[Awesome Startup Employee] Action-packed days at Zozolo keep Shresht Poddar on his toes

The Co-founder of Gozoop, Rohan Bhansali has nominated Shresht Poddar as the Awesome Startup Employee.

Shresht Poddar is a 25-year-old from Mumbai who lives by the mantra, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

No doubt, then, Poddar is in love with his job. This love, according to Rohan, “is well reflected in is his commitment to work, ability to handle increased responsibilities, and resonance of company values.” These are the key highlights of Poddar's strengths that set him apart from others.

The beginning

His two-year stint as a correspondent with a music magazine was the tipping point in his life, where, apart from documenting the journey of the Indian music industry, he handled the digital presence of the magazine across various social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Thus began his romance with the digital media space.

“I realized that the digital media industry was my calling. As they say, the rest is history,” Poddar says.

Gozoop and Zozolo

His journey with Gozoop started in November 2013. While looking for a job change, he spotted an opening at Gozoop. An e-interview of Gozoop’s Co-founder Rohan Bhansali about the “awesomeness” of the startup culture that he had watched earlier had stayed with him. This prompted him to go for the opening.

Zozolo is a social ROI solution platform for brands that work on an incentive-based model. When Zozolo happened, there was a perfect opening for him befitting his skill set, and he was transferred to this division.

Responsibilities and challenges

For this hardcore movie buff, his life at Zozolo is action-packed. He claims he has never faced a dull moment at work. He loves to meet people and get to know them, and being a client servicing professional enables this.

“At Zozolo, there is so much responsibility riding on your back that it always motivates you to do your best.” In the past one year, he has worked across 25+ big known brands with various deliverables like conceptualizing and executing end-to-end digital campaigns, creating independent standalone web applications and more.

One of the biggest challenges for Poddar has been working with a 150+ team. He says, “Different people, different attitudes and different work ethics -- making it all work and ensuring that work is priority, come what may, is a big challenge.”

Working at a startup

For Poddar, working at a startup is as good as being thrown into the deep end of the pool. “The amount of experience and growth possibilities that one has at a startup is unparalleled. If you’re one of those with a creative keeda, being surrounded by like-minded ideators at a startup will definitely fulfill one’s creative pursuits.”

According to Bhansali, “His most amazing quality is that he is a good, positive human being. This translates into a great work temperament. You always see Shresht (Poddar) smile. No matter what, he is always positive. Once I got to know through another team member that both his parents were unwell. But through that time his positivity was unperturbed. His temperament inspires me.”

Message for his team

Poddar is thankful to everyone he has worked with at Gozoop and Zozolo. To his team he says, “At times, things might not go the way you may want them to. You might not work with the easiest of people, but this builds endurance and patience – two qualities that go a long way.”

Endurance and patience are not just words for Poddar. He has lived it and experienced it in his early years. He fared terribly in his college years. Despite his parents’ offer to pay for a management seat he refused and went on to take a year off, worked hard and reappeared for his exams. “That one year taught me to believe in myself against all odds and instilled a sense of determination in myself, which I have continued to consciously retain,” says Poddar.

Work, life balance

A cinema fanatic, he takes a break from work with a bowl of popcorn and a good movie. He actively dedicates time to compose music and indulge in baking. A computer engineer by education, he is also a certified RJ, a mobile application developer and a home baker.

Speaking of family, he says, “My family has supported me through all different phases of my life, and has always pushed me to be the best that I can be.”

Source of inspiration

“Inspiration is an overrated concept. I do not consciously seek inspiration elsewhere. You need to keep pushing yourself despite all odds and use yourself as an inspiration,” says Poddar.

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