Today we have selected Manoj Agarwal to take his interview. He is the Co-Founder Of Xoxoday.
First of all, how are you and your team doing in these COVID-19 times?
We are doing fine. There have been definite hiccups and losses of life personally. But as a team, we have been safe and doing well.
Tell us about you, your career, how you founded or joined this company?
I am from the small town Bahal, near Pilani Rajasthan. A small-town upbringing helped me always be connected with my roots and stay grounded. I am a computer science engineer and an MBA. Before starting Xoxoday, I have worked with companies like Yahoo & Flipkart in technology, product & marketing functions. Being from a business family, entrepreneurship was always exciting for me, and that’s when I started Xoxoday along with my other founders in 2012.
Xoxoday has been a great journey so far, filled with challenges and joy. We have pivoted from how we started and kept on making course corrections on our way. Today, we are a team of 200 employees across India, the US, and Ireland and growing globally.
How does your company innovate?
We have been solving a complex problem of rewards, incentives & payouts in businesses. Xoxoday is like a business motivational currency solving multiple use cases for employees, sales, channel partners, and consumer payouts. We listen to our customers and ideate internally to come up with the best innovation in the sector.
How the Coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you Coping?
Professionally, Coronavirus has been a blessing in disguise. Though, it’s sad that it has been tough for millions of people & families. The pandemic naturally helped companies like us work remotely, work more efficiently, and improve most of our business metrics. We have acquired more than 300 clients in this Corona crisis and hired more than 50 employees. We have been growing well and hope to continue the same.
Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons Learned?
Yes, many. Leaders need to be decisive and make those tough calls whenever required after due analysis. Whether it’s about letting go of a customer or an employee, a call on the product roadmap, pricing, or opening up or shutting down a market, all are tough decisions. To err is human, and we have also made mistakes in some decisions. But the good news is that we have always learned and improved as we progress through.
What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?
A lot of them. Not that we were not using them before the crisis. As a company, we have always focussed a lot on process improvement & automation. Pandemic acted as a catalyst to increase it further. Today, we use 80+ software tools in the company for managing different projects/tasks/processes. During a crisis, some of the best tools are Gsuite, Zoom, Hangout, Jira, Slack, Our own product, Empuls, etc.
Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?
Some of our competitors are Tangocard, Wegift, Vantagecircle, Bonusly, Perkbox, Spiff, etc. The market size is huge, and multiple players can do very well. Our product is superior, and it solves the problem more horizontally, reducing the need for multiple point solutions for the clients. This gives them better ROI and a good competitive advantage for us. Our cross-sells and upsell in multiple use cases have helped us grow.
Your final thoughts
Life is a journey, and so is entrepreneurship. So enjoy the journey mindfully. Business fortunes can be reversed; life can’t be reversed. So live well and do well.
- Spokesperson: Manoj Agarwal
- Company: Xoxoday
- Website link: www.xoxoday.com
- Website link: www.empuls.io
