Start IT up

Last weekend we went to The Rappa -An Island Eco Resort located 210 kms away from Bangalore near Hassan. We left Bangalore on the 31^st of October at 7.15am, families were also invited. The bus took the NICE Road till Magadi and we stopped at Kunigal for Breakfast. We played Dumb Charades, Cards, Housie and Antakshari during the journey. We were only few kms away from Rappa when we had to stop our bus as the road ahead was blocked due to temple inauguration in the village. We were invited to join in the festivities as it would take 2 hours to clear the road ……so we decided to do the 30 minutes walk in the afternoon sun accompanied by the cool breeze from the river to reach Rappa. We were welcomed by 3 lovely dogs -Shunti(Pomeranian), Brownie(Golden Retriever) , Shadow(Basset Hound) and another surprise awaiting us was Jack, a mighty horse which was brought to Rappa a month ago. We were so excited to check out our accommodations which were Machans, Tree houses and Swiss Tents spread beside the river. After the walk, we had all worked out a good appetite and so we enjoyed the lunch.

Nobody wanted to rest so we started with the games. We had four teams for each game which were divided earlier and each team came up with team names like Jinis, Shakalaka boom boom , Rainbow, TechJini Warriors, Parasites and Halloween. Yes, Amal we haven’t sensored ‘Shakalaka boom boom’ from being mentioned in this blog

We started with Lagori which was good fun and The Rainbow team won the game….. of course there were lot of fights which added to the fun. It was not tiring enough for few so we decided to play Cricket followed by Foot ball. I guess too much work and no play gave everyone too much energy we didn’t even want to take the tea break. The Sun was setting by then and we were surrounded by good music, chill breeze and everybody settled down on the sand around the campfire under the dark sky, full moon and stars shining bright (which we hardly get to see here due to city light). After soaking into the lovely atmosphere everybody started dancing and singing along with the music. We had hot hot bajjis and chicken kebab served during the campfire. The dancing did not stop till the fire went off and we had dinner around 12. People at Rappa had planned a Night trek for us. We drove 20 kms from Rappa to reach the point where we had to begin the climb to the top of the hill. We started the climb accompanied by the Shunti, Shadow and Brown with the help of Moon Light. There is a temple on top which is opened once a week to worship God. The view from atop was spectacular (Should be clear and better in day light) . We could see other range of hills, forest and Tipu’s Fort below. It was quiet, dark and very cold on top. We sat there, enjoyed the view and listened to the stories of Tipu Sultan and his secret underground path told to us by our Trek Guide(Nagesh). And yes how can I forgot Rohit and Santosh have lost their 4 hours of memory due to too much mixing of water and juice

We came back to Rappa at 4am to catch up on some sleep and were up by 6.30 to do Kayaking. The river is wide and long as it is a place were two rivers meet and there is an island in the middle of the river. Most of us went rowing till the island and some went swimming in the deep waters.

We had a good breakfast of bread, jam, butter, omelet , poori, saagu, orange juice,tea and coffee. We went by the river side to play team building games to encourage bonding among each other. Each team had 6 members in this game and one person was blindfolded. The blindfolded person would lead the line and rest stand behind to pass on the instructions given from the last person. The twist in the game was that no member was allowed to speak. Instructions were to be passed on only through actions. There was a start line and finish line and on the way three objects were placed. The blindfolded person had to pick up these objects and then move ahead to the finish line. The Rainbow team won this game as well. The second game we played was ‘Brick Game’. There were 6 members in each team and were given 4 bricks. Three people had to step only on the bricks and three would move the bricks to make sure those on bricks are moving ahead towards the finish line without stepping on the ground.

We were physically getting tired and people started complaining about body pain so the next game we played was ‘Create an Ad’ where each team had to Create an Ad on the given product , name the product and enact. The products given were Baby Nappies, Glue, Designer Saree, Hair Growth Cream, Fat losing Belt, Detergent Powder and Mouth Freshener. This was real fun and told us a lot about people’s personal life like how is Akshi as a wife, Amit Singh as a husband and how was Rohit’s childhood

It was lunch time by then and we had to check- out after lunch so we packed our bags had lunch and left Rappa half hearted.

We have these open sessions regularly in our company where everyone talks about why they chose TechJini, what they like here, what should be changed, we share company’s vision, goals and make everyone understand how they are part of it.
Today’s session was to decide ‘appraisal policy’ i.e. on what criteria company should judge performance. Following are the inputs and will form the basis of our policy.

1. Initiative / pro-activeness - Do I wait for work to be assigned to me? Even after seeing/knowing about a bug do I wait for someone to raise it?
2. Following deadlines Following deadlines in itself is not a sign of ‘good performance’ that’s what we are ’supposed’ to do anyways but its considered as good performance if you are given something completely new and you ‘learn and deliver’ or you have a completely untrained team or in any other special scenario.
3. Commitment / ownership - Accepting the bottom line of any work you do. One of the examples given was if I go on a leave I will ensure that none of my project/customers/work is affected, I will do the needful (without someone telling me) to transfer knowledge and if some urgency happens I will be taking out time from my vacation to help the new/replacement team.
4. Doing more than what was assigned - Have I worked on projects/tasks which were not part of my regular work? Do I also participate in other activities which do not fall in my job description?
5. Customer Oriented - Do I always think of what is best for the customer? Do I keep in mind which feature, technology, code will help improve performance and will benefit customer in long run? Do I always point out issues before customer does? Do I get nervous and excited with the customer?
6. Domain Understanding - At the end of the project do I completely understand the domain?
7. Knowledge sharing - Am I contributing to company’s body of knowledge? Am I taking sessions or writing articles to share my learning? Am I being approached by team members to solve issues?
8. Acquiring knowledge - Am I learning only enough to finish the task or at the end of project I am capable of becoming a tech lead for similar technologies?
9. Homework / spoon-feeding - Am I always finishing my homework before asking for help? Do I ask questions the smart way? Do I need spoon-feeding?
10. Then there are other good to have skills like general behavior with others, influencing/persuading skills, communication

We also had very interesting discussion on what we think is ‘hard work’.

Right from the heart, this is what we ‘jinies’ (I just invented that term ) have to say about life at TechJini.
So here is what we like and what we would like to change:

1. Exposure - We get exposed to different kind of work, something we will get to do in 2 years in a big organization we get to do it in first few months only. - Nuwas
2. Good Learning - With so many new projects and all with different technology there are new challenges and lot to learn almost every day. - Akshi
3. More responsibility - Our work is not limited to what is assigned and just coding or testing or designing. We do almost everything and very early in our career. - Everyone
4. Different technologies - Exposure to different technologies and very easy to shift/learn. We get all the help but are also encouraged and showed how to do quick self learning. This acts as a big confidence boost. - Vipindas
5. Flexible timings - Flexible working hours in true sense. No enforcement of mandatory working hours, can work from home, if I work on holiday I am given a compensatory off or cash - Everyone
6. Friendly environment - Very very friendly environment, there are no bosses (absolutely no hierarchy), feels like a small family, even policies are made after open discussions - Everyone
7. Technical Challenges - We get to face more technical challenges which is making us better programmers. - Everyone
8. Neelima - Very friendly and helpful person, someone we will not have anywhere else - Sapna
9. No bureaucracy or politics - Cant be more democratic and fair then in TechJini - Everyone
10. Open to do whatever I want - I get enough opportunity, time and space to do whatever I want other than my regular work. I was able to finish a certification (which company is happy to pay for) and I can interact with everyone in the company - Arun
11. No bench - We have never seen anyone without work. There is absolutely no bench and so many product ideas to work on.
12. My product - Only place where I am encouraged and given full opportunity to work on my own idea and the best part is I don’t have to work alone, everyone in the company will work on my idea.
13. Formal corporate culture - Culture here is too relaxed, we are serious in what we do but we do not get to see a very formal corporate culture which also has lot to teach.
14. Brand Name - All the benefits of working for a big brand name.
15. Company conveyance - hmm….
16. 6 days a week - Sometimes it pinches that our friends are having fun but we work on Saturdays too. Even though we do not do regular work (extra learning or activities) but still.
17. Good Office building - We need to move to an attractive address soon, guys are finding it difficult to call prospective in-laws
18. Website - NEED to change website.

Update:
- Website changed

We recently came to know about the incubation facility that STPI provides to new startups looking for a cost effective and worry free infrastructure. This is really suitable for new units who have not invested in their existing infrastructure and plan to get their own office (leased/owned) in a year’s time. Apart from the infrastructure they also help with HR, legal and accounting functions at extra cost.

It did not turn out suitable for us since we have already invested in our own infrastructure. But had we been aware of this facility when we started, we would have definitely opted for it.

You can contact Remali.R at STPI Bangalore for further information.

Anuj Khurana has some great pointers of what the employees in a startup should be doing and expecting.

I specifically like points 4, 5 and 7:

• The company’s success is your success, and vice versa
• Always remember it’s your company
• Self-drive and self controlled

Read the full post here

During the year and a half of TechJini’s existence, we have learnt several things about starting and running a company in Bangalore. I am putting together our experiences in this post so that it can be helpful to others.

Register the company

The World Bank has a very detailed and comprehensive list of things to be done when you want to start your company. It covers most of the statutory requirements of starting a company in Bangalore. Many of these services are available online, so it makes life simpler. For those that are not available online, it is advisable to go through a Chartered Accountant.

It is advisable to get your company registered before you commence operations. Else it can create problems when you receive payments and don’t yet have a bank account in the company’s name.

Open a bank account

We chose citibank as our company bankers after we spoke to several banks. They offered better personalized service, were easily accessible and had the necessary features we were looking for. Since current account have no interest, choose a bank that offers easy ways to park/withdraw your surplus funds into/from short term funds which are mostly risk free and earn a good interest rate of 6% p.a.

Accounting and statutory compliance

Since Tally is the most commonly used accounting software, I would recommend to buy a license and start using it from the beginning. This avoids any accounting nightmares when you try to create your balance sheets at the eleventh hour. If you are not from an accounting background, it is best to hire a part-time accountant who can visit your premises and update your accounts every week or every fortnight. You can find such a person by locating any Tally coaching institute in your locality. They charge anywhere between Rs 1500 to Rs 3000 based on the amount of work.

There are several statutory and back office requirements like payroll, filing PT returns, advance tax, TDS returns, ROC returns, VAT/CST returns etc that require knowledge, time and effort. I did this myself the first year, but found that it is better to hire a professional for these while I can focus on our core business. Thus we met few CAs and finally contracted one of them. For a monthly fee, they handle all things including accounting, payroll, TDS, ROC, IT , PT etc (except the audit). They charge upwards of Rs 10,000 per month based on the number of employees.

Liability of employee behaviour
Another aspect to remember is that the company should formulate and get every employee (including the founders) tosign a Term of Employment or Company Policy documents. These documents outline several things including (but not limited to)

• employee’s acceptable behavior
• state that if the employee indulges in any unlawfully activity, the company shall not be liable
• the employee shall not use any IP from this company or anywhere else unless authorized

This becomes even more critical for IT startups since cyber laws are still evolving and these documents go a long way in proving that the employer takes preventive measures to protect the law. You can contact any lawyer who specializes in Cyber Law and he can assist you with the drafting of a policy.

Premises and utilities

We chose an office that was close to both the founders’ residences. This greatly improves productivity since we do not waste time and energy commuting to the workplace. Since we are a startup, we chose an office that offered us the best value for the money. Also ensure that there are few eateries in vicinity. Make sure you verify other things like, water availability, parking space, capacity of electricity connection etc.

If you are an IT startup, get at least 2 internet connections. We have BSNL and Tata Indicom. We have had bad experience with both of them, but Airtel (which is the best in terms of uptime) is not available in our locality.

Resources

I am sharing the contacts/resources that may save you time. Feel free to let them know you heard about them from us.
Chartered Accountants

• Dilip Kumar (9341218974) - Apart from CA functions, provides accounting, payroll, statutory compliance services
• Krishnananda Nayak (26578391) - Also provides all CA and other services.
• L. Krishna Moorthy (26789535) - CA and tax consulting. We get our personal returns filed from him.
• Ashim Dey Bhowmick - Provides all functions of CA and also back office services

Lawyers

• Vipin Kumar Jain (9845050266)
• Sajan Poovayya of Poovayya & Co (41156800) http://www.poovayya.net

Please share any thing we missed via the comments.

When we started TechJini, we did not have any particular killer-app in our mind. Of course, we had several ideas that seemed to be promising but we had not decided which one to pursue. When I was talking with my managers and other colleagues (from my previous job), everyone was surprised that we did not have a product idea to start with leave alone a demo/beta version.

We had simply founded the company based on our determination to make a difference to the technology industry in particular and the world in general. However, we did not have the next big idea to start with. We based the company on a common set of values, mission, goals and few contacts who could give us work :). One of the goals, indeed, is to have an innovative offering (or the big idea if you may) ready by some date. But we decided to go ahead and leave our jobs and to brainstorm over the first few months of operations for that killer app.

Since TechJini is just a few months old, we cannot yet ascertain our success or failure. Only time will tell.

But, I do firmly believe that an idea is not central to creating a startup. It definitely gives a big boost but is not necessary. Over the last few months as we learned that really good ideas are hard to come by and also difficult to recognize, it seems we did the right thing since waiting for figuring out that killer app could have taken too long.