Conversations with an Entrepreneur
The way I met Akshay Bhatia was very interesting! We had planned to go for a “Salman” movie - first day, last show at a theatre in the suburbs. We were a group of 30 of us that decided it would be a good idea to savor the local experience. His enthusiasm to do activities was definitely noticeable. We kept in touch because I knew this man would be up to something fun! A few years later we reconnected because I wanted to rent a beer pong table and Ps5 for my husband’s birthday. The Mutterfly experience was exceptional - good quality products, less responsibility to buy things and timely deliveries. I was sold on the service. In this interview I zoom back to understand his journey to building Mutterfly.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself
Hey, I am Akshay, the Founder at Mutterfly (www.mutterfly.in) where we building India’s biggest subscription platform for Consumer Electronics. Prior to starting up, I worked at Morgan Stanley for approximately 5 years within the Asset Management and Institutional Equities division. Beyond work, you can find me on Product Hunt, sampling new eateries or listening to 90’s retro music.
2. What do you enjoy about your current job?
The biggest high I get is from knowing that every order we clock has a purpose. From a couple renting a DSLR for their lockdown wedding to a mom surprising her son with a gaming console to an employee starting his new role on a Mutterfly Laptop. These stories add a sense of pressure, responsibility and excitement and make coming to work each day meaningful.
3. Let’s zoom back, Can you describe a few challenges you faced while finding your first internship at Morgan Stanley?
I remember my seniors being my biggest source of knowledge while trying to find an internship. I wanted to intern within the Finance division but was pretty clueless about areas within Finance. So the sectoral education gap was my primary challenge. The second would be selling myself. Up until internship, the application process for University and high school was based on marks and we weren't really gauged on our presentation skills. However, Internship applications were based on case-study and in-person interviews. So prepping for this was a whole new ball game.
4. What challenges did you face while setting up Mutterfly? /
I started Mutterfly at 25 without any prior experience in running a business. I was pretty-much idea focussed and didn't understand that I was building a company rather than a product. My top 3 challenges were time spent hiring the founding team, educating myself on compliance of running a business and not having enough hands on the deck ( well I think the last one is pretty recurring:).
5. How did your time at Morgan Stanley help you realize a gap in the current market that influenced your decision to start Mutterfly?
Working at Morgan Stanley, food was a pretty big area of interest (and concern) for me. Cooking was never my forte and I loved what my co-workers brought to work. This seeded the thought of what if we could have a platform where peers could share food with each other. I built on this over time and then took a few weeks off to build my MVP. I think once this was in place, I knew I couldn't do justice to my work and it only made sense to quit and pursue Mutterfly full time.
6. What qualities do you look for while hiring interns?
I think the primary quality we look for is bias for action. We don’t expect interns to know it all but we do wish to see what he /she has done to demonstrate their passion for their field. For e.g. a recent Social Media Intern we interviewed created her own page on Instagram and was running marketing experiments on it before she got an opportunity to work with an actual brand. For me, this was really impressive and instantly put her on top of all other applicants.
7. Any advice you would like to give recent graduates, especially those who are finding it difficult to navigate and find a path, especially amidst a pandemic?
One common trend I see with graduates is equating their first job with their career graph and in the process putting immense pressure on themselves to find the ‘perfect’ job. I believe the 20's are a chance to discover yourself and your first job should be seen as a place where you get an opportunity to bring out your skill set.
If you are unsure about which field to enter or are waiting for an opportunity, utilize the time on upskilling yourself. Don't wait for an opportunity to prove yourself. You can self-start by having your blog, Instagram page or a WIX site. This helps you create a personal brand and employers love it when they see you as a self-starter and it automatically pushes you to the top of the applicants list.
8. How did your different volunteer experiences shape you not only professionally but also personally?
I haven’t volunteered as much as I would have loved to do in the last 5 years. My main volunteering initiatives stem from University and Morgan Stanley where I was associated with causes focused towards kids education and racial diversity. Volunteering has definitely helped me build my EQ and made me appreciate the difference in perspective. I tend to use these differences as building blocks for any new initiative we plan at Mutterfly.
