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Rohan – Bhansali – Interview @ TheRodinHoods

By Rohan Bhansali on 21 Comments / 2199 views

 

Your Name and nice Photograph of yourself/your Business/ etc

 Rohan Bhansali

Your E-mail id

rohan (at) gozoop (dot) com 

Your Social Media links (delete which you don’t have)

Facebook – www.facebook.com/gozoop

Twitter – @gozoop

Linkedin – https://in.linkedin.com/in/rohansbhansali

 If you have a Company/Start up, its URL –

www.gozoop.com & www.zozolo.com

 Your therodinhoods.wpengine.com page link (compulsory) – 

https://www.therodinhoods.com/profile/RohanBhansali

What exactly do you do?

I head Gozoop, wherin we love the web and the potential it offers.

We are a digital services and products agency and are helping a lot of ecommerce players across India, Singapore and Middle East with their online presence. 

My role at Gozoop is ever-changing (whatever needs to be done) but HR, Finance and Sales are functions that I love.

Having found my passion in the people side of business (HR), my goal is to create and maintain a happy workplace where the team comes before everything.

Of course there are certain realities that business brings up but we have been planning our growth and ventures with the underlying value of “keeping our team happy”.

Why do you do what you do? Is it to make money, to become famous, to run away from something, to retire, to kill boredom?

It all started just for the fun of a venture – creating something out of nothing. As I have grown through experiences (life and work), making a livelihood for the team and myself provides good motivation.

Is there anything unique in what you do? 

Innovation wise: We launched India’s first social commerce product – Zozolo.com, which was shortlisted for Mashable’s Fast Pitch 2010.

Culture wise: These are the things we do. All may not be unique but they make our culture unique.

1. Every Saturday the team comes together (no matter how busy they are) and we do crazy things – Idli eating competitions, back to school drawing competitions, ragging new recruits, dancing to 90’s Bollywood tunes, Dumb charades, etc. Last week we played passing the parcel.

2. Gozooper of the Week – Every Thursday, an email is sent to the entire team mentioning one odd (or weird) fact of a team member. The team then has to guess who the person is. Great way to get to know each other.

3. Every year we write a hand written letter to the parents of our most dedicated and earnest team mates highlighting their achievements. There is no prouder moment for parents than hearing about their child’s success.

4. We have weekly Foosball mash ups where we bring together as a team, the people who don’t work together on a day to day basis. The winning team gets a Bournville ‘cause you can’t buy it, you have to earn it!

5. A certain percent of our profits our committed to our CSR. The team together decides the cause or foundation that we donate to.

6. We definitely have an open door policy but once every 4 months we choose a random set of 10 people who are literally “forced” to speak up and suggest at least 2 improvements or suggestions to our work, culture or process.

7. GZ Good Times – Every month, the guys who consistently reach office on time are treated to something nice. Last Saturday this set of guys went for The Dark Knight rises.

8. Our HR head Bansi is our “Happiness Officer”. She sometimes surprises a randomly picked team member with a cupcake on their desks when they are back from lunch.

9. While hiring, the focus is first on soft skills. We constantly ask, “Will he/she add to and fit into our culture and happiness?”

10. Our FB page speaks more culture and less digital marketing.

What happens if this fails?

We already have a great team. We love the web. We start something new on it.

Any one or two incidents that make you shiver or feel proud of your journey so far?

Proud

1. When 2 of our key developers (Kiran & Rajesh) decided to stick with us despite being offered more than double the salaries from big IT names (let’s not forget job security vis a vis a start up)

2. When one of my team mate offered his personal savings to us when we were facing cash flow problems before salary time. I obviously didn’t take it but the gesture is engraved in my memory

Shiver

Nothing really…Not to say we haven’t gone through tough times but things have always worked out. Infact we have always evolved better through our tough times. So now when things are not as rosy, I secretly expect a miracle. Something always works out.

State one really bad habit and one good habit (if you actually have one)

Bad – The excitement of starting a venture sometimes outdoes my ability to think pragmatically. 

Famous last words to the readers?

Hit the road Jack. (And if you feel like hearing the song, go to our website – www.gozoop.com)

Finally, say YES below the next para:

I solemnly put my hand on my religious book/favorite novel and swear that what I have said above (including my photos) is the truth. So help me, Rodinhood

Yes.

*******

Awesome Interview? Get one for yourself!!

********

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21 Comments

  1. neat!

    i really like bansi!!! (and of course, the way you describe your workplace & work culture!)

    thank you for the great read!  

  2. A great read, Rohan!!! Your team and organisation looks like a fun place to work.  And There are some things which certainly money can’t buy specially relationships and trust.

    Thanks for sharing.

  3. Bansi is wawesomeee. 

  4. Good..

    Thanks

    Sai

  5. Thankuu Asha and Rohan!! 🙂

  6. Great Organization Culture and Motivating Team-work. Rohan, All the best Team GoZoop

  7. Would be one of the Top places to work in 

  8. Thats the craziest startup environment i have ever heard about..

  9. your website is WOW! 🙂

    must see.

  10. Simply loved the initiatives by you all. Can I come to see this awesome place? 🙂

  11. Please come down this Saturday for games. Address on website.

  12. We are looking to hire sincere and dedicated people with a passion for anything digital – Social Media, SEO, PPC, Development, etc. Please do spread the word amongst potentially interested people. Those interested can get in touch with our Happiness Officer on bansi (at) gozoop (dot) com.

  13. rohan/bansi,

    feel free to post a WANTED! note in our JOBS category! 

    🙂

  14. Oh I am totally in love with Bansi.  :)))

    I love the emphasis on happiness.  That cuts out a lot of the crap right there.

  16. Thanks MIlan and Asha. We have already submitted :). Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.

  17. a) you write really great. Enjoyed the post.. and felt jealous too.. nothing such happens here, where I am currently working

    b) Was simply mind-blown-ed by your website (gozoop.com) design and navigation.. a classic example of top copywriting and maximum conversion friendly website.. hats off! I am into the Online Marketing space as well, but must admit that I have never come across such elegantly and intelligently developed website..

    Kudos..

    PS: And dont forget to have a great day 🙂

  18. it is WOW!

  19. Great website Rohan!

  20. Very nice Interview.  Your site looks awesome! Very creative indeed.

  21. This is brilliant! Such a wonderful company to work for 🙂 Best wishes, Rohan!

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