By Ranjita Ravi, Co-Founder of Orxa Energies
Belarusian-American entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, popularly known as Gary Vee, once said ‘Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless. As a company working on performance electric motorcycles, we completely agree and wholeheartedly believe in this fundamental truth.
Having a team that believes in the company’s collective vision is important. But having employees that are also extremely passionate about the end result – the product – is powerful. To know the voice of the customer, it is important to put oneself into their shoes to think like them and identify the gaps that may exist in the market. And when the team itself consists of potential customers themselves, these lacunae are easily isolated and subsequently filled.
Passionate team members care deeply about the product, and they desire to make the best motorcycle or car out there. They strive to build something that they would love to ride and drive themselves, which makes them go above and beyond what other employees who consider the role as a mere job would.
This zeal makes them dig deeper to develop the best possible solutions, and as riders and drivers themselves, the insights and ideas they bring to the table are profound and impactful. In such organisations, conversations around the water cooler typically consist of the latest motorcycle or car that they have experienced most recently, and what made the vehicle stand out from the rest. Such interactions help the team develop and evolve, and also acts as kindling to fire up the passion in fellow employees.
Another positive outcome of this is the fact that tracking competition is much easier and always on point because the team is always aware of the latest products launched domestically as well as across the world. This facilitates agility and a better mapping of the industry by accurately identifying technological advancements, current and potential future trends, and customer preferences.
Passionate team members are on par with the best product managers. They are super invested in the quality of the product being delivered to the customer and well versed with understanding how well the customer received the product.
Moreover, when work makes you happy, Mondays are looked forward to. At our organisation, the start of the week is a great time to share the exploits over the weekend. This motivates us to dive into the week with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.
Furthermore, when the team has a common passion, bonding and rapport building is effortless. Like the old adage says, ‘birds of a feather flock together’. Such interactions are never pretentious and there is no need for any sort of artificial curation at all. Employees have ready access to the founders, and this consequently fosters a positive and seamless work environment which drives efficiency across the board. Afterall, there’s no better way to interact with and get to know your boss and fellow team members than on a ride!
Such passion is important for the Indian EV industry, especially when it comes to the electric two-wheeler market. As on date, the major chunk in this segment consists of bare-basic battery-powered scooters that are engineered solely to deliver the best possible range on a single charge. But when the basic aspects of economy and reliability are met, enthusiasts always emerge, demanding more than just frugality which is exactly what happened with the conventional motorcycle and scooter market.
That time has already come, and many of today’s customers in India already desire much more than just the capability to cover a large distance on their electric two-wheelers. They want exhilarating performance, sharp styling, and spirited handling from their electric steeds. These are all born out of an emerging passion for electric mobility, and who better to address these requirements than a team that is equally passionate for the very same thing!