It was an evening in the winter of 2011.
Being old friends, our founders caught up over some ‘bun muska, eggs and chai’ to discuss all the shit that was going on in the world and their lives. Since they knew each other since their college days it was also a much-needed catch-up.
At that point, Asif had quit the comfort of a high-paying 9-to-9 bank job a couple of years back and was completely focused on stabilizing and growing his first venture, Never Grow Up. Aashutosh, amidst all his keeda, was, at that time, was part of his family business and was an ex-restaurateur.
For a new entrepreneur, it's always good to catch up with a second-generation like-minded professional so that complex business problems can be looked at from a different angle. This was one such evening.
Deep in their conversation about what was happening in the market, they realized that 'digital' was the next big thing and that a zillion mom and pop stores aka digital agencies were opening up; they were randomly joking about taking on work in a space that was set to explode. It was funny though, because that meant entering a competitive space where the only differentiator could be pricing. That, as you know, would not be the best route to take because it would only take the next hungry chap to undercut you and go ahead. They also realized that being a specialist made sense; that way, they could draw synergies at a later date.
After stuffing their bellies, during a brisk walk, the conversation as we know, went something like this:
Asif: Agar har koi digital pe FB page start kar raha hai. Agencies are popping up by the minute!
Aashutosh: Yup, just yesterday, I’ve read about two new ventures in this space.
Asif: All these agencies around. Will they build content themselves? Unlikely right?
Aashutosh: Sab kuch woh to nahin kar sakte! {Over excited tone}
Asif: Haan yaar! Chal hum kuch start karte hain! {Over excited tone}
Aashutosh: Chal karte hain! {Ends in a Eureka moment}
That's it. No b-plans. No spread sheets. Zero external funding. Just a random conversation, one idea and a few crazy conversations later, Yellow Seed was born in April 2012.
It was ambitious {and somewhat naive} because Never Grow Up was turning 2 and had just starting making some money. In fact, our first full-time recruit was for Yellow Seed. Since then, both the firms have grown together.
It’s been 8 years now and the team continues to be a self-sustained – growing enterprise. And the icing on the cake is our team. Vibrant, dynamic, capable, dedicated, hyper enthusiastic, crazy and always eager to help each other out. As a team, everyone knows that you can reach out to each other. That challenges are part of the game. That office politics is unacceptable and that our culture keeps us together.
If you are reading this - know that you are talking of a team that would rather do the right thing than make a quick buck. Yes, the honesty costs us sometimes, but pays off in the long run. Clients respect what we do and that keeps us going.