Reflections...

Time flies, and in the pursuit of learning, it goes by in a flash. Last February, I had penned thoughts on career transition about three months into my new role. Since then, my days have been dotted with pivotal segments and enriching moments that have helped define me a little better. Despite wanting to share my thoughts, I finally finished this article long after completing a year at Ather. My transition from an established corporate to a contemporary enterprise and charting the career journey here at Ather has been an experience of flying at Warp speed.

After a fabulous first Ather Community Day in Jan 2023, I was riding the wave of success we had tasted as a team. Unbeknown to the EV 2W industry, a tidal wave was headed toward us that would force almost everyone to pause (some more than others), redress, pivot (for some), and course correct to comply with updated regulatory demands. The new fiscal brought us to a standstill for 12 days until we had compliance with our refreshed portfolio to achieve the seemingly improbable. Every day, we experienced everything from small wins to depths of despair and the tumultuous cycle in between, the journey labouring yet purposeful and every step determined. Making this turnaround look effortless was a testimony of our resilience and agility and became the talk of the town a few weeks later.

The established corporates who are proponents of a start-up mindset in a deep hierarchical culture need to understand that three pillars enable this anti-fragile execution culture:

• Empowered decision-making close to where the information lies / execution happens (truly delegate);
• Rapidly iterate on hypothesis testing and learn-refine based on outcomes (beyond the structural constraints - cost, AOP, decision hierarchies, resource allocation);
• Focus on good enough vs perfection (satisficing is critical to creating first mover advantage).

As the team and I looked ahead, it was clear we would need to revisit many ideas that had languished at the bottom of the execution backlog. We expanded our portfolio of offerings, unlocked value at different price points, and targeted a new segment of customers to engage with and experience the power of Ather. The launch of the 450S (a derivative of the flagship 450X) and a new generation of 450X (Gen 4) with innovative features in mid-August 2023 showcased that the April 2023 hiccup had not fazed us and our true north of delivering a world-class EV and an enabling ecosystem was always where it should have been throughout.

Reflecting on the first two quarters, it became evident that we failed to acknowledge the churn within our team. We had rushed through a few goodbyes and welcomed new friends into our fold. The celebratory team dinner helped us to reminisce, forget work, unwind, bond, and celebrate like there is no tomorrow.

During this period, I undertook a project integral to compliance with revised government regulatory guidelines. I dove into the details with the cross-functional team to outline a solution set quickly. In line with our values of thinking parallel, we focused on multiple approaches, mindful that the challenge was steep and the impact of failure critical. An exploratory approach helped us learn as we evaluated solution options whilst focusing on maintaining scalability and retaining backward compatibility – interoperability considerations. The experience was akin to graduating from a tightrope walk to an intricate trapeze act quickly. From a rudimentary to an avant-garde solution, the team iterated and learned as we made incremental progress towards our end goal. Mistakes were made, yet with the guidance and support of our leadership, the focus remained on the goal rather than the root cause or blame games.

With the festive period and a sizeable amount of work ahead of us, a few of us agreed to step up to help achieve the goal. As the days passed, the assimilated lessons helped accelerate closure. As we met our commitments when the deadline in November passed, we concurred that the short and frequent iterations had enabled us to deal with complex dynamic problems in ambiguous times in a better way.

Marking the start of the festive quarter was a cycle of rewarding performance, the first for me since I joined Ather. It was a complex endeavour of understanding expectations, calibrating performance, communicating decisions, and unravelling rationale to the larger team. The team is young, having between 4 – 14 years under their belts, and their aspirations are nothing less than the sky and stars. My experience of completing their appraisals was akin to enjoying a crafted dish (in a Michelin restaurant) with variegated flavours. Each flavour contributes to making it whole yet distinct in its moment. The experience and outcomes across the team were more favourable than not. I felt relieved with my ability to sense the unspoken, deliver at par or sometimes beyond expectations, and get a renewed sense of commitment from almost everyone. At Ather, performance review cycles are quarterly, and feedback is continuous (half-year 360s), leading to a world-class performance delivery mindset. Clarity around the true north and guard rails to protect from untoward pitfalls provide an expansive runway for everyone on the team to realize their potential.

As the winter began to set in here in Bangalore, I realized that it was a year since I had taken the plunge to craft my story of growth and impact with Ather.

It was inspiring that my work anniversary coincided with our 10th Anniversary of Ather #WheeTurn10 celebration. Every one of us felt at Cloud 9 in Year 10 #Cloud9Year10. We beamed with pride and admiration at the Decade of Industry Firsts – synonymous with everything we have accomplished and the benchmarks we have established. With the customer and their experience as our focus, our innovation has allowed us to envision and deliver Warp/Warp+?, Park Assist?, Auto Hold?, Tow and Theft Detection, Only-Throttle Ride, and Fall Safe?, to name a few from a very long list of firsts evident in 35+ patents granted and 175+ filed. At the Anniversary event, our founders, Tarun and Swapnil, inspired us with the dream of becoming timeless in defining the industry and ecosystem over the next decade by challenging us to #DreamAgain.

The 10th Anniversary Edition of our flagship 450X was aptly named Apex. We at Ather were proud of what we had crafted and unleashed on the world. With an online launch on 6th Jan 2024, our pulse raced as we came together to get this dream platform out to you.

I come from an Aerospace engineering background where safety, cost, and other constraints impact the pace of progress and rate of innovation. In the 2W automotive space, new platform introductions are also rare (although not as much as compared to aviation). Most entrenched 2W players iterate on their best-selling platforms, making tweaks annually, sometimes bringing major features and facelifts over decades. Occasionally, a revolutionary offering comes along. To be part of one legacy and contribute to another game-changer in under 18 months is akin to Seneca’s quote: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Jan 2024 also saw the announcement of Ather Rizta – from our family to yours – the next-gen EV 2W family scooter. We were going beyond the incremental or generation upgrades on the 450 platform to usher in the family scooter revolution in the coming months.

We have exciting times ahead with the upcoming Ather Community Day Celebration 2024. Savouring each win in style and taking lessons from failure in a stride, the team and I, from the epicentre of execution, aim to push the boundaries of what most people think possible.

Amid this busy period, we chose to have our team outing - a night stay in early February at a resort on the city outskirts. Almost the entire team joined us for a day of team-building activities (orchestrated by my champions from People Operations and Strategy), followed by sporting activities. Over the previous team outing and this one, I noticed that water polo always inherently brings out the competitiveness and otherwise hidden dimensions of people’s personas. We pushed the limits of fun with some rain dance and various indoor games – Snooker & Table Tennis - until it was time to settle in for the long evening with beer and music. After dinner, we had jamming sessions led by our team guitarist playing songs, with everyone chiming in. A game of charades with a tired and tizzy team is a different kind of fun that must be experienced (at least once in a lifetime). A few team members and I took the liberty of pranking those who had called it an early night (past 11 PM) and reminded them of the good old college dorm days.

As we checked out of the resort, the atmosphere resonated with that in Maverick - when Vice Admiral Beau Simpson comes to the beach in search of the cadets missing training to find them playing simultaneous offence-defence beach volleyball. The Admiral fails to comprehend the situation until Tom Cruise replies that he has built the team as requested. Talented players (star players) win games, but an All-Star team wins Championships and sets the bar anew every day on and off the field. This time-tested team will emerge shimmering like solid gold in the rising sun.