A story on the turbulent world of start ups, uncertainty and job losses
It was 2 am on Sunday night when the promising world of the employees of the fintech startup, which we shall call M, was suddenly turned upside down. The 25 odd staff members of M were rudely woken up by a loud ping on their mobiles. The message was grim 바카라 바카라We deeply regret to inform you of the sudden demise of our beloved CEO Manoviraj Mansukhani. He was in the midst of an intense workout sesh in the gym when he suffered a cardiac arrest.바카라
Manoviraj Mansukhani aka Mastermind was only 29 years old and a bright star in the unicorn-scape. Borrowing ideas from his university project, he had not only founded a dynamic startup, assembled a crack team but also managed to attract funds from foreign investors, who in turn, had given wings to his nascent enterprise. For those who knew him, it came as no surprise that he was in the gym at 1 am pumping iron while the rest of the world was quietly tucked away in bed. 바카라Sleep is for losers바카라 was his favourite mantra and it was scribbled all over the walls in his office.
The staff was reminded of this quote of his as they sat in white attire in front of his framed photograph at the prayer meeting. 바카라He is now in a state of permanent sleep. May his soul be at peace,바카라 the pundit announced in a solemn voice. Someone at the back let out a loud howl before descending into a fit of uncontrollable sobbing.
바카라I hate to be rude here but I can바카라t help thinking about what will happen to this company and our jobs바카라, Jatin the coder whispered to Savita the product manager. Savita bit her lip as she contemplated the bleak future. Overhearing this, Akanksha from marketing felt a strong urge to lash at Jatin but mindful of the occasion, covered her mouth with her scarf to prevent audible utterance of any curse words. Pratik from strategy stared up at the ceiling, wondering if the new AI-enabled scenario planning software he had recently read about would offer guidance in this situation.
But before long, a staff circular put the uncertainty to bed. The key Russian investor in M had appointed their man Yuri Petrov as an interim CEO 바카라to steer the ship through turbulent times바카라 and 바카라to ensure continued profitability and customer delight바카라. The staff tutted at the cliched note and immediately dove into an extensive internet search to uncover more information about the new CEO. They were disappointed when they realised that not only was there no image of this particular gentleman on the net, but there was also no major proclamation of his managerial expertise except for a brief mention in an unresolved white-collar crime in some Baltic country. They were further disappointed when they got to meet him in person upon his arrival in the office. He was a fifty-something man, with a small build, balding head and the moxie of an assistant hand on a modest Russian sailboat that had no visible ambitions of sailing far or even going anywhere.
As the staff adjusted to the new realities, they were shocked to witness boxes, presumably filled with paper, being ferried from the Yuri바카라s office (previously occupied by Mastermind) to the accounts department, from there to the basement and from there to 바카라unknown destinations바카라. Shortly afterwards, the drills started. Let바카라s be clear, these were not fire drills but IT raid drills. A checklist of actions was circulated. It read: In the event of an IT raid, shred all the paper in your vicinity, delete all the emails sent and received on your official id, then exit the office with your laptop through the back door.
바카라We are now working for the Russian mafia바카라. Jaws fell as the penny finally dropped. Two team members turned violently sick and took time off to recuperate (and hunt for new jobs).
And then, the worst fears of the staff got confirmed on a Thursday afternoon, just three weeks after the new regime had set in. 바카라This is not a drill바카라, Yuri announced over the office bullhorn. But just as the mighty shredders went into loud service, an army of IT officials busted the place. They stopped the shredders, confiscated all the laptops, picked up all the remaining boxes and placed yellow tape across the office entrance.
Staring at the closed front door with tape plastered all over it, Jatin clasped and unclasped his hands in apparent desperation. 바카라Do you think they will check the internet browsing history of each laptop?바카라
바카라Possibly. Why?바카라, Savita asked.
바카라No, nothing major바카라, Jatin replied, too scared to say a word about the porn sites he had visited in the isolation of his hotel room during the offsite client visit. But the long stare he got from Akanksha meant that his guilt was no longer a secret. Frankly though, Jatin바카라s browsing of naughty websites was the least of the staff바카라s worries. Impatiently they waited for news 바카라 good and bad, but none came. The assumption was that Yuri had fled the country and the startup was shuttered for good on charges of financial mismanagement. Gradually, the staff moved on to other opportunities and cultivated life elsewhere.
The story could have ended here. But then, there is this thing called randomness.
Four months later, one Saturday evening, while hosting a house party, Savita opened the door to collect the pizza that she had ordered online for her gang of new colleagues. As she handed the delivery man the cash, she suddenly felt a familiarity.
바카라Aren바카라t you Jatin from Tech?바카라, she asked in surprise.
바카라No, ma바카라am, you are mistaken바카라, the man fumbled in embarrassment.
바카라You are indeed, that voice바카라.
바카라No바카라, he replied as he hurriedly turned and fled down the stairs, with his pizza bag flung over his shoulder.
(Sona Maniar is interested in philately, writing and sketching)