Avinash Pandit

Very good mix of

strategic brain and hustle culture, which is to get actually go get the things done and reframe the problem statements if required.

This was also the time during COVID, by the way, when I was in Ohio, and travel was one of the worst hit segments, right?

So the company shifted from, you know, being a growth oriented company

to a company which wants to break even and become profitable.

So we had to trim down the workforce by a large extent.

Probably that was one of the phases in my life which was very difficult for me to handle as well.

I mean, coming from an army background, we are made to think in a way that we take everyone along us.

So for the first time, I had to literally fire 35-40% of my team.

And a lot of people have left good jobs, they are giving their time, they are working with me, for me.

I really felt responsible for the majority of them.

So, I mean, I tried to...

help as many people as I could, but it was probably one of the most difficult phases of my working career.

And post OYO, then I went into education, education sector.

In education, I think I've seen the market up close.

In India, I think probably the

most important problem statement is giving the right access to opportunities.

As we were discussing also, I think majority of these premier institutions are built on the premise that they will set you in life.

And that will happen.

And it does happen.