By
Sri
September 9, 2019
Let's start with a board meeting scenario: This atmosphere is tense as different managers are vying for more funds for their department. A look at the total revenue and estimated expenditure is enough for you to know someone's getting the short end of the stick. Suddenly, amidst the melee, someone said, "Why don't we get an expresso machine?
First, there's usually silence, followed by a plethora of questions:
Oh! Really?
Is it necessary?
How does it improve our sales and revenue?
Why do we have to waste a chunk of our budget on something so trivial?
Sounds familiar?
Perhaps you might voice this out at one point in your career in response to such requests. No doubt, these aforementioned questions are often at the forefront of every startup expenditure meeting.
The need to spend solely on goods and services with a measurable ROI often overshadows us from seeing the "truth". For big corporations like Coca-cola, Google or Apple, these spends are a no-brainer. What’s more? They are lauded for these spends & case studies are made out of them! However, the picture is very different in a start-up journey.
Wait a bit!
This isn't an excuse to spend your startup's revenue on anything which piques your interest. Rather, it's an avenue to transform the routine and monotonous conventional workplace setting to a place where each team member feels special. Curious about how we transformed our work environment to a place brimming with vibrant workplace culture? Let's start with our dilemma and how we tackled it!
Almabase is a startup with a 'soul' - we have a unique team filled with diverse, talented individuals. It all started when we decided to give the office a new outlook. In response to this, there were many proposals shared by the team. We saw proposals for like better chairs, power back-up, and LAN-cabling, which were relatively expensive for a startup but, we could clearly see the ROI so, it wasn’t a hard decision for us. However, we faced a real dilemma in the form of the two most interesting proposals. These were quite heavy on the budget & the ROI wasn’t explicit.
One of these proposals was to invest in a large-sized TV and PlayStation Console. Another one was shared by our amazing interior designer, who desired an outdoor dining area for the team. No doubt, these were some very interesting proposals!
Just like most startups, however, the finance head of the team saw this as an unnecessary luxury.
Eager to know what happened next? Well, don't be in a hurry. Read on!
To our rescue, Upekkha team shared this article with us just at the right moment.
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This really hit us hard and all our dilemmas were put to rest. We had another round of proposal-hearing from the respective teams. We made our list of pros & cons, planned our budget, and got ourselves a brand new PlayStation! (Well, we did have to cut down on a few fringes, elsewhere.)
The team absolutely loved the PlayStation! It brought out the crazy competitive streak in each and every one of us. On an honest note, we had never seen these people motivated to such an extent ever before! Now, FIFA 2020 is our all-time favorite. Thanks to Yash, a crazy PS buff & our finance associate, we now have two new gamepads.
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Wait until you see our artistic yet simple outdoor dining area. This simple brainchild of Akhila, our interior designer is the hub of lively conversations and moments. This is where we mingle and swap stories while feasting on Janak's healthy delicious foods.
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Now, we can't imagine life without any of this.
Were they really luxuries?
Although it seemed frivolous and unnecessary at first, they've become necessities and non-negotiable assets.
So next time you are posed with such an expense question or dilemma - don’t discard it straight away, without giving it a thought. This article might help you too, just like it helped us.
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