What we’ll be remembered for in 2019
By Pratyush Nalla, founding member OfBusiness
Having seen the journey of OfBusiness from its inception, 2019 has been one of the most exciting, exhilarating and most importantly defining years for the potential, people and culture OfBusiness nurtures.
Here are a few headlines covered across the months in 2019-
“SREI’s growth slowing down over weak market sentiment: Group chairman” Business Standard
“The city bench of the National Company Law Tribunal on Monday admitted the crippled mortgage player DHFL for bankruptcy proceedings” - India Today
“Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance ADAG, said that Reliance Capital has decided it will no longer be in any lending business” - Economic Times
“OfBusiness raises Rs. 250cr. — The capital infusion comes at a time when the overall financial services sector has been under stress due to a liquidity squeeze” - Economic Times
“Click Moment ‘We chose to be a full-fledged lending entity: Asish Mohapatra, Co-founder and CEO, OfBusiness” - Live Mint
“Iʼll give you money to buy from me: how OfBusiness broke the profitability jinx in SME lending” - ET Prime
2019 has been the year of an epic turmoil in the NBFC market and the great economic slowdown across automotive, FMCG, consumable segments which were riddled with financial losses, lay-offs and businesses closing; OfBusiness grew 4x in Assets Under Management, 10x in profitability, and 2x in number of people.
“I’m not afraid of the storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship!”
I believe that Altruism, Brotherhood and Camaraderie(ABC) are the 3 most decisive qualities exhibited by any OFBian which makes our culture unparalleled. What started out as an ABC metric to measure performance transformed every OFBian to trust each other (Camaraderie), be there for one another (Brotherhood) and be selfless at helping one another (Altruism). From my limited experience, if you ask me how easy/difficult it is to build such a culture, I would say maybe one in a billion. It should be a matter of pride and luck for every OFBian who has seen this amazing ABC culture being built across the company.
“Over a period of time, I also have come to realize that Altruism, Brotherhood, Camaraderie are the most important qualities that unite a team, that grow a team and that multiply value. Skill, talent and work are important, but not as important as these three values.” -Nitin Jain, Cofounder
We witnessed a radical transformation in the company’s monthly newsletter and extraordinary effects were visible, all across the organization. It is an aspect of Ofbusiness that has held our cultural fabric intact across multiple geographies, numerous verticals. Man, one cannot ask for better content than this! From content on business to incredibly hilarious content, reading the newsletter is a refreshing experience, to say the least.
“Someone asked me a few days before that ‘Why are you so passionate and why do you work for long hours? Are you an owner of this company??’ And my answer was that ‘Even though I am not an owner, the freedom with which I contribute, engage, learn etc. makes me feel not less than an owner. I am a proud OFBian” -Satender Singh, Manager-Supplier Operations
One of the most successful stories of 2019 would be the month of July when the 1st edition of Ofbusiness Premier League took place. The atmosphere in the entire company across regions was absolutely electrifying which not only resulted in one of the best months in terms of performance but also cemented the core values of ABC within everyone. This was followed by 2 more successful regional OPLs and a bump up in the energies, adrenaline levels and the performance metrics of every OFBian.
“And you roar and roar and roar, and unleash the self hidden within you!
Unleash the force hidden within you!
Unleash the force hidden within you!!
Unleash the force hidden within you!!
Unleash the self hidden within you!”
- Harshil Modi, Gujarat Sales, IIM-K
At OfBusiness, we have always believed that celebration is an integral part of the work. September 2019 we had our first Ofbusiness Leadership Offsite where we celebrated the people who were leaders of tomorrow, the people who would carry our culture forward, the people whom the top management believed in blindly, the people who would take this company to scale, the people who would take this company to be a unicorn, the people who would take this company to an IPO!
“You get that feeling, even when not looking for it, “yeh life me kuchh karega.” Some blow you away with passion, some with knowledge, some with communication, some with intellect, others with natural talent: reasons may differ but you can’t stop feeling, “yeh life me…” - Asish Mohapatra, Co-founder & CEO
Never before has any company seen leaders from every department come in and train our new joinee Management Trainees to take charge of our tomorrow! Right from the CEO, to the department heads to the regional heads hand-held each and every new Joinee through their beginning months in Ofbusiness till they started out-performing the mentors themselves. With the baton of responsibility being passed over to the young passionate blood, we are set to become a unicorn in 2020!
“Lack of Stress is Lack of Passion. No toll collector, no stenographer, no phone operator ever had stress. It’s a job for him — to pay bills and keep living. I-Bankers, Ivy League lawyers, McKinsey consultants, US Marine and the Mossads feel the highest stress and the deepest depression but strike it big.” – Tamarish Sinha, Head Maharashtra
I would like to end with one of my favourite dialogues from an episode of Black Mirror called “USS Callister” where the protagonist describes his creation Space Fleet which can be well related to what OfBusiness is –
“What is Space Fleet? I’ll tell you what it is. It is a belief system, founded on the very best of human nature! It is a goal for us to strive towards, for the betterment of the universe, for the betterment of life itself!”