Gozoop: Betting On Creating A Sustainable Culture

Incepted in 2008-09, CEO & co-founder Ahmed Aftab Naqvi started Gozoop after exiting the corporate juggernaut, where he was working as an engineer. After working briefly with i-Flex Solutions (now Oracle Financial Services Software), Naqvi and his colleague from JP Morgan Rohan Bhansali came together to establish Raa Studios -- a digital agency -- out of a small garage in Mumbai.

Later, their friend Dushyant Bhatia joined the fray and the group renamed their agency to Gozoop Online.

On this insight, Naqvi recalls, “The journey from being a small startup based in a garage to now as one of the leading companies in the industry has not been an easy one.”  While initially working with e-commerce groups such as Myntra, Quikr, Snapdeal, Gozoop began branching out and diversifying its clientele in 2011 by establishing an office in Dubai. Soon, Gozoop decided to focus on growth within India and today its massive clientele includes Dell, Asian Paints, IPL franchises Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians and the Viacom18 Group. He profoundly believes that the secret sauce is the company’s culture, and this is the mantra for every emerging company and entrepreneur, which wants to build a company. “It is important to first create a good and sustainable culture and the great profits will follow,” informs Naqvi

A survey ranked Gozoop Online No. 20 amongst India’s top 50 Great Mid-Size Workplaces for 2019. Talking about the USP of Gozoop, which makes it a great place to work, he believes, “The people and the culture make Gozoop a great place to work, and this is also what sets us apart. Everything else can change and evolve, but culture is our unfair advantage, it is sacred and no one can take it away from us. It is unique to our organisation.” On the fundamental aspect about the workplace culture, Naqvi said: “The culture is a derivative of not just policies, but the work environment and the atmosphere of positivity, innovation, communication and transparency.”  He aspires to create a space, where every employees feel that they will be able to do their best work. “It is about consistency in decision-making, considering our employee’s success as our success, it a melange of the small and big actions that contribute to our personality,” Naqvi elaborates.

He believes that Gozoop would be an ideal place one year from now. He further adds, “If someone will ask me this next year, my answer would remain the same. This is because the culture we have is an ever-evolving and ever-improving journey.”

Naqvi said, “Since evolution values have remained the same. But as times have changed and as talent from different generations joined Gozoop, right from the baby boomers to the millennials to Gen X and Gen Z now, we have remained the same. It is a constant evolutionary process that we have embarked on, but the cornerstone is that we don’t implement these practices to become popular, we do it because we truly believe that it will add value to their life.”

People philosophy of the organisation is increasingly seen as the core values and guiding principle of human resources within the organisation. For Naqvi, it is about the best work one can accomplish. “Whether it is one year or 10 years, what is of greater importance to us as an organisation is the period that the employee spends in the time, where they can do the best work of their lives,” Naqvi remarks.  Naqvi elucidates that he aspires to see his organisation as a great people doing great work in a great environment to do deliver great profits. “Most desired company to work for within this industry not only in India but in the world as well,” adds Naqvi.”