My (An associate’s) day out!
By: Deepanshu Sidhanti
Tags: Investors, Meetings, Founders, New Normal, Portfolio

Step 1 — Seeking approval from the office management

Getting the approval to stay out of the office to meet the founders was the easiest step!

The office management had my back but warned: “Be safe; you have elderly people at home.” In any case, I was prepared for it and reassured them that I was all prepped to go ahead and step into physical meetings.

I then began researching and gathering my questions for the upcoming meetings.

Step 2 — Stepping into an office after seven months!

It was an exciting feeling walking into the first Portfolio Company’s office! People were seated in cubicles; however, the new seating arrangement wherein people were seated much further apart.

Once I met the first Founder, we talked about the environment during the lockdown. It seems as though everyone has stories to share from their days of quarantine’s past.

One of the first realizations I had was that it felt oddly satisfying to speak to one another face to face again. Not once did anyone have to say, “Can you hear me? Can you see my screen? Can you see me?”. The conversation flowed seamlessly.

Once we started speaking about the business update, we decided to discuss a few upcoming startups. As the office was in a co-working space, the Founder was immediately able to take me over to meet a couple of new people. I thought about how great these impromptu meetings are; if I were to meet these people virtually, I’m sure they’d be several email exchanges before we’d be able to set a time that worked mutually. I was glad I was able to meet new prospective startups who are actively fundraising.

I also realized that since we try to fit in as many online meetings as possible, not only do we need to be strict about punctuality, we usually try to cover everything as fast as possible. This means there is no buffer time to chat and catch up on regular stuff.

But since we weren’t restricted to a set meeting time, even though we had planned to wrap up in an hour, we kept talking. I felt as though I could form a bond with the Founder, as the conversation felt more natural and informal in this setting.

The second meeting went well too! As I was able to sit down and entirely focus on what the Founder was talking about, we ended up having a long discussion about the market and how COVID has affected retail.

We spoke in-depth about the current situation and about how unpredictable things are in such an environment. The Founder was able to talk about the company’s experience candidly. There’s just something different when you’re able to sit across someone and have them narrate instances to you. You’re able to grasp so much more emotionally. I was also able to ask about and have access to real-time data and statistics.



My key takeaway from this meeting was that things are drastically different now, so it’s time to set up new research KPI’s and stay updated with the data from the latest reports. It’s time to throw what we know out the window and start from scratch.

Step 3 — Reflecting on my way back home.

Going back home was by far the most challenging thing I had to do as I enjoyed my time outside thoroughly!

I felt I was learning way more than what I could have from home (the new office). I guess that’s why it’s essential to revise your daily actions and improvise when needed; it was pretty clear that I needed a break from the routine. But now, I can easily say that I am 200 percent more pumped to work than before!