Navigating life and work with CrossFit: Zoomcar’s Greg Moran on what keeps him on track
Greg Moran moved countries and gave up a lucrative career to start Zoomcar in India. CrossFit has helped him stay focused through all the changes.
Navigating the vagaries of life and entrepreneurship is no easy task, and you often need to find ways to balance both if you are an entrepreneur.
With around 4,000 cars and 10,000 bicycles on PEDL, Greg Moran,
Co-founder and CEO of self-drive car rental company Zoomcar, knows a thing or two about navigation, on and off the road. From leaving his Wall Street job as an investment banker to moving to Bengaluru in 2012, Greg’s path to entrepreneurship was, needless to say, punctuated by many highs and lows.
From 2013, when he started Zoomcar, Greg also took to CrossFit, a high-intensity fitness programme incorporating elements from several sports and types of exercise, and on a Friday morning Greg showed us how his mental and physical strength revs him up to take on the challenges at work.
Perseverance, tenacity and resilience
“Entrepreneurship is about resilience, perseverance and tenacity and more than anything else CrossFit helps develop those skills. It puts a lot of challenges before you but it is as much mental as well as physical because you have to suck it up as it is not easy,” Greg says.
He does CrossFit four days in a week, since he travels often. Usually he makes it to the gym in the morning, but sometimes goes in at night too.
Greg uses the time he spends exercising to think about work, but explains it is the time right after the workout that is of far more importance to him.
The time after the workout is highly productive and I have a lot of thoughts right after my workout. So I make sure that I leverage that time.
A holistic approach
Other than a good fitness regimen like CrossFit, Greg believes one needs more pursuits to have a holistic life. While he manages to get home to New York once or twice a year, he does believe that it is important to have the support of family and friends. He enjoys music and plays the piano. “I don’t play the piano as much in India as I do when I am back home,” he quips.
As someone who is in the transport industry, Greg knows the importance of cooling off one’s jets once in awhile with breaks.
It is important to have small breaks and enjoy yourself while working and more importantly when travelling,
Greg Moran
Greg enjoys sampling different kinds of food and cooking in equal measure.
There’s always a Zoomcar
While Greg has seen Bengaluru change and evolve over time, whether it is improved public transport or more restaurants opening up, he has not invested in a car. Greg subscribes to the Zoomcar marketplace and after many years of driving in the US, he is most comfortable with an automatic. His favourite cars are Swift AT and Audi.
I will never own a car, nor have I invested in property or a house. Most folks in my age bracket value flexibility and convenience, whether it is about a house or a car,
This would explain why Zoomcar is so popular with youngsters.
As Greg signs off, he adds that appreciation for the brand from customers and users on social media keeps him going. “When someone has a bad experience that is the test. It is life and some things will not work the way they are supposed to but how you handle it and what you do is what matters,” he says.
And that’s how Greg sits behind the wheels and drives Zoomcar - with resilience and perseverance.
