“The True Cost of a Wrong Hire Is More than You Think, Always Good to Seek Expert Help”
A brief in script of the learning shared by the co-founder and CEO, Krishna Kumar.
GreenPepper- a name that allowed the founders to create a brand excitement which most of the consulting firms refrain from doing and ultimately it lead to the saying that “a good name will shine forever!” The name has ultimately helped them to create a brand positioning.
The company started its operations in 2007 with a group of enthusiastic friends who were eager to get into the hiring space. It kicked off with the support from a reputed investor. During its initial period the primary goal was to start something new and scale it up from there on i.e. to build something new and create an impact just as every entrepreneur wants to. As they began they noticed a lot of opportunities in the hiring space as the job market had changed a lot and there was a demand that wasn’t being met. Due to the recession that hit the global markets in 2007 companies were driven towards minimal hiring and wanted to get the most out of each hire making sure that that they had what was required for the employee to perform.
The business model of GreenPepper is all about the correct hiring mechanism i.e. the method that is required to select the best suitable person for the role while avoiding the wrong hires because as a consulting firm they are focused on employee branding and selecting the best for the best. The other positive aspect of the company is its work culture which has helped it to grow a lot more in comparison to the other HR consulting firms and the best part is that 20% of the employees are not from Kerala. The enthusiasm among the employees to strive for more each and every minute shows the ultimate strategy and dedication of the people behind the success of the company.
Growing a company is like growing a tree which takes a lot of effort and pain. The pain will aid in the overall growth of the organization by reflecting on what can be done to improve the core function of the organization. With the tech companies up scaling in all segments the job market in India has vastly grown and changed over the past 10 years. The current service model of Green Pepper is to use the technology to empower businesses.
The company has a list of up to 426 clients who used GreenPepper for their hiring needs and the range of companies span from India to the Middle East and the United States. The company also started a digital marketing services in 2012, now worked with 120+ clients across India, UK and US.
Future projects
They have taken education as the next big space to expand into and develop and aid in the education system that governs India as traditional learning is not effective enough in today’s work and job market. Companies look for skill sets rather than looking at an individual’s credentials. Online platforms like Udemy, Udacity and Coursera have numerous courses that students can learn a lot from and obtain degrees from universities as part of the study but the problem is that most universities don’t look much at these platforms as a viable way to enrich a student’s knowledge and skill sets that the current job market demands. The company is looking forward to develop a space where students can learn skill sets online in the form of project based learning.
Topics like Artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing and data analytics is not being taught in engineering universities across the country and GreenPepper hopes to change this one day and also it hopes to deliver a solution that can be used by students to acquire skill sets that the future job market demands. Tribr, a new platform aims for that. www.tribr.in
Key learnings as an Entrepreneur
The main takeaway is to motivate your employees rather than intimidate them to get things done as motivation is a key method to add value to the workforce and gain inertia in the growth of the start-up. Be like a cheerleader as the role of a leader is to cheer the people who work for you!
The second thing is never stop learning, because no matter at what point or phase in life you are, the world is in constant change and to meet this change one has to be updated on what’s relevant in the constantly changing market and acquire new skill sets like big data analytics, AI etc.
The third and most important thing to keep in mind is to never fear failure, or never have reluctance to experiment. One must never stop doing projects and always experiment on new things. Failure also allows an individual to determine what went wrong, and what must be done to overcome that failure. Most startups fail but that doesn’t mean that they are bad, as all failures are learnings.
Message to budding entrepreneurs
Experiencing the uncertainty and pain while building your startup from scratch requires a lot of effort. Entrepreneurs work towards their dream and this gives them the thrill and elevated dopamine levels to go and get things done. One must avoid comparing oneself to their peers as it could be a bit frustrating to find your peers are growing in their careers while you are not. There requires a specific talent on how to handle issues at hand, only then a budding entrepreneur can survive and grow his/her company. Nowadays, entrepreneurs get a lot of support and recognition as compared to how it was in the past and even parents are now open to the idea. In cities like Bangalore and Kochi, start-ups are expanding like anything and most of all start-ups help each other to grow.
So, ultimately it’s all about keep going and learning each and every second without losing enthusiasm.
Contacts :
Krishna Kumar (CEO and founder of GreenPepper): https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishnakumarm/
Nisha JK (Co- Founder) :https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisha-j-k-273028a/
Varsha Menon (Team Lead) : https://www.linkedin.com/in/varshamenon/
For further reference: www.greenpepper.in | www.greenpepperdigital.com | www.jumpfrog.co | www.tribr.in
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