Written by Noman
It was July of 2016 when I joined Bizom after working with MNCs for a couple of years. In these places, I could not see my work having any direct impact, and hence I looked at finding a way to have a mix of freedom, flexibility, and opportunity at work. I was exploring the idea of an entrepreneurial stint but didn’t have the runway for it. I also had too many responsibilities at the time.
As a Bollywood fan, I would like to say my journey with Bizom has been nothing less than a cinematic experience. I’ll start from the beginning.
I first reached out to Rohan and Nilesh and expressed my interest in working with Bizom. However, at the time, there were no available openings. Call it madness or persistence, or whatever you will, I was eventually able to get them to interview me. An interview that led to a full-time role at Bizom, with Distiman.
What you’ll read ahead, are the things I experienced so far in my time at Bizom.
Hope
Coming to my journey with Distiman, the first thing that comes to my mind is “Hope”. A hope to disrupt the FMCG industry. Hope, to change the supply chain allowing mom and pop retailers to maximize their profits through on-demand procurement. Hope, to help build teams in Kolhapur, where I learned a lot from Lalit.
However, owing to personal reasons, I had to move to Mumbai. The folks at Bizom then went out of the way and presented me with another opportunity. This was for the role of an Associate Business Analyst (ABA) in our Mumbai office. To be very honest it was an opportunity that I was skeptical about at first. In hindsight, I feel that Lalit saw something in me that even I was not able to see then. But what it meant was this – I was ready for my second innings.
Failure
I would call my early days as an ABA ‘a monumental failure’. My performance was of the lowest order, and it even led me to believe I needed to explore other opportunities. At around the same time, I met with an accident.
To me, this was the lowest point in my life. I was bedridden for two months and at the same time, stuck in a role in which I was yet to have any impact. But, as we say, the show goes on.
We generally forget to duly credit the captains and selectors who supported players like Virender Sehwag or Rohit Sharma (cricketers who had a bad patch and failed many times early in their careers). But Bizom consists of one such leadership unit that deserves credit for backing their people, even in the toughest of times.
Rohan backed me entirely, and I knew that his faith in me was something special. When I came back to work, I felt like I had taken the right call. Until then, it was all a muddle – my work wasn’t going as expected, I had just met with a bad accident, I was uncertain about my future. It was at that point that I realized that life was already as bad as it could get.
Things could only go upwards from here.
Success
Upon my return to work, I aligned with Rajnik. Little did I know it at the time, but that was the start of a brilliant partnership. As fellow introverts, we understood each other well. Here is where the story of my revival began.
I started with mid-sized client accounts and focused on helping our clients derive value. At the same time, I also worked on strengthening my relationship with them. After this, I was ready to take on larger clients.
Working with Bizom, I’ve had the opportunity of working with overseas clients as well. These experiences have been truly enriching and have given me exposure like never before!
I’d say that I feel I know the CPG business well enough to be the consultant that our customers want, and looking back, that’s what has helped me.
Leadership
Earlier in July this year, Bizom’s leadership entrusted me with the opportunity to lead a region – something that I take a lot of pride in.
In life, when an opportunity presents itself, even if we don’t know how to go about it, it is a must that we back ourselves and take it up. If we can have that much confidence and faith in ourselves, we will eventually get a hold of things.
With this, we come to the present day, where I have transitioned from an Operations Manager, to an ABA, to an AVP of Customer Success and eventually – the Regional Head. In all this, I’d say that one thing has remained consistent – perseverance.
Working at Bizom will present you with freedom, flexibility, and exposure. At the same time, you get to work with some great minds. A great part about this is that some of those people become friends for life. Case in point – Deb, Barnali, and Vishesh!
I have been privileged to work with some of the best and brightest, and what excites me is that the learning here is still limitless.
