Aditya Maheshwari

Meet Abhishek( Ex-Indian Express. Ex-McKinsey) Now, he’s our first in-house content marketer for our own brand led efforts. Here’s why we hired him (and why you should consider hiring outside the box too): — We needed research-backed content. Not just opinions or recycled fluff. — We needed an editorial mindset. Someone who thinks like a journalist, not just a marketer. — We didn’t want SaaS bias. Previous experience with famous SaaS brands can sometimes mean they stick to the same old playbook. We wanted fresh perspectives. —We needed someone who saw content as more than blogs and landing pages. Content is about uncovering and amplifying stories, not just ticking off SEO checklists. — We needed someone who could interview. Both internally and externally, to dig up insights no one else is talking about. — And most importantly, we needed a content distributor, not just a content creator. Because content that doesn’t reach the right audience is just a wasted effort. 💡Here’s the kicker: companies like McKinsey & Company or The Indian Express value content differently than tech or SaaS company. And that mindset shift has been a game-changer for us. But this isn’t the first time I’ve hired “non-obvious” talent for mid-manager or individual contributor roles. ~ I once hired a psychologist for sales. ~ A mathematician and stockbroker to run ads (no MBA, no prior experience). ~ A banker for account management. And every time, it’s worked out better than “playing it safe” with traditional candidates. Why? Because hard skills can be learned. But characteristics—like mindset, curiosity, grit, and the ability to adapt—are much harder to teach. So next time you’re hiring, ask yourself: + Does this person’s career trajectory show they can learn and adapt? + Are their traits and mindset aligned to the role? Stop overvaluing “relevant experience.” Learning hard skills isn’t rocket science. But finding people who think differently? That’s rare—and often exactly what you need. Also to job seekers reading this. You don’t know what kind of opportunities will knock you door. If it does the rule is to “Just say yes! And Figure out on the go” P.S. Abishek Balaji already crushing it. And if you’re curious, I’d be happy to share some of the content we’re creating together. If this goes well I’ll start the series of posting about how we hire monthly once with an insider example :) Cc: TripleDart

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The Great GCC Paradox: We’re Hiring, but Losing India’s GCCs are expected to cross $100B by 2030. But here’s what no one’s openly talking about: We’re leaking talent at the top, and hiring at the bottom. 1. A new study by Mercer shows mid-career attrition in tech has doubled since 2022. 2. CXO-level hiring cycles in GCCs have stretched beyond 6 months (Zinnov, 2024). 3. Returnee talent with global exposure is still asked: Q) “Why do you want to come back?” Q) “Are you too senior for this role?” We’ve mastered delivery. But we’re stuck in a talent loop: - Entry-level upskilling is celebrated - Strategic leadership hiring is feared - Internal mobility is sluggish - Culture fit outweighs culture transformation The result? India’s most capable talent is being interviewed by Singapore, Berlin, and Dubai, while local GCCs are still refining JD drafts. What if the real growth limiter isn’t infrastructure or policy… …but our inability to bet on catalytic leadership? You can’t build a $100B ecosystem with a $1M mindset. Let’s talk: What one mindset shift would unlock India’s next-gen GCC play? #GCC #LeadershipHiring #IndiaTalentCrisis #DigitalTransformation #ReturneeTalent #LeadershipGap #CXOHiring #Mercer #Zinnov #StrategicIndia #FutureOfWork #TalentFlight #HyderabadTech #GCCReset Zinnov Achyut Menon "AK" LinkedIn News India Reshab Shaw Vishwanadh Raju Viswanathan K S GCC Pulse™ Korn Ferry KPMG India

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The riskiest decision I made at Zoko turned out to be the best f*cking thing we ever did. When we started, there were about 15 WhatsApp providers. Now there are over 300 offering the same sh*t. "Omnichannel communication in WhatsApp", "Unified Inbox" Everyone was going broad - trying to serve every possible use case. - Insurance - Real estate - Healthcare - Whatever pays We said f*ck that. We decided to focus on Shopify merchants. (Not e-commerce - ONLY Shopify merchants.) People thought we lost our minds: "You're cutting your market in half!" "What if Shopify changes everything?" "Why turn away money?" Here's what actually happened instead: We can now solve 5 very specific problems that ONLY Shopify merchants have. Problems so specific that no generic solution can touch us. Turns out • Our demo-to-paid conversion rate are 75% • We have 80% logo retention • 2 people in support is all we need. When you solve someone's exact problem better than anyone else, price becomes irrelevant. They don't even think about competitors. Meanwhile, our "smart" competitors who stayed broad: • Racing to the bottom on price • Generic solutions for generic problems • Fighting over scraps with 299 other providers • Customers churning because nobody's truly happy The safe route is actually slow death. You get customers initially, but they leave. Margins suck. You're constantly scrambling. LESSON: In a crowded market, the risky move is staying broad and pretending you can be everything to everyone. Pick your f*cking lane. Own it completely. Let everyone else kill each other over what's left.

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