My typical workday in RoofandFloor starts with a series of phone calls from the managers of teams placed outside Bangalore, where we take stock of the previous day’s operations and plan the current day.
Then, I get to do the same with my team in Bangalore office over a cup of coffee. 40% of my time in the office goes in reviewing and changing tactical execution plans, and 60% in working on building strategic capabilities for the company. The most enjoyable part of the 60% is the time I spend in helping junior colleagues find solutions to the problems of their specific areas.
I started my career as a technocrat in India Railways and moved to being the business excellence guy in large corporates like HP, AXA, Minacs etc. Then I got the chance be part of the core team that scaled redBus.in.
I found my passion for mentoring young professionals during my stint in redBus.in. Startups cannot afford or attract matured professionals in any field, but they need the same or a higher level of expertise that exists in different functions of a large corporate. The answer to this conundrum lies in mentoring the young and ambitious front-line managers of the startup.
Many frontline managers in a startup join a company out of choice and have high levels of commitment to the cause. Their propensity to learn and maintain high levels of intensity over a long period helps them to step up to the challenge and create solutions as good as or better than a veteran of that function. All they need is some guidance in thinking through the problem.
I have learned a lot of amazing ways of problem-solving by working with my younger colleagues.
The time spent in working with my younger colleagues is the most rewarding part of being in the startup world (RoofandFloor).
Home buying is one of the areas of commerce that has been largely untouched by the digital revolution.
The only digital transformation in the realty sector has been in product discovery or home discovery. Home buying is a highly risky one-time transaction for most buyers. Hence, there is a huge need for information in deciding the right choice. Unfortunately, the information asymmetry is also huge in the market. Hence, this sector is ripe for the digital disruption that reduces information asymmetry and puts the power of information in the hands of the homebuyer.
I joined RoofandFloor as its stated mission is to change the way people buy homes through trust and transparency. To be clear, I firmly believe any platform that works to put the power of information and hence the power to choose in the hands of the customer stands to win in the long run. I have experienced this during my stints in redBus.in and Flipkart.
Learning a skill, language or subject that is totally alien to me, helps me stay sharp and mentally young. So, I keep learning different skills or subjects. Currently, I am learning mixed martial arts during the weekends and getting acquainted with machine learning during weekdays. I also love to cook and catch up on reading during weekends.
Ganesa Murthi is head of operations and customer experience at RoofandFloor. He is responsible for building a scalable and predictable delivery engine that empowers homebuyers with relevant, accurate, and consumable information.
