SpringSters - Blogging Bunch

There’s nothing that gets the adrenaline soaring like the closing in of a deadline. We are as impatient to throw off the stealth mode as you are curious about finding out what we are all about. Within a few weeks from now 13friends would be ready to take it’s first few set of visitor’s by invitation. Last few months have been exhilarating to say the least. We have spent umpteen no of hours trying to figure out in our minds what is it that you would need. It’s almost like being parents of a toddler about to step on to the center stage for the first time!!

Last few months we have really seen the activity around social networking products picking up. There are quite a few cool products out there. However have you ever had feelings like wow! that’s cool , but don’t think it’s for me? I think we have a kind of understanding about the lacunae that exists between the need and the type of products hitting the market at regular intervals. Maybe that’s got something to do with the complexity involved. And we are going to do it one step at time …..relentlessly ! What I am reminded at this point is of a quote I read somewhere…

Be THE , not “A”

“A” is random. “A” is generic. “A” is one of many. “A” is adequate.

“THE” is singular. “THE” is specific. “THE” is the only. “THE” is expert.

Anyways, if you happen to be in and around Pune do drop us a line and let us know if you would be interested to be a part of the lunch 2.0 movement (true Silicon Valley Style ) that we have started in Pune.

And oh ! did you notice the new Services tab that we have added to the site? As mentioned, community and communication is our forte. If you would like to learn more, don’t be shy about dropping us an email at sevices@mangospring.com. We do answer all legitimate (non-spam) emails we get

-Anjali

The MangoSpring team had been looking forward to spending the evening of July 6 th together.  It was designed to be a mix of fun and work.  After some last minute changes to plans, everyone voted for an evening in Pathshala.   Our evening in Pathshala this time around had a theme of team roles and the importance of resources.  As with our other Pathshala sessions, the evening was filled with a lot of good food, relaxation and fun activities.  

The first activity had Springsters divided into two groups, and each team was given some newspapers.   There was also one roll of cello tape to be shared between the two groups.  The task was to build an arch with the newspaper, and it had to meet the following criterion:

•  It had to stand on it’s own
• It had to be movable and not be rooted to the ground
• At least one member of the group should be able to go through it
• They had 15 mins to complete the task and during the initial 5 mins the group members were not allowed to speak to each other

Initially the teams were stumped and did not know how to proceed.   Slowly, as the teams made progress, they realized the way to meet all the criteria.  After the activity was over, the Springsters discussed the way different group members “behaved” in the group setting.    It was interesting how one member could be good in idea generation, whereas somebody else’s strengths are seeing an idea through to completion.   For another member the strength could be keeping the group together and keeping them focused. (Reference - Belbin’s team roles)  The activity also stressed making appropriate and good use of resources, what with two teams competing for one roll of cello tape.   As in typical MangoSpring style, there was a lot of laughter and leg pulling!

The second activity of the evening was called River Crossing.   The teams had to coordinate among themselves to cross an imaginary river with the help of 6 inch squares.  And yes, they were umpteen rules to make this task difficult for them.   The game was designed with less squares than the number of members in each team.  If nobody was touching a square it would just sink and be unavailable for use.   There were hilarious instances of these when the team members in the anxiety of making it through to the other end forgot all about members behind them and jumped to the square ahead, making the square on which they were standing sink.   This game emphasized the importance of working together with your teammates…and of course good communication!

This turned out to be a great evening.   We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about each other, and working together as a team.  And somehow dinner always tastes better on the MangoSpring terrace in the company of Springsters and stars above.

The wisdom clouds were spread over the PSPL campus in Erandwane for the second Pune Barcamp. SpringSters were there to share the good work that had been done at MangoSpring over the past six months. Two SpringSters presented at the event: Isha spoke about Cometd and the I, the Happiness Manager, spoke about…well…Happiness - why happiness is so important to an organization, and here at MangoSpring, we think it is an important part of something we call Organization 2.0.

While I will leave it to Isha to talk about cometd in her post , let me fill you in on what we think Organization 2.0 is all about and how we put it into practice at MangoSpring.

When we look at a traditional organization, what strikes us first is that when people become managers and HR mangers, they start focusing on processes. It seems that companies have built processes on top of processes in an effort to get things done. At MangoSpring we have adopted a minimalistic approach to these policies and have come up with a very small set of guidelines for all SpringSters. These guidelines are part of every SpringSters daily tasks – small or big…leading to what we call Organization 2.0.

We learned a lot from our own past experiences, debated what we hated and what we liked, picked-up some nuggets of wisdom from books like “Good to Great” by Jim Collins and “Maverick” by Ricardo Semler.

• Trust makes Organization 2.0 work, not control over everything and everyone. We believe that our people are as concerned about innovativeness, timeliness and quality of our products as we are.
• We believe in complete openness and transparency. We believe in promoting an organization where everyone knows what everyone else is doing – we call it a “naked organization”. To help with this, we built a tool, called Taskbin. With Taskbin, among other things, everyone can see what’s on everyone else’s plate (including CEOs). We liked it so much that we decided to make it a product of it’s own so that other companies can benefit from it (www.taskbin.com).
• We are BIG fans of the happiness philosophy. We believe that happy people are good to have around you and they impact you positively. They get more work done and they get things done faster. Being happy at work means enjoying and loving what you do and having fun while at it!
• Lastly, organization2.0 requires that we are very picky about who we hire. The right people are passionate about what they do and will collectively take the organization in the right direction. At MangoSpring we are very fortunate and have done extremely well in getting the right people onboard!

To sum it all up - there’s a lot of debate happening on why Organization 2.0 will work or will not work. We were very happy to share this at the Pune Barcamp. It works very well for us and let me tell you…it is so much easier and nicer than the traditional way of doing things.

There are numerous posts that I came across on the web for what an entrepreneur should do, or for that matter, not do, while running a startup. These are typically directed at the founders. I haven’t yet come across good write ups on what should an employee at a startup do. Having worked with two startups Thumbspeed and now MangoSpring, I thought of putting down what I have learned.

1. When you joined the startup, you had a strong reason. This could be a desire to work with an exciting product company, to feel a sense of ownership which only a startup can offer, to be able to wear multiple hats, to be able to contribute across the spectrum - ideation and development or something similar.You need to constantly ask yourself if you are doing what you initially joined the startup to do. If you wanted to wear multiple hats, what efforts have you taken in the last week to be able to multi-task? If you wanted the feeling of owning something end to end, what actions did you take which demonstrate your ownership of a project or feature? I personally remember asking myself this question in my early days at Thumbspeed. It was this that led me to push my way into the product development team from a sales team . If you are not doing what you joined the startup to do…speak to the founders (sorry startups typically don’t have managers).
2. Startups are managed by a small set of motivated and hardworking individuals. You have little choice but to match up with their energy levels. Your extra bursts of energy rarely go unnoticed and are always rewarded in one form or the other. It’s the only place where you shall have your boss always working more than you. And trust me, it’s a very embarrassing feeling.
3. When at a startup don’t just point out what’s broken, fix it. Though true everywhere else, this is all the more relevant at a startup. There are always a dozen things that could be done better, and there is always more to do than there is time for. Hence, its helpful if you fix whatever is broken. This could be inadequate information on the company website, bad network management, or anything else. If you can help do it better, no one will ask you why you did it. There are no possessive team leaders here!
4. The company’s success is your success, and vice versa. Do not try and separate the two things. Work towards making the company a success and you shall be one. You rarely have successful employees of an unsuccessful startup. Successes of a startup doesn’t always mean a billion dollar company. Success means doing whatever you had set out to do, and doing it right. It means creating the right work environment, the right work practices, the right code, and the right features. Each day work towards making your company a successful company and I guarantee you will reap the benefits.
5. Always remember it’s your company. Ownership does not end at your tasks. Just like you own the code base, the features; you also own the company’s limitations, its finances. Save where ever you can. Save paper, electricity. Of course don’t over do it at the expense of your comfort or efficiency . But wasteful expenses should be kept at the minimum.
6. Since the company management is easily accessible and extremely responsive in a startup, we often tend to get in the ‘ask’ mode. One must resist the temptation of asking for things.
7. Self-drive and self controlled. There are no IT policies, no IT departments blocking access to sites. There are no time sheets to keep track of how many hours you have been working. This is none of this because startups don’t have the resources to do so. Its because startup founders find it very hard to believe that someone would waste time when he/she has so much to do! Working in a startup requires a great deal of self control and you need to be able to motivate yourself to produce 110% output on a daily basis.

As Anup always says….They (the competition) can outspend me, but they can never outwork me!

1. You get to be Happy- We believe having fun at work is important to thrive and foster innovation. That is why we go to great lengths to cultivate a friendly, fun loving, informal, and happy work environment. Regular fun team activities and contests help SpringSter’s learn through experience and grown through learning.
2. People leave bosses and not companies so they say – At MangoSpring therefore we have done away with the concept of a boss. It’s a flat organization with no hierarchy and seniors play the role more of mentors and communicators. But just so you don’t think we are a rudder less ship…let me tell you that we have able leaders in our Seattle and Pune office at the helm of affairs.
3. A sense of purpose – It’s just not good physical work environment that makes work enjoyable at MangoSpring. The team shares a sense of purpose and the feeling of working for more than a pay-check. What has everyone excited and on their toes is the opportunity to do important work and one which gives a feeling of accomplishment. The mantra is to set challenging goals so that the complacent “good enough” attitude does not set in.
4. We believe in a naked organization – Our first product TASKBIN is just about complete and since we want to walk our talk the first organization where it gets implemented would be our own. TASK BIN allows everyone in the office to be at the same page. Everyone can see everyone else’s to do list and can add, delete, update the list.
5. Your work matters – Because you will help the world to change the way they communicate . Make a difference! Nowhere else will you get so much respect and trust and the freedom to choose to do, what you do best.
6. Your voice AND ideas count – We have a ritual of monthly one – o – one’s where you get a chance to pour your heart out on whatever it is that is on your mind.
7. MangoSpring Paraphernalia – Every SpringSter gets a cool t-shirt and name plate. Everything that we do around here has a generous sprinkling of love and sweat and that makes the end result all the more special and yes forgot to mention that SpringSter’s just can’t do without their black beauties sleek new dell machines with 19 inch LCD monitors.
8. Take Ownership – At MangoSpring everyone gets to own something more besides stock options, it could be a piece of code or module or an idea that you came up with and see it through.
9. Innovative Workplace – We work on bettering our code, strategies and solutions every day!
10. You get to be Content – We have warm lunches and tea-time snacks in our cozy canteen, fresh fruit and juices, tea. And a BIG terrace attached to the office where you could just sit and gaze at the eagles circling the skies on one side and the busy Mumbai–Pune highway on the other side.

This is what Springsters had to say when they were asked one reason why they liked being a part of MangoSpring .

What we need now are their clones , in skill and attitude. Are you the one ??? Click here

Neha :Since I am just fresh out of college I don’t have any other experience to compare with ,but when I talk to my friends in other companies I realize people here are self driven n fond of their work.. and the culture is such that work is never a burden.. so I myself enjoy at work.

Isha :I must say it has been a place where I have seen a lot of innovation. A lot of freedom is given which helps talents to flourish.Not to forget the Springsters around here…..:) ..its fun!

The beauty of is that there are no strict lines drawn between product management and engineering.Each and every member can contribute and this makes work all the more interesting.

Shilpa : For the kind of code I get to write here.

Avinash : No compulsions to wear formals :). There’s freedom of expression and your work is valued.

Kiran : “MangoSpring is a powerhouse of Talented, skillful, enthusiastic, creative people.. ”
Talented-Developers team, Skillful - Everyone, Enthusiastic - HR Team, Creative - Product Team

Life never stops at MangoSpring (continuous challenges, activities, loads of work)

Anil: Its a very nice startup! full of motivated people, you get to be creative on the job …for example the way we made use of ajaxed functions in TaskBin. Designed the total structure of TaskBin code. Used various new plugins and new techniques for testing application.All such things… are creative to me. Also seeing product team adding new ideas, Abhinav implementing GUI, Hari and vishwa implementing the server behind it, all mobile teams working on product requirements and their own ideas, all this is motivating!

Namrata : I like MangoSpring coz, it has active people..I like active atmosphere..

Hari : To start with MangoSpring is special to me because at the end of (almost) every day I get a sense of satisfaction of having contributed to mine and company’s growth.It is a place where I can speak my mind and know I will be listened to and my point considered!It is a place where ppl’s enthusiasm for work is infectious,rubs on you on a dull day!! I could go on and on

Abhay : The technical expertise in house and the innovative product development make the experience unique.

Abhinav : MangoSpring gives me a good environment , colleagues and the support of the management.

Arnab: I am given enough support and mentoring to do my job well.We work on various technologies and we have some solid engineers in our team .

Sandeep:MangoSpring gives me flexible working hours and a chance to work on all kinds of new technologies.

Nilesh:People here are friendly,motivated and positive. I am so glad to be a part of MangoSpring!

Vishwa:Working here gives me a feeling of satisfaction when at the end of a day I see MS family members put pleasure in the job which in turn puts perfection into their work.

Anjali:I am SIMPLY loving it !

Well of course they do! Don’t we know how Archimedes came up with one while floating in a tub of water? How Newton was struck with one while sitting under an apple tree?

Seems like ideas do come out of the blue! The above two examples though are of examples of geniuses, which is one of the biggest myth’s: that creativity is the forte of geniuses. Each and every individual is inherently creative. Research proves that kids are more creative than grown-ups (about 60 times more). It’s for good reason that some of most talked about companies like Google zealously nurture a college like environment giving enough space to people to “BE” themselves.

What usually happens is that being products of “strict and traditional educational systems”, we kind of loose it somewhere in the growing up process. There is so much stress being put on logical and analytical thinking. Also, our brain thinks in terms of “patterns “, which of course has it’s own benefits in problem solving (finding spontaneous answers to on the spot problems for ex). Think back to a time when the only kind of door handles that existed were of the push down variety. So the first time somebody came across a door with a knob, he probably took a few seconds to figure out that it had to be rotated. There was a problem solved, and a pattern made. The next time he comes across anything even vaguely similar to a knob, he knows what’s to be done.

So, ideas do seem to come out of the blue…but in reality a lot has to be done beforehand to make the situation fertile before one can reap a good crop of ideas “out of the blue”. So what is it that we at MangoSpring do when we are constantly wanting to nurture innovation (idea in action) and creativity (the process that you go through to come up with innovative ideas)?

It’s their baby - At MangoSpring each and every team member gets to own a module/feature or product — no strings attached. That’s what makes them experiment around, give their best and come up with innovative ideas…..with no overly critical bosses looking over the shoulders.

Each one has one - Don’t we all have that special nook/corner where we feel the best and do the best… Springsters this April would be making one for themselves and for their teams in the MYSPACE contest.

At your best amidst nature? - It’s not a rare sight to catch Springsters on our Terrace garden with a laptop or notebook in tow, mulling over a problem or just plain recharging. So what if we don’t have Daffodils? The balsam’s in full bloom this February and March were a great sight!

Quality Time - We spend quality time together as a team, be it at the lunch table or over a game of foosball. We make it a point to celebrate birthdays, go for outings, etc. After all, great ideas don’t come up in isolation.

Pathshala sessions - It’s easy to get trapped by what we know. We teach employees to break free of mental ruts and don the Six Thinking Hats and other techniques.

Idea Pipeline - We don’t just encourage ownership; we absolutely demand it! Everyone gets to log in their ideas into the repository. We don’t just reward referrals, but also good ideas.

Work is fun - How could I forget to mention the interesting work that we are doing at MS? Full of challenges and fun!!

The other day a good friend of mine (one of the best programmers I know of) who works @ Microsoft told me that he was being promoted to Dev Manager at Microsoft. During the conversation it became apparent that he didn’t really want to be a manager, but didn’t see any other path for career advancement. Fortunately, for him, Microsoft managers still get to write code…but no such luck at 99% of other organizations.

That got me thinking…what tempts excellent programmers to become managers? I would say that at big technology houses there is only one way to advance in salary and prestige. That is to go into management and effectively become “Pointy Haired Bosses” a few years down the road. So, if you want to avoid becoming a pointy haired boss, avoid such companies and work for a startup like ours.

At our last company, no one really had to manage anyone. Everyone, including myself, engaged in detailed requirements, design discussions, wrote and reviewed code. We more or less operated by consensus, and everyone was my peer. We hope to create the same work culture at MangoSpring.

So, what would you rather do? Be a manager at one of these big old fashioned corporate houses? Or join us, participate in full product development and marketing cycles (from concept to sales), see your ideas come to life, and have loads of fun? Life is too short to live any other way..really

-Contact us at info@mangospring.com