The Startup Journey

(Reproduced from Alok's blog at http://rodinhood.com/ ) Act 1 – Scene 1 We had established a 30 odd headcount office in Shanghai in early 2001 and were steadily ramping up our operations as Mobile2win, China. Contests2win and Softbank were the original investors and we were operating under strict Mainland China’s government’s guidelines. As the paperwork increased, we began looking around to hire secretarial staff. As soon as we had spread the word, we intriguingly began receiving resumes of many women – all in their twenties, married and well settled. One afternoon, one of our rather talkative and assertive Sales Head took me in confidence and revealed something quite chilling – He said that all those women who had applied were actually pregnant and were applying for jobs, that they could lock into and then claim maternity benefits as per the dictated statutory guidelines. This was a standard ploy of gaining ‘free employment’ and we should be avoid falling into such traps. ...

In the backdrop of the umpteen scandals that’re making news nowadays and when it appears that integrity, principles and ethical behaviour are but quaint niceties from a bygone era, this tale of an entrepreneur’s dilemma is worth telling and discussing because it offers hope especially to us in India. After completing a hard day’s work, our entrepreneur boarded an evening train at Hyderabad en route to Pune. As is the case, the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) showed up sometime later that evening in the compartment. Our entrepreneur handed over this e-ticket and upon being asked for his ID, handed over a photocopy of his driving license. He wasn’t carrying the original. The photocopy wasn’t acceptable and the original was demanded. Our entrepreneur pleaded with the TTE to accept the photocopy but the TTE was unmoved. There were a few others traveling without tickets. The TTE summoned our entrepreneur and the ticket less travelers to the pantry car to discuss their case. In the confines...