Zomato faced financial challenges and almost went broke multiple times. Deepinder Goyal, the founder, managed to bring money back each time. He describes the journey as fun and believes that challenges are enjoyable. The discussion also touches on India's present and future in terms of workforce.
Deepinder Goyal is welcomed to TRS and the conversation starts with a friendly exchange of greetings. The speaker expresses that he doesn't work for Deepinder, hence his casual energy.
Zomato's push notifications have a unique and trippy style that was not originally planned but evolved organically. The team tried different approaches, which led to the distinctive notification content.
The speaker experienced multiple phases of wanting to give up and feeling very low, even considering quitting every two to three weeks.
Despite public perception, Zomato faced financial crises multiple times and managed to recover by carefully managing their funds. The company maintained a strict four-month reserve of money in the bank to sustain operations during difficult times.
The day starts with morning gym and back-to-back meetings for 8-9 hours. The focus is on putting the right people in the right places to handle a big company.
Internal Growth vs. External Hires Zomato prefers internal growth over hiring externally, especially for top-level positions. Hiring from within the company saves time and ensures that employees understand the business well.
Dealing with Top-Level Mistakes Mistakes can happen at all levels, including top management. Zomato deals with these mistakes using a consistent mentality similar to how they dealt with issues in 2008.
Entrepreneurship is a difficult journey, but problems are seen as fun and pain is considered pleasure. It's compared to BDSM of business where the challenges are embraced like the gym.
Ranveer respects Deepinder the most for his product skills, which are crucial for business growth. Nithin Kamath highlighted the importance of product people in startups, as they think creatively and build the present based on their vision of the future. Ranveer also appreciates Zomato's innovative approach compared to its competitors.
The Decline of Reading Habit Reading habit is declining due to the prevalence of short content and podcasts, which reflects a changing world culture. The author represents the internet and understands the thinking of youth.
Culture-Led Organization Zomato is a culture-led organization where people and culture are crucial for its success. The book about Zomato's culture serves as a handbook for employees, providing guidance on behavior, growth, quality of work, self-improvement, and organizational processes.
Zomato's ability to scale is attributed to its culture, which emphasizes self-growth and mindset. The company's core principles have been distilled into a book after a decade of work, highlighting the importance of unlearning and bringing freshness to problem-solving.
Zomato's Unique Hiring Approach Zomato hires its workforce from various locations in India, without specific rules or restrictions. The company seeks out talented individuals rather than waiting for job seekers and invests time in approaching and developing them, especially at the mid to senior level.
Challenges of Hiring Process The hiring process at Zomato is lengthy, akin to courting or dating for 6-12 months before successfully recruiting people. Additionally, the company does hire GenZ employees who are recognized as highly intelligent but may have less patience compared to older workers.
Entrepreneurship is driven by the desire for freedom, not just from financial constraints but also from a sense of slavery. The pursuit of different forms of freedom motivates ambitious individuals to venture into entrepreneurship.
ONDC is like the government's version of Zomato, introducing a new player in the market. It may not be seen as competition yet, but it requires studying and strategizing for potential future impact.
Entrepreneurial Challenges Facing the challenge of Swiggy's billion-dollar funding while having no funds, Zomato sold its UAE business for $170 million and continued to fight with determination. The focus was on creating a base-level blueprint and maintaining a strong mindset to solve problems without making excuses or blaming others.
Professional Relationship The founders have met multiple times, focusing on friendship rather than discussing current business due to legal restrictions. They maintain fair competition and discuss future developments like drone operations. While one founder has never used Swiggy, the other admits using it for experimental purposes but not as a regular user.
User Preference for Zomato and Swiggy The speaker uses Zomato for food delivery and prefers Swiggy for ordering groceries. The preference is based on the convenience of using an app that was already installed on the phone from the beginning.
Founder's Perspective on User Experience As a founder, the speaker evaluates their emotions when using Zomato to ensure seamless and calm user experience. Irritation with app functionality indicates issues that need to be addressed through a product feedback group.
The Zomato CEO rarely shouts when giving feedback. However, if someone's mind doesn't stop running or they don't listen, he raises his volume to get the message across. This strategy works half the time but fails when the person has too much noise in their head.
Ankit Baiyanpuria, a former Zomato rider, has experienced rapid growth on Instagram through daily vlogs showcasing his fitness journey. With over 500 podcasts and notable guests like Dr. Jaishankar and Priyanka Chopra, Ankit's account has outpaced them in view growth by threefold.
Evolution from Review App to Delivery App Zomato's journey from a review app to a delivery app, with the founder recalling the initial idea of Beer Biceps as a Zomato review page and his early entrepreneurial ventures in food ordering apps.
Transition into Delivery Service The decision to transition into a delivery service was influenced by Swiggy's success and customer demand. The founder had always envisioned creating such an app since 2005, despite facing challenges with previous start-ups.
Good Marketing vs Bad Marketing Zomato believes in good marketing and rejects the idea that all publicity is good. They emphasize leaving a positive impression on people, associating marketing with positive emotions, and making someone smile through their messages.
Core Marketing Strategy of Zomato The core mentality behind Zomato's marketing strategy focuses on making people smile by delivering positive energy through their messages. Their branding team aims to achieve generic smiles by sending relevant notifications and hiring GenZ employees for humor.
Evolution of Zomato's Marketing While distribution channels have changed over the years (from Facebook to Instagram), the tonality and consistency of achieving positive results has remained constant. The current focus is on Instagram and push notifications as effective distribution channels that can go viral with a thought-out process.
Zomato acknowledges the range in quality of work and people among delivery partners, expressing gratitude for their hard work and emphasizing the importance of safety, health, and honesty. Addressing fraudulent activities at the bottom level while reassuring consequences for such actions.
Zomato earns money through customer charges and commissions from restaurants. The goal is to ensure that the incoming money exceeds the outgoing expenses.
Customers express concern about the decreasing discounts on Zomato. They feel that the initial discounts were higher and are now reduced to 20%. There is dissatisfaction with how the discount is presented, preferring transparency over misleading offers.
Zomato's revenue model is based on making Rs. 80-100 per order, with profits as low as Rs. 5-10 due to high costs such as the entire tech infrastructure and fixed team expenses. However, at scale, the cost per order reduces significantly when orders increase by 10X.
Zomato is not expanding to more countries, it's an India-only business. They purchased some businesses earlier but they were all closed down during COVID.
By analyzing a large audience sample size, Zomato can predict future trends and behaviors. The company's focus on India's economic growth and spending power indicates optimism about its potential as an emerging superpower in the next 10-20 years. Zomato leverages data from small towns to understand unique use cases, such as providing entertainment options where traditional amenities are limited.
Zomato's current challenge is focused on growth and profit, with internal emphasis on team quality. The CEO is currently taking a more HR-like role to ensure the right people are in the right places working on the right problems.
Focus on India In 2013-15, the focus was on international expansion, underestimating India's market size. The learning is to prioritize and focus on the Indian market due to its unique culture, regulations, and business complexities. Advice for startups: stay in India and avoid spreading too thin internationally.
Growth Mentality The growth mentality before expansion was focused on scale without considering if there's a substantial 'ball' (opportunity) to hit. This highlights the importance of strategic growth planning rather than pursuing expansion for the sake of it.
The speaker reflects on the hypothetical scenario of being a young entrepreneur today and discusses the type of business they would pursue in India. They emphasize that age is not a determining factor, and if they had a brilliant idea, they would still pursue it within Zomato or start something new.
The Value of Reading Deepinder Goyal discusses his wide range of reading interests, including books on chemistry, physics, and biotech. He emphasizes the importance of exercising the mind through diverse reading materials.
Impactful Books and First Principles Thinking Goyal shares that 'The Art of Thinking Clearly' is a book he often gifts to others due to its focus on first principles thinking and human biases. He highlights the significance of understanding biases for making better decisions in life.
Constant Learning Process 'Life is not easy,' says Goyal as he stresses the value of constant learning. He explains that acquiring knowledge from various fields can lead to smarter decision-making even when it seems unrelated at first glance.