Today we get a sneak peek into the lives of Niroshan and Christian to find out what makes them tick, how they work with Kaymu's local teams and their thoughts on change, difficult employees and stress.
Change – do you encourage it or avert it?
N: In e-commerce we have to continuously develop and adapt to novelties or we die. It's a reflection of the country we are operating in. In countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka things are changing everyday and the GDP growth is unprecedented. If you want to keep up with the growth, you need to be very adaptable.
C: For any kind of start up, everything is about change. So it's important to be open to change. It's about trying out a lot of things, changing the status quo and existing ideologies.
Three qualities that have made you who you are today?
N: One I think is my ability to understand people, or my emotional intelligence. Two is my perseverance. Three is my ability to understand the vastness of the world. A turning point in my life was when I went to Shanghai with my university. I realised the world is huge and there are so many countries in the world that are growing that I also have to be aware of.
C: First is my entrepreneurship. I used to sell things on e-bay when I was younger. Ever since I've been doing things on my own, I even ran my own cocktail bar in Germany. I think entrepreneurial activities shaped me to make me who I am today. Two, my ability to make good decisions. I can really understand how different parts of the company work together, which helps me make good decisions (I hope!). Third is being really good with numbers.
One bad habit you'd like to change?
N: My eating habits; because of the lifestyle we have, sometimes we don't eat at night and, sometimes we eat too much.
C: Drinking diet coke. I have two or three litres of diet coke a day.
When was the last time you lost your temper?
C (chuckling): Thirty minutes ago. When I'm angry I just make my point very clear.
N: A long time back. I actually internalise my anger. Over the years, with all the companies I worked in, I have learnt to manage my temper. Similar to Christian, I also make my point clear when I'm angry, but I try to find other outlets for my anger. It's quite different from Christian's approach, but I think that's one reason why we work so well together – a lot of our traits are complementary.
What makes for a happy employee?
C: To keep an employee happy you need to give them a lot of ownership on the tasks they have and a lot of responsibility. I think achievement and success is what makes an employee happy and you need to create an environment where employees can succeed.
N: We select employees that we feel will do well in the Kaymu culture. Whenever I come back to visit here, I feel like the employees here are happy. Most of them are genuinely happy because we've selected people who will enjoy the type of work they have to do. So, I think selection is key. I think which is important about Kaymu and Rocket internet is that employees can spend some of their time to come up with new ideas which can be included in the business – this is an opportunity not provided by other companies. I think this gives employees the opportunity to grow and also gives them a sense of ownership. So they can contribute to the company.
How do you deal with difficult employees?
N: I have rarely come across employees who are difficult. At Kaymu, we are extremely careful about who we hire, so we have never found employees who are difficult to deal with. We have three rounds of interviews before hiring new employees, so we are extremely careful about who's in our team. We also have inductions, where we study our employee's skill sets. We work with them to help them learn and improve.
C: I think this is really rare since we are very careful with our selection of employees. I think it's really black and white – either the employees are such that they will not change, where their shortcomings are deep rooted. In this case, there's nothing we can do to change it. For others, we know they have room for improvement. Usually, we allocate time to help train them and we work really hard with our employees to help them improve.
How do you manage stress?
N: One thing about Kaymu and Rocket Internet is that we have a lot of fun working. We are extremely dedicated and spend a lot of time with the company and in a way the company becomes an extension of our private life. As a result we spend a lot of time travelling. I don't even have my own flat simply because I'm either at an office, or on a plane, which means I also spend a lot of time with my teams; we go for dinner or spend time outside.
C: I think I'm not really affected that much by stress. I can't really remember the last instance when I was stressed out. However, when I am stressed out I try to go for weekend trips to London or Germany to take some time off.
What's one department at Kaymu that makes or breaks the success of your company?
N: For me it's the seller management function. Sellers are everything for us, they are part of the customer experience, they bring the best products, etc.
C: I think every department is equally important. The HR brings in the right people, the Finance makes sure month end finances are in check, there's customer service, and so on and so forth. For any e-commerce company I don't think there's any one department that makes or breaks the company.
One thing you'd like to change about Kaymu Bangladesh?
C: Increase more awareness about Kaymu in Bangladesh.
N: Probably get more lights in the office!
The best thing about the Kaymu Bangladesh team?
C: The best thing about them is that they're really motivated, they are very driven, and you will notice the energy in the office.
N: Like what he said. The team we have and the central workers are very motivated. I think it's a reflection of how entrepreneurial Bangladeshis are full of high energy and determination.
When interviewing potential employees what's the first thing you notice about them?
N: For me, I always look at how they structure their thoughts. Someone who can structure their thoughts well generally makes better decisions and can solve problems more easily.
C: I usually look at how well they answer their questions. Usually some people have the tendency to not answer the question asked, but answer something completely different or off-track.
What's one deal breaker when interviewing someone?
C: There can be a lot of deal breakers – it's about the skills, or when I ask them simple mathematic question and they can't answer.
N: How reactive they are – or in other words, how well they understand the question, how well they form their answers, whether or not they are team players. I think most importantly it can be brought down to how well I think they'll fit into the Kaymu culture.
The first thing you ever purchased from Kaymu?
C: I actually bought a power bank. It's quite interesting because power banks are not at all common in Europe. I think it's one of the greatest invention.
N: An LED watch.
Two or three apps in your phone you can't do without?
C: Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram
N: WhatsApp and I actually use a lot of the Google calendar app.
Android or iOs?
N: iOS.
C: Android.
If you could meet any one personality, living or dead, who would you choose to meet?
C: Elon Musk. He's awesome.
N: Nelson Mandela. Second would be Steve Jobs, I would like to observe and see how he really works.
How do you cope with failure?
N: I try to understand the drivers of failure in order to rectify my short comings.
C: I think failure really isn't as bad as we make it to be. In the instance when you fail it feels like a huge deal but as you advance in life, you realise you've learnt from it and it was a blessing in disguise. Whatever happens in life, happens for the best.
Where can we find you on a weekend?
C: Probability wise – Singapore. But you can find me just about anywhere. In the past four weekends I've been in Singapore, Karachi, Berlin and Dhaka. When I do get time to myself I like to relax. N: Usually you'll find me in any of the countries where Kaymu Asia operates. If I'm not working and have time away from work, I try to spend some time with family back home.