SHEROES at UrbanClap - Rajni Ranjan

Rajni Ranjna is the Senior Category Manager at UrbanClap, she worked at Deutsche Bank for a year before that. Rajni talks about working with UrbanClap and how it was for her to shift from a big corporate to a start-up –

Tell us about yourself

I was born and brought up in Patna. After completing my schooling, I moved to the City Beautiful, Chandigarh for my Integrated Masters in Mathematics from IISER Mohali.

I had a research filled five years there. I dabbled into scary sounding topics like homological group theory, dimension subgroups and Gelfond Scheider Theorem! There, I decided to venture into a more practical field and management seemed like a good option. Thereafter I joined IIM Indore's 2 year PGDM Course. I must say the two years I spent there were like a roller coaster ride, with sharp deadlines, hundreds of surprise quizzes, late night group discussions and of course frequent impromptu parties. I joined Deutsche Bank's Corporate Finance department for a year, working as a Senior Analyst with the Asia Natural Resources Group. During my stint in DB, I got a chance to work with my colleagues in Hong Kong for three months. It was an amazing experience, especially the overnight Macau trips. About a month ago, I decided to challenge myself further and joined UrbanClap.

What does a work day look like for you?

I am a sleep enthusiast so mornings are the toughest part of a work day for me. Once I manage to drag myself of the bed, I gather steam and get ready for office in a jiffy. The first thing I do once I reach is get a green tea at my desk and sip it while I log in to my various work accounts. I start by clearing out previous day's backlogs, if any. When I'm done with them, I plan the day and set targets for myself and my team. I believe in clearing up things as soon as they come and not let them pile up. In between, I take a couple of small breaks and catch up with colleagues and teammates on the floor. Thankfully the office floor plan is very open and allows us to mingle effortlessly. This keeps the energy level high and refreshes me. It also gives me a new perspective to look at things when I'm stuck. Towards the end, we do a quick check on where we stand and make our priority list for the next day. Quite often the day ends with an impromptu party or a movie plan or we end up playing games in office itself!

How is it working with UrbanClap?

The UrbanClap team is amazing! Everyone is so talented and energetic, there is always something new to learn from them. Not only that, they are very helpful and super approachable. It's only been a month for me but it feels like I've been here for years! The organization structure is relatively flat and helps in seamless flow of ideas. As far as the role is concerned, I get quite a lot of freedom and flexibility. Of course it comes with a sense of responsibility and ownership. The best part of working here is people are highly open to constructive feedback and take it very seriously. If you have an idea which you believe in, you can even approach any of the co-founders and they will be all ears.

Working with a blue chip company and then a start-up, what is the difference? What is it that you prefer?

Having worked in a big corporate earlier, I had some apprehensions when I decided to join a start-up. 

There are certain perks you get when you are a part of big corporate and you become used to them. In a corporate, most of the employees are replaceable resources and any value addition is highly diluted. While in a start-up, your contribution is very visible and the sense of accomplishment is much stronger. Another important part of being in a start-up is the opportunity to learn from your co-workers. In a corporate, the roles are highly specific and learning outside of them is rare. However, a start-up role is extremely dynamic where there is a lot of scope for experimentation. Having spent about a month here, I can clearly see the difference and I am happy to say I made the right decision.

A message to all SHEROES out there

The only thing that can limit your success is your own imagination. Let it run free. Believe in your capabilities. This will take you places.