A few years back I went to listen to a series of startup talks. The topic of the talk that evening was – ‘Can Pune be the next Bangalore?’ The speakers were – a startup founder, an IT professional, a businessmen who had office in Pune and Bangalore and a professor.
One of the speaker was the founder of the startup – FIRSTCRY, Mr. Amitava Saha. Many in the crowd were waiting to listen to him. FirstCry is very popular brand in India and most of us have used their site some point or the other.
He started off with the journey of FirstCry and how it conceptualized from thought to an online website, and then how they had humungous growth. It was a fascinating story indeed!
He then narrated a trial run they did. FirstCry launched an app (for Android and iOS) few months after the website. They launched it in two cities first – Pune and Bangalore. They looked at the results a month after the launch. It left the FirstCry team flabbergasted.
The number of downloads, orders and reviews from Bangalore were almost 5 times that of Pune. The team was expecting them to be similar or nearby. They were not ready to believe the results. So, they decided to probe and take random feedbacks online and offline. The surveys told the complete story.
When asked about the app, users in Bangalore responses were – Sure, we will try something new; if it makes our shopping easier, why not; it’s always fun to explore; new is exciting; and so on …
In Pune the general responses were – is there a problem with the website; if the site is working fine, why should we download the app; why change when it is not necessary; we are happy with the way it is now; and so on ….
Amitava concluded, “That’s when I realized – Pune cannot be the next Bangalore.” Sitting in the audience I felt bad. I always thought that after Bangalore, Pune is the next IT city. But he is giving a completely different perspective.
Coming into the present and into our lives – what kind of mentality are we having? Are we embracing, adapting and accepting change? Or are we reluctant and upgrading only when we are left with no choice?
It is not just in one facet of our life, but every aspect of life – personal, professional, relationships, friends, learning, growth, parenting, business etc. Are we moving with times voluntarily, or waiting for time to move us with force?
The world we are living in is a fast-paced one. The ones who have bright future are those who will be excited for change. Those who sulk and resist change are going to find it extremely tough to survive!
The onus and choice are completely ours! Have you made a choice already? 😉
