Choose a team you want to spend the rest of your life working with: Niket Desai of Flipkart
"Say you have 10 days to live. Would you be able to pick the people you don't mind spending that time with," asks Niket Desai, Chief Staffer, Flipkart. A keynote speaker at TechSparks, Niket started his session by flashing the number '24,564.5' to the audience.
It is the average lifespan (in days) of an Indian, of which only 10,000 are spent working.
"What you work on and who you work with are very important. You have around 10,000 days and you will have to choose what you want to do with it," says Niket.
Diversity is key
He uses his erstwhile startup, Punched, as an example. The Silicon-Valley based startup, which was founded in 2008/2009 was all about getting a diverse set of people on board.
"A good team is one where each complements the other's skills. At Punchd, we had three founders who each had a unique talent that could be used," Niket adds.
Punchd was eventually acquired by Google, when works on the Google Wallet project was in progress. Punchd later shut down operations in 2013, but Niket is not bitter about it, as he says that he built a team that gave him lasting friendships.
Build elite teams
Niket says, "Build elite teams. They might not change the world but they define it." He emphasises the need for founders to their strong teams efficiently.
He believes the most important question to ask before building a team is: "Come what may, will you want to work with these guys for 10,000 days?"
Niket quotes Google as an example of a great team. The founding team has been together for over 17 years, through the entire journey of the company.
Ordinary becomes extraordinary
"Pick people you know will do great things because everybody starts as an ordinary person but experiences make them extraordinary," he explains.
He concluded his address by saying that founders should decide quickly what to do with their 10,000 days.
