Meet Manoj Menon: Founder and CEO of Twimbit 🦁
Another day and the sun continues to shine, yellow and bright like - well like the sun lol, nothing's topping that.
Adding yet another gem to our interview collection, this week's edition features a veteran of the productive space. And we're super excited to share his enticing opinions with you all. Let's skip the guessing and jump straight into the jamming!
Today we bring to you, Manoj Menon, one of the brightest business minds in the country. An ICFAI Business School alumnus, Manoj started his professional journey way back in 1996 as one of the very first employees of Frost & Sullivan. Having crushed it at his first venture for a whopping 21 years, Mr Mighty Menon recently established his own company in 2019 under the banner of Twimbit. Ever since then, he and Twimbit have gone on to change the way people research. And the best part? His research-a-lution has just begun. Manoj shares some very insightful ideologies, hearty anecdotes and a ton of productivity tips with us in this exclusive interview. Here's a brief overview of what's to come -
💭His views on the new-age business model
💡How to handle and act upon a barrage of ideas
⚙️The advantages of on-site work
💼Is it easier to start a business today than it was 20 years ago?
🫔A delicacy he prefers over Tandoori chicken and Biryani 👀
Intrigued by the trailer? Well, the movie's way better. You get the popcorn 🍿 and we'll get the show started 🎬!
Part 1 - All about Menon and Twimbit
A - Hey Manoj, how's everything - how's the whole journey going 🛣️?
M - It's been good! So earlier I was with Frost & Sullivan and I was almost like a founder there since I was among the very first employees. But this time around [things] are very different. The earlier businesses were all about organic growth - growing through serving customers while building profitability. But in today's day and age, there is a high pressure to have an exponential growth curve, you know? So there is intense pressure from all stakeholders and employees. Fortunately, I didn't take much money 💵 haha.
But the industry expectation is that if you're a startup you will burn money, you will grow x to 10x to 100x, right? And frankly, I find it very difficult to digest that model. Because some companies may never make money at this rate, right? Like I think we're doing good, but it's a struggle to constantly balance this in our head and [simultaneously] meet the expectations of the youth who are constantly looking at other companies and seeing, “Oh this company raised so much money, are they more successful?” So that is the challenge.
A - That's been one of the unfortunate byproducts of social media because you're constantly exposed to other companies doing well. Raising their next round getting XX number of users, you feel like that's the general expectation in the start-up world. It should be about prioritizing - your targets, your mental health and not just giving in to the stereotype.
M - I also think part of this responsibility should lie with the big private equity funds.
A - Agreed. Well, on that note, let's officially start the proceedings! Welcome to Arrowhead and thank you for doing this interview with us. First off, can you define Twimbit in your own words - what does it do?
M - Our biggest opportunity is to democratize research for everyone's consumption. Good quality research hasn’t always been [readily] available to everybody. In order to do that, we need to address the cost and the ease of consumption associated with the research. More importantly, we need to personalize it for every individual. So that's what Twimbit is trying to do. Help make research more accessible and democratize it so that every person on this planet can do better in their jobs.
A - And what inspired you to start building Twimbit?
M - I spent 20+ years in the research space. We produce so much research and yet the actual consumption of that research isn't very high. The research is not personalized, we hardly spend time on it, it is not collaborative and so it is really not digital in any manner. And that is where I saw this huge opportunity - to build research in a new-age model 🏗️. We spend hours on social media, consuming a lot of random content. But the same cannot be said of research. That's because it is not done in a manner that is easy to consume. [However,] if it is personalized for me and my context, then it can help me achieve better outcomes. That is where I saw an opportunity for us to transform the way research is curated, created, distributed and basically how that entire ecosystem 🌎 works.
A - Got it. And what does a typical day look like for you as a founder?
M - So in the morning ☀️, I do some quick pieces of work because, at that time, there is very little disturbance. I can focus. This is followed by half an hour, or an hour of running near my house and then hit work straight [away]. This continues till 7-7:30 PM after which I have dinner with my family. Maybe spend an hour with them and then back on my desk from 9:30 to 11 🌙. That's a typical day [for me] because at this stage, we are building the business and it needs superhuman effort to get going. Once the business is established - once the foundation and the structures are in place, then I think the teams will take it and run with it. Till then, I believe it requires founders to go that extra mile.
Part 2 - It’s productivity time!
A - Oh that's impressive. And hectic. But what are your biggest pain points when it comes to maintaining productivity as a founder?
M - As a startup, I learned [this] very early on that the number of opportunities to innovate are so many. Saying no to [some] innovative ideas 💡 that show up every single day is I think one of the biggest challenges.
Secondly, because we are growing organically, we don't have the perfect individuals in each position. We are always trying to support and bring [the new recruits] up to speed but that kind of takes you away from your momentum. So very often, we end up spending time trying to get things on track, especially with new members of the team. That is a productivity gap that we have as of now but hopefully, we'll address it as we scale.
A - Is that so? But then how do you manage it? How do you prioritize which ideas to actuate and which ideas to put on the back burner?
M - I believe there is no shortcut - you've got to go through that process. So when we first started, there were maybe 10 different ideas and we wanted to do everything. It took us a year to narrow it down to something that can have a minimum viable product and show some user traction on that product. But the problem probably compounded because when you are someone who has 20-25 years of experience in the industry, then you don't want to start small. You are in a big mad rush ⚡ to do things.
But you’ve got to solve one basic problem [at a time]. After this realization, we're focussing less and less on technology innovation because it's more and more about the application of it - making the user experience, ease of consumption and engagement with the overall ecosystem better.
In order to be extraordinary, you have to get really narrow. So now we don't work on as many new ideas, concurrently. If there is an idea, we park it and then we discuss all ideas once every 2 - 3 months. Technology is supremely important, but the customer journey is the most important.
A - Sounds like you guys have really come down to the ideas you have to perfect from a user's point of view. But how did you narrow down your system?
M - We actually received a lot of feedback from our teams that we are all over the place - that we're chasing too many ideas. So we started doing alignment days every quarter, where we get everybody on the team together and say, "Okay, does this resonate is everybody?" Just increasing the cadence of going back and presenting to our teams on what we think, what we are doing and getting their response kind of helped us sharpen our focus a lot better.
A - Oh wow, that's such an inspiring and effective system. Speaking of systems though, do you have any particular rituals 🗒️ to make your day more productive?
M - I go through reams and reams of notebooks. I love keeping notebooks, there are like dozens of them in my house. Everything, every conversation is in this notebook ✍️. And I usually have a to-do list at the beginning of the day. I'd never go to any meeting without a plan and this notebook.
Everything is captured here, so this is always a reasonable reference to what has happened and where it has happened. I've tried doing it digitally [but] somehow, it doesn't work for me. For me, pen and paper works. [The habit] is partly because of how I grew up. My mom used to always insist [that] I learnt by writing. So it has stuck with me since.
A - That's interesting. Are there any tips or tricks that you use to be productive as a founder?
M - So, I'm not the most disciplined, organized person haha. I always like challenges and I always try to take them up but what I'm trying to do now is delegation. That's number one. Anything comes to me, my first question is - can I delegate it to somebody? Can somebody else do it? And If they can do it, then I support them. I've got a few great colleagues who are even better than me. So I trust them.
Number two for me, that takes huge precedence, is - am I delivering value to the customer? Is the customer getting the best that Twimbit can offer? Is it differentiated enough? Because we are in the founding stages right now. We are built on the back of a few great customers who are trusting us and treating us on par with some of the world's best companies. So we cannot afford to let them down.
A - Absolutely. We actually did a blog on something very similar recently. It's called the Focus Funnel and it helps you to deal with tasks that come your way. Also, well said about the 'trusting your colleague' bit. When you trust your employees, it empowers them to do more for the company, right?
M - Yeah it is. But the challenge comes with [having] a lot of young people. You have the flexibility to work from anywhere. But then if you're showing up for a meeting, then the quality of the connection 🔗 should be good. That's your responsibility. These principles are great. But implementing them can be a real challenge. And people often get upset when we start tightening the rules. In this younger generation, many of them want more flexibility with less governance and less accountability. So we are trying to balance that. Maybe we have to learn how to engage with this generation better.
A - Yeah that is true. There is the case that everyone is trying to adapt to this new normal.
M - Yeah. Let's see. We're still learning. But I think we are seeing that people are really tired of remote working. I don't think remote working is a sustainable long-term, always-on strategy, for very large companies. You may need a good balance of remote and in-person [style of work].
So I have two highly committed colleagues, who are as passionate about building Twimbit as I am. [Initially] they used to work remotely and we are always on calls - reviewing, discussing, brainstorming and getting things done. We soon got a client project in which these two people were required to spend a full 2 months with the client on-site. At the end of the 2 months, the two colleagues came to me and said, “If this thing would not have happened, we would never have understood the benefit of being next to each other.” We had known each other for 2 years but these 2 months of working together [made us] connect and bond differently. We can do so many things faster now.
A - That’s so true. Hybrid is especially important in the early stages of a company. Amazing point of view. Circling back to the productivity side of things, could you share with us some tools that you use to be productive? We know that you mentioned the notebook and delegation technique but are there any specific tools 🧰?
M - Our team actually started with Monday.com but we've now all migrated to Notion. Everybody loves Notion - all our talks, all our opportunities, every conversation, every research flow is now put up on Notion. We still use Monday, particularly our technology team 👨💻, but not as extensively.
Our teams have actually collaboratively developed the Twimbit playbook 📒. It is about how Twimbit works and runs. The document itself is about 70-75 pages, beautifully organized with videos and everything else by people from finance, HR, research, sales and whatnot. They put it together in about 45 days and I think it is better than maybe 90% of other companies in the world.
A - Ohh, what confidence, haha! But how do you kind of deal with days when you're feeling less motivated, or you're feeling down 😞?
M - There are days when things are not great - it starts with a bit of bad news and then there's more bad news and then you know it's gonna be a tough day. So just ride it out and wait for the next day because the tide does turn.
Secondly, there is no other gratification like talking to customers. When my co-founder [Ashish] Passi and I were starting this company, we tried to learn a lot from sports ⚽.
You know how every sporting team does well on the home ground? And whenever they go to some other terrain, which may just be a kilometre away, their performance differs. It's the same in football, baseball, everything. That just shows how far your support staff can propel you.
The moment we tell people around us, that if we are on this journey and involve them in it, they become a big source of support. So what we did is, even before I started, I threw small events and invited 30 people each time and told them what I'm trying to do, gave [them] a few beers 🍻, spent some time [together]. Soon they became my support ecosystem. Now they know that I may be [going through] ups and downs, so they're always there. They are a great source of support and strength for me. And these people could be family, friends - even people who you play sports with. Just let them know what is happening with you.
A - That's incredible. Never honestly thought about it that way but what a great analogy. You do need people around you though, entrepreneurship can take a heavy toll on your mind.
M - Entrepreneurship is so hard. I asked this question to my MBA professor, “Is it a lot easier to start a business today than it was 20 years ago?” This was in 1997. He never answered me and I thought to myself that it has become a lot easier. Then let's come to 2020. Is it a lot easier to start a business today than it was 20 years ago? In many aspects, yes. Like technology, capital, infrastructure, But I also think it is a lot harder. The mental challenge of starting a new business today is 10x harder than it was 10-20 years ago. The new business model people are chasing, the social pressure, the expectation of wanting to show incredible and crazy growth makes it a lot harder. Setting up a business is a lot easier, but building a profitable business that creates value for all stakeholders is a lot harder now.
A - The pressure can make it so hard, especially mentally nowadays. Well, any tips for other founders? To be most productive, as we close up on this productivity section?
M - I think step one is to choose your team wisely and carefully - never rush into it. Because when you're founding a team and you pick the wrong guy, you're already [one half] weaker.
Also, start with three or four core customers and build around those customers, especially if they can pay you something 🤌.
Part 3 - Turn up the fun meter ⬆️
A - Got it. That's super helpful. Well, how about something outside your startup - what do you like to do for fun?
M - I'm a runner. I used to run a fair bit of long-distance so I have done maybe eight or ten full marathons 🏃. The second is family. These are the two things that matter the most to me outside of Twimbit currently. I also love to run charity-related projects but I didn't want to be distracted so we'll start on that [again] maybe in a year.
A - Awesome, awesome. What about books and podcasts? Any that you'd like to recommend?
M - Yeah so Yuval Noah Harari is someone who I follow. He's written a number of books including Sapiens. I love this one comment in the book where he says, everything is a story.
A company is a story, a country is a story, you're a story, I'm a story. It is actually quite simple yet so powerful.
I'm also a big fan of Satya Nadella and how he leads with empathy. You think about Steve Jobs and [Elon] Musk and you see how cutthroat, dry and effective they are. Then you look at Satya Nadella, who leads with such incredible empathy. That doesn't mean that he does not take tough decisions but he has different ways of doing it. I've not read his book, but I've conquered different chapters in different areas and I think it's an incredibly powerful book.
There is also this Netflix HR Document that you should read. Also, there is a book which Nadella himself recommends - “The Growth Mindset”. All of us [at Twimbit] read it. And all of us even had to present a chapter. One of the things they talk about is talent density. So when you're a startup, sometimes trespassers will get hired, right? Because when you start nobody's willing to work for you. But over a period of time, you got to build that talent density correctly. So we decided to take some tougher actions, that means take out the non-performers quicker and take a longer time to hire. We do lose a lot of candidates in the process, but the people who go through are great. And we learnt it from that book actually.
A - Okay, they are definitely going on the reading to-do list next! So to wrap up things here Manoj, we do a speed round with our interviewees. There'll be some ease-peasy questions with two options and you just say what comes first to your mind. So first up, inbox 300 or inbox zero?
M - Closer to zero 🚫.
A - Early bird or late owl?
M - Both.
A - As a founder, you have to be both probably. Biryani or Tandoori Chicken?
M - A simple Rava masala dosa is always better.
A - Haha, okay! Text messages or phone calls?
M - Phone calls ☎️.
A - Work from home or work from the office?
M - Work from the office.
A - Twitter or LinkedIn?
M - LinkedIn.
A - Books or podcasts?
M - Books 📚.
A - Raising early or bootstrapping till it's required?
M - Bootstrap until it's required.
A - Got it. So that was fun! Thank you so much for all your thoughts, will surely be implementing a lot of them into Arrowhead. It's been a great chat!
M - Not at all, it's such a pleasure. I wish you the best!
Pheww.. Now that's what we call a train of thoughts! We hope you had fun as well as learnt a lot by being on this ride (just wanna be humble, coz of course you had fun). Still figuring out one thing though. How do all of these founders get time to build such amazing businesses and keep the fitness drive going ?? (Answers to rhetorical questions lead to sadness).
Anyhow, enough sulking for today. If you want an extra dose of productivity though, do check out our interview with Pramod Rao, the founder of Threado. And stay tuned to Arrowhead for more such exclusive interviews!
Till next time, stay safe, stay productive and just stay! ❤️
