foundation and BrandSigma Inc. His investments include Stayzilla, Mobilewalla, HashCube, Kwench Library Solution, Vayavya Labs, Druva Software, Consure Medical and i7networks. The list gets longer with – Peelworks, Aurus Network Infotech Pvt. Ltd, Taxspanner, Birds Eye Systems, Ezetap, Iken Solutions, TechFetch.com and Silvan Innovation Labs.

35) Shekhar Kirani
An active angel investor since 2007, Shekhar Kirani is a partner at Accel Partners and board member in various international and Indian companies like ChargeBee, Hotelogix, Freshdesk and Surewaves. He has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota, a Mechanical Engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Science, India, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science from the University of Mysore. Shekhar’s investments include FreshDesk, Hotelogix, MobStac and SureWaves.

36) Srini Koppolu
Ex-managing director of Microsoft’s India Development Center in Hyderabad and the first President of Hyderabad Angel Network, Srini Koppolu is currently founder & executive Chairman of the news aggregation website Veooz Labs. (which was formerly SETU Software Systems). His investments include Mojostreet, Haileo and medplusindia.com.

37) Sunil Kalra
A member of the Indian Angel Network, Sunil Kalra is an independent angel investor who has also been on the Board of Governors of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies. He has made some pretty significant investments in microfinance and analytics enterprises but prefers online startups. His investments include Instamojo, MyShaadi.in, TargetingMantra, CultureAlley, Aurality, Blume Ventures, Mobilewalla, Druva, Innoveda, Jigsee, HashCube, Airwoot, Frrole, Crayon Data, Kwench Library Solution, Vayavya Labs, OrangeScape, Taxspanner.com and Goonj. In addition to these, Sunil has invested in Buytheprice, Cherish Maternity, Peelworks, Webclipper, Sensibol, Qikkwell, Lets Venture, InnoVital Systems, Uttkarsh, Innovise Tech, Reservoir Capital and Consure.

38) Suvir Sujan
Nexus Venture Partners’ Suvir Sujan was previously co-founder and co-CEO of Bazee.com, a leading online marketplace in India that later merged with eBay in 2004 to form eBay India. He then became Country Manager at eBay India. Suvir has an MBA from the Harvard Business School where he was the Co-President of the South Asian Business Association and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (High Distinction) from the University of Maryland at College Park. He has invested in Gezlong.

39) Venky Harinarayan
Venky Harinarayan is known to be one of the earliest investors in Facebook. He is the co-founder of Cambrian Ventures and Kosmix who previously co-founded Junglee Corp. and played an important role at Amazon.com in the late 1990s. His investments include Lyft, Facebook, PunchTab, AppNexus, Hightail, Trifacta, LocBox, Gild, BlueShift Labs, Glooko, Joyus, Whisper, Aster Data Systems, Kosmix, Qubole, TiE LaunchPad, Giga Omni Media and Efficient Frontier.

40) Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder of Paytm and One97. He is known to use the mobility fund of One97 to invest in early stage mobile internet startups. His investments include a myriad of enterprises like SilverPush, Sourceeasy, tushky.com and GrexIt. Plus – EduKart, Milaap Social Ventures, iimjobs, Dexetra, Wishberg, AirStream, Signals, Chhotu.in, Milaap and Milaap.org.

41) Vishal Gondal
Vishal Gondal is the founder & CEO at GOQii Inc. and Partner at Sweat and Blood Venture Group and CEO at IndiaGames Ltd. Although he prefers investing in online companies, Vishal has made some pretty significant investments in the healthcare and travel industry as well. His investments include Skift, Babuki, Docsuggest, Gama Entertainment, Examify and Instablogs.

Note: Angel Investors have been arranged in alphabetical order. The list does not indicate any rank system or hierarchy.

There you have it. A list of some pretty impressive angel investors always looking for a good idea to fund.

Think we missed out on a few angel investors in India? Do let us know in the comments section.

If you’re an entrepreneur looking to hire, call us now on +91 922 221 3196 or drop us a mail at buzz {at]sutrahr.com. We have helped hundreds of startups hire employees from an impressive variety of sectors.

13Aug

Mad Men Era v/s 21st Century Digital Agency Era

[mashshare]

Walking into office, you didn’t get the time for breakfast so you’ve carried your oats and milk. Nothing like a healthy start to your day to get those creative juices flowing.

Now scroll back a few decades, mid – sixties, shall we?

Walking into office, you didn’t get the time for breakfast so you’ve opened your mini bar and poured yourself a couple pegs of whisky and a cigarette to go with that. Nothing like a tipsy start to your day to get those creative juices flowing.

Those are the workings at the Mad Men advertising agencies. Now let’s throw Don Draper, Roger Sterling and the rest from the Mad Men series, as they are, straight into present day, 21st century. Straight into your contemporary digital agency or better still, a digital startup.

(Pssst! Article may contain spoilers, tread carefully)

How would that transformation go? So here are 11 aspects of an average work environment we have picked to draw a comparison between the Mad Men era and the 21st century digital agency era:

1) Start-of-the-Day Refreshments

Knocking back 2 (…or 22?) whiskey sours was how they beat the Monday morning blues, was how they beat everything actually.

No more escapism, men. You either stick to your virgin drinks or start planning a mini vacation with that severance package you’ll be getting by the end of the week.

2) Work Attire

[sociallocker]

The highest of heels, the tightest of skirts and the reddest of lipsticks is what the lady folk were best known to wear at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Did you know that many corporates (including agencies) today have compulsory full-sleeve-shirts-only-trousers kind of dress code? You’re allowed to roll up your sleeves for Casual Fridays though.

3) Gadgets and Technology

The 60s offices saw only a handful of gadgets; typewriter, telephone, the photo carousel and the Xerox machine.

Cut to a world where the wifi networks have become essential elements of the air we breathe (oxygen just got an update, people!) Lay out the welcome mat for laptops, cellphones, iPads and iPods, scanners and all the screens and metal contraptions you’re using at office.

4) Work Ethic

It seems that the idea of work ethic as we know it today wasn’t taken quite as seriously during the Mad Men era. Think of every bad ‘ism’ you know and assign a couple to each employee. Let’s help you with a few, racism, sexism, nepotism…

There’s a strict rule against each of the above mentioned ‘isms’ and most of what Don and Roger pulled at SCDP would face an outright no-no in the contemporary office environment.

5) Social Interactions

Interactions with friends, co-workers, spouses or clients were all either face to face or over the phone. You’ll find nobody hiding behind the confines of a chat room to make friends and communicate.

Welcome, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Who else thinks Pete Campbell’s tweeting would be A LOT like Kamaal R Khan’s?

6) Current Events

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Vietnam War.

Barack Obama elected president of the United States of America and then there’s the a 21st Century synonym for war; terrorism, that makes news horrifyingly too often.

7) Work Relationships

Torrid affairs with the founders, seniors, clients and co-workers. At Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce everyone was in heat.

Today, you can hardly date a colleague without having to sign an agreement peppered with stipulations of all sorts. And yes, most are keeping their work and love lives absolutely separate.

8) Client Relationships

They did the most unspeakable things for their clients. From holding outrageous parties (… among other things) to extravagant liquor drenched dinner meetings where, usually both parties went home together. Kinda makes you wonder if there was an invisible ‘Screw Morals’ clause in the agreement.

It’s all most sternly professional with clients. The 21st century seems to have brought with it an invisible “No Screwing Around” clause. Get in, do your thing, get out.

9) Office Space

Most offices had the liberty to be spacious with large eccentric paintings and Japanese room dividers (shoes off in Bert Cooper’s office for a reason, people!)

The concept of a personal office is close to becoming nonexistent. Unless you’re a Tata or a Zuckerberg you sit in you cubicle or at your desk and be happy.

10) Sexism

I mentioned it earlier, but this issue deserves its own point. One could watch Mad Men simply to research the thick layer of sexism that outlined the lives of the people in the show and time period.

It’s not even news anymore that women have begun rising to top positions, we as a generation seem to have evolved past sexism. Maybe not completely, but we’ve made some pretty substantial progress and I doubt we’d tolerate jokes “putting a woman in her place”.

11) Cigarettes!

Cigarettes were it. The men did it, the women did it. The workplace, the elevators, the hospital, you name the place; there was a thick blanket of cigarette smoke that surrounded said place.

Today, you name the place; there’s a thick board with ‘NO SMOKING’ somewhere on a wall. (And probably an annoying 18 year old standing next to it, smoking, with his best friend taking a picture of his “rebellion”). Smoking at workplaces today is for balconies and terraces, just anywhere outside the premise.

[/sociallocker]

If you notice that we’ve missed out on a few points, do let us know in the comments section.

And if you’re a modern digital agency let us help you hire a Don Draper or Peggy Olson for your company! Give me a call on +91 922 221 3196 or send me a quick mail at buzz [at} sutrahr dot com.

04Jul

8 Things Startups Can Learn From Breaking Bad

[mashshare]

‘Hablan de un tal “Heisenberg”, Que ahora controla el mercado’ (Talking about some “Heisenberg”, Who now controls the market).
– Ballad of Heisenberg

Yep, it’s 9 months later and I still suffer withdrawal symptoms from arguably one of the best TV shows ever made, “Breaking Bad”. The Emmy award winning storyline follows the life of an overqualified high school chemistry teacher with inoperable lung cancer and consequently two years to live who then turns into a masterly drug lord, manufacturing and selling the world’s purest Crystal Meth. All of this just to provide for his family.

The show not only serves the average TV buff but also the average entrepreneur looking to make it big “in the empire business”.

Walter White A.K.A the Great Heisenberg teaches us why we need to ‘Say his name’ and because ‘he his goddamn right’, here are some tips on how to build your ‘Empire Business’:

(Caution: Article contains spoilers)

1) Building a New and Unique Product
“If you are good at something, never do it for free.”
– Joker (The Dark Knight, 2008)

To say that Walter White was good at chemistry would be an understatement. Subliminally following The Joker’s advice, Walter quits his job as a teacher (I mean come on, with a teacher’s salary he might as well have done it for free) to use his prolific expertise on the subject and produce the world’s purest form of Crystal Meth. The quality of his product put even his pre-established competitors to shame. Startups today could learn a valuable lesson from this (no, don’t quit your job for drugs). To build and create something that sets you apart in an industry sprawling with spurious defects of the original.

2) Be a Perfectionist
Walter was a stark perfectionist. It’s what led him to make the purest form of Meth in the market. It’s also what led him to do things like refuse to cook in a lab with a housefly in it. He never let a product that wasn’t of “Heisenberg” quality reach the markets. It’s Walter’s obsession with his product that you need to draw inspiration from, his eye for detail was top notch. If you create something flawless, your customers will vouch for you. There’s nothing like having a following of loyal customers!

3) It’s Okay to Start Small and then Build From There
Walter cooked his first batch in a rundown trailer, far out in the desert. Initially, he used mediocre capital to create the best product that he could, like having to use locally sourced ingredients. He went from here to having a mammoth industrial set up and laboratory for production. Today, what really matters is that you start, no matter how small and impossible things may seem. You don’t need an initial gazillion dollars, a 50 storey glass building or a thousand member staff to start. You need your passion, inspiration, your expertise and a motivated vision to build something.

4) Build an Effective Team
Walter and his partner Jesse Pinkman stuck by each other no matter how difficult things got. Loyalty and perseverance are essential virtues for team members. An allocation of jobs is important as well; one person can’t do everything. This is where Saul Goodman’s famous quote “You two suck at peddling meth” rings true. Well, kind of. Walt and Jesse made the meth but Saul took care of distribution, legal matters and money laundering. And finally, we know the team suffered their share of ups and downs but basically stuck through it all. Things are never permanently hunky-dory (especially at a startup) and a team that works through the glitches comes out the other side stronger.

5) Be Ready To Get Your Hands Dirty
Getting the job done, finishing a task is of utmost importance, regardless of the ridiculous things you might need to do (obviously, there are moral and ethical exceptions to this). I mean, Walter has done everything from having to cook without pants on to dissolving dead bodies to get the job done. Nothing replaces hard work. So be prepared to work your ass off (excuse language), to sacrifice holidays, skip vacations or have almost no social life. It’s the price you pay if you want to sit at the top, people!

6) Have a Strong Back up Plan
Startups run the risk of failure from various ends, considering their foundation is initially a delicate one. It’s important to have a backup plan at every point. Just like Gus Fring had his own chemist and Jesse as backups for the inevitable eventuality of Walter not being able to produce Meth or like when Walter had Todd for when Jesse left the team.

7) Choose Investors and Business Associates Wisely
It’s important to be perpetually cautious about who you do business with. It’s a cut throat world and you never know for sure who you can and can’t trust. Walter and Jesse worked alongside a number of eventual traitors like Tuco Salamanca who tried to kill the pair in exchange for their superior product. Investors are watching your every move so, like Gus Fring, keep your eyes peeled (seriously, they could kick you out of your own company).

8) Money Isn’t Everything
It isn’t all about the money. If it was then Walter would have been cured of his cancer and the rich would never be sad and pigs would fly. That’s beside the point, clearly. The aim of your company isn’t solely to earn money, but also respect and dependability. So don’t let the greed for greens blur out your morals and ethics.

So, there are more things you can learn from Breaking Bad than drug dealing and doing and crimes and violence. Good luck with your startup!

Also, if you’re a startup looking to “Build an Effective Team”, we at SutraHR are more than happy (and qualified) to help. Give me a call on +91 87 67 427 427 or send me a quick mail at waqar [at} sutrahr dot com.

By Savio Rathod

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