Work culture that has made Appinventiv grow
“A lot can happen over coffee”, this line often brings the image of CCD (Cafe’s Coffee Day) in front of our eyes. But, for me, this 6-words represents the success story of Appinventiv – my startup.
It’s not a story from a long time back ago. Three of my friends and I decided to launch our own mobile app startup fours years ago while sitting in a corner in a CCD cafe. And one single factor that triggered us to take this step was quality.
During days, entrepreneurs and established brands were struggling to find the finest version of their mobility solution at an affordable price.
They were either provided with an ineffective mobile app model or were being asked for a hefty amount in return of quality.
Because of this, the gap between those demanding for top-notch and business-centric mobile application development services and those delivering them the same was increasing.
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This is where we jumped into the market. We decided to bridge this gap by serving businesses with a highly innovative and useful mobile application at the best possible market price.
Besides, we also concluded that we will focus upon customising mobility solutions as per business needs and integrate cutting-edge technologies into the process rather than delivering a template-mobile app.
And this is how our journey started.
However, it was not as easy as we thought. Right from the day we stepped into the market, we faced various challenges in establishing our presence in the market – with two prime ones as follows:-
- We found it tough to bring projects at our door. Businesses were sceptical about hiring a newbie to build their presence in the mobile market.
- We decided to integrate cutting-edge technologies into our development process, but there was hardly any firm working with the same perspective. Meaning, we had no one to consider as a role model or seek any guidance.
But, it seems like luck was on our side.
We overcame the former challenge by providing services beyond developing an application.
That implies, researching the market, performing competitive analysis, and brainstorming on business needs to bring out an innovative idea that delivers valuable results both in the present and future.
And when talking about the second prime challenge, we motivated and prepared each other to become the first company to enter these domains.
We learnt all the technicalities and looked into finding various ways to introduce these technologies and methodologies in the traditional app development process. And it turned into a right decision.
For example, we stepped into the Blockchain, PWA, and eScooter economy at first. We not solely invested our efforts into learning about these technologies and business domain, but also shared our knowledge with our clientele and others.
And gradually, we became the first choice of startups and established brands who wish to up their business game with these technologies.
After that, this became every day’s story. We got more projects, and with every project, we step closer to our aim of changing the landscape of the app industry.
We welcomed every challenge as an opportunity for innovation, experimented with different ideologies, dug deeper into every niche market to get useful insights, and invested heavily into our skill development. We kept an eagle’s eye on every popular app feature and technology in the marketplace and worked our fingers to the bone to make technology digestible and profitable to all.
A ripple effect of which is that we received accolades from marker researchers, users, competitors, and others related to the mobile industry. We became the leading choice for every business who were looking for on-time delivery, and good service which made us deliver 900+ apps for brands like Sony, IKEA, Dominos, Gully Boy, and nexGTV.
However, this was not our only limit.
While, on one side, we received more accolades and projects, we worked upon expanding our team. We realised that having a team of proficient and experienced mobile app designers and developers is the key to success in the market.
With this into consideration, we went on hiring more experts. Because of this we, within four years, grew our Appinventiv family of 4 to 400.
However, we also feared the biggest challenge of startups and other companies, i.e., employee retention.
We realised that losing even a single one of us would be a significant loss for you. So, we come up with some unique, engaging, and employee-centric strategies and policies. A few of which are:-
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No hierarchy, Please
We, at Appinventiv, provided the younger generation with something they always craved for – equality.
We said no to the traditional method of hierarchy and introduced the practice of calling each other their names with no suffix, “Ma’am/Sir”.
We also made it clear that we are approachable to all and invested the best of the efforts in weaving emotions in everything.
Thus, building a web of trust among Appinventiv family – a family that works together enjoys together and faces challenges together.
Transparent as glass doors
We not only removed barriers in terms of approachability but also added transparency to every process.
We put this into practice to keep our employees in the loop while making any decision.
Even if it is something major like shifting to a new office space or something minor like a change in the working calendar.
This attitude helped us in gaining the trust of our employees and encourage them to contribute their best in the success of the company.
Work innovatively
Being a mobile tech startup, we efficiently utilised the power of technologies to deliver seamless interaction experience.
From Skype to Google Drive, Gmail, Trello, and Wunderlist, we encouraged employees to use a varied range of mobile apps and digital platforms and perform their tasks and share documents with each other seamlessly and quickly.
Appoint the right managers
Handling a team of 400+ has never been a simple task.
We feared that despite our policies focusing on transparency and interactivity, we might fail to remain in touch with all of them and deliver the right work culture.
So, to overcome this situation, we picked the right people from our team and appointed them as managers.
We focused on selecting ones who encourage a line of interaction and who became a window for their team; thus, helping us to be updated on what’s happening.
Think for your team, and they will reciprocate
Another step that has made Appinventiv an army of 400 (and still growing) is that it gains unbelievable recognition from our employee-centric approach.
Rather than just focusing on finishing projects, we take interest in sharpening the skills of every individual.
From monthly workshops to seasonal pieces of training, we put forth everything that keeps our employees updated with what’s trending in the market.
Besides, we also offer numerous perks like free breakfast to show concern for our employee’s health.
These strategies have brought considerable attention to the newcomers on our website as well as made existing employees stick to the firm – rather than be job hoppers.
Make an unbiased decision
Every other day when someone comes up with a concern or complaint against the other, we listen to both sides of the story patiently.
We put efforts into understanding the whole situation and then come up with an unbiased decision. In this way, we ensure that we do not end up losing a gem because of a conspiracy.
We have also made a point that work culture matters more than technical skills. Therefore, if there is a situation when we must big goodbye to a highly talented professional due to concerns, we take a fair decision.
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We won’t compromise with peace and happiness within the workplace because of money and skills.
Work hard, party harder
Appinventiv has also established itself as a pool of talent by sensing the basic need of the present generation which is – Work hard, party harder.
On a broader scale, we have added various activities into our daily timetable that allows our employees to love being at work. Our management team introduced the practice of celebrating festivals, playing games, blowing candles on birthdays, going on team lunches, and more.
With such efforts, we have provided employees with an opportunity to shake their leg and show the other side of their personality – rather than being behind the computer screens all day.
Appreciation as an energy booster
Lastly, Appinventiv has made its record of 400 employees by focusing on the fundamental psychological matter, i.e., appreciation.
Our management team made it sure to show gratitude to our employees for their efforts, passion, and innovative ideas.
We have not confined this ‘affair of appreciation’ for one single day in a year, but have been congratulating our team members regularly via different means. This has made our workforce feel like an indispensable element of the company.
With such policies and strategies, we succeeded in bringing more favourable outcomes at our end and live a remarkable journey. We succeeded at creating our own success story and motivating others to focus upon being a partner, rather than a boss to enjoy success – regardless of their niche industry.
I hope you have found it useful. If you wish to share your feedback or have been following some cool policy that we can add to our list, do let us know by leaving a comment in the comment section below.
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