On the grapevine: A startup boss keeps his dental game on point with glossing & flossing

Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder, Zerodha

“Do not be seduced by designations and job titles. Instead, focus on finding work in a company with a progressive and innovation-driven culture. As a generation that has grown in an all-digital age, sustaining growth in this rapidly transforming ecosystem is not easy. Seek a mentor who complements your strengths. Do not be intimidated by other’s experience…Do not underestimate the value you bring to the workforce. Look for exponential experiences early in career — not linear ones.”

Rashmi Daga, Founder, FreshMenu

“My advice to Gen Z employees would be to spend time with work colleagues and build longlasting relationships. This will help them build a positive environment at work and a great learning opportunity with easy exchange of ideas. They could get an opportunity to learn across functions and be involved in upcoming cross-team projects. Being focussed on every learning opportunity would be the fastest path to progress for a leadership role.”.

Ritesh Agarwal, Founder, OYO Hotels and Homes

“Having set out on my entrepreneurial journey at a young age, the words of my mentor, Peter Thiel, have always stuck with me. He wanted us to focus on learning by doing. Today, OYO is driven by millennials and Gen Z, and I keep telling them how important it is to be passionate about everything you do and the importance of learning by doing. Patience, perseverance and grit are the other qualities that allow you to be focused and seize each opportunity that comes your way.”

Ameera Shah, MD, Metropolis Healthcare

“Absorb and learn as much as you can. I did that during my internships. I felt that I should be going beyond my area of learning. If I was put in one division, I was rarely found there. I would be all over the company, learning everyone’s jobs. I am curious about how things work and just learning from everybody is very important.”

Archit Gupta, Founder, ClearTax

“Gen Z is great at communication, storytelling and are fearless in their choices. They should focus on developing fundamental deep skill sets early on like Patrick and John Collison. They are the founders of Stripe [an online payment company] — who are Gen Z and who developed a deep skill set in tech in their teens. Also [Generation Z should] continue the millennial trend of starting companies.”

Parth Jindal, MD, JSW Cement

“Today, it’s easy to get disillusioned and think of switching jobs. I see that a lot in people who are 24 years and under. They want a fast-paced job. [But] I think for you to enjoy or excel in any job, you must give it time. You have to be there for at least two to three years to actually get a hold of things, to go deep into the role before deciding to move on. Whether it’s manufacturing or a startup, an established organisation or a new one – any job is equally exciting and one should actually think about how they can contribute to that role or to that organisation rather than thinking, ‘Oh, this is boring, I want to move on. I want to do something cool’. Only when you understand a subject properly, can you contribute.”