I got the opportunity to have a discussion with the leaders of a Food-Tech, IT organization – Fudr. Taking a seat with a startup accelerator, they are well on their growth path.
They were kind to share both – their time and their minds. Thanks guys !
The discussion was about the IT industry, its inefficiencies, opportunity areas, etc.
Why should you read this ?
Are you an IT employee ? a contractor ? or a leader ? This information is valuable because …
This information is NOT past its ‘expiry date’.
The IT industry is changing fast. While so, it tries to run on systems that were designed 5, 10, or 20 years ago. Using old systems in current times is like riding a horse during times of automobiles. They are past their ‘expiry date’.
In other words, they are slow and inefficient.
PS : The old systems weren’t wrong, they just were for their times. As times change, systems change too.
An employee thinks … what should I code/ program ?
His lead/ manager thinks … how should I program/ design ?
The CEO thinks … why should I code/ design ?
Notice the difference ?
The information shared here is from a leader’s perspective. Therefore relevant with a broader impact.
My professors did not run an IT organization, nor does my manager. Un-luckily enough, my family did not catch the IT bug either.
Point is … someone doing the work is better qualified to advise/ comment than someone NOT. So what we read here is much relevant than that shared by many on quora, youtube, etc.
The Team
(Left to Right) Akshat Khandpur, Ayush Khandpur, Prem Lokesh, Shobhit Marwah
The Juice
Here are my most loved ideas from our ‘coffee pe charcha’. ( more articles with other contexts enroute )
What has been your most worthwhile investment – $$, time, energy, people, network, habit, etc. ?
Ayush :
The journey itself was an investment.
Playing different roles, doing different things, experiencing the various stages of growth and challenges. These and all other aspects are not available as an employee. These were rewards of the startup ‘investment’.
In a job, we work to learn …
In a startup, we learn to work !
Another learning has been … Do it now, don’t wait.
Shobhit :
A startup is an investment.
While solving the multiple problems at a startup we are required to grow in many ways. As an example, a big investment for me has been : listening to people.
We have become, problem-driven. Instead of being solution-driven.
For those who don’t understand the meaning …
Problem-driven: Finding the root cause of problems step by step.
Solution-driven : Problems have already been determined. You focus solely on solving them.
Prem :
A startup requires one to wear multiple hats. To that effect, I have been moving from …
A designer …. to a dispatch head
Dispatch head … to a trainer for data entry operators.
Cross-functional knowledge has been a big investment.
What bad ideas/ recommendations do you hear from people in your area of expertise ?
Ayush ( Technology ) :
Using technology for the sake of technology.
Could it be a training, process, or communication-related problem ?
E.g. If code quality is the problem. Do we need a static code analysis tool ( like Sonarqube ) when the problem is that techies don’t understand the use cases ?
When the only tool we have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. This is what happens with many tech leaders.
Another bad idea commonly found in the IT industry is that – testing is someone else’s responsibility. When in fact, testing is always the developer’s responsibility.
Shobhit ( Sales/ Marketing ) :
Yes, we have a product and yes we would like to sell it. But ‘selling to anyone’ is a bad idea.
Sales teams don’t understand the concept of ICE ( Ideal Customer Profile).
The sales cycle is made up of both : Pre-sales and Post-sales.
This idea becomes important while completing the sales cycle. That is moving from pre to post-sales. If most customers do not complete the sales cycle, then a large amount of customer acquisition effort is wasted. The same effort is better spent on filtering and acquiring the right customers. ( Plus, word of mouth becomes the compounding factor )
Prem ( UI/ UX ) :
Excessive investment into ideas is a problem.
Designers take one idea and polish it so much, that throwing it away becomes a problem. People fall in love with their ideas ( some marry them too ).
Instead, designers should pick 3-4 ideas and work on them as they go. The ones that have poor feedback are discarded. Ones with good reviews move ahead.
What is your advice to youngsters out of college ?
Ayush :
Fewer buzzwords, and more fundamentals.
Artificial intelligence, Machine learning, Cryptocurrency are the latest buzzwords. While they the buzzwords have their place. It is far more important to understand the fundamentals viz. Object-oriented concepts, SOLID principles, data structures, etc.
Shobhit :
Listen more. And learn to connect with the other person.
Completing the end-to-end cycle in sales is important. To that end, both theory and practice become important. Internships are a great way to move ahead in the arena.
Prem :
Anyone can be creative. Creativity is not the proprietorship of designers.
While so, it is important to understand businesses, move ahead and be willing to take rejections.
What inefficiencies do you see at other organizations in your industry ?
Ayush :
Big picture processes are not available.
E.g. When a techie joins a team. How does he/ she transition from HR -> Onboarding -> Tech team ( as a productive employee ) ? At most organizations, there is no clear path.
Similar things happen across delivery teams too. While a techie might do his piece of code, he does not understand the bigger picture.
Shobhit :
More focus on quantity than that on quality.
Prem :
Most solution providers do NOT talk to end-users. And therefore act as step-parents.
Gramercy !
Fudr leadership is a diverse yet cohesive team.
While, Ayush has a large, room-filling type personality. Shobhit is more of a calm, receptive, and absorbant guy. ( maybe that is why his domain suits him )
Prem on the other hand seems to be more on the pragmatic side. Though in his own quirky style. ( I loved his punch line comments )
Their skills seemed to complement each others’. My gratitude and best wishes for whatever the future holds.