Chennai, the gateway of South India, is located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. It is the biggest industrial and commercial centre. Chennai has developed in the 21st century as a centre for automobile factories and IT outsourcing.
But due to the trash-filled drains and the building on lake beds in the rush to industrial boom and growth, the state has become susceptible to flooding.
December 1, 2015 marked a historic event for Chennai as it experienced the most intense rainfall in a century. This calamity brought about dire circumstances for the entire state.
Amidst the widespread distress endured by the Chennai populace, two friends named Aravindh and Arun, who were directly impacted by the disaster, took it upon themselves to provide essential supplies like food and provisions to the affected people.
That is when they observed that people were also in need of medicines as much as they needed food.
Even when the floods eased off, they found it backbreaking to obtain prescribed medicines. People had to visit multiple pharmacies to make sure that they purchase the exact brand as said by a doctor, and for people purchasing online took a minimum of 24 to 48 hours to get delivered.
"The transformation of innovation begins with ideation, investment, and unique action." To resolve the unavailability of health products, Aravindh inaugurated AroundU- a platform to source medicines from trusted and nearby pharmacies within 30 to 45 minutes in 2017.
Its offerings include lab tests at home, paleo diet consultations and doctor consultations. AroundU also introduced a Mobile App and Web Technology to buy medicines. Additionally, its express delivery service delivers your medicine within an hour.
The brain behind the brand Aravindh Rajendran always acts as if what he does makes a difference. He is an inventive thinker, adventurer, and go-getter. He has effective interpersonal and communication skills and the power to take initiative and finish a time crunch.
Mr. Aravindh is from mechanical engineering and recently finished his MBA in marketing. He initiated his career in an IT Firm when he was 23 years old. Aravindh is very passionate about diversifying the workplace and continuous growth to enhance efficiency.
He believes that leadership quality is the key factor that determines the success or failure of an organization. Leading a swiftly prospering organization, he holds the position of authority and excels in decision-making, overseeing daily operations, and effectively implementing the company's upcoming strategies.
Recently Aravindh Rajendran was on the hot seat of The StartUp City Magazine, talking about his leadership journey and also scooping the insight of AroundU.
Kindly brief us about the chronicles of your challenges and major responsibilities in aroundU.
"Before you become a leader, success is all about improvising yourself. After you become a leader, success is about boosting others."
It was strenuous to onboard pharmacy partners since most of them considered an online platform as a threat to their business. Things started changing exactly one year after we started off.
From then on, we have joined hands with multiple pharmacy partners who equally believe in our vision to be Human and care for others in this fast-paced digital era.
We have touched the lives of more than 10,000 families in the past few months. Our primary concern lies in onboarding trusted and authentic pharmacy partners into the platform and in ensuring enhancement in the service day after day. We make sure that every aspect of our business touches the lives of people positively in one or another way.
How efficient is your organization from the operational angle? Present an overview of entrenched connections in AroundU.
AroundU produces a result with the support of pharmacy partners across the city. Our team comprises proficient customer support that operates 24*7 to handle customer queries. Right away, we have tied up with more than 120 pharmacies across the country to provide a timely solution and convenience to customers.
We have gradually improved over time. We have established connections with a few diagnostic centres and Labs to collect blood samples at customers' doorstep and doctors to provide online consultation. Just a while ago, we also built a connection with a few diet experts to help customers with their diet and medication.
How do you motivate employees? Describe the factors that encourage creative thinking in your organization.
"I strongly believe that if we win the hearts and minds of employees, then we are going to have better business success."
That's why we ensure that every member takes equal responsibility for successes and failures day in and day out. It is the most effective way to keep them motivated. One can be at his best when provided a boundary for the box, and that is how we encourage creative thinking in our organization.
How are you growing as a leader? And, how are you bringing leadership quality to your team?
According to me, leadership is all about creating a common platform for our sphere of influence and being something more than average. So, I ensure that I gain and also add value to every person within my region. That will help me continue to grow as a leader.
Leadership is not a position but action that everyone is capable of maintaining given the right opportunity. As a part of our team's culture, we ensure that every member is given a fair chance to execute across verticals and can lead the team when it comes to their core zone.
One characteristic that you believe every leader should possess and one mistake you witness leaders make.
Leadership is creating a common ground for fellow mates to add value and grow together. But, it is possible only when leaders are open to ideas from their team.
Leaders are equally talented to understand the importance of big data and data analytics but I have witnessed that few leaders are missing them out.
Throughout your journey, who was your inspiration?
I am very inspired by Phill Knight after reading his book "The Shoe Dog". It kept my spirits on when I was going through a challenging phase of entrepreneurship.
When was the proudest moment of your career with AroundU?
I have one such instance, wherein one of our customers couldn't step out of his home, because he needed to take care of his grandmother back in the home but, he was not feeling well.
We managed to source him medicines from one of our partner pharmacies within 12 minutes of placing the order.
We got a call in the 14th minute from the customer to express his gratitude, and he also sent a thank message on WhatsApp. It was not just me but, my whole team felt proud to be a part of AroundU at that moment.
Is every day the same in the life of a business leader?
In the case of effort, yes, every day is the same with 100% commitment. But when it comes to challenges, every day starts with a different Enigma and hurdles.
Word to the Growing Business Leaders
"Execution is more important than ideation. So dive in, and exert yourself to endure and improvise the offerings and then turn out well. Learning from failures is one of the best resources to gain insights into becoming a better leader. I would recommend referring to books and articles with such insights from great leaders."
