See, I told them a hundred times–no, a million times. It was a bad idea, and see, it’s not like I am a backward man or something. I am just realistic. I am a man of culture. I like art, books–all that. I have a Monet up on my bedroom wall, you know? No, of course, it’s not the original, but it’s a very big, very realistic reproduction. Even that takes real talent, doesn’t it?
But when it comes to real life, these things need to be thought through, you know? When we started, it was just the three of us. Myself, Arun, and Ashok. We started this from a one-bedroom flat on a terrace in HSR. I remember so many nights where we just stayed up to figure it out. The three of us, we saved money from our first jobs–four years we worked for the big man and we had enough. See, this is a new generation and what people don’t understand is that we have worked really hard to get here. It’s not all a bed of roses as you writers like to say. We saved up money and once we had an idea, we took the plunge. Starting a revolutionary company takes guts, you know?
What’s revolutionary about it? Come on, yaar. This is like basic stuff a journalist like you should know, right? You people think it’s easy to just go out and start a company that makes profit and–
Okay, sure, we did not make profit, yet, but we were close and until all this happened, I was sure we were going to be a unicorn. That’s a difficult club to get into and I was a hundred and ten percent sure that it would happen. We had something special, and we knew it. You know we raised two million in our first year, no? That obviously showed that we had something the industry wanted.
When we hired our first full-stack engineers, none of these questions you people ask would come. It’s only when we make ripples that all these “where are the women” questions come. See, this is not because you really care about representation–it’s just a way for you journalists to get more clicks. Take a look at all the companies in India. You tell me, what is the percentage of women to men? It’s not much, I know that because I worked in the corporate space before I entered the startup world. Just look at my wife. I met her at my first job; she had joined at the same time I did–Sorry, what?
Yes, yes, she continued to work while I was building the company but look at what she has now? She drives a Mercedes! In Bangalore, can you imagine? I had to pay a big premium on the insurance, but so far, she hasn’t hit it anywhere, ha ha. But see, I made assistant manager at my first job. She didn’t. You want to know why? I can tell you that my wife is much smarter than me, but when it comes to the Indian workplace, you’ve got to know how to stick to the job. You’ve got to know how to sacrifice. I knew that. I would go with my manager and his manager for all the late-night dinners. I would book their cabs, do all the grunt work.
Yes, you’re right. Safety is a factor, especially in a place like Bangalore, but do you know the corporate bigwigs are thinking about this? Profit is king, and if it means that one person simply does more because he happens to be a man, well, so be it. For my wife, it didn’t matter. Once she got pregnant, she quit and stays at home. Now she doesn’t have to do anything except just look after the kids. She’s got it easy, yaar.
Where was I? Yes, profit is king. So, we obviously had to hire the people we felt would give us more bang for our buck. And you know what? All our applicants were men. None of these women who apply to startups are risk-takers. They won’t show up in the first few months. Only after there’s some money and they think that there is something in it for them will they be interested. And that’s how it is. These men were ready to put their faith in something, and isn’t it fair that they get paid for that faith? That’s what happened with us.
Listen, when the company got bigger, we hired a few girls. One in HR and one in software development. Let me tell you, both of them were useless. The first one–degree from XLRI and everything–she had to come to us to ask and approve anything. Arrey, if we had to do that then what was the point of hiring her? And the developer girl quit in a few months.
What? Where did you read that? Right, right. First of all, you journalists can’t use Reddit as a source. Did they not teach you this in school? But even if it is true, what is the problem of asking that? Do I ask the men that? No, why do I need to? You know as well as I do that once a woman gets married, she has all these demands. Oh, she has to move, oh, she needs some time off for honeymoon and then for maternity leave, and all that. If you are planning to take a long holiday as soon as you join my company, why will I hire you? And see, I know that saying the p-word during an interview is illegal. All I want to know is if you are planning to start a family, and even then, it’s not like that is the deciding factor, okay?
Thing is–and this is the same for men also–the younger they are, the longer hours they will work. When you’re young, you’re hungry. Didn’t that say? That firangi prime minister’s father–in-law, what’s his name? Yeah. Look, even 90 years is not a big ask. It is very doable. When I first started, I was working 14 hours a day, and then when I quit to start my own company, I was eating, breathing, sleeping for my company. I survived on four hours of sleep. The rest of the twenty hours I was working. And back then, there was no such thing as weekends, you know? Every day was a working day for us and that did not change even when we got our funding even. So what, twenty hours a day, seven days a week. That’s one hundred-and-forty-hours, man. That is the level of dedication you need to show in this field.
What do you mean? I don’t think I ever said that. Arrey, where do you do your research? Who is this girl? Arrey, no, why would I tell her she needs to move closer to the office? If I said it, why do you people have to be so offended, yaar? What if it’s because I am concerned? See, a lot of our big brainstorming sessions happen after hours, you know? It happens that way in startups. When you’re done dealing with a day of problems and solutions, you come together at the end, enjoy a couple of smokes, and figure out how we can make the company better. For the greater good, you know? And if she’s living closer, she doesn’t have to worry about leaving at five p. m. on the dot. It’s Bangalore, yaar, you’ll be fine. The roads are filled with cars till eleven, twelve even. Bangalore’s become the city that never sleeps. No, we don’t provide transport. See, if we did that for one employee, then we’ll have to do that for all the employees, and come on, how can I expect to make profit that way?
Sorry? You people are so good at asking hindsight questions. Yeah, of course, would that girl have been safe if she had a car from the office to go back home? Sure, she would have. But why did she not ask one of us for a lift? What do you mean? Why wouldn’t she feel safe with someone that works with her all day long? If something happens with them, you can just go to HR, no? And see, this is why I say–suggest–that you live closer to the office. That way, you don’t have to worry about all these things.
And now because of this one girl, investors are pulling out. You tell me, what’s the relation between this incident and the company? Yeah, you people want to connect everything. I told you, we were on our way to becoming profitable. You know even most established ones take ten, even fifteen years to make a net profit? We got some bad press because of this girl, and suddenly people are thinking that we are not worth their investment. It’s all just a shame, really.
This girl, when she first joined, there was so much potential. She was one of the few girls we had in the coding side of the team. Of course, she was very popular with the guys. One of the reasons she had such potential was the way she got these other fellows to do some of her work. But even that takes some brains, you see. She settled in well, and we even made her a senior associate within the year. She got a raise, stock options, everything she needed to move closer.
Why didn’t she move is what I’m asking? No, I don’t stay nearby. My wife prefers to stay closer to UB City so she can go and do her shopping whenever she wants to. Only wants these Coach and Prada bags. You see now why I have to be on my toes all the time. I’ll have to work into my old age! Yes, I have a driver. Well, of course he’s paid by the company! I am one of the founders and the company paying him directly is the same as me paying him.
On the day in question, I actually offered her a ride. I didn’t have to—her house is in the opposite direction from where I stay. My driver would have dropped me off and then dropped her. But she refused, she said her friend was coming. I don’t think anything after that point was my fault, or the company’s! Startups that succeed have sprints like we had that day. We do it to solve the most glaring problems and there is an energy that comes with all the Red Bulls and the cigarette and the lack of sleep. She understood that. She knew that being there would help with her career, and she chose to stay. None of us made her.
What are you saying? That being there guaranteeing a promotion is the same as coercion? Oh, come on! You people can say anything and no one will blame you. What are you going to write as the headline for this? “She was promised a raise, and then she was raped”? Is that what you’ll write on your website? Oh please, I know how this works. Social media is one of the first things we as founders have to manipulate and you people are so good at that. You print that and people will think that we raped her. And then even if we sue you, it will ruin our reputation. If anything, blame the taxi guy yaar. And to an extent, her even!
Listen, I have to be on the move for a meeting in a bit, but if you want to ask me a few more questions, we can meet up at a brewery in Koramangala later. You just have one? Okay, shoot!
What? That’s ridiculous. These claims are just brought by people with grudges against the company. They just can’t accept that they’re not good enough for us. Why would I want to do that, yaar? I’m a married man with two kids. I have everything I need at home. There’s no need–
Power? Why do I want to show my power? I’m on the board of some of the biggest startups in this country. People pay me lakhs just for a thirty-minute interview for my advice. I don’t need to show my power for anything. We’re a company built on integrity, and that’s not something we take lightly. I have to go now. I’ll be releasing an official statement, that’s all.
Photo by Masaaki Komori on Unsplash
