A lot of academic under-achievers or economically under-served sections figure out ways of becoming an average through formal structured education – thereby finding ways of earning a livelihood and uplifting themselves and their families.
I come from the standard Indian middle-class stock – youngest of three siblings, son of a government employee/ home-maker mom, spent most of my life figuring out my academics. After my MBA from IIM Bangalore in 2003, I ventured into business analytics as a career choice.
Somewhere around 2014, I felt comfortable branching out in a rapidly growing industry with a couple of ex-colleagues – Surya and Monish. My experience for the fast 9-10 years was extremely US and EU-centered. It helped that I spent the last couple of years of corporate experience working in the Indian market.
For all three of us co-founders, the convergence of data, quant, and technology (applications) is a foundational pillar of the future. Companies will find a way to shift away from dumb workflow applications to smart solutions – to create experiences powered by huge volumes of data and an ever-evolving design.
When and how did you get clarity on what you wanted to do?
Unlike very young entrepreneurs who have the fearlessness to solve any problem, we picked an area which we understood really well – Analytics/ Data Science. It allowed us to be the kind of entrepreneurs that we wanted to be – driven by interesting problems, and business sustainability (profitability, cash flows).
For the first year, we were a consulting organization; with every passing year, we have invested our business surpluses in going after interesting ideas – like Algo360 (the largest alternate credit score in India) or Kwik.ID, the highest-rated video KYC product. There were some ideas that bombed, but with every experiment, we have been trying to perfect our business playbook.
What does your typical workday look like?
To be honest, I try to give my days a sense of order, but the best I have achieved so far are some boundaries that help me keep things sane. The regular check-ins/ stand-ups begin at 9:30, and the day is usually a blur - moving from meeting to topics to deliverables to decisions.
For the first year, we were a consulting organization; with every passing year, we have invested our business surpluses in going after interesting ideas – like Algo360 (the largest alternate credit score in India) or Kwik.ID, the highest-rated video KYC product. There were some ideas that bombed, but with every experiment, we have been trying to perfect our business playbook.
What does your typical workday look like?
To be honest, I try to give my days a sense of order, but the best I have achieved so far are some boundaries that help me keep things sane. The regular check-ins/ stand-ups begin at 9:30, and the day is usually a blur - moving from meeting to topics to deliverables to decisions.
I believe the most significant part of my day (as a CEO) is making decisions. I have developed two habits that have helped me in recent times – a) I keep Wednesdays completely blocked out on my calendar to address bigger tasks (strategy documents, for instance). B) using Sunday night as a planning window for the coming week.
Since we are present in India and the US, the weekdays tend to stretch a fair bit into the evenings/ nights. To manage that, I keep stricter calendar blocks for my children. Early evenings and their sleeping schedule are sacrosanct. I get back to work for a couple of hours after they go off to sleep.
To the extent possible, I avoid working weekends. It is difficult. But it helps if you keep reminding yourself that a break/ doing nothing is as important as doing something.
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Several global companies have come out and thrown their support behind not needing a formal education. What is your opinion about this?
I generally support it. But, I don’t think, culturally, we are ready for it in India. For those who can pull it off, they have my complete support. It accelerates learning, and it creates very interesting learning pathways.
I don’t think formal education is meant to teach us excellence. It gives us the basic tools. But more importantly, formal education does provide three irreplaceable benefits –
a) a sense of community. Some of our strongest friendships are formed in classrooms and hostels where we spend time not just sharing common interests, but also common enemies (teachers!).
b) a sense of well-roundedness. Many of us will never study civics or history or economics unless it’s a part of the curriculum. Almost all formal education seems to be designed to give us the basics in a lot of areas; almost all vocational education is designed to make us an expert in something. I appreciate the foundational well-roundedness that comes from formal education.
c) a chance to overcome the averages. We should never underestimate the role of averages. A lot of exceptional people never achieve anything because they never find the right set of challenges; they become average.
b) a sense of well-roundedness. Many of us will never study civics or history or economics unless it’s a part of the curriculum. Almost all formal education seems to be designed to give us the basics in a lot of areas; almost all vocational education is designed to make us an expert in something. I appreciate the foundational well-roundedness that comes from formal education.
c) a chance to overcome the averages. We should never underestimate the role of averages. A lot of exceptional people never achieve anything because they never find the right set of challenges; they become average.
A lot of academic under-achievers or economically under-served sections figure out ways of becoming an average through formal structured education – thereby finding ways of earning a livelihood and uplifting themselves and their families.
We tend to expect something magical out of formal education. But I believe that formal education exists to cater to the masses’ need for guided learning, and not for the exceptional student’s need for excellence.
We tend to expect something magical out of formal education. But I believe that formal education exists to cater to the masses’ need for guided learning, and not for the exceptional student’s need for excellence.
How do you handle someone who has lied on their resume?
Well, almost everyone lies on their resume. Unfortunately. The biggest lies are in the hobbies section, for instance. People say they love reading books. And when you ask them about the last book they read and the impact it had on them – they blank out.
Well, almost everyone lies on their resume. Unfortunately. The biggest lies are in the hobbies section, for instance. People say they love reading books. And when you ask them about the last book they read and the impact it had on them – they blank out.
And you can’t get too mad about that. We’ve trained people to over-represent some things on their resumes. SO, here’s what I would do if someone lies on the resume.
Misrepresentation of hard facts – like educational qualifications or work experience, etc. - we would let that person go. Immediately.
Mis-representation of soft facts – like over-projection of some skills or the unquantifiable impact of their work – we would probably evaluate in the context of their value to our organization, and their ability to deliver that impact given the right circumstances.
Misrepresentation of hard facts – like educational qualifications or work experience, etc. - we would let that person go. Immediately.
Mis-representation of soft facts – like over-projection of some skills or the unquantifiable impact of their work – we would probably evaluate in the context of their value to our organization, and their ability to deliver that impact given the right circumstances.
What are some of your typical challenges and how have they evolved over time?
Finding the right people has been a consistent challenge for the last two decades of my professional life. It continues to be. And the second corollary to that same problem is helping people achieve their potential.
Both these problems have evolved. In the 1960s-80s – probably a “Sarkari” (government) job was what people looked for – the safety net, the benefits, the reputation. The 90s swung the needle towards IT. The 2020s are all about startups.
Both these problems have evolved. In the 1960s-80s – probably a “Sarkari” (government) job was what people looked for – the safety net, the benefits, the reputation. The 90s swung the needle towards IT. The 2020s are all about startups.
The best 1% today have more options than the best 1% of the 1980s. Their compensation is probably 4-5x of the next 99%. Even for a country with a billion+ population – every company out there is struggling with attracting and retaining top-tier talent.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs or those eyeing the top job?
Make everyone else redundant.
When you’re young, full of energy and ideas, the easiest way to measure your impact on the world around you is to say this – if I were to be the best version of myself, no one else around me would still be needed.
Framed constructively, it forces you to learn everything that everyone else is doing, build layers of empathy about the challenges others are dealing with, become increasingly more efficient at mundane tasks, developmental models to deal with complex activities. Because the only way you can make everyone else redundant is by pursuing excellence.
Tip: You never really can make everyone else redundant. But in failing to do that, you can become the most successful person you can be.
The reason I harp about this more so for aspiring entrepreneurs – you never get the freedom to say “this is not my job!” An entrepreneur has to do everything – build, market, sell, deliver, hire, run finances, run compliances, fire, train, motivate, reprimand… In a way, there is no set job description for being an entrepreneur.
Tip: You never really can make everyone else redundant. But in failing to do that, you can become the most successful person you can be.
The reason I harp about this more so for aspiring entrepreneurs – you never get the freedom to say “this is not my job!” An entrepreneur has to do everything – build, market, sell, deliver, hire, run finances, run compliances, fire, train, motivate, reprimand… In a way, there is no set job description for being an entrepreneur.
Which is your favorite book and why?
It keeps changing. For a while, I’ve been fascinated by the book “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” written by Ben Horowitz. It’s a fascinating tale of building an organization and the hard decisions that you are faced with over and over again. It’s a book I recommend to every entrepreneur.
It keeps changing. For a while, I’ve been fascinated by the book “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” written by Ben Horowitz. It’s a fascinating tale of building an organization and the hard decisions that you are faced with over and over again. It’s a book I recommend to every entrepreneur.
Bio -
Amit Das is the co-founder and CEO of Think360 AI, a data science advisory and solutions company, which has brought cutting edge products like Algo360 and KwikID to the Financial Services Industry. Prior to Think360, Amit has held Data Science leadership positions at 3i Infotech, PwC USA, Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Inductis, etc. He is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, and University of Delhi.
Think360 (earlier known as Think Analytics) is bootstrapped data science firm based out of Mumbai, operating at the intersection of data, algorithms, technology, and business outcomes.
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