Experience is what you get when you don't succeed!

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer. " - Randy Pausch

By 2019, I had spent almost 5 years trying to build a social enterprise in the education sector. Country’s education policy had changed dramatically in those years and we were unsuccessful in surmounting the execution problems in the villages. Preeti had stretched herself beyond imagination and even when she did not believe in the project, she ensured that she gives her blood and sweat to it.

While I had realized the shortcomings of the project within the first 18 months, I was too attached to the idea itself. Because I had seen it getting successful in Karnataka, I wanted to give it more time and for that reason I joined LPU in October 2016 so as to keep connected and earn bread and Butter.

But by mid 2018, when I realized that its time to move on, I started to search for more opportunities. With heavy heart, I wanted to get back to the corporate sector with eyes still on setting up a school of mine in the long run.

But it had been over 4 years since I had resigned from Staples and getting back was really tough.

One fine day I got a call from Chandigarh where the founder of Pumpkart wanted to have a conversation with me. We started to spend some time on the calls discussing his business. While nothing was too impressive, I still kept wondering the reason behind the calls. But when one day he offered me to join him, I realized that he intends to create an impressive team to take the company to the next level.

I was hesitant as I did not believe much in the idea and wanted to take time. So we agreed on me doing consulting for some time. But he was extremely persuasive. I wanted to move back to the corporate world, LPU was being managed in one of the worst possible ways, this was the only offer I had and not everything was right back at home and Preeti was struggling emotionally a lot - these were the couple of things which made me decide in favour of joining Pumpkart. The best part of Mr. Bhatia’s offer was that he wanted me as a co-founder which I sincerely thought was quite generous.

I was very clear that this company had not made much progress yet but was very impressed with Mr. Bhatia’s enthusiasm, his ability to take risk (to get me in as co-founder) and had a strong belief in my own capability in operations.

In the first 15 days at Pumpkart, I had realized the mistake I had made and I told Preeti that even a year here would be really tough but I wanted to give my best shot. With little to do in operations, I started getting engaged in almost every-thing.

But with people leaving the organization quickly, I tried to consult Mr. Bhatia but he just waved aside my advice and kept on single handedly taking decisions on manpower. With an extremely shortsightedness in hiring and firing, I realized that the longetivity of this firm is not going to be much. And by the time we entered November 2019, the sales team was reduced to merely 2 young boys in their 20s.

Still giving it all I had, I finally understood that one had to start looking out. If I had to list what was wrong with the organization, I think I can write a complete book. But instead, I have analysed my time in Pumpkart into various learnings for a startup and its founders.

Even though he was extremely unpredictable and impulsive I was able to predict his moves with extreme accuracy. Whether it was unnecessary hirings, firings, change in business model or even reduction in the pay. But once I was fully convinced that the company had no future, I finally decided to move out even when I had no future course of action laid out.

Though I had given an interview for Grofers, and they were quite positive, no confirmation had come yet. While moving into Punpkart was a risk, leaving it seemed zero risk to me.

And my last day at Pumpkart became the first day when the Lockdown in the country started due to the Corona Pandemic!