Nisha Ramchandani

History shows us that sustained long term crises reshape human beliefs and behaviour. A BCG report cites examples of radical changes that past crises have brought to the world. The Black Death or plague in the 14th century shaped European history, World War II had a direct impact of accelerating women’s participation in the workforce and the 9/11 terrorist attacks reshaped transportation and security policies worldwide.

In 1973, NASA engineer Jack Nilles coined the term “telecommuting” or the use of electronics to work remotely. At the time, he estimated this style of work to become the norm in about 20 years.

An entrepreneur recently told me that hiring is among the top three priorities for the founder of an early-stage startup in India—besides building a good product and finding customers—and takes up at least 40% of her/his day.

Inspired by the Trillion Dollar Coach, a book on the leadership lessons of the legendary Silicon Valley business coach Bill Campbell, I recently set about asking Indian entrepreneurs about their own experience with mentors, and advisors.

Four years ago, Palak Zatakia dropped out of college at the age of 19 to do something of his own. He dabbled with some startup ideas before moving to Delhi to join media platform, Josh Talks, in a full-time role as a designer. In 2017, he started building his own start-up called Broadcast Lists, which is an app-based content platform that allows users to subscribe to curated content.

In the early 1980s, presentations about Infosys began with the founders’ pointing out India and Bengaluru on a world map. Today, globally listed companies such as Dr Reddy’s, Tata Motors, and Reliance Industries have made that redundant.

A wellness chain recently hired a management consultant for confidential work. The consultant had access to strategic documents, which they helped to rework. Once the project was complete, the consultant used some of that information for another client, which turned out to be a competitor of the said wellness brand.

A young entrepreneur recently told me: “For a first-time entrepreneur, his/ her identity is his/ her passport; for a second-time founder its the flow of term sheets even before the next venture has been announced.”

The 25 young companies that featured in LinkedIn’s list of top startups in India this year collectively created around 18,000 jobs in 2018, and are expected to create more than 19,000 new ones over the next 12 months. Yet, when I talk to the founders of early- and growth-stage startups, I am told that hiring is their Achilles heel.