A week prior to starting at Z, a launch team of six met up at Magic Mountain Saloon for a casual dinner. There we were — Prao and five fresh-faced Zomans including me — meeting each other for the first time. As we were finishing our mains, I remember so clearly asking Prao where our office was going to be based. Without any hesitation, he said we didn’t have an office yet but confidently assured us that we would have one soon.
This worried me a bit given the fact that I came from a corporate world with an undeniably rigid background. But then, I was in for a surprise.
In the week I officially joined as a Zoman, the office was an old worn-out, torn-down space in Melbourne. This was clearly a change for me. A massive change, perhaps. So used to ready-made structure, I wasn’t sure how we’ll get going in a place that barely resembled a functional office. But that was me wondering loudly to myself. As a team, we had a plan and each one of us was keen on executing it. As days passed by, it didn’t take us long to feel at home in our workplace. When you’re building something, your team members become your family. Despite limited resources, we were super-excited about our office. The best part was we were working together regardless of our position in the company: all ideas were heard out and everyone pitched in building what we ended up calling our second home. This involved dismantling partitions, building stuff purely out of IKEA furniture, and painting the walls bright red. Of course, this was on top of our actual job descriptions. We were all in it. Together.
This event gave not only assuaged my initial fears but also gave me my first glimpse of the now popular Zomato hustle. If we want something bad enough and we have the right people, nothing is too far fetched. We make it happen. Always.
Over the 2+ years I’ve been here, what I have loved and will keep loving the most about Z is that we bring people in for not only their skill-sets but also their energy and personality. To have a team wherein everyone speaks the same language and works towards one common goal. My friends often ask me the reason behind my fascination for this company. I just tell them that it’s because of the people we have at Z and also because you always love what you helped create.
To date, it has been a rollercoaster of a ride with ups and downs, challenges and opportunities, constant experimentations, building and adaptations. In conclusion, I’d say we owe a lot of our success and growth to our strong sense of #hustle and #oneteam.