Scale and StartUp Stories S1 E1

Show your vulnerabilities; everyone is in the same boat

18 Apr 2020

In our maiden episode of the SaaSBOOMi podcast, we bring you a deep conversation with Manav Garg, the founder of Eka.

“What we are facing today is unprecedented. The degree of unexpectedness is massive. Now, it’s no more about a business–it’s about human lives, human existence and the human way of life going forward,” Manav tells me in this podcast.

“I would advise taking care of physical and mental health as top of the agenda. Second is to ensure that your employees aren’t stressed because they help us build long term companies. And the third thing is to keep a tab on the cash flow on a daily basis.

”Earlier this month, Manav also asked India’s SaaS ecosystem to “Brace for impact, huddle and let’s build great Global SaaS companies, together.” Please do read the blog to understand how Manav and other leaders in India’s SaaS ecosystem are preparing to navigate the pandemic as a community.

“If you show your vulnerabilities, other people also talk about their problems. And then you find out, everybody is in the same boat with some degrees of differences. If you know everyone is in the same boat, it will make you feel better.”

So how will this pandemic affect India’s SaaS industry?“

I think SaaS waves will accelerate going forward, of course not in the industries that are deeply impacted. After every crisis, the automation increases because you want to have self-reliant systems and lower your costs,” he says.

“The question you should ask is–is your business relevant anymore? If you are in an industry, which is not going to come back (for a long time) such as travel, then there’s no point wasting your time,” Manav says. “There’s going to be a shift from mad growth at all costs, to sustainable and profitable growth. Sustainability and longevity of the company will have a far greater role to play than anything else,” Manav adds.

About the host

Pankaj Mishra

Founder , FactorDaily

This episode’s guest

Manav Garg

Founder & CEO, Eka Software