Turning ideas into business results

6 Months in the life of a start up

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:59:00 +0000

Its been a while since we last updated on all the news here at iRunway.. its funny how lots of activity and very little activity both result in very little to narrate :) Fortunately for us, things have been moving at a crazy pace.. so lots of activity to share... and very little time to do it in.

Firstly, we actually finished and moved to the office (related posts below..). Its been quite a labor of love and turned out to be just the "right" place for us. The flip side was, due to growth in both the work and the team size (the perils of being good at what you do .. :P), now are already looking at other places to expand to.

On the recruitment side, we had a phenomenal recruitment both last year and this year (i.e. associates set to join us this coming summer). The sheer quality of people and the excitement levels are both sky high right now. Work wise, its been all that we could ask for.. opportunity for high value-addition in challenging technology domains at the same time creating the right DNA in the firm to help affect the industry. With the end clients responding well to our output and giving us tougher and more challenging work with each passing month, we could start seeing our idea of creating a new industry take clearer shape.

Lastly, we (the founding team) can see that the company is already bigger than all of us. Over time the organization took shape and just the synergy created by the whole team results in all the details being taken care of with minimal effort. That is truly a great feeling.. feels like a snowball gaining mass and speed..

The party and its aftermath...

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 06:26:00 +0000

9th July 2007

“C’mon lets go! Its time for the party, otherwise we would get late. Let’s form the team first and remember, one who is lucky to be in my team has already won the game”
With these comments from a braggart, everybody started to gear up for the party on Wednesday 4th July at around 6:30 pm. Since this was the first office party and many people had just joined company, there was a lot of excitement for this long awaited party. The venue decided was one of the best possible in Bangalore. What can be better than party at a 7 star hotel-Leela palace. It was decided that for the first party we will do two things BOWLing and BEERing. After a lucky draw, 5 teams of two players each were formed and bet money of 1000 was decided for the winner with each player contributing 100.Let me also mention the names which were decided for each team after this party.

Shashank and Deepesh - iWinners (a name which needs no explanations as would be clear later)
Ravi and Virendra - i1 (a name which was decided after much brainstorming by Ravisan, I wonder what sort of brainstorming was it)
Kunal and Brijesh - iKill2win (a name which came out of the great mind of you know who)
Animesh and Tejaswi - iBinze (a name from our techi guy)
Harish and Yuvendra - iCon (a name which suits these CONS)

At around 6:45 we left for the venue. It was torturous ride through a chaotic traffic. But sight of Leela Palace and excitement generated for the party made it all vanish. It started with a game of snooker between two teams-iWinners and iBinze where our dear braggart lost. Kunal and Brijesh were the first to start BEERing while watching the game. Brijesh was soon drunk enough (just in one glass of beer) to forget all the rules of snooker. Shashank and Deepesh won the snooker game. Animesh also tried to teach JKsan the art of Snookering (shouldn’t forget to mention, after loosing a game himself). While Harish, Virendra and Yuvendra joined the BEER club, Ravi and Brijesh decided to go for a game of air hockey. Brijesh came out as a winner with score of 5 as against 3 of Ravi. Soon afterwards everybody headed for bowling. This was the game where all the bet money was placed. So everyone started with lot of enthu.

After two three rounds it was clear that competition is more or less between three teams -iWinners, iBinze and iKill2win.But in the end iWinners came out as winners once again and our poor old braggart lost once again. Shashank came out as a star performer with 138 points.

During the game members were also served lot of energizers like chicken this, chicken that etc. It seemed Ravi and Shashank were the once spending maximum energy and therefore gobbling most of the energizers. People who don’t eat non-veg were almost left out with only CORN served to them. After all this, members collected outside the Leela Palace and started boasting for next fight and abused bowling as a trivial game. All this seemed endless until the doorkeeper asked us to leave (as we were blocking the entrance).This forced all of us to leave for home.
This party also taught lessons to many members. For example Yuvendra learnt a lesson that you have to wear bowling shoes while Bowling, our dear braggart realized that there is no point in boasting when you actually don’t know how to play the game and last but not the least the three musketeers realized that you got to give the money placed on bet or else it is cut from your salary.

Overall it was an amazing night which left many cherished moments. It also gave new- comers insight into the fun side of iRunway (especially when masterji is giving you work all the time). Now when battle has already started, most members are now waiting for next fight to take place. Harish, Yuvendra, Ravi and Tejaswi are the ones who are really eager to restore their lost pride. And with declaration of trophy for overall champions, everything seems to be much more interesting now.

Let me end with some of the suggestions mentioned by the members for the next party. Most of the members are willing to play games like football, badminton this time and they call it “Real Games”(that is mainly because of hope to win there after loosing in a trivial game like bowling). Going to disco is another thing most of the members would like to do. Especially Brijesh seems to be very excited about this. I wonder whether he is excited about disc or the girls. And last suggestion is that next time party should be held on Friday and arrangements should me made for something stuffier to eat specially for vegetarians.

Post by: Deepesh Hiran

Comments by other members

Harish
Wednesday was a blast. Had loads of fun bowling. And here is a suggestion, if you want to improve your bowling skills then Booze. Although we did not come up as winners, but it was a good game overall. Next party can be in a disc or “Field Sports” like football should be played. Next time iCons will come with a blast.

Yuvendra
The amazing Wednesday evening left many memorable moments to cherish by the close… the battle against the ‘sucking’ traffic to get to Leela notwithstanding. The iCons demonstrated their ability to not only compete on new surfaces, rather beat the ‘self proclaimed’ veteran players :). Though we did not win this first battle, we fought like true iCons in the rather unfamiliar territory of ‘bowling’!! We are on… to win the next
Battle… and of course the “WAR”. Bring ‘em on... we are iCon!!

Next time try to organize a football match or even better is a badminton match of doubles…..hire a indoor baddy court for a day and play like round robin league……..it will be really exciting. And of course iCons will win that tournament…Yohhhhh!!!

Kunal
It was an evening that started with a harrowing bike ride through the chaotic traffic of Bangalore city. We somehow managed to reach Leela Palace alive only to find that there was no provision of any “real” games. I mean pool, bowling, air hockey - do people call them games?
Thankfully there was beer for company and we managed to derive some pleasure from the crushing defeat of iBinze- the team that was bragging the most and making the maximum noise. We had the bowling competition next and there was more pleasure given another crushing defeat for iBinze. iWinners were the winners of the evening in the true sense of the word having won both bowling and pool. We discovered some hidden talents- people who’d never played bowling before came out on top. Lesson learned- It takes a single game to discover the player inside you!
Next event: Any "real" game

Brijesh
It was awesome party but lacked more games as pool, air-hockey, video games etc…. this led to a biased result in favor of some “bowling geeks”. It was a poorly managed, ill-informed show… anyhow enjoyed the fun of it… Waiting for a better party next time….
Include at least 2 different games!! ( bowling ruled out )…

Sankar
Awesome dood san!! it was a gr8 evening for all of us. It is a great thing that we have sweat it out for the general championship trophy through out the year. We quote Linkin Park's song - Points of Authority
"Forfeit the game, before somebody else
Takes you out of the frame, puts your name to shame
Cover up your face, you can't run the race
The pace is too fast, you just won't last. "

Virendra
Wednesday's log overdue party was real fun. I teamed up with Ravi. Initially I was just observing many bragsters bragging about a game alien to me. Finally the game began had a lot of blast and beer(that was the best part) . But the game that looked so simple at first sight was not that easy for me. But had a lot of fun and considering this to the first party at iRunway i think the fun quotient will head north in coming fridays.
Finally one closing statement " I hate mediocricity thats why the Rank :) "
Ya finally after long deliberations with Ravi, we came up with name of the team "iONE".
These were my 4-5 lines but after we win next time, I fear you will have to bear my 40-50 lines.

iRunway Office maps and address

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:25:00 +0000

After hearing "so, where exactly is your office??", for the umpteenth time, it was time to do something about it. So, here is the address:

iRunway India Private Limited,

K.K. Center,

88 Koramangala Industrial Area,

5th Block, Koramangala,

Bangalore 560095

...and.. here is a little map of the general area.

iRunway office progress...

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:10:00 +0000

Our new office is taking shape. Right now its still like that Rubik's cube a few turns away from completion.. figured a fuzzy image must still be worth at least 500 words.. so.. here are the images from the site..

Foreground ...the cool new desks & in the background the electrical work and AC ducting work that's still going on.

False ceiling and the pantry/informal area. Those with 20/20 vision can make out the shelves for the library...

That's all for now.. This will be all ready soon for all the new associates to start in a fresh new place.. and for a nice change of p(l)ace for us old timers :)

Preparations on in full swing to scale

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Thu, 10 May 2007 16:55:00 +0000

The iRunway office at Geetanjali Paradise is always bubbling with activities. Everyone is running around for one thing or the other. Yes, it is the scaling season.

To begin with, we recently finalized on a 2000 sq ft plus office space at the downtown of Bangalore, in Kormanagala. Interestingly, the color of the building is iRunway yellow, seeming for once that it was actually made keeping us in mind. Finding the right place was not easy. We spent over a month looking for the place. Our key considerations were (i) it should be spacious enough to accommodate 30+ people, (ii) it should be in a posh locality, and (iii) it should be at the heart of the city so that the employees can commute easily

Then we have to furnish the office. Suggestions are pouring in (and welcome) from various quarters. The layout, color scheme, chair design, cubicle design, and wall color everything needs to be figured out.

Finally there is hiring. Efforts are on to identify the set of people that will form the pioneer batch of associates at iRunway. The initial response to our job posting on various email groups of the class of 2007 has been overwhelming. The process is on to shortlist candidates based on their resume. We intend to hold recruitment sessions in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore in the last week of May/first week of June. We also continue to invite resumes of people interested in working with us.

At the back end, there is preparation of the induction program and the training program for the pioneer batch of associates.

Ohhh of course we have lots of client work going on too!!!

All in all, very busy times… but no one is complaining. :-)

iRunway looking for young graduates to take it to the next level

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 08:29:00 +0000

After nine months of operating as a start-up (boot strapping et al), iRunway is finally all set to expand to a small-sized company. We are looking for young graduates to join our team. These associates will be the pioneer batch of iRunway. The founding team has taken it unto themselves to handpick the pioneer batch. We are looking for youngsters with an entrepreneurial temperament; those that are self-starters, and can make things happen. Given that iRunway is merely nine months old, the onus of building the organization would be on these associates.

We intend to hold interviews in May, in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, and are looking to meet and talk with as many people as possible.

The pioneer batch is expected to join on June 1, 2007.

Lance Jones joins iRunway board

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 04:26:00 +0000

Lance Jones, Vice President and General Counsel at Trilogy Inc., agreed to join iRunway as a Director on the board. Lance brings with him extensive experience in the Intellectual Property generation, management and litigation.

Lance’s association with iRunway dates back to the days when iRunway was still a concept. While Ravi and Animesh were in the US on Trilogy Business Development work, they discussed the idea with Lance, who saw the merit and agreed to act as an 'advisor' then. Over the next seven months of iRunway's existence, Lance has acted as a mentor and been instrumental in shaping the very early days of the Company.

We are very excited to have Lance on board, and look forward to great things in the days to come.

About good living!

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 02:52:00 +0000

Employees should be taken well care of. The environment has significant effect on your performance. You do, the way u feel; you feel, the way you live; and you live the way you do! (in simpler terms: your actions are a function of how you feel, your feelings are a function of how you live, and how you live is a function of your actions). So live well to do well. It is an iterative process. As both 'doing' and 'living' start as non-zeroes, each one has the potential to perform beyond excellence... some may do it quick, others may take a little more time. Too convoluted???

Let me talk about something that I was once told... one of those gyaan sessions that you need to put up with whenever you tell someone that you are starting out (though this was for life in general, and I really liked it)

mind your thoughts, they become words;
mind your words, they become actions;
mind your actions, they become habits;
mind your habits, they become character;
mind your character, it becomes your destiny!!

So to be super lucky... think well :-).

Some random thoughts... but they augur well with where iRunway is right now!!

Expanding the team, raising money & the rest...

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 14:43:00 +0000

Today we added more members to the team... there is a great sense of excitement and anticipation for the road ahead. On a side note we feel ready to secure some funding for the next stage. A few lessons learnt on the way to this point:

1. Seed Funding: Unless your idea is something huge, (Cold Fusion??) and requires big investment to even test the idea, its a bad move to raise a large amount of seed funding. Best to look into that piggy bank (and touch your friends, family or that well meaning acquaintance) to test the merit of the idea. Best businesses are grown using customer funds.

2. Early Stage: Once you have reached a comfort level with the business and fixed the teething problems, raise as much money as required to effectively exploit the opportunity - There is such thing as raising too little money and such thing as raising too much money. Find that sweet spot and stick to that.

.. Yet to learn the rest on a first hand basis.. so no personal insights there :)

First salary

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 14:44:00 +0000

Today the first set of salary checks were handed out to the employees. For Yuvi, it was the first pay check of his life.

How does one spend her/his first pay? This is what some of the current iRunway team members did with their first pay checks…

1. Kabra... drank it up; what else?????
2. Ravi... gave it to his sister; now that takes a big heart!
3. Animesh... installment for the car; some people just can’t bear public transport!
4. Birjoo... eating, drinking and making merry; isn't that what lifez all about?
5. Harsh... Whirlpool fridge for cold water...pahaadi aadmi in scortching Delhi heat; need to get your lifestyle in place dude!
6. Yuvi... still figuring out :-)

On Entrepreneurship

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 15:39:00 +0000

Joe Liemandt, Founder, President and CEO of Trilogy, describes the passion and perseverance it took to take his enterprise software company from a five-person start-up to a global industry leader - Pod Cast here: http://odeo.com/audio/319017/view

Five out of five

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 07:49:00 +0000

... that was the score JK earned in his first test on Hindi 'matras'. Congratulations!!! To do it in just three days of training, no mean feat I tell ya.

JK is employee #4 of iRunway. He has contributed to more to the productivity of the company than the rest of the team put together. His value to iRunway goes beyond just productivity benefits. :-) He has been the key 'value prop' of iRunway in attracting people who are thinking of a career with us.

He manages the administration here. From office maintenance, to couriering, photocopying, preparing food, to tea on demand... you name it... he does it all with equal nonchalance.At 27, he has decided to become literate and take on more responsibility at iRunway (and beyond)...as if he wasnt already the most burdened employee around!! Team iRunway has taken it unto them to teach him... from the basics of Hindi vowels et al (not that we know it ourselves), to advanced calculus (kidding!).

Keep a tab on this space to closely monitor JKs progress with iRunway, and his entry to the world of the educated!!

Yuvi and Beti join iRunway

noreply@blogger.com (iRunway) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 07:54:00 +0000

After a couple of weeks of processing, we are finally a full strength team now. The pace is better and the team is really vibing. Think we are ready for the next big wave :)