HUFT's Journey: Making the World a Better Place, One Pet at a Time

Summary

Join Rashi Narang and Sakshi as they delve into the fascinating journey of Heads Up For Tails (HUFT), a leading pet care company transforming the industry one pet at a time. Rashi shares her inspiration for starting the company, how she overcame early challenges, and her commitment to keeping customer needs at the core of the business. Through innovative product development and a focus on customer feedback, HUFT has become a trusted name in pet care. The engaging discussion also covers lessons in resilience, leadership, and the art of building a mission-driven organization. Discover the magic of blending passion with business and how HUFT continues to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.

Highlights

• Rashi turned her passion for pets into HUFT, starting from personal experience with her dog, Sara. 🐶
• Launched HUFT as a brand that combined a wide range of pet products and services, capturing 40% revenue from private labels. 🛒
• HUFT’s early strategy involved being a retailer for all things pet, rather than focusing on a single brand. 🐕
• Rashi's journey reflects a perfect blend of emotional intelligence and ambitious resilience. 💡
• The transition into service offerings for pets was another innovative expansion inspired by customer needs. ✂️
• The story of HUFT emphasizes building lasting relationships with investors and choosing them wisely. 💼

Key Takeaways

• Rashi’s inspiration was rooted in personal passion for pets, leading the growth of HUFT to a trusted brand. 🐾
• The importance of tuning inward and listening to your instincts in the face of external doubts. 🧘‍♀️
• A mission-driven approach guides HUFT, with customer needs at the core of its business strategy. 🌟
• Overcoming retail challenges through direct-to-consumer strategies and pop-up events for real-time feedback. 🛍️
• Scaling a business involves challenging compromises but paves the way for leaders to grow within the organization. 📈
• Rashi emphasizes resilience, learning, and protecting your dreams as key components of entrepreneurial success. 💪

Overview

Heads Up For Tails, affectionately known as HUFT, was born out of founder Rashi Narang’s undeniable love of pets. Her journey from a single store in New Delhi to a renowned leader in pet care is truly inspiring. Motivated by her first experience as a pet mom, Rashi focused on creating products that she felt were missing from the market, establishing a business that was not just about making profit but about enhancing the lives of pets and their parents.

Navigating the business world wasn’t always easy, as Rashi had to deal with challenges such as breaking into the retail market and selling her unique pet products. By listening to customer feedback at pop-up events, HUFT was able to adapt its offerings to better meet consumer needs. The commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction facilitated the growth of a diverse product line and the establishment of their own retail network.

The success of HUFT is also attributed to its focus on resilience, adaptability, and maintaining a clear vision despite external pressures. Rashi reflects on the lessons learned, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, listening to intuition, and being purposeful in both business strategy and personal leadership. Her advice to fellow founders is to protect their dreams, prioritize self-care, and foster a company culture grounded in empathy and a shared mission.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to HUFT The chapter introduces HUFT, short for Heads Up For Tails, a platform dedicated to providing pet-related products and services. Started nearly 15 years ago, it began from a passionate vision to improve the world for pets.
• 00:30 - 01:30: Business Scale and Reach In this chapter titled 'Business Scale and Reach,' the focus is on how pets can teach love and care, as well as the growth of the HUFT brand. Last year, HUFT accomplished $15 million in revenues and expects to double this amount this year. The brand has gained significant trust and affection from pet-owning households, particularly in the cities where they have a strong presence. This trust and love from pet parents form the backbone of the brand's success.
• 01:30 - 03:00: Retail Strategy and Early Challenges The chapter discusses the strategic decisions and early challenges faced by a retail startup in the pet industry. A major highlight is the company's success in achieving a 40% revenue contribution from their private label brands, a significant achievement in their sector. The company's foundational strategy involved a critical choice early in their journey: to position themselves not just as a single-brand entity focused on pet care products, but as a comprehensive retailer of diverse pet-related items. This strategic direction set them apart in the market and shaped their growth trajectory.
• 03:00 - 04:30: Rashi's Motivation and Emotional Journey The chapter delves into the emotional and motivational journey of Rashi as a founder. It highlights her experiences with the challenges and design choices she faced in the early days of her entrepreneurial endeavor. Rashi is portrayed as an individual with a perfect balance of emotional intelligence and intellectual capability. The narrative emphasizes her ambition, drive, and resilience in navigating her role as a founder.
• 04:30 - 06:00: Market Challenges and Design Choices This chapter highlights the various market challenges and design choices that someone, possibly an entrepreneur, faces. The focus is on a character named Rashi, who is portrayed as deeply committed to her purpose and mission, even when faced with disbelief from the world. Rashi's care extends beyond her work, encompassing her employees, customers, and even their pets, indicating that her empathy and dedication are crucial in handling tough times and challenging market situations.
• 06:00 - 07:30: Customer Feedback and Product Development The chapter explores the theme of customer feedback and its role in product development. It begins with a discussion initiated by Rashi, focusing on her motivation and the challenges faced in starting a business. Despite the fear and skepticism from others, Rashi emphasizes the importance of transforming passion into a business, underlining her gratitude for embarking on this journey.
• 07:30 - 09:00: Expanding into Services The chapter 'Expanding into Services' begins with the speaker expressing their passion for two main things: pets and animals, and entrepreneurship. The speaker shares a personal history of having been an entrepreneur from a very young age, recounting childhood experiences like running a library and renting books to friends, as well as creating and selling homemade cards door-to-door.
• 09:00 - 11:00: Crafting HUFT's Mission and Vision The chapter discusses the formation and inspiration behind HUFT's mission and vision. The focal point is the founder's emotional connection and lifelong experience with animals, which significantly influenced their desire to merge this passion with philanthropy. Particular emphasis is placed on the founder's first pet, Sara, who played a pivotal role in shaping their life path and spurred the creation of a mission centered around animal welfare.
• 11:00 - 13:00: Authenticity in Storytelling The chapter titled 'Authenticity in Storytelling' discusses the personal journey of the narrator as they embarked on a mission to create products initially intended for a specific person. This journey did not begin with the intent of creating a large-scale business; instead, it was a heartfelt project aimed at improving the life of someone important to them. As the project grew, the narrator realized they wanted to extend this vision, crafting products to enhance the comfort, health, and happiness of more people and their pets. This narrative underscores the theme of authenticity and sincere motivation in creating products and services.
• 13:00 - 15:30: Social Media and Brand Building The chapter titled 'Social Media and Brand Building' discusses the journey of leveraging social media for brand creation and growth. Rashi, one of the speakers, reflects on the initial days of their venture which was started with a modest goal: to solve a single problem they were passionate about. Despite what others may perceive as challenges, Rashi viewed them as opportunities. Sakshi, another speaker, prompts Rashi to recount the early hurdles, curious about her mindset and approach during those formative times. Rashi explains that she didn't perceive these issues as problems, but rather as chances to find solutions and make an impact. This mindset of problem-solving and seeing opportunity in obstacles is highlighted as a key element in building a successful brand via social media.
• 15:30 - 19:30: Hiring and Team Building The chapter titled 'Hiring and Team Building' begins with the narrator describing a situation where there was nothing to guide them—no existing resources, products to research, or pathways to follow. Despite these challenges, the narrator did not view them as obstacles but as an exciting opportunity to address a problem faced by someone named Sara. Upon reflection, the narrator realizes their initial lack of knowledge and background in the area they were exploring.
• 19:30 - 24:00: Investor Relations and Fundraising The chapter titled 'Investor Relations and Fundraising' appears to delve into the challenges faced in this domain, particularly focusing on the lack of prior experience and available resources, such as mentors or experienced hires. The narrative reflects on the perception of these challenges, initially not seen as problems but acknowledged in hindsight. Additionally, it seems to touch upon the external reactions and noise from others, indicating a possible theme of overcoming external doubts or skepticism.
• 24:00 - 28:30: Challenges and Future Outlook The chapter "Challenges and Future Outlook" explores the societal expectations and personal reflections faced after completing one's education, specifically a master's degree. The narrative highlights the external pressures and criticisms regarding career choices, focusing on the expectation to secure a conventional, well-paying job. However, the protagonist exhibits a growth mindset, perceiving these challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities for exploration and personal growth. The chapter emphasizes the value of pursuing one's passion and redefining success beyond societal norms.

HUFT's Journey: Making the World a Better Place, One Pet at a Time Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Sakshi: Let me actually tell you what HUFT really  stands for. The full name is Heads Up For Tails.   And to probably just give you a perspective on  how large the business is, it's a destination   platform for all things pet [related], whether  you think of products or services. It's a business   that is now almost 10 years+, right? Rashi: Yes, 15, going to be 15 soon.  Sakshi: So, it started out of Rashi's deep desire  to make this world a better place because she
• 00:30 - 01:00 believes pets teach you how to love and care. HUFT  accomplished $15 million last financial year, and   they will roughly double this year. And because  it's been a brand that has been around for so   long, it has really got the trust and love of most  households who own a pet, especially in the cities   that they're predominantly present in. And hence,  based on that love and trust of pet parents,
• 01:00 - 01:30 they've been able to almost get to 40% revenue  contribution from their private label brands,   and that's huge. We normally don't see that. A critical design choice, which they made in   the early days of their startup journey was that  they don't only want to launch a product. They   want to… They basically want to be a retailer  of all things pet, and hence, they chose to be   a retailer versus a pet care brand alone, a single  brand alone. And they started their humble journey
• 01:30 - 02:00 through one outlet in New Delhi in Select Citywalk  (mall). But having said that, today's chat is more   about Rashi's journey as a founder, some of the  early day challenges, and design choices she made.  So let's dive a little more into Rashi's story.  But maybe let me tell you a little about Rashi   as a founder. She is someone who probably has the  perfect EQ (emotional quotient) and IQ balance.   She's smart. She's hugely ambitious. She's  very driven. She's massively resilient. She
• 02:00 - 02:30 will do it even when the world doesn't support  and believe in her cause. And most importantly,   something which literally touched my heart the  first time I met her was that she's someone who   really cares. She cares about the purpose that  she's building for, she cares about her employees.   She cares hugely about her customers - not just  for pet parents, but for that little pet in the   home. I've seen this quality emerge when Rashi  is going through tough days, and when she's going
• 02:30 - 03:00 through good days, she never stops caring. So Rashi, just with that, I'm going to ask,   I'm just going to sort of kick off the  discussion. Talk about what sparked that   burning desire for you to start up. And there  are so many things that can go wrong, but what   allowed you to trump all those fears and yet get  into this business when no one really believed   in what you were trying to do? Transforming your love and   passion into a business [02:50] Rashi: Okay, I'll go all the way back. And,   I was thinking about it on my way here and I  feel extremely grateful that I have been able to
• 03:00 - 03:30 combine two things that I absolutely love the most  in the world. One is pets and animals in general,   and the second is actually, I've always been an  entrepreneur, ever since I was little. I always   had these little side businesses when I was six  or seven or eight, whether it was a library and   renting books to my friends, or building cards  and going door-to-door to sell them, again,
• 03:30 - 04:00 maybe to raise money for an animal charity, etc.  But just to be able to combine those two things   is what really brings me alive and just makes me  so happy. And you all know the back story. It was…   I have always grown up with pets in my home.  But it was this one special puppy named Sara,   who I was the parent for versus being the child  in the house. And I got her right after I got   married. And she literally just changed the  course of my life because I couldn't find
• 04:00 - 04:30 what I wanted for her. And I started building. I did not, I didn't really think that, “Okay,   I'm building to make this into a gazillion-dollar  business, or anything else.” I just literally   thought that I wanted to build for her. And then  when I started to build for her, I said, “Okay, I   want to build for more people, and more pets, and  really build products that are going to make their   lives more comfortable, healthier, and just make  them happier and bring more joy to them and their
• 04:30 - 05:00 families.” So it was very small, very humble. No  big dreams at that time, literally just solving   that one problem that I saw in front of me. Seeing every challenge as an opportunity [04:36]  Sakshi: Talk about the early days. Like,  what were the biggest challenges that you   saw? Talk about some of the hurdles, and what  was the mindset. Like, how did you approach all   those problems, especially in the early days. Rashi: Honestly, I don't think I saw any of   them as a problem. I was just excited to see  that I could solve a problem and actually,
• 05:00 - 05:30 there was just a white space, and there was no  one to learn from, no suppliers, no product to   look at or understand or no paths to follow. But  I don't think I saw any of them as hurdles. I   actually was just greatly excited to go and solve  this problem for Sara. Now, when I look back,   I'm like, “Oh my god, I didn't know anything  about what I was building. I had no background,
• 05:30 - 06:00 no work experience that was relevant, no  one to really go and learn anything from,   no one to hire who had done this before. Now, I  can make a whole list of problems. And, then I'm   like, “But I didn't see it as a problem then, and  why should I see it as a problem now?” But yes,   all of those things were true. And I think, you  know, what I do remember more than all of these   things was, the noise outside, which was a lot  of people's reactions, you know. They were like,
• 06:00 - 06:30 “My God, you've just finished your masters.  What are you doing?” I could see the scorn,   and the sarcasm, and the disappointment sometimes,  “What are you doing with your life? Like,   why aren't you in a great well-paying job, where  you're supposed to be.” I think that noise,   I remember, but other than that, I think I just  didn't see, I didn't see any hurdles as hurdles.   I was just so excited to go out there. Sakshi: That’s the growth mindset. You
• 06:30 - 07:00 see opportunity in every problem. Rashi: Yeah, I wasn't thinking. I   was just like, “Okay let's do this. Let's build  this,” and I think there will always be noise,   there still is, and I think it's so important to  just tune inward and listen to your quiet little   voice that always speaks very softly, so you  have to really hear it, but it tells you the   right things and the right way to go. Making design choices driven
• 07:00 - 07:30 by customer feedback [06:56] Sakshi: Awesome. And obviously,   there was… You were the early mover in this market  and category. And hence you could have made,   you could have intersected this market in many  different ways. You could have approached this   opportunity in many different ways. Talk about  what those critical design choices you made,   whether it came to brand distribution or  product, how did you go about making those   design choices? Because in the early days, there  are so many things you can attack, but talk about
• 07:30 - 08:00 what were the few things you focused on in the  early parts of when you were fixing, and when   you were crystallizing the business model. Rashi: Okay, I think I started out with a   couple of products that I wanted for Sara.  I was very excited when I built them after   feedback from friends, and customers—I mean  not customers then—but friends and family.   It was things like bedding, and a few toys, and  some treats, and just healthy, clean stuff that
• 08:00 - 08:30 I wasn't able to find. And, I hadn't been able to  find any of this in pet stores, so I was excited   to take this to pet stores. But when I did,  and I went to more than 200 in the country,   I was shown the door by all of them. All of them  said, “This is not going to work. Who are you?   You can't just come in here. Please leave.”  Lots of things like that. And I think that,   that rejection, while it was very terrible  at that time, and very demotivating with all
• 08:30 - 09:00 the enthusiasm that I was carrying on the side, I  think it just pushed us to try different avenues.  And so I started going to pop-up events, and  anywhere that I got a chance to be in front   of the customers, just to get their reaction.  And get real feedback from real people. Because   I knew that, something was not fitting in. If as  a pet parent, I was excited about the products,   and I wanted it, and I had seen reactions of  friends and family, then why were these people
• 09:00 - 09:30 reacting so differently? And so I took it to  audiences that I thought may give me more depth   or clarity on ‘why’. And there the response  was completely different. There was a lot of   excitement and a lot of questions. And just  going in front of the end customer gave me so   much feedback. And without knowing we were really  practicing a design-thinking approach, going into   conversations, emotions, problems, getting lots  of feedback or people saying, “Okay, can you
• 09:30 - 10:00 build this?” Or, “Hey my dog has long ears, the  ears go into the bowl every time they eat,” or,   “My dog is growing old, I can see this and that…”  Lots of different things. I think just being there   and getting lots of these inputs to say, “Okay, my  puppy is chewing all over my hand, or has rashes   from particular shampoos that I'm using, or [my  puppy] does not have any toys to play with, or   is getting very destructive…,” feedback like that  made us realize that there was a lot to build out,
• 10:00 - 10:30 of course, which we started building for, but  it also made us realize that people wanted one   place that they wanted to go to for all of  these things. They didn't want to come to   one place to buy maybe just a toy, and then a  second place to buy a bowl, and a third place   to go for a pet grooming brand. Becoming a category creator to   fulfill the customers’ needs [10:23] They just wanted a one-stop-shop solution, and   they wanted it not just for the product, but they  also wanted advice. Like the number of questions
• 10:30 - 11:00 that were coming to us: How do we do this? And  how do we cut our dog's nails? And what do we do…?  So it was a lot of that advice, and product,  and support in so many other ways that made   us feel that we have to build for a much  wider assortment than just building these   few products that came much more naturally or  that we were personally trying to solve for.  And so we decided to set up our own stores  versus going and distributing in others. We
• 11:00 - 11:30 decided to build different categories, whether  it was nutrition, whether it was lifestyle,   which includes toys or accessories or clothing or  bedding or things like that. And grooming as well,   so your shampoos and conditioners and all of those  things. And so, it was a lot of learning, a lot   of research, a lot of development, a lot of just  trying to figure it out because no one was really
• 11:30 - 12:00 doing it in the country. So we realized about  the depth and the width of product assortment,   the one-stop-shop, our own network of stores which  was actually forced because no one wanted to keep   our stuff. But now when I look back, I'm like,  “Oh, thank God, we've built out a pretty solid   distribution network of our own, which we can  control, where we can control the experience,   where we have direct access to customers, which  we wouldn't have had if that had actually gone
• 12:00 - 12:30 through.” And yes, that's how we… It was really  a lot of input-based [approach] and really where   the market was shaping us versus us saying,  “Okay, we will build a particular brand, launch   these particular products, use a distribution  strategy.” It just didn't play out like that.  Sakshi: And, you chose from the product strategy  [point of view], to launch pet accessories   over pet food, which is a larger  part of the market. So it's a very
• 12:30 - 13:00 non-intuitive choice you made. Talk about why. Rashi: I think pet food… I used to feed Sara   homemade food. So I, it was my story, and I was  like, “But I'm not buying the food from outside   anyway.” And that has grown over the years, and  that's something that we're trying to build for   now, but at that time it just didn't come to  me intuitively because I wasn't a user of that   product, and 15 years ago, pet food, you know…  even now, pet food is hardly 3% or 4%... it has
• 13:00 - 13:30 3% or 4% penetration as compared to more advanced  countries where everybody feeds their pets,   pet food, which is more species-specific etc.  And so, I was literally just trying to solve for,   “Okay. What, can I not find? What is it that I  don't have?” But we did start solving for treats   early on because when I went to find treats, they  were full of ingredients, and they still are that   I can't even pronounce. Like, all these long  chemical names, which I was like, “What is this?
• 13:30 - 14:00 And what is it that's going into my dog's tummy?”  And we started solving for treats quite early on,   and then so much more, along the way. Sakshi: Yeah, also I guess,   like accessories the treats market was largely  unbranded and that's where you guys also saw an   opportunity to build a brand. Rashi: Yeah, absolutely.  Grooming the pet-grooming market  to expand & scale up [13:50]  Sakshi: And talk a little about the decision  to expand into services. Like, why do you think   services are such a big part of your business?  Why is it critical to your success? And how
• 14:00 - 14:30 do you go about delighting customers who walk  into your stores just to buy a single product?   How do you keep them coming; how do you keep the  customers coming back every weekend after weekend?  Rashi: Okay, [with] services also [it was a]  similar [thing as pet toys]. It started with   just going to a few grooming salons and just  being like, “Oh my god, they were disgusting.”   I was like, “There is no way my dog is going to  be bathed over here.” And also I realized that the
• 14:30 - 15:00 people doing the work were just not skilled. And  it's still the same. They would just pick up your   dog and muzzle your dog and dump them in the tub  and bathe them. And, pets are traumatized. They   are not used to something like that at all. And  so again, it was an exciting but very difficult   opportunity to build in a much better way.  This was, I think, the hardest part because   we couldn't… There were no groomers whom you could  really hire who already existed. So we've had to
• 15:00 - 15:30 build that whole team from scratch and continue  to do so as we expand training them, not just on   the basics of grooming, but also understanding dog  body language. How do you communicate with them?   What are they saying? What are the stress signals?  How do you calm them down? We don't allow them to   use muzzles. So we were like, “You’re going to get  bitten if you don't know how to really communicate   with the dog.” And you get big dogs, and you  get aggressive dogs, and you get all kinds
• 15:30 - 16:00 of dogs. So they really need to know their stuff. And I think we just wanted to… We're just solving   for pets first, not anything more than that. Just  really keeping them at the heart and center of   everything and saying, “Okay, it’s already very  scary for a wild animal to come and have their   nails clipped and their bodies washed and heads  dried up,” etc. So, how do we make this a happy,
• 16:00 - 16:30 calming experience? How do we teach our  people, train our people? And, also just   for the customers, we've been trying to build our  retail team to become people who help instead of   sell. How do you help them make the right choices?  Someone may come in and say, “Can I get a choke   collar?” It's one of the most popular products  in the country. Every pet store has it, but it   literally chokes your dog. Every time your dog  is excited, pulls on the leash, goes and sniffs   the squirrel, it chokes them and it can break a  bone. You wouldn't even know. And then a dog may
• 16:30 - 17:00 be eating their food, it must be really hurting,  they've got a fracture in there. And if they   swallow, and maybe you're around, or a child is  around, irritating them, and they may growl, and   that's it. The pet’s family would be like, “Oh my  god, this dog is aggressive. It needs to be tied   up.” I mean, can you see how misunderstood these  animals can be… And so it's really about training   our people to understand and help and advice  and help people make the right choices.
• 17:00 - 17:30 So, instead of a choke collar, “Maybe we can share  with you how to walk your dog on a leash? How do   you do that correctly?” or alternative, safe,  comfortable choices that are not going to… You   may still love your dog, but you're just not  thinking that something like that is actually   going to be so harmful. And there are so many  products out there that are… Our regular pet   shops are full of those products. And so [we are]  really just trying to help, one person at a time,
• 17:30 - 18:00 one family at a time to make a difference  to one pet at a time, with better choices,   better products, which are well-thought through. Living your mission and vision   day in day out [17:41] Sakshi: Talk about your ‘why’.   Was this… When you go back in time, when you were  crafting your story around HUFT, why it exists,   why it will win, why it's differentiated  versus others in the market, did this all   come very naturally, or did you actually have  to put mind to thought before you stood in
• 18:00 - 18:30 front of your first set of customers, whether  you pitched your first set of investors? Like,   talk about the whole crafting of the storyline. Rashi: I think that for the first few years. I   was just lost in building [the company] and the  story was what was unfolding in front of me. So   I was like, “Okay, I'm trying to solve this. I'm  trying to make better products. It's all about   Sara.” And it was very natural and it wasn't  crafted till much later when I said, “Okay,
• 18:30 - 19:00 the story exists, but we have to document it and  we have to share it in a compelling way.” And,   that's when we got around to really writing out  our mission and vision. So it came a little bit   later. The mission was very easy to write. It's  really what we do. And it was very simple. It was,   “We create and curate innovative products and  services to bring joy to pets and their families
• 19:00 - 19:30 one home at a time.” But there were lots of words  that we were obsessed with. Like, “Okay, we have   to bring joy. It has to be innovative. [It has  to] be one family at a time.” Helping them make   those better decisions, etc. I think the vision,  which is really that big, that bigger dream more   than what you just do on an everyday basis, came a  little bit later. And it came because I started to   hear a thousand stories, literally. So many years  I spent on the floor talking to customers, and
• 19:30 - 20:00 I started to see every time somebody had walked  into my store, who had gotten a new pet, they were   like, “We're changed people. Like, we have become  different people. They have just suddenly got   so much joy into our life.” And I started to see  and hear these stories of people just saying that   they've become nicer people, kinder people, better  people. And I think that the vision then came from   that, to say — pets make us better people. It's not just pets, but just for our context,
• 20:00 - 20:30 sharing our homes, lives, and spaces with animals  in general just opens our hearts. It makes us   kinder, more compassionate, and more empathetic,  and it makes us better. And then, I think, we   started to feel like, okay, we can actually bring  this magic into thousands and millions of homes,   and through that enable more people to become  better versions of themselves, and in turn leave   the world a little bit better than we found it.  So it was a process and it's something that we
• 20:30 - 21:00 really live. It's not just a mission and vision on  paper or a poster in the office. We go back to it   every time we are happy, sad, lost, confused,  anxious, any decision that needs to be made:   Why are we here? Why do we do what we do?  And it's really that guiding North Star   that gives you a very definitive direction. Let authenticity rule your brand’s story [20:57]  Sakshi: What do you think are the two, three  key elements of a great story? What should
• 21:00 - 21:30 founders definitely touch upon in their story? Rashi: I think there's just one really, and I   think that it’s authenticity. Because if you're  honest and if you're feeling what you're feeling,   it stays with people. It's real. You don't have  to worry about how it sounds and whatever else,   because it's just so authentically yours. It can  never be anyone else's. And it's not about what   a competitor can copy. It's not about what  anyone else can do. So I think really… But
• 21:30 - 22:00 it does need a little bit of soul-searching; it  does need a little bit of standing or just being   silent and still and really asking yourself, “How  are you impacting people?” You're creating jobs,   you're changing lives, you're taking out a new  product into the world. And yes, of course,   it's for economic benefit, but there's  also so much more that can come with it.   And it just needs you to really go deeper  and say, “Okay, what is it? And how do I do
• 22:00 - 22:30 it?” Because I think after we crafted out  the vision, much more than the mission,   there's just a different sense of purpose. It's  just different than saying, you know… It's just   at a much, much bigger level than what we do. Sakshi: The brand is going to survive beyond   the founders; it's hopefully a transgenerational  business that they're building. So now that you   had your purpose cast in stone, you knew exactly  what to do. How did you create awareness? Like,
• 22:30 - 23:00 how did you get to the first set of customers  to walk into your stores? Talk about the early   days of how you conceptualized  and thought about brand building.  Rashi: We did not have… We didn't have much  of a customer [base], a ready customer,   pet care was not really a concept. So it was about  building that customer along with the market,   and the product, and the distribution, etc.  But I think we just started to use the power
• 23:00 - 23:30 of social media, just the power of digital, which  is so powerful. It was fairly new at that time,   a lot of these platforms. And so we just started  to authentically share what we're doing and why   we're doing it. And, be out there at these  pop-up events and more before we even got   our first store. You can do… Now there are so many  different platforms. Of course, online platforms,   but also offline in the sense that we hired kiosks  and short-term pop-up stores, which could be for
• 23:30 - 24:00 one or two or three months and you can get so  much feedback before you are like, you're going   all in to build a massive infrastructure and  long leases and deposits, etc. But there are so   many spaces where you can meet your customers.  So really thinking about where they are and,   “How do I go to them face-to-face to get that  feedback and have conversations in person?”  And then, of course, leverage all that you can  from the whole digital ecosphere to reach as
• 24:00 - 24:30 many people as you can. You know, you put out a  post and it reaches thousands of people. That's   so powerful. Nothing high-stake, but just  the whole… Leveraging the massive advantage   that startups have of failing fast. If  you try something that doesn't work,   move on. There are no months of approvals  and business plans and processes. I think   just leverage that as best as you can and try  everything, and this works and this doesn't work.
• 24:30 - 25:00 Hiring for unconventional job roles [24:32] Sakshi: Of course, you started out as a solo   founder. So she started this by herself. But  along the way, your life partner joined you   in the business. So Sam [Samarth Narang], her  husband, is [one of] her co-founders today.   And the business started to grow and flourish,  but beyond us, at some point, you needed to hire   your first set of mid to senior level employees.  Talk about like, how did you get the first 10
• 25:00 - 25:30 employees in your company? What was the pitch you  made to them? Where did you go looking for them?  Rashi: So Sam joined much later, a couple of  years ago, but, I think, those first few hires   were very tough because people were like, “The  pet industry doesn't really exist. What will   my prospects be after this when I have the whole  world, I have so many options?” And we still have   that at the retail level at the grooming level,  when people are like, “I can go into electronics,
• 25:30 - 26:00 I can go into fashion, like why pets?”  They have a hard time explaining it to   their families at home. So it's still very hard. And even when we have a corporate office and we   have a thousand people, we still have to clarify  many times that you're not sitting in a pet shop   and working. There is more than that. So,  we have had a massive struggle around that,   but I think we were… What we really appealed to  people was that [we wanted] people who wanted   to make a difference, who feel the same  way as we do, and they're just passionate.
• 26:00 - 26:30 So the first few people weren't necessarily  subject-matter experts. Also, I started with   no money, literally. So I couldn't even hire  anyone who was really a subject-matter expert.   It was just young people who wanted to make a  difference and were willing to do the hustle. And   I'm so grateful for all of them because we went  quite a long way without someone really solid,   with massive work experience, coming on board.  And, then I think as we've slowly grown and
• 26:30 - 27:00 built up that middle management. It was, of  course, about being competitive in terms of   salary and great work environment, a good team  and a good culture. But more than anything,   I know people have come to us for the cause.  So I think that purpose does go a long way   in building and attracting the right people. Sakshi: Do you think your story and your pitch,   as you now hire more seasoned and experienced  professionals into the company, has changed?
• 27:00 - 27:30 Rashi: Not the mission, not the vision, not the  purpose. Maybe the things around it that, “Okay,   we're at so much scale and this is what, you know,  the revenue growth is and the number of stores,   and ambition.” Ambition is also always very  big but we've been able to prove it maybe,   and so there's some validation that,  “Okay, we're on a particular path,” but   the heart of it still stays very much the same. Sakshi: Yeah, no, absolutely. And talk about,
• 27:30 - 28:00 you know, being a founder is super lonely, right?  You're lucky to have Sam with you on this journey.   But, who's been your biggest mentor, and  support system along the way, especially   during the really tough times, because everyone  comes to cheer you up when you are doing well.  Rashi: Honestly, it's my dogs, they inspire me  every day when I'm like, “Why am I doing this?”   I have them to remind me, and they just make  you smile no matter how tough life is. So yes,
• 28:00 - 28:30 I have to say they really are my inspiration  every single day. They wake me up and I'm like,   “Okay, yes, I know, I'm going to work for you.” Sakshi: How amazing. How amazing. And we wouldn’t   have thought of a different answer, right? Rashi: It's the honest one. But yes,
• 28:30 - 29:00 there are so many people to get inspired from and  learn from. But that constant for me is just them.  Sakshi: How lovely is that! You know,  this industry is still young. And there’s   obviously not been too much startup capital  that has poured into the pet industry until   more recently. So, how did you pitch…how  did you find your first set of investors,   your first set of angels and your pre-series A? Rashi: That was exciting, actually, because
• 29:00 - 29:30 “investors” was such a scary word for so long. I  started this as a home-based business out of love,   and I wasn't really thinking of that journey. And  I think that for us, we always wanted to build   a very strong, sustainable, enduring business  that's going to last a long, long time. And I   think that whoever has been on this journey with  us as investors at any point they are people who
• 29:30 - 30:00 believe in what we're trying to build out. And so,  it hasn't been outbound as yet. It has always been   inbound interest. And I remember when the angels,  even when it was just references through people,   through our friends network, etc, they were  just people who came because of the cause.  I think really everybody who has invested is  people who believe in us, or in the cause,   or are just passionate about the [pet care] space,  or see an opportunity. So I think that if you're
• 30:00 - 30:30 just… If you're going to build something  and really put your heart and soul in it,   and really build for putting the best out there,  people will hopefully understand that and come and   support you in different ways. Yes, it hasn't  been… We haven't yet gone out and pitched   outwardly, so that's been nice. Sakshi: You're blessed.
• 30:30 - 31:00 Rashi: I totally am. Raising funds is   responsibility plus commitment [30:32] Sakshi: But you’ve raised seed, you've raised   pre-series A, and then you've raised series A from  Sequoia and Verlinvest. Which one was the hardest?  Rashi: Let's say the compliances are the tough  part. It's not the investors, it's just the   process. Which I think is also extremely rigorous  and it makes you think, and it makes you cut your   data into a zillion ways to really see, what's  working, what's not. So while it makes you work
• 31:00 - 31:30 very, very, very hard and you have many, many,  many sleepless nights, it gives you so much back   in return. But it's just different things at  different times. When it was the angels, it was   like, “Oh my God, we have somebody else's money,”  which is a big responsibility, you still don't   mind messing up with your own money, but messing  up with somebody else's money is just, it's just   not acceptable. So there's a different kind of  pressure and a different kind of responsibility
• 31:30 - 32:00 that you have to care for this in different ways  and you have to make this work. And you're also   just answerable to more people than yourself,  which again brings in a lot of rigor, and brings   in just deeper thought processes. “How are  we building this? How are we scaling this?   How are we going to provide the returns? How  are we going to really make this worth their   while? The people who have put in their faith  and money and time and all of that into this.
• 32:00 - 32:30 So I think, and then at a series A, building from  10 to 20 is easier than building from 100 to 200.   How are we going to do that? That may have worked,  but now what do we do for this? And it's just   different things at different stages, but it's all  really part of the fun, and part of the journey,   and part of the challenge, and all of  it grows you in so many different ways.  Sakshi: No, absolutely. But like when  you have such a diverse and large board,   and it's only getting bigger as the company scales  and grows, investors will also point very quickly
• 32:30 - 33:00 to what's not working. How does it feel? Like,  you think it's going well, you're trying your   best. The business is doing well, but here are  a set of folks who are also telling you what's   not working. Talk about how you internalize  feedback? How do you put it back into action?  Rashi: So I think that it's amazing to get that  feedback. Someone who is looking at the business
• 33:00 - 33:30 from a different lens and saying, “Hey, red flag  here,” or “Okay, this is maybe not going well.”   There may be reasons why that's happening. And  it's always been very open, honest conversations   to say, “This is why we're doing this, or this  is why we're okay with something there or not,   something here,” but it's just nice to know  that everybody is looking at different things   so that nothing is… You're not waking up one  day and saying, “Oh my god, I had no idea.”
• 33:30 - 34:00 And sometimes it pinches in the moment and that's  fine. You take it back and say, “Okay, push – now,   what do we do to really get this going?” Or  maybe, “We haven't been paying enough attention   here, our focus was there. This is dropping.”  Really like, how do you keep all those balls   juggling? And sometimes you need that push. And  sometimes you need that nudge to say, “Focus   here. This is not going so well.” So I think we  really appreciate it. And we're grateful that   there are so many people keeping a watch closely. Sakshi: And what's your advice to founders here on
• 34:00 - 34:30 how to choose and select their investors? Because  this is such a critical decision, right? These   relationships will span over eight to 10, maybe 15  years. How do they make sure that they choose the   right partners? Any advice to them on that front? Rashi: Yes, I have a personal story to share over   here. One of the first angels that we were going  to partner with, it was my first conversation,   I was very excited, had lots of meetings,  and then something started to feel…not right.
• 34:30 - 35:00 And I remember he gave us a million-dollar check.  And at that time, it was just not feeling right   at all. And I got up and I said, “With all due  respect I'm not going to be able to go forward.”   And I know for sure that if I had taken that  money that day, we would not yet be here. He
• 35:00 - 35:30 wanted to change everything about the business. So I think that just [having] the right partner   is very important. And I've seen  so many of my friends as founders,   partnering with the wrong people, and now just  having to shut down because it’s just, it's really   like a marriage that has to last a long time. And three questions: who are you partnering   with? Do your value systems match? Why are you  partnering? I know fundraising is the most obvious
• 35:30 - 36:00 answer, but do you know exactly why you need to  raise funds? Why do you need to raise funds? There   are lots of businesses that don't raise funds.  They go a very long way. They do really well.   And when? There was… We bootstrapped for eight  years and even during those eight years, there   were many opportunities, but I knew it wasn't the  right time. And it's a hard, uphill climb and you
• 36:00 - 36:30 need to be able to really give it your 1000%  and you need to be ready for it. And are you   ready? And at that phase in your life, when you  can give that 1000%. So these three things, who,   why, and when, are very important. Keeping the customer at the   center of it all [36:14] Sakshi: So now just shifting a   little bit of gears. Tell us what keeps you up at  night? What do you worry most about the business?  Rashi: There's something new every day, but  I feel…it never stops. But I think that when
• 36:30 - 37:00 you put time and focus on solving a problem, you  do solve it. And then move on to the next thing,   and then the next thing, and then the next  thing so I think it's a forever thing. But yes,   that's how [it is], one day at a time, really.  Sometimes you're thinking about the future,   “Oh my God, I'm dying when I'm at this scale,  what will happen when we're there? How would we   build for it? How do we solve it?” So a little bit  of that. And then a little bit of, “Okay, today,   what do we need to do now? Or like tomorrow? What  needs to happen?” So it's just one day at a time.
• 37:00 - 37:30 Sakshi: And tell us like, zoom 10 years from  now. If HUFT no longer exists, and it's failed   as a business, what would be those one or two  reasons why it failed? What would you have done   so horribly wrong that the business is not around? Rashi: Just, I think not keeping the customer at   the center of it all. You know, if we are  just continuously solving for the customer,   and their evolving and changing needs, I think  we'll be fine. I think, if you just don't adapt
• 37:30 - 38:00 and are not agile enough and quick enough… I know  it's very easy to blame the outside and say, “Oh,   it was the environment. It was laws. It  was…” It could be all of those things.   But still I think that mostly we all have a  lot of power to say, “We can do this better,   solve for our customers, really keep them  at the heart of it all, understand them,   spend time with them, and stay close to them,” and  I think we'll be fine. So hopefully we'll be here
• 38:00 - 38:30 for many hundreds and thousands of years. Sakshi: Customer front and center of all   that you do. No, awesome. Thank you for  that. And talk about when you look back,   any near-death experience, any crucible, what  was the most crucible moment over the last…   Let's maybe reflect on the last five years. Rashi: I think COVID was hard, because all our   retail stores closed, and we were a retail-first  business. And that's when we really shifted our
• 38:30 - 39:00 focus to building online. It was there, but it was  not really there. So that was definitely hard. And   what do we do now? Like, how do we manage this?  But I think that we came out much stronger and   learned a lot. Very happy that whatever, and  however hard it was, it taught us, it grew us,   it shaped us. So now we have a very strong online  business too. So I think when you look back,
• 39:00 - 39:30 you can join the dots and say, “Okay, it was for  the good, however hard it may have seemed then.”  Sakshi: I think, maybe just double click on that.  They probably were so agile during COVID because   the business would have gone to zero. Think about  it, like all stores shut for close to two years.   They very quickly pivoted. They always had an  online platform. They very quickly pivoted to   pushing the online channel. And now that's almost  roughly 40% of the business, and that just shows
• 39:30 - 40:00 agility and resilience. And, maybe tell us, if  you had to restart – there's always wisdom of   hindsight, right – so, if you had to restart HUFT  again today, would you do anything different?  Rashi: I think not because, I think the first few  years were very hard, but they taught me so much,   and I did everything, and learnt every aspect  of the business. You won't believe it, but I did   all the accounts, and all the finances – I’m not  that person, Sakshi knows – all the compliances,
• 40:00 - 40:30 all the filing, all the GST, everything, right?  Before we had any help and larger teams. I knew   how to run a store. I knew everything about all  aspects of the business. And I worked literally,   16 to 18 hours literally, from the time I woke up,  till I couldn't do it anymore, for years. But it   didn't feel like that. It was just, I can do it  now as well. I just have this burning ambition.
• 40:30 - 41:00 Every day I wake up with like fire in my belly,  “Today, I have to do this!” and the 1% improvement   list never ends. Like it's just hundreds  of things that always need to be improved,   no matter how many times you've done them before. So I think I'm very grateful for it all. I wish I   had more expertise at an earlier stage, but then  probably I wouldn't have… I wouldn't know the   business like I do because I did everything.  But yeah, that would have made it a little
• 41:00 - 41:30 bit easier probably. The art of evolving   and letting go as a founder [41:03] Sakshi: No, 100%, absolutely. Tell us,   how does the role of a founder evolve as the  business grows? Because when you're doing   everything alone by yourself you're doing it to  perfection, right? It's matching your passion,   your vision. But as the company is growing,  you've got now 60-plus stores. They're not   being run by you. They're being run by other  folks. They're being managed by other people.
• 41:30 - 42:00 Decisions are now more decentralized. So  you're not necessarily front and center of   all that HUFT does. How has your role evolved? Rashi: I found that journey very hard. Just when   you know you can… And you will all face it. Even  when somebody comes to help you, take things off   your plate, you're like, “Can I just do it myself?  Because I know what I need to do.” And I'll have   to anyway sit with that person and explain it  to them. And then it'll be 30% of what I really   want to be done, and so let me just do it myself.  It's just so easy to do that. And it takes a lot
• 42:00 - 42:30 of conscious letting go and knowing that, “Look,  it can't be exactly the way that you want it.”  If you start at 30%, and you can reach up to 70%,  that is great. And that realization, it’s not easy   to accept because you have a certain vision. And  then, you have to keep building, and keep building   to say, “Okay, now 71%, now 72%, now 73%,” and  slowly move that number up. But it's very hard
• 42:30 - 43:00 for a founder, because this is just your baby and  you want to do it in a particular way and you have   this vision and no one else can feel it the way  you can. And it is a painful journey. I have to   tell you that it hurts. You're like, “That's  really not what I had in mind. But okay, let's   give feedback, and then let's start again.” But…  So yeah, it's very tempting to say, “Nevermind,
• 43:00 - 43:30 I'll just do it,” but you know, how do you build  more leaders? And how do you build more people to   really understand where you want to go? And it  takes time, and a lot of time that you have to   spend with people to bring them. And it takes  years to grow those people within the company.  Sakshi: I've been watching you grow as a leader  over the last many months of association. But I   think while her first love is product and brand,  but I've seen how now she spends more of her time
• 43:30 - 44:00 on hiring the right set of people, making sure  that the org and the culture is still humming,   and they're still living the day-to-day promise  that she had dreamt of 15 years back. So talk   about how when you make senior hires, what's that  cultural fit you're looking for? What's the kind   of person you want in your organization? Rashi: For me, it's very simple.   Low ego, high EQ (emotional quotient). Low ego,  because I feel that if you come with a low ego,
• 44:00 - 44:30 you're open to learning, you're open  to new ways, you're open to feedback,   you're open to doing things that you haven't  done before, and high EQ, just because of the   space that we're in, if you're not feeling  it, you can't really produce magic. At least   for my senior leadership team, they have to  feel the purpose and the cause very deeply.  And of course there's a long list along with that,  you know, innovators, or execution capabilities,
• 44:30 - 45:00 or domain expertise, or all of those things,  but really what I'm solving for is just these   two things, because anything can be learnt if  you're open to it. And if you have that desire   to make a difference, and feel the purpose, and  you have the ability to lead from your heart,   not just your mind, then you will thrive within  HUFT. So just those two things are on the top of   my list, in big and bold [font]. Sakshi: Awesome, awesome. No,
• 45:00 - 45:30 thank you for lending that clarity. And  last question from my side, top two,   three pieces of advice for our founders today. Rashi: Wow. Okay. Just to make it very short, I   think that, how far you go in the first few years  and then even beyond, but the first few years, is   just critically dependent on you. And so, how much  resilience can you build? How much can you take
• 45:30 - 46:00 care of yourself mentally? How can you massively  protect your hopes and your dreams, because there   will be – not there may be – there will be a  thousand things that will come your way to drop   you down every single day, obstacles, hurdles,  people's opinions, noises, and how are you going   to protect these ambitions and dreams of putting  out something amazing into the world from all of   that, how are you going to build your resilience? It's so very important. So really just take care
• 46:00 - 46:30 of yourself. If you're burnt out, I know when I've  been burnt out, there've been so many times when   I'm like, “Okay, I'm quitting. Now that's it, I  can't do this anymore. Fifteen years, every single   day, no more,” but I know that when you feel  like quitting, it's actually just time to rest.   And that's what you must do. So, don't quit when  you need to rest and just take care of yourself.   If you fall down seven times, have the resilience  to get up eight times. And that needs to be,
• 46:30 - 47:00 that needs to happen through a lot of inner  work. It needs to happen by just spending time   with yourself. It needs to happen by defining and  knowing and feeling that strong purpose. And then   the second is really just learn every day. Learn  from everybody that you can, no matter how senior,   how junior. There's so much that everybody has  to share and take the time out consciously for   everyday learning, whether it's maybe commute time  or maybe part of your morning routine, just be
• 47:00 - 47:30 amazing at what you do, just be a master of your  craft. And whatever it is that you're building,   just build the absolute best version of it. Sakshi: You know, talking about giving time   to yourself, on her 40th birthday, she took  a 30-day solo trip from J&K (Jammu & Kashmir)   to Kanyakumari. That is, for folks outside of  India, the [journey] from the northest point of
• 47:30 - 48:00 India to the southernmost point of India.  And her husband kept trying to tell her,   “Count me in!” and she’s like, “No, you  take care of the kiddo and the doggy.”  Rashi: Yeah, that was very special. It already  feels like it was a lifetime ago – it was like   three months ago, but yeah, back to the grind. Sakshi: Don't worry,   50 is the next milestone. You'll do it again. Rashi: No, that’s awesome. Thank you so much.  Sakshi: That's all from me, but  let's open the floor for questions.
• 48:00 - 48:30 Audience: This is maybe very specific to what I  am building, but you said right in the beginning   that when you tried to introduce your products  into the market, retailers were not… Whereas   the end-customers, you knew for a fact that they  wanted it. But there's this layer in the middle,   which kind of… So I'm trying to build something  which will get new brands into the retail stores.
• 48:30 - 49:00 And that's something that I also feel a pinch of.  There is this one layer in the middle, which has   almost no clue of what the other two layers are  talking about. But… So that's something like,   how do you, what learnings did you get from  that phase? And I know you went another way,   like with your exclusive brand outlets and  stuff, and that worked very well. But like,   what can I do? And then somebody was mentioning  that the products are also available in   the other retail stores now. So like,  what learning should I take from that, or
• 49:00 - 49:30 anybody who's putting their brands in the market? Rashi: I think it's about… The retailers have very   limited shelf space and I think they want to stock  it very mindfully with stuff that is going to go.   So, they want to see and feel a little bit of a  demand for those products. So I think, building a   little bit of that noise online, offline, whatever  it is that you do, because I have a lot of friends   who work on this whole strategy of retail and  distribution. And I know that they have done a lot
• 49:30 - 50:00 of things to build out that demand where people  are actually coming and asking for their products   and then those stores are like, “Okay, yes.” So sometimes you have to just… And of course   it's a chicken and egg story because if the  products are there, then people will be tempted   to try them. But one of my friends was like, “I  actually went to a chemist 35 times and said,   “XYZ brand hai?” [Do you have XYZ brand?], “XYZ  brand hai?” [do you have XYZ brand?].” And then,   I said, “Wow, that's awesome.” And then that  chemist was like, “Haan, rakhna chahiye [Yes,
• 50:00 - 50:30 I think we should stock this brand]. So  yeah, I think just think of it from their   perspective. They just want something  that they know, that’s tried and tested,   it's going to sell. There is a demand, so can you  work backwards and work around that? Like just   something to show the customer demand. When you are ahead of the market   just stay put [50:24] Audience: Yeah. Thanks a lot,   Rashi, for your time. It was amazing hearing you.  So my question is that a lot of times I have seen
• 50:30 - 51:00 that what I am imagining or the vision that I have  is just so different from whatever is available,   not just in our country, but across the world.  It's very difficult to convey that it’s necessary,   and that it's possible. And, sometimes I just feel  that there's such a huge gap. So I am building a   marketplace for new age parents. But with such  a large monopoly being in place, in India,
• 51:00 - 51:30 and no such large examples being there globally,  it's just super difficult to convey what's there   in your mind. And I'm sure that when you would  have started it was very similar for you.  Rashi: Yeah, absolutely. Audience: How did you take   care of that and how do you do this? Rashi: I still feel like we're way ahead   of the market and people don't even understand a  lot of what we're building. It is very far ahead –   five, seven, 10 years ahead – but I think that you  have to persevere till the market catches up, and
• 51:30 - 52:00 it will. Because there is… You do start with that  small community of customers who get it. Today if   I wanna buy something for my daughter, I'm trying  to parent as best as I can, as consciously as   I can. I want better products than what is just  out there. And you need that first set of people   who will be believers, who will spread the word  and as things change, and they take a long time.  It's just about how long you can stay  in the game when you're ahead of time
• 52:00 - 52:30 for the market to catch up. And when it  does, it will just suddenly be amazing.  So yeah, there's no right answer. But that's  how we just… I knew for the longest time,   people were like, “What are you making?”  They were all like, “India-first products,   never heard of before.” So that's why we also went  offline versus online because no one is searching   for these products. And so it took a very long  time for it to catch up. But it has now, but   it's still got a long way to go. I think we just  have to be very stubborn and be like, “I'm going
• 52:30 - 53:00 to do it because I know I want to do this, and  however long it takes, we're going to make it…”  Prioritizing yourself and  learning to say no [52:40]  Audience: I have a very personal question.  I was watching the video previously,   and you started with talking about how important  it was to get praise from people. And it took you   a while to be able to say “no”. And I just wanted  to understand how you got from where you were to   then being able to say “no” to a lot of things. Rashi: Yes, I'm still learning. I grew up like a
• 53:00 - 53:30 normal Indian girl who is taught to make  people happy, take care of your family,   put everybody's needs first, all of that. And  then I realized that to be as resilient as you   need to be on this journey, and to really  take care of yourself, you can't stretch   yourself so much that you're going to break. I really felt like that - [having a] child,
• 53:30 - 54:00 joint family, expectations, hundreds of things  that come by - all the roles that we play… And   I think that it took a little while, and some  understanding, and confidence, and courage to come   out and start to say, “No I can't. I can’t do  it.” But yet, not making people feel like you   don't give, you don't care, but to say genuinely  that, “I have to be able to pick from what I can   do in 24 hours.” And, I don't want to… Now I'm  a lot more brazen about it, but I'm like, “Okay,
• 54:00 - 54:30 I only have this much time. I do not want to spend  it doing anything that I don't want to.” No social   commitments that I don't want to show up for,  nothing. Like, I'm extremely particular about   where I'm spending my time and how I'm doing  it, but it's not easy to. It took me a really   long time to unlearn that and to get comfortable  with how someone is feeling about how I… And the   fact that I said, “No, I can't be there.” And it's not about… A lot of it is for the
• 54:30 - 55:00 extended, extended circle where you have to  show up just because… But sometimes it's also,   you know, how do you keep your family and  friends feeling that you really care – because   you do – but you are stretched, and maybe the  priorities are different for a few years. I have   a young child, I come back to her in the evening,  I want to do that versus be somewhere else,   and not everybody understands that. But yes, I  think it's just a process and the more you do it,
• 55:00 - 55:30 the more comfortable you'll get and the better  you'll get at explaining without offending,   but it's a journey. I hope that helps. Audience: Thanks, Rashi. Thank you for your very   inspiring story sharing today. So, I just have a  quick question regarding hiring. Even though right   now I'm building a startup based in Singapore and  we are in the AI space, we just started in 2022.   Our team is just like six to seven people.  I noticed sometimes I hire the wrong person,
• 55:30 - 56:00 even though the team is quite small, I need to  fire him. So I wonder when you just started,   when a team is not like, right now it must  be hundreds of people [for you]. But when   your team is small, every person counts. It’s  very important. And did you also make the wrong   hiring decisions? When did you notice that  this person is wrong? And what did you do?  Rashi: Yes, absolutely. I mean, we still make  hiring mistakes. And, I know that when you're
• 56:00 - 56:30 just a few people working very closely together,  it's just so very important. But this answer of   telling you low ego, high EQ, it has come after  learning and getting knocked down many times,   and getting a lot of wrong systems, a lot of  wrong people into the system, to learn what is it   that we need, and what is it that does not work. I think all of us in this team here will resonate
• 56:30 - 57:00 that it's just a part of the journey. And what  is very important is to learn from every person   that [if it] is working or not working. What  is it that's working and what is it that's not,   so that you can start building [with] more  clarity. And then, asking questions based   on those things that you want to hire for.  So, whatever it is, whether it's, of course,   the functional domain expertise is important, but  in your culture, what is, what are those values?
• 57:00 - 57:30 And then what are the questions that you're asking  around those values to determine if that person   is a good culture fit or not. And then, again,  I found it very hard to let go of people, even   though I feel like, “Okay, let's give him a little  more time, or let's give another chance, or let me   give better feedback, or let me just try longer.” But I've realized when you know, you know. And the   best thing that you can do for that person and  yourself is to just be honest. And take time to
• 57:30 - 58:00 hire, but fire very swiftly when you know that  person is not the right person. It's difficult,   I know, and sometimes it needs practice, but  you have all of these amazing founders and   everyone will be feeling the same way, but  it'd be great if you just try and practice   those conversations before you have them. I think that helps because you will feel   terrible about it and you feel like  it's your fault. And, so many things,   but just you will get better at it. But yes,  it's important not to have them in the system.
• 58:00 - 58:30 Audience: Thanks. Rashi: Most welcome.  Sakshi: Super. Thank you. Thank you, Rashi. Rashi: Thank you so much.  Sakshi: This was such an interesting chat.  Actually, I enjoyed it and learned so much too.  Rashi: Thank you for having me here. This transcript has been edited for clarity.