Ritesh Agarwal, Founder – OYO
Today, on the first day of the India Conference Harvard, I had the privilege of interacting with the Founder of OYO, Ritesh Agarwal and the company’s COO, Abhinav Sinha. Here are some takeaways:
1. There is no substitute to hiring smart people. The two of us spend a LOT of time talking about the smartest people we know of. We then focus on rewarding/penalizing and promoting the right people. This boosts performance and maintains our culture intact
2. You don’t have to spend energy on getting buy-ins from investors and other stakeholders for your strategy. You must involve them early on so they feel like it is their very brainchild
3. Spending time with family is quintessential for productivity. I (Ritesh) also spend most of my free time watching documentaries or reading
4. In the early days, you need a proof of concept to excite investors and others. And you have to do everything. I was emptying water tanks and talking to hedge funds at the same time
5. Know your numbers and the financials. This increases predictability in the short term and instills confidence in your partners 6. If there is bad news, share it with your stakeholders before they hear it from someone else. You build trust and confidence in them
