Meet Sudarsan Ravi, who is building a Gamification company.

We interview Rodinhooders because their stories are inspiring. ‘Unusual’ and ‘Unique’ will not be the appropriate terms, since all of us take pride in our individual stories. But if we accept the value these amazing entrepreneurs / intrapreneurs / professionals have to add in our lives, we would bloom.

Sudarsan Ravi is a postgraduate Dad-preneur who is building a Gamification company whose first product (RippleHire) focuses on gamifying employee referrals, thus helping companies hire faster & better. Below is an edited excerpt from my conversation with this amazing man.

What is your story, Sudarsan?

I’m a Mumbai based entrepreneur married to the best angel investor in Lalima. I am a father to a 5 month old kid in Adith and a mother to RippleHire who is now 22 months old. I love the Rodinhoods forum and am happy to share my experiences here. Thank you for interviewing me.

Your first step out in the big awesome world was as an associate at ICICI. What should one look to gain from a summer internship?

The ICICI experience gave me my first taste of corporate life and subsequently helped land a job at Deloitte. “What will I gain?” is the wrong question to focus on. The biggest challenge with an internship is the duration. Two to three months is short. If you can leave an impact in those three months at the organization, you will automatically learn a lot. Go into an organization looking at what you could do and if you can make something better.

The key question to ask is “How can I add value?”

Your experience working at Georgia Tech? Your perspective on whether something similar is possible in India. Was there a stark difference in the culture? Key lessons and memories?

Before going to Georgia Tech, I lived like a king. I would be careless and spend my dad’s money fairly easily.  I remember going to Georgia Tech and picking up an apple for lunch and paying Rs.70 for it. I hated apples but it was the cheapest thing on the menu. That was a turning point. I knew spending in USD would just not work unless I earn in USD. I walked around the campus looking for a job for the next three weeks, knocking on every door only to be turned away many times. I did get one offer contingent on me changing my course altogether which did not make sense, but finally struck gold when the printing press manager agreed to get me on board as an assistant. Working at the printing press in college helped me pay for my tuition. I think the entire experience grounded me and taught me a lot of things.

Can this be done in India? Sure. There are loads of SMB’s looking for people who are willing to work for them. As long as you are willing to make an investment of time and sincerity, it is not difficult to get into a small setup.

What did Deloitte teach you which you would have found it hard to learn elsewhere?

At Deloitte Consulting, we had a new project every six months. Each client problem statement, the environment, the culture, the politics and the team would be different. You start every project with a clean slate and you have to prove yourself each time in a different environment. Working on a new project meant that you ran into all kinds of people. It helped me hone my ability to work among different teams and at the end of the day, most industries in the world are defined and refined by people. So if I have to pick one thing, it would be people skills.

The best part of working at Deloitte was me learning
the essential ‘people skills’!

Would you recommend work experience before starting up? Why?

Yes. I absolutely would. I worked at a startup after Deloitte before starting RippleHire. You learn a lot of what to do and what not to do in a short span when you work at a startup. It is important to learn the ropes and develop one skill that you are really good at. Big companies can teach you processes and professionalism both of which are necessary for scaling.

How did RippleHire happen?

I had the opportunity to grow the PS business unit at Deloitte and experienced several hiring challenges when I was there. Post that, I quit to start off but wasn’t quite sure on the idea. I looked at everything from Medical tourism to Hospitality to Technology. One startup later, I started to assess my strengths and see the areas that I could value to. I had always sat between business and technology. My consulting background meant that when we got down to RippleHire, we got a core team together and only focused on the problem. The problem we solve is that the best way to hire is employee referrals but it does not result in enough candidates. For the first year, we did not even sell. We only approached people in the talent ecosystem to understand their world and their problems. We would then define mock-ups and then our product would get rubbished repeatedly till a year later, I had a TA Head show serious interest.

Your team and mentors?

Our core team comprises of two sets of people. The first set has 8-10 years of experience and the folks have given up plush jobs after stints in the West. The second set consists of the folks who have given up openings at top MNCs (and in one special case, even an engineering degree).

All of us are now committed to the dream of building
a top class products company out of India.

We have been fortunate to be mentored by some top notch serial entrepreneurs and industry experts. They have taken us under their wing, corrected us and helped us validate our beliefs and ideas along the way. A big turning point for us as a company was the TiE Bootcamp. We ran into some serious entrepreneurs and gained valuable insights from the program. The best part of the program was the core team. I sincerely believe that Kanchan Kumar (who tweets here and heads the Bootcamp) will be the Paul Graham out of India. The value we have received is so strong, I highly recommend the TiE Accelerator if you’re serious about your business.

RippleHire would not be where it is today if not for our team and mentors. The credit to our progress lies in their ideas, efforts, support and dedication. I feel fortunate and proud to work with this team. We have a long way to go together on our journey.

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The highlights we can take away from a conversation with Sudarsan-

• There’s no alternative to humility & hard work.
• Know what you seek to gain from where you work.
• Persist and listen to your customers.
• Build and value relationships.
• Education is a continuous process.

Follow him on Twitter (@Ravi_Sudarsan)

Thanks a bunch, Sudarsan! Best wishes from the community.

About the Author: @sushrutmunje

I build Hammer and Mop – specializing in marketing, service and operations. I’m a published poet and a writer. Startups excite me. Have been a part of speaker panels and given guest lectures at business schools, been a speaker at Youth to Business Forums (powered by AIESEC) and I sit on Unltd India‘s selection board once in a while. Contributing as a business writer at TheRodinhoods – creating content, interviewing inspiring entrepreneurs / intrapreneurs / professionals and covering events.