# 38 Ageism is Yours to Lick

MANJUL @MANJULtoons

#DahiHandi 🥰

Dadis who rock

“I am 38 yrs old. Will I become redundant after 10 yrs? Will my experience not count? Today, thousands above 50+ who have their best working years ahead, are made obsolete.”

Writing in the Mint, Devina Sengupta tells ‘The untold story of ageism in India Inc.”

Her tweet, and presumably her article, found resonance across the Twitterverse, and one respondent warned, “Devina, you say 50. Mark my words, in 5 years, this number will be 40.”

I haven’t held a job for over 25 years now, but in the few companies with which I have engaged, experience is deeply valued. A ‘safe pair of hands’ is encouraged to stay on, well past retirement age, working either full-time, or as an advisor or consultant. This same sense of accommodation may not apply to older people looking for new jobs, and I empathise with those who are concerned about their employability, should they find it necessary to be looking for a new assignment at 50, or even 40.

Without underplaying the fear of loss, I would like to share my experience of working with that part of the Indian economy which is dominated by the young, often the extra young, namely the world of start-ups. I entered this world as an investor, in 2015, somewhat jaded by 12 years of work in publicly traded shares. 

I was just shy of 60 then, and wondered what my portfolio would look like 15 years hence. The most dynamic parts of the economy, tech-enabled businesses, were being funded by private money - beginning with family and friends, angel investors, then Venture Capital (VC) and Private Equity (PE) firms. By the time they were listed on our stock markets, I feared, too much of their upside would already be baked into the price. If I wanted my old-age portfolio to hold some of these businesses, I would need to enter them early, as an angel investor.

In 2015 and 2016, I began writing small cheques for these investments, typically 5 lakhs a shot; this was not nearly enough for me to have any say in the running of the business, and I figured that the first meeting I had with a founder would typically be the last. 

Barely a year later, the second company in which I had invested ran into stormy weather; a co-investor called to say that the two founders were squabbling, and it was time the investors took a seat on the board.

 “Good Idea”, I said. 

Two days later, Vivek called back to say that the investors wanted me to take that seat. For three months, I wrestled with the relationship between the two co-founders, who had been friends since childhood. We tried several role divisions, but the mistrust was now so deep, that it was time for one of them to go. 

“You take that call”, one of them said. 

“It’s not my call to take”, I demurred. 

“Whatever call you take, Mohit Sir,” the other founder said, “we will both go along with. We will create no trouble”.

It was not an easy decision to take, and communicating it was one of the toughest things I have done. But the loser was as good as his word. He created no fuss, asked for a reasonable price to sell his stake, and a year later, asked me to write reference letters for his admission to business school. Six years later, I still serve on the board of the company, have seen it through the depressing days of COVID lockdowns, and most recently, played a minor role in overseeing a fresh round of capital injection by institutional investors.

Another founder heard me speak about the challenges of creating a business around ayurveda, at a business school symposium, and asked whether he could keep in touch. A few days later, he dropped by and talked about the business he was trying to build, in ayurveda, and the broader Indian heritage. Would I mentor him? Happily, I said.

The first step I suggested was drastic - cut down the number of product lines from six to one. He protested loudly, and as we discussed the work in some detail, I conceded that the fledgling firm could possibly manage two product lines without too much loss of focus. A few days later, Rishabh asked if he could bring some of his colleagues across to meet me. This, I found most endearing - he and I had already established a comfortable rapport, but he wanted his senior employees, none of them a co-founder, to feel that they were party to this new arrangement. 

Once Rishabh and his team had built a new financial plan around the re-imagined business, it became obvious that it would need fresh capital to fund its growth. He asked me whether I would ‘lead’ the search for funds - by presenting an objective view of the business to prospective investors, underscored by a substantial cheque of my own.

That substantial cheque was one of the best investments I have made in my life. Only on paper, because I haven’t exited - either my share-holding, or my involvement with The Ayurveda Experience. I’ll stay on as long as they’ll have me, as indeed with the several other start-ups who have my ear. Every board meeting I attend, every presentation I digest, is an enormous learning opportunity, a glimpse into the future of Indian business.

These are young people with enormous talent, and great courage. They think hard, and act fast. The best of them flourish under pressure, and are able to access deep reserves of stamina when the going gets rough. At the risk of sounding like a parent stuck in the past - they mature soooo fast. In the blink of an eye, I have seen them go from tentative young men and women to assertive, decisive business people negotiating multi-million dollar deals.

It is difficult for me to say what value I bring to their table, but I can share what I try to be - 

Interested, in founders, their business, their products, their way of thinking, their colleagues, their competitors.

Available, always. I take calls at all times, answer Whatsapp texts within minutes, and mail overnight. These are privileges that are never, ever misused.

Supportive, when things go sour and investors become querulous, I stand with founders.

Honest, about what I don’t know, which includes most things about tech enabled business.

Honest, also with my criticism.

Open, to learning, and taking on new leadership challenges.

I stumbled into the world of start-ups, but it has given me a new sense of purpose. I think ‘career’ is too narrow a word for the satisfaction it brings. To Devina’s point, which sparked this post, this is not an ageist world - at 66, I feel as welcomed, as accepted, as a bunch of 17 year-old founders I met at an Emergent Ventures ‘Unconference’ in Udaipur last week.

Amit Varma, who sparked off Gimme Mo, often talks in his podcast of the creator economy, of new opportunities for those who have something to say, outside the narrow vision of the ‘gatekeepers’ of conventional media. Tech-driven businesses have enabled this new creator economy, as also mimicked its openness, its ability to challenge the status quo, to define new roles. 

Whether you want to work in media, business, or philanthropy, the world is a little more receptive each day. The challenges lie within us, in finding the courage to engage with new worlds, to feel our way into new roles, outside of the narrowly defined job descriptions of the corporate world.

Commit yourself to being ever open, and you will be ever grateful.

Bon Courage.