Taking Risks - Key To My Success

The pandemic has given a strong boost to the digital space. There was a leap in the adoption of digital platforms of most digital businesses. However, the key to success in any business is to have a very strong customer focus and make sure you understand and address their pain points says Rohit Chadda, CEO, Zee Digital. As the chief executive of the company, for him, the ‘E’ of CEO stands for ‘Everything’. Rohit has generally been comfortable taking risks in life and says that has been key to where he is today. In a tete-a-tete with Corporate Citizen, he shares his success story, including his learnings across businesses

Rohit Chadda being awarded Young Entrepreneur of
the Year by the apex industry body, ASSOCHAM at the
Startup India Summit

Corporate Citizen: As CEO, Zee Digital, what is your job description like, in terms of scope of work, responsibilities et al?

Rohit Chadda : For me, the ‘E’ of CEO stands for ‘Everything’. I’m a very hands-on person and like to get my hands dirty. I think learning by doing helps me stay connected to the business and also keep in mind the execution challenges when devising the vision and overall strategy for the business.

CC: Zee Digital has jumped to the second position in 2020 in ComScore ranking. What special strategy and steps has the company, and you in particular as Digital CEO, taken to capitalise on the growth and attract more subscribers?

Tech startups are known for their speed, agility and data-driven approach to solve the problems. That is essentially what we have done operated like a startup. Rather than trying to implement big projects, we do a lot of small experiments and track their results to know what’s working and what’s not. This iterative process helps us learn and change paths if required, very early in the lifecycle of any project. Further, we have taken data and technology-driven approach to content. Rather than pushing our content to the users, we started listening to the users and understanding their preferences to produce relevant content that they are looking for.

"I like to challenge the status quo. This makes me question everything and I keep thinking how anything can be done better"

CC: ‘Digital is on steroids’ your comment on the growth in this space is interesting. To what do you attribute this humungous surge in the digital space in general? What future do you envisage for it?

Any digital business falls in either or both of two main categories content and commerce. The first decade of the internet in India (2000-2010) was all about content while the second decade (2010-2020) saw the growth of commerce. The next decade will be about content again but this time the focus will be on the 3Vs Video, Vernacular and Voice.

The backbone of commerce is payments. Demonetisation was a life-changing event of our times. That and various new initiatives by the government like UPI etc. meant that Indians, who were historically worried of using their cards for online transactions, have now become more comfortable with digital payments. And now, within a span of only four years, the pandemic has become the second life-changing event of our times. Staying at home and having become conscious of social distancing has further fuelled the growth of digital, first in content consumption and then in e-commerce.

CC: An investment banker turned business leader, what has the transition been like?

It’s been quite a transition, to be honest. Metaphorically speaking, I can say the transition has been from Tiger to a Lion! Tigers are known to hunt alone while Lions hunt in packs. Investment bankers are generally individual performers and don’t rely much on a team for their success. However, in business, success is all about your team's performance. Like a team sport, not only are you supposed to give your best but you are also supposed to ensure your team is giving its best. You need to ensure that they are inspired, motivated and aligned towards the same goal. Like a coach, you are supposed to help them wherever they falter and as a captain, you need to ensure you are allocating them roles as per their strengths.

CC: Tell us about the two successful exits you have behind you and how they have enriched you.

There have been many learnings from a functional perspective as well as from a business perspective. But I think the most important learnings from both my previous exits have been on the fundraising side and on the Mergers and Acquisitions being able to analyse the industry scenario and its future to come up with answers to questions like When, Who, How and What from an M&A perspective.

CC: What were some of the key decisions you made in your career so far that have helped you grow and scale heights?

I have made some big life decisions which my friends and family weren’t too sure about at the time because they were high risk but those decisions were key to where I am today. For instance, I was a successful investment banker in London when I decided to take an internal transfer to the Mumbai office. Everyone around me was puzzled as to why would I go back to India in spite of an already successful banking career in the financial capital of Europe. Then when I left banking and chose to start a startup instead that made them sure that I had gone Cuckoo! But after the success of Foodpanda, I think everyone around me became more comfortable with my decision making and knew that even if the going gets tough, I’ll figure it out.

Then when I decided to exit from Foodpanda the investors didn’t agree with my vision for the business, everyone around me supported me wholeheartedly. Everyone had confidence in my judgement by now. I’ve generally been comfortable taking risks in life and that has been key to where I am today.

"The pandemic has given a strong boost to the digital space. There was a leap in adoption of most digital businesses”

CC: With extensive global experience across e-commerce, OTT, fin-tech, payments, and media & entertainment industries, can you share with us some of the learnings you have acquired over these stints?

The most important learning I’ve have across stints is to understand consumer behaviour across geographies and industries. Users in different regions have different needs so the key to success in any business is to have a very strong customer focus and make sure you understand and address their pain points.

People tend to give a lot of importance to prior industry experience. However, each of my stints was in different industries where I had no prior experience. The basics of each business remains the same across industries and as soon as you start drawing relevant analogies between industries, you get the hang of the business very quickly. Of course, there are finer points which are industry specific but overall principles remain the same.

CC: You have received various awards through your professional career - Fortune 40 under 40, Entrepreneur of the Year by ASSOCHAM, Young Professional of the Year by Asia Retail Congress, Top 25 e-commerce professionals, and Professional Entrepreneur of the Year. What is the significance of these awards to you?

Appreciation always makes one feel good and awards are one form of appreciation. However, what is more important for me is an acknowledgement from my team and knowing that what we are doing is making a difference to the customers’ lives. One of the team members of the legacy Ruplee team told me around a year into the acquisition that she never thought the business could be turned around and she really wanted to congratulate me for having been able to turn it around. Further, when the deal for PayLo went through, I got a call from an early customer who didn’t want us to sell because they were very so happy with our product. I think these simple statements are my biggest achievements.

CC: What special practises and daily habits do you pursue to upskill and stay on top of the game?

I like to challenge the status quo. This makes me question everything and I keep thinking how anything can be done better—whether it’s faster or cheaper be it in terms of cost or effort. Further, being generally curious about technology, I keep exploring and trying new products and technologies and their applications in various fields/businesses/industries. In fact, the most fulfilling days for me are the ones when I feel I have learned something new.

CC: What are your future goals that you are still working towards?

Not too many people know that I work with a non-profit called 'Mukkamaar'. We work towards empowering underprivileged girls by teaching them self-defence. I think it’s really unfortunate that in the current day and age, our society is still largely patriarchal and men feel entitled to control and misbehave with women. Self-defence training changes women’s interactional patterns with strangers. It is a means to instil a sense of urgency on one’s body and mind. Through 'Mukkamaar' we hope to build a safer society for women with no gender-based violence.

CC: Tell us a little about your education. How did it impact your thinking and formation?

I’m an engineer-MBA like most Indian men. I did computer engineering from Delhi College of Engineering and MBA from IIM Calcutta. Being an engineer, I learned to question. It taught me to understand the why and how of everything, which helped me develop my analytical skills and become a strong problem solver. Further, the rigorous MBA curriculum made me time agnostic. I got conditioned to sleep at any time and work at any time irrespective of the time. I remember, my team and I had worked continuously for 48 hours straight to launch our payment acceptance app PayLo POS within two days after demonetisation back in 2016.

CC: Can one strike a work-life balance in your challenging position? Any hobbies, relaxation techniques, fitness routine you follow?

I’ve always been an avid sportsman right since my childhood days and I try to play sports whenever possible which mostly means weekend T-20 cricket matches. In fact, sports has inculcated a never-say-die attitude in me. My belief in the quote that “the match is not over till the last ball is bowled” has rubbed off on my professional life as well. I also like to listen to music and play the guitar as well.

"With news being the most widely consumed content in digital in India, it becomes extremely important to ensure honesty and decorum"

Rohit Chadda supports a non-profit called Mukkamaar,
which works to empower underprivileged girls by
teaching them self-defence

CC: What’s a day in the life of CEO, Zee Digital, Rohit Chadda like?

I like to relax when I wake up have my cup of tea and not think of work for the first hour or so. While most of the day is spent in meetings and reviews, I like to keep some time to myself, focus on the bigger picture and do my research. In the evenings, I try to squeeze a quick HIIT workout.

CC: How would you say the pandemic has impacted the digital space positives and challenges?

The pandemic has given a strong boost to the digital space. There was a leap in the adoption of most digital businesses whether the growth in users translated into revenue or not was different for each business type. Of course, this doesn’t include companies in the travel industry. While subscription and commerce-based businesses saw excellent growth in revenue, the ad revenue-based businesses didn’t see a proportionate growth in revenue as compared to the user growth but that shall pick up soon as well.

CC: In the race to grab eyeballs, many news channels and websites are going to desperate lengths. What is your view of this trend?

Media is regarded as one of the four pillars of democracy. It plays a very important role in shaping the views and opinions of society and is capable of affecting mass mentality. With news being the most widely consumed content in digital in India, it becomes extremely important to ensure honesty and decorum. It’s unfortunate how some companies are sacrificing the sanctity of the media in order to gain short term users. I don’t think this strategy will help companies in building a loyal consumer base longer term.

CC: In your opinion, has an interest in politics overtaken interest in lighter fields such as entertainment, sports etc?

I don’t think that’s completely accurate. Politics has been mainstream in the past few months because not much was happening on entertainment and sports due to the lockdown. But now with IPL having started, our cricket starved nation will go all out to support and follow their favourite cricketers. I believe the same will happen with entertainment as well.