Meeting Title: Ops 2 Week Review Date: 2025-12-19 Meeting participants: Elizah Joy, Rico Rejoso, Uttam Kumaran
WEBVTT
1 00:02:28.590 ⇒ 00:02:31.159 Elizah Joy: Hi, Rita, I did not see you there.
2 00:02:31.380 ⇒ 00:02:33.300 Elizah Joy: Hi, can you hear me?
3 00:02:34.540 ⇒ 00:02:35.680 Rico Rejoso: Hey, Eliza.
4 00:02:36.010 ⇒ 00:02:36.880 Elizah Joy: Aye.
5 00:02:37.780 ⇒ 00:02:39.799 Elizah Joy: Let’s just wait for…
6 00:02:40.460 ⇒ 00:02:41.999 Rico Rejoso: Sure. Sure, sure.
7 00:04:31.250 ⇒ 00:04:32.260 Uttam Kumaran: Hello!
8 00:04:34.250 ⇒ 00:04:35.560 Uttam Kumaran: Hey, how’s everything?
9 00:04:38.340 ⇒ 00:04:40.339 Elizah Joy: It’s good, how are you?
10 00:04:41.750 ⇒ 00:04:48.579 Uttam Kumaran: Good, I just, like, we got a really, really good, client meeting, so, yeah, went super well.
11 00:04:49.590 ⇒ 00:04:51.040 Elizah Joy: That’s great.
12 00:04:52.710 ⇒ 00:05:05.120 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I guess my question, you know, to start with is, like, what do you… I’m kind of curious about, you know, for 2 weeks, what do you think? Like, what did you think when you started, and how do you feel about the business now? Like, sort of what I’ve been asking a few people, like.
13 00:05:05.780 ⇒ 00:05:13.550 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I’m sort of interested in what you think about the team, and the way we work, and, you know, yeah, just curious.
14 00:05:17.790 ⇒ 00:05:29.260 Elizah Joy: I think, yeah, for the past two weeks, I can say that I’m loving the tasks that I’ve been doing. First of all, Rico has been very, very helpful.
15 00:05:29.620 ⇒ 00:05:32.430 Elizah Joy: And, you know, coming in…
16 00:05:32.570 ⇒ 00:05:42.200 Elizah Joy: from an operations standpoint, we have… well, we already… you already have this, systems and processes in place, and I think…
17 00:05:42.300 ⇒ 00:05:48.770 Elizah Joy: From my perspective, The systems and processes that you’ve had in place are…
18 00:05:48.870 ⇒ 00:05:53.770 Elizah Joy: already good, it’s just that we have to leverage that more and making sure that it’s being
19 00:05:53.880 ⇒ 00:05:59.699 Elizah Joy: implemented, right? And with the team, I love working, with…
20 00:06:00.730 ⇒ 00:06:08.120 Elizah Joy: But I’ve spoken with Lauren, I haven’t spoken with the other team members yet, but I did join the stand-ups.
21 00:06:08.250 ⇒ 00:06:13.039 Elizah Joy: And, yeah, of course, if we, like, decide to…
22 00:06:13.320 ⇒ 00:06:22.340 Elizah Joy: move forward with beyond the two-week trial, right? So I think, it’ll be interesting to see how would they…
23 00:06:22.670 ⇒ 00:06:26.060 Elizah Joy: Work as well, and how that will work, but,
24 00:06:26.500 ⇒ 00:06:40.929 Elizah Joy: with Rico, working with Rico, especially. As I mentioned, he’s been very helpful, and everything that I ask him to do, or help me with stuff, he’s been there and supporting me on that.
25 00:06:41.060 ⇒ 00:06:41.710 Elizah Joy: When.
26 00:06:41.710 ⇒ 00:06:42.580 Uttam Kumaran: Amazing.
27 00:06:42.810 ⇒ 00:06:59.980 Elizah Joy: Yeah, yeah, he is, he is amazing, and of course, even if he has a lot of things on his plate, right, he still makes time for, especially when I do have questions for him. So yeah, I do appreciate that.
28 00:07:00.060 ⇒ 00:07:08.439 Elizah Joy: with the tasks that I’ve been doing for the past two weeks, I feel like I could do more with the tasks that I’ve been doing.
29 00:07:08.790 ⇒ 00:07:17.680 Elizah Joy: I think… with these two weeks, I’ve came from that stand, from that perspective, like.
30 00:07:18.560 ⇒ 00:07:22.330 Elizah Joy: with the systems or the processes that I’ve
31 00:07:22.480 ⇒ 00:07:27.909 Elizah Joy: been doing, the ones that I’ve put in Notion, right? I’ve… I’ve…
32 00:07:28.090 ⇒ 00:07:31.340 Elizah Joy: Created it from a perspective of
33 00:07:32.520 ⇒ 00:07:38.019 Elizah Joy: how would this… how would I create these systems or processes that would
34 00:07:38.210 ⇒ 00:07:51.849 Elizah Joy: fit and be doable within those two-week time period that we have, without it being… let’s say, for example, for this two-week, right, we just, we think that it’s…
35 00:07:52.100 ⇒ 00:07:55.140 Elizah Joy: I’m not a good fit or something, but…
36 00:07:55.710 ⇒ 00:08:01.339 Elizah Joy: how would that sis… I think as much as possible for me, I still want those systems to be…
37 00:08:03.060 ⇒ 00:08:10.560 Elizah Joy: how can I say? At least make an impact on the business in a good way. So, I think that’s that. But with…
38 00:08:11.200 ⇒ 00:08:17.259 Elizah Joy: from the other tasks, I think… I feel like I could do more and take on more tasks.
39 00:08:17.400 ⇒ 00:08:36.580 Elizah Joy: Especially with implementation tasks, right? So, as I mentioned earlier, there were… I think that what few limitations that I have is that I don’t have access to those tools. Some of them… some of the tools that we are using, so that I can start with the automation and stuff like that.
40 00:08:36.830 ⇒ 00:08:40.809 Elizah Joy: But all in all, I think, yeah, cash to…
41 00:08:41.179 ⇒ 00:08:47.570 Elizah Joy: weeks. I’ve loved the tasks that I’ve been doing, it’s just that I feel like I could still
42 00:08:47.680 ⇒ 00:08:48.800 Elizah Joy: do more.
43 00:08:49.310 ⇒ 00:08:50.659 Elizah Joy: Especially with…
44 00:08:50.660 ⇒ 00:08:51.210 Uttam Kumaran: Awesome.
45 00:08:51.510 ⇒ 00:08:57.499 Elizah Joy: I think leadership, so I think I’ve spoken about that earlier, right?
46 00:08:57.860 ⇒ 00:08:59.990 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, tell me about that. What are you thinking?
47 00:09:00.710 ⇒ 00:09:08.649 Elizah Joy: Yeah, leading by example, I think, especially with the processes that we have, right? Let’s start with, maybe with the time…
48 00:09:08.830 ⇒ 00:09:11.119 Elizah Joy: The Friday hours that we do.
49 00:09:11.380 ⇒ 00:09:15.289 Elizah Joy: So maybe from that, right, so making sure
50 00:09:15.410 ⇒ 00:09:26.290 Elizah Joy: A part of making sure that it’s being implemented with… by the team members, right? And making sure that compliance percentage increases week by week.
51 00:09:26.310 ⇒ 00:09:44.719 Elizah Joy: or as weeks goes by, it’s making sure that I myself have been filling in my hours, right, before I ask other people to fill in those hours, because I think, a good leader is also an implementer, so if the team member sees that
52 00:09:44.860 ⇒ 00:09:54.589 Elizah Joy: The processes that we’ve had in the business is being implemented as well by the, not just by the operations team, but by the leaders that we have.
53 00:09:54.720 ⇒ 00:10:00.829 Elizah Joy: I think today, it’ll be easy for them to follow the processes that we have in place.
54 00:10:02.820 ⇒ 00:10:14.810 Uttam Kumaran: I agree. Yeah, no, I mean, one, yeah, I mean, Rico, I think me and Rico have both been sort of, like, figuring out as much as possible, but I think both of us appreciate having you, and it’s been really, really nice. I think, certainly.
55 00:10:15.000 ⇒ 00:10:26.680 Uttam Kumaran: my… my push for both of y’all is… is that you guys are, you know, sort of leaders in the company, and, you know, my role is going to continue to go more and more in the background, right? So…
56 00:10:26.880 ⇒ 00:10:34.129 Uttam Kumaran: one thing to even give… you know, one thing I’m interested in is… and the reason I ask for feedback is because I know for me, like.
57 00:10:34.250 ⇒ 00:10:44.980 Uttam Kumaran: I can always be responding to messages, but I’m doing my best to know that, hey, Eliza and Rico are there, and they’ll take care of it, and so even for you guys to give me feedback on
58 00:10:45.080 ⇒ 00:10:52.539 Uttam Kumaran: you know, how I can work better with y’all, or things I can hand off, is really, really important to me.
59 00:10:52.830 ⇒ 00:11:06.510 Uttam Kumaran: And so that’s something that I want you guys to also consider, you know, is… is not… you’re… you know, in the past, you may have felt like you’re on an operations team, but I… everybody in the company has the opportunity to lead, and to lead not only your work, but other people’s work.
60 00:11:06.580 ⇒ 00:11:21.829 Uttam Kumaran: and, you know, build out processes. So you don’t need much approval from me. You know, I think I’m gonna be helpful with creative ideas, with budget, and with, like, how to use AI and things like that, but so far, all the process that you guys have implemented
61 00:11:21.830 ⇒ 00:11:33.210 Uttam Kumaran: are really helpful. I think where this needs to go is sort of moving from, you know, like, creating a new process to the adoption. And that’s where you guys, as leaders, are gonna have to push the team.
62 00:11:33.270 ⇒ 00:11:39.850 Uttam Kumaran: To make sure they’re using SOPs, to make sure if there’s not one, they can tell you that there’s not one, that people are…
63 00:11:39.900 ⇒ 00:11:56.309 Uttam Kumaran: like, another big thing is that a lot of people in the company rely on meetings, right? But they should be using Slack more, they should be using Looms, you know, and so how are you, promoting that, right? So those are all things that I’m sort of, like, hopeful that you guys can,
64 00:11:56.550 ⇒ 00:12:03.290 Uttam Kumaran: You know, push on your side, and continue to,
65 00:12:04.260 ⇒ 00:12:16.089 Uttam Kumaran: continue to just, like, make what you guys, you know, want possible in this company. It’s your guys’ company, you know, and so to make sure that… for your team to win, everybody has to be following those SOPs.
66 00:12:16.120 ⇒ 00:12:24.330 Uttam Kumaran: And so that’s another thing to think about, is, like, I think to date, I’ve been driving a lot of the adoption. Is that something I want to kind of hand over to you guys?
67 00:12:28.030 ⇒ 00:12:29.229 Uttam Kumaran: Does that make sense?
68 00:12:29.230 ⇒ 00:12:29.750 Rico Rejoso: Yes.
69 00:12:29.750 ⇒ 00:12:36.499 Elizah Joy: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I feel like also us encouraging the team to,
70 00:12:36.970 ⇒ 00:12:53.740 Elizah Joy: not… yeah, encouraging the team in a good way, in a positive way, to also, you know, adopt the… because our systems and processes, they will also… they will be ever-evolving, right? So we’ll… we’ll continuously improve the systems and processes that we have in the business.
71 00:12:53.790 ⇒ 00:12:57.930 Elizah Joy: And, you know, as, with Rico and I, right?
72 00:12:58.070 ⇒ 00:13:17.059 Elizah Joy: encouraging the team members to, in a good way, to adopt those processes. And of course, us being open to feedback, if those processes, they feel like, is not the most effective or efficient way for them to do it, because, especially, processes for other departments, right? So.
73 00:13:17.060 ⇒ 00:13:27.259 Elizah Joy: They’ll be the one doing those, processes, and it’s us, up to us to document that as well, but also us being open to
74 00:13:27.340 ⇒ 00:13:35.070 Elizah Joy: Feedback on how we can improve that as well, and make sure that it’s the most efficient way that they are doing it.
75 00:13:37.360 ⇒ 00:13:46.249 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I’m curious for, you know, for both of y’all, like, how this place and the way ops works, like, compares to, you know, your past places, like, both good and bad.
76 00:13:46.370 ⇒ 00:13:48.960 Uttam Kumaran: And, yeah, like, that’s another question I had.
77 00:13:52.920 ⇒ 00:13:55.169 Rico Rejoso: Yeah, maybe I can start off,
78 00:13:57.920 ⇒ 00:14:03.330 Rico Rejoso: Well, I think, one thing that’s just missing for us is, you know,
79 00:14:03.760 ⇒ 00:14:10.789 Rico Rejoso: A handbook or some, thing that… or a place where everyone can, like, go to, to take a
80 00:14:11.200 ⇒ 00:14:27.159 Rico Rejoso: everything, because right now, every… we have all five, we have different kind of policies and SOP scattered, but if it’s not in one place, then everybody will just scatter around looking for it, right? So, maybe having that one. And since we had a conversation before with Lauren and Holly, and we’re just, you know.
81 00:14:27.160 ⇒ 00:14:36.279 Rico Rejoso: Waiting how we can finalize that one with the guidance of both Holly and Lauren as well, and Eliza. Maybe we can come up with it, starting off next year?
82 00:14:36.470 ⇒ 00:14:50.350 Rico Rejoso: And I think that would be better, like, anything that… any questions that they have in mind, and we just point them out that they can also take a look at it, on our handbook and be more efficient and easy… easier for everyone, you know?
83 00:14:50.960 ⇒ 00:14:55.490 Rico Rejoso: That’s one thing that we can add and we’ll finalize, starting off Q1 for 2026.
84 00:15:00.600 ⇒ 00:15:02.840 Rico Rejoso: Yeah, but overall idea? Oh,
85 00:15:02.940 ⇒ 00:15:12.599 Rico Rejoso: we almost had everything, and I think it’s better off organ… We’re better off organized compared to other, you know, remote teams that I have been with in the past.
86 00:15:12.940 ⇒ 00:15:19.219 Rico Rejoso: You just have to have just a place that everyone, or all those policies and documentations are gathered, and every…
87 00:15:26.250 ⇒ 00:15:43.359 Elizah Joy: on that, the handbook. We’ve had that discussion before, and he also said that he already created that initially, and it’s still up for approval, but yeah, I do agree with that handbook. Yeah, we do have a lot of, systems and processes already.
88 00:15:43.520 ⇒ 00:15:46.860 Elizah Joy: And… For me, when I started.
89 00:15:47.350 ⇒ 00:15:57.580 Elizah Joy: few days, it is just me trying to find those things. Although we have the SOPs and the processes that we have, we do for the
90 00:16:03.760 ⇒ 00:16:20.169 Elizah Joy: as well as, for, new team members that we bring in, and think with my experience, right, most of the businesses that I’ve worked with, they’re… initially, they… some of them, even if they’ve been in the,
91 00:16:20.360 ⇒ 00:16:31.020 Elizah Joy: business for a couple of years, they have not, I think, they don’t have these set up in place. So, coming in.
92 00:16:31.400 ⇒ 00:16:44.729 Elizah Joy: I… and this is what I also said to Rico a few weeks ago, is that the systems that we have already in Notion, and the document… the amount of documenting that we have in there, like, it’s really…
93 00:16:45.050 ⇒ 00:16:51.939 Elizah Joy: amazing to have these already, right? So I… For me,
94 00:16:52.090 ⇒ 00:16:59.510 Elizah Joy: from an operations manager standpoint, this is very, very helpful already, right? So, coming from…
95 00:16:59.690 ⇒ 00:17:16.700 Elizah Joy: So having all those processes already in place, I think, which on my end, how can we make sure that these processes are being implemented? And if these processes are not being implemented, what’s the reason why it’s not being implemented? Is it,
96 00:17:16.700 ⇒ 00:17:17.329 Uttam Kumaran: Great.
97 00:17:17.599 ⇒ 00:17:25.499 Elizah Joy: Alright, so is it not up-to-date? Is it not the current process that we’re doing? But yeah, I think that’s, from my perspective, like.
98 00:17:26.289 ⇒ 00:17:43.069 Elizah Joy: the… the amount of things that we already have in Notion, and then the, combined with onboarding process that we have, from a team member… team member’s perspective, the things that we have are already amazing. It’s how… it’s just, how can we make it
99 00:17:44.399 ⇒ 00:17:51.889 Elizah Joy: you know, how can we make it better from an amazing… from that amazing standpoint, but yeah.
100 00:17:52.069 ⇒ 00:17:52.819 Elizah Joy: Think…
101 00:17:53.160 ⇒ 00:17:53.880 Uttam Kumaran: Great.
102 00:17:54.380 ⇒ 00:17:58.799 Uttam Kumaran: No, that’s really good to hear. I mean, I think that’s what, from day one, I’ve always tried to…
103 00:17:59.230 ⇒ 00:18:06.690 Uttam Kumaran: you know, make it so we have, you know, good documentation. I think it’s definitely not been easy.
104 00:18:06.810 ⇒ 00:18:15.320 Uttam Kumaran: But it’s something that I always push to do, but this is also where, like, you know, you give an example of that, the handbook, right, and it’s sitting for approval.
105 00:18:15.390 ⇒ 00:18:24.329 Uttam Kumaran: My hope is that you guys are like, okay, we gotta get a meeting on with UTam, with Robert, and we gotta do an approval meeting and a review meeting, right? So that’s…
106 00:18:24.340 ⇒ 00:18:35.530 Uttam Kumaran: that’s where I kind of want your guys to sort of switch your brains into, I actually can do this. Like, I can go find… I can go drive the company to…
107 00:18:35.530 ⇒ 00:18:50.689 Uttam Kumaran: you know, go get approval for this thing, versus… as you guys can tell, like, I’m… and Rico knows this, I’m in… I’m, like, double, triple booked at every hour, so it’s not always gonna be easy for me to push that. I am still pushing
108 00:18:50.690 ⇒ 00:18:57.709 Uttam Kumaran: what is most, most important, but these are the things that I expect you guys to say, hey, we need a handbook meeting.
109 00:18:57.860 ⇒ 00:19:10.999 Uttam Kumaran: And who in the company is gonna be relevant, and it’s gonna be on Friday, let’s do it. You know, and just book it, and go for it, you know, and keep driving, and that’s where you guys are gonna start to get measured by how many
110 00:19:11.000 ⇒ 00:19:22.300 Uttam Kumaran: you know, SOPs are created and that are getting used. And so I do think it’s important for you guys to… to feel like you can actually drive these getting approved, also.
111 00:19:22.470 ⇒ 00:19:30.740 Uttam Kumaran: Because I don’t want to be a company where we just have all the SOPs, like, in order to get it reviewed, you have to hold that meeting.
112 00:19:31.050 ⇒ 00:19:38.840 Uttam Kumaran: and really drive the team to say, like, okay, this is SOP that we want to run the company by, everybody’s on the same page.
113 00:19:39.240 ⇒ 00:19:43.970 Uttam Kumaran: And, you know, we can kind of go for it. So that’s what… that’s sort of what I would,
114 00:19:44.430 ⇒ 00:19:45.819 Uttam Kumaran: I would suggest there.
115 00:19:46.620 ⇒ 00:19:57.340 Elizah Joy: Yeah, definitely, that’s, I think that I’ve written that in our, like, next steps, right? So, I think for us, further from the operations team, is
116 00:19:57.630 ⇒ 00:20:05.529 Elizah Joy: How can we, free you of those things? Or how can we take ownership of those.
117 00:20:05.530 ⇒ 00:20:06.120 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
118 00:20:06.570 ⇒ 00:20:11.399 Elizah Joy: And responsibilities, so that, you know, this… as the business scales.
119 00:20:12.130 ⇒ 00:20:14.960 Elizah Joy: We don’t want you to be, like.
120 00:20:15.710 ⇒ 00:20:32.840 Elizah Joy: you know, busier than ever. I mean, that’s not what we want for you, right? Because I think you already have all these decisions that you have to make, all those, CEO things that you have to do, right? So, on our end, from the operations team, is that
121 00:20:32.960 ⇒ 00:20:45.389 Elizah Joy: and not just for you, I mean, but also for the team members, right? How can we make it more efficient, and how can we, is there a specific process that we have to implement so that we can help
122 00:20:46.610 ⇒ 00:20:56.489 Elizah Joy: The team, and of course, you make things more efficient, much better, we can take off those loads, from your plate.
123 00:20:57.280 ⇒ 00:20:58.200 Uttam Kumaran: Great, okay.
124 00:20:58.540 ⇒ 00:21:07.979 Uttam Kumaran: And then how has it sort of been, like, time-wise, Eliza? Like, how much time have you been spending? How has it been, sort of, dealing with time zone? Like, tell me a bit about that.
125 00:21:08.920 ⇒ 00:21:18.220 Elizah Joy: Time zone-wise, I think… I, like, I think first few days, it was…
126 00:21:18.710 ⇒ 00:21:21.270 Elizah Joy: Well, not challenging, but it was…
127 00:21:22.050 ⇒ 00:21:34.750 Elizah Joy: something that I have to get used to, because I haven’t done that for a while, like, in the evenings. But, now that I’ve been doing it for 2 weeks, right, so I think I’ve gotten…
128 00:21:41.650 ⇒ 00:21:46.710 Uttam Kumaran: I think everybody in the company typically works, like, 9 to 5.
129 00:21:46.970 ⇒ 00:21:52.479 Uttam Kumaran: Central Time or East Coast time, but this is where it’s actually not, like… I don’t really have…
130 00:21:52.890 ⇒ 00:21:54.789 Uttam Kumaran: a pure, like…
131 00:22:00.790 ⇒ 00:22:07.500 Uttam Kumaran: that… we can be flexible. I think that’s where sometimes I feel really bad, because I…
132 00:22:11.230 ⇒ 00:22:23.419 Uttam Kumaran: Well, I know people can make their own decisions, but I do want you guys to have sustainable lives and don’t burn out because you’re working, you know, all throughout the night, and then… you know, so that’s… that’s where I think
133 00:22:23.740 ⇒ 00:22:27.639 Uttam Kumaran: you know, even… even, I think, a lot of other people in the company face
134 00:22:27.810 ⇒ 00:22:31.160 Uttam Kumaran: this dilemma, because the company is US-based.
135 00:22:31.220 ⇒ 00:22:48.440 Uttam Kumaran: So I want you guys to also think about, like, how do we make it easier on people? Like, look, especially, like, on Friday or something, if people want to go off early, their goal, you just have to, like, make sure all your stuff is done. You can rely on Looms more, like, I think a lot of people do… are, like, kind of relying on meetings.
136 00:22:48.660 ⇒ 00:23:02.950 Uttam Kumaran: You know, and they kind of wait for the meeting to happen when a lot of meetings can be looms, and we can do more, we can log off early. And so, as Rico knows, like, I don’t have… I’m not very,
137 00:23:03.120 ⇒ 00:23:08.130 Uttam Kumaran: I’m not, like, a very, like, oh, just… this is just the way it is, and there’s no questioning, like…
138 00:23:08.160 ⇒ 00:23:25.049 Uttam Kumaran: I want us to build a company that is global, that everybody feels like they can… this is a sustainable thing that they can work at, and if that means some people start earlier and end early, and they’re able to do that because they leverage Loom a lot, like, that’s fine, you know?
139 00:23:27.030 ⇒ 00:23:32.709 Elizah Joy: Yeah, I think, yeah, I appreciate you saying that, right? So I think that’ll be,
140 00:23:33.200 ⇒ 00:23:39.719 Elizah Joy: Yeah, because it’s, also the productivity, not just… not for me, but, you know, for the team, and…
141 00:23:40.060 ⇒ 00:23:42.900 Elizah Joy: I think…
142 00:23:43.170 ⇒ 00:24:00.609 Elizah Joy: Yeah, I think just for me, because initial… I think the initial first few days, right, so I spent it, like, familiarizing myself with the business, I think somehow it’s, helpful for me, but I’ll keep that in mind. So,
143 00:24:00.760 ⇒ 00:24:02.470 Elizah Joy: The future of guts.
144 00:24:06.600 ⇒ 00:24:13.279 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, perfect. And then, how has it been, like, hours-wise? Have you been doing, sort of, like, just a full day? Like, what do you think?
145 00:24:13.550 ⇒ 00:24:14.340 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
146 00:24:15.130 ⇒ 00:24:17.999 Elizah Joy: But with, the work schedule that I…
147 00:24:18.270 ⇒ 00:24:21.040 Elizah Joy: Been doing for the past 2 weeks.
148 00:24:21.820 ⇒ 00:24:22.410 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah.
149 00:24:22.740 ⇒ 00:24:23.600 Elizah Joy: Yeah, I think…
150 00:24:23.850 ⇒ 00:24:38.260 Elizah Joy: Hour-wise, because I don’t want… I think for me, I like, batching the things that I do, so… because I think that’s where I find myself most, efficient and most productive.
151 00:24:38.370 ⇒ 00:24:45.129 Elizah Joy: So, for me, what I do is, like, I… for the past 2 weeks, I start my workday at…
152 00:24:46.010 ⇒ 00:25:05.210 Elizah Joy: I’m not sure… I think that’s 9AM Eastern Standard, up to 6, 6 PM Eastern Standard. I do take an hour break in between, just to make sure that, you know, I’m still resting my eyes, because, my eyes can stand, like, being in the monitor for too long.
153 00:25:05.280 ⇒ 00:25:12.270 Elizah Joy: But yeah, our flies, I think I did not have any… issues, because I’ve…
154 00:25:12.450 ⇒ 00:25:22.240 Elizah Joy: as I mentioned, I batch my tasks, so first few hours of the… I mean, yeah, first few hours of my workday is the most, the tasks that I’ve…
155 00:25:22.310 ⇒ 00:25:40.460 Elizah Joy: the priorities that I’ve listed, and then remaining hours after I finish those priorities that I have, is when I go through the things that we have in Notion, or the tools, like familiarizing myself in that. And I think for the past two weeks, I’ve
156 00:25:40.980 ⇒ 00:25:52.769 Elizah Joy: gotten myself familiarized with the notion, the things that we have in Notion, right, so the systems and the processes. It’s just, for me, I’ve wanted to…
157 00:25:54.080 ⇒ 00:26:03.010 Elizah Joy: also implement those, and as much as possible, help Rico as well with the oper… the things that we do in operations, right?
158 00:26:03.130 ⇒ 00:26:05.630 Elizah Joy: So I think, yeah, just that for me.
159 00:26:10.200 ⇒ 00:26:10.900 Uttam Kumaran: Yes.
160 00:26:14.430 ⇒ 00:26:15.840 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, great.
161 00:26:16.080 ⇒ 00:26:31.559 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I mean, for, like, personally for me, I would love if you’re open to continuing to work with us. I think it’s been a breath of fresh air having you. In particular, I know Ricoh has been working incredibly hard, and both of us together are the operations team.
162 00:26:31.560 ⇒ 00:26:39.229 Uttam Kumaran: And I think it’s been really great. We’re also gonna, you know, continue to make investment operations in order for us to scale.
163 00:26:39.230 ⇒ 00:26:56.940 Uttam Kumaran: But I do think that, you know, I want you guys to see yourself as leaders and be able to actually impact the company, not just send me things to push and send me things to review. Like, where I want you guys to have a relationship with everybody and be able to get feedback and implement the best processes.
164 00:26:56.940 ⇒ 00:27:13.060 Uttam Kumaran: You know, we are going to be, you know, hopefully bringing on another… a U.S.-based leader for operations, who, again, will actually sort of round out our investments here so that we have, like, a great operations crew that will kind of take us to the next level.
165 00:27:13.060 ⇒ 00:27:27.170 Uttam Kumaran: I think Rico has met her, her name’s Lauren, but, you know, we’re extending an offer to her as well, and so excited to see whether she’s interested in that. And so, yeah, I mean, I feel like…
166 00:27:27.190 ⇒ 00:27:31.010 Uttam Kumaran: She’s… this is, like, this is, you know, gonna be,
167 00:27:32.130 ⇒ 00:27:40.349 Uttam Kumaran: this is gonna be really, really positive, so if you’re open to it, I’m happy that, you know, to kind of extend the opportunity for you to continue working with us.
168 00:27:41.200 ⇒ 00:27:48.319 Elizah Joy: Yeah, of course I would love to, and you know, one thing, when I was having my interview with Reiko, that’s why I was
169 00:27:48.520 ⇒ 00:28:00.430 Elizah Joy: kind of, like, somehow amazed. He mentioned that, I don’t… correct me if I’m wrong, Nico. He… where he lives before…
170 00:28:00.580 ⇒ 00:28:04.100 Elizah Joy: is near where I live today, so…
171 00:28:04.100 ⇒ 00:28:05.540 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, really? Okay.
172 00:28:05.540 ⇒ 00:28:12.879 Elizah Joy: So, I think that’s one of the things that I, like, started, like…
173 00:28:13.170 ⇒ 00:28:17.929 Uttam Kumaran: I don’t know how to say what, like, a good coincidence? Yes, yes, yes.
174 00:28:17.930 ⇒ 00:28:19.079 Elizah Joy: Why is that?
175 00:28:19.080 ⇒ 00:28:21.380 Uttam Kumaran: Serendipity or something, yeah, yeah.
176 00:28:21.680 ⇒ 00:28:22.049 Elizah Joy: Is that what.
177 00:28:22.050 ⇒ 00:28:24.999 Rico Rejoso: Diana and her and me were, like, an hour away, so…
178 00:28:25.540 ⇒ 00:28:26.970 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, wow.
179 00:28:26.970 ⇒ 00:28:30.849 Elizah Joy: Yeah, so it’s near, and I think, yeah.
180 00:28:31.750 ⇒ 00:28:39.509 Elizah Joy: like, I’ve been doing this for many years now, it’s the first time I’ve… Encountered someone, like, living near.
181 00:28:40.680 ⇒ 00:28:41.170 Elizah Joy: So, no.
182 00:28:41.170 ⇒ 00:28:47.119 Uttam Kumaran: No, that makes me happy. You know, I don’t know, it’s kind of… it is weird running a remote business.
183 00:28:47.770 ⇒ 00:28:51.519 Uttam Kumaran: No, you don’t always, I feel like…
184 00:28:52.580 ⇒ 00:29:03.030 Uttam Kumaran: I don’t always get to see everybody, and my hope is that I will… I will certainly be able to see everybody in person, you know, as soon as the company can afford… afford that, but…
185 00:29:03.430 ⇒ 00:29:16.359 Uttam Kumaran: No, it’s… I find that really nice. I hope that the people in different countries can end up meeting up with each other, you know? For me, that would be really, really special, but yeah, look, we’re a small business, and…
186 00:29:16.550 ⇒ 00:29:19.800 Uttam Kumaran: I’m interested in everybody working somewhere where they feel like
187 00:29:19.900 ⇒ 00:29:36.859 Uttam Kumaran: you know, they’re not gonna just get fired the next day, it’s not, like, a fear-based, like, we’re working on really cool stuff. You know, and I want also people to grow. Like, you can tell Rico that I try to give really critical feedback, and so… and I know that people in our company are interested in it, you know, they want to grow.
188 00:29:36.860 ⇒ 00:29:41.489 Uttam Kumaran: And they want to learn from it. And now what I’m hoping is that
189 00:29:41.490 ⇒ 00:29:56.249 Uttam Kumaran: you know, folks like Rico and people that have been here for… for a little bit can take that and start doing that to the people next, you know? We want people, when they come into Brainforge, to come in with… from whatever their experience is, but then
190 00:29:56.250 ⇒ 00:30:03.389 Uttam Kumaran: we need to leverage our operations and our process and our team to sort of take them to the next level, right? And so.
191 00:30:03.390 ⇒ 00:30:11.339 Uttam Kumaran: I think, you know, I… you can ask, you know, Rico and other people, I always ask, like, sort of, like, how can… how can I give you…
192 00:30:11.440 ⇒ 00:30:19.849 Uttam Kumaran: the projects that you want to work on, like, how can we find new opportunities to grow? And so, I think this, you know, I’m really, really excited to…
193 00:30:19.970 ⇒ 00:30:28.759 Uttam Kumaran: to sort of work together, and I think, like, I’m just excited to sort of, like, have you take a look at everything, and in particular, you know,
194 00:30:29.190 ⇒ 00:30:36.000 Uttam Kumaran: I feel like having people to assist me with taking off, you know, items off my plate, whether it’s
195 00:30:36.060 ⇒ 00:30:48.279 Uttam Kumaran: whether it’s thinking about contracts, or finance, or prepping for meetings, like, for me, this… right now, the moment I’m in in the company is very unsustainable. Like, I can’t work, 14…
196 00:30:48.280 ⇒ 00:30:56.110 Uttam Kumaran: 15 hours a day for much longer. So, we need to find a way to kind of move me out of that.
197 00:30:56.110 ⇒ 00:31:13.579 Uttam Kumaran: And a lot of my day-to-day anxiety is really around, you know, a lot of the tasks that you guys are assisting with. So, I’m really, really happy, and it’s a place that I want to invest in. And so, yeah, I’m really glad that you’re also open to that.
198 00:31:14.420 ⇒ 00:31:28.739 Elizah Joy: Yeah, definitely, and I think, for me, I can’t wait to, work with the other team members, in a closer setting, because, yeah, for the past two weeks, I think for me, there’s been a
199 00:31:28.880 ⇒ 00:31:29.840 Elizah Joy: folder.
200 00:31:29.900 ⇒ 00:31:49.759 Elizah Joy: with how I interact with other team members, just knowing that, you know, I’ve come in here with, the trial. But yeah, knowing that we’re gonna move forward, so yeah, that makes me excited, and I believe that we can, achieve great, greater things together, right, in the business, and…
201 00:31:49.970 ⇒ 00:31:59.179 Elizah Joy: Yeah, I think, because I love the… I asked this to Rico when we had our initial call, the interview, I asked him about the team culture.
202 00:31:59.280 ⇒ 00:32:14.799 Elizah Joy: And having experienced that this past two weeks, like, everyone’s nice. So there was, ryan even reached out to me yesterday, sending me this… I can’t remember if it’s yesterday or the other day, but he sent me this…
203 00:32:15.170 ⇒ 00:32:25.570 Elizah Joy: Like… A repository for all ops things, operations things and processes.
204 00:32:25.720 ⇒ 00:32:39.189 Elizah Joy: So yeah, I think every, yeah, from my experience, everybody’s nice, and I love that, culture wherein everyone’s… everyone loves to grow, and they’re open to feedback, so yeah, because I do…
205 00:32:39.300 ⇒ 00:32:45.259 Elizah Joy: That’s also one of the things that I value with working with a company.
206 00:32:47.060 ⇒ 00:32:57.340 Uttam Kumaran: Amazing. Yeah, no, I’m super excited. So, I think on our end, like, in terms of next steps, like, we’ll get you a contract amendment, and then additionally,
207 00:32:57.340 ⇒ 00:33:14.469 Uttam Kumaran: I definitely want to, you know, give you, like, kind of, like, get you access in Slack to everything. I think a good way, also, is to just go introduce yourself to everybody. You know, I think, you know, you met a lot of people through this process, but I feel like it’s always, you know, helpful to go
208 00:33:14.470 ⇒ 00:33:27.200 Uttam Kumaran: just… especially, I would tell, you know, Rico interacts… Rico’s the first person that interacts with people in the company, you know, before me, most of the time. Sometimes he’s the first person, even after me, so, like.
209 00:33:27.200 ⇒ 00:33:38.129 Uttam Kumaran: I think it’s really great for you guys to know everybody. People really trust y’all, and knowing the people will help you understand what they need, you know, to be successful.
210 00:33:38.140 ⇒ 00:33:44.930 Uttam Kumaran: And so, one of the things as our operations team goes, we’re here at the service of everybody, and our clients, and making sure that
211 00:33:45.000 ⇒ 00:33:55.320 Uttam Kumaran: you know, everything runs smoothly, you know? So, yeah, so I… any other questions or, things for me, or things for us?
212 00:33:56.040 ⇒ 00:34:06.170 Elizah Joy: None so far. Yeah, I don’t think I have any questions, but the contract… I’m sorry, not the contract, but the amendment will be sent out today.
213 00:34:06.610 ⇒ 00:34:07.280 Elizah Joy: that.
214 00:34:07.280 ⇒ 00:34:16.030 Uttam Kumaran: Yes, that’s… that’s correct, yeah. I’ll message Rico about this, after, and then, it’ll kind of come to me for a review.
215 00:34:16.370 ⇒ 00:34:23.750 Elizah Joy: Alright, I think everything sounds good, and yeah, I do… I’ll meet with Clarence today, like, in about an hour.
216 00:34:23.750 ⇒ 00:34:24.899 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, great, okay.
217 00:34:25.100 ⇒ 00:34:25.899 Elizah Joy: So yeah, we have this.
218 00:34:25.900 ⇒ 00:34:39.860 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, we actually just talked about operations yesterday, so if you meet him, ask him about how… ask him about how we’re thinking about the operations team and the KPIs we’re setting. It’ll be a really good call, and, like, he’s a really good person to, like.
219 00:34:39.900 ⇒ 00:34:51.000 Uttam Kumaran: talk about where the company could go. So, any time you can get with him, super, super valuable. So, try and get as much as you can out of it.
220 00:34:51.380 ⇒ 00:34:54.239 Elizah Joy: Yeah, definitely I will. I will.
221 00:34:55.800 ⇒ 00:35:02.159 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, perfect. Well, appreciate it, thank you so much, and I hope you have a really nice weekend, and yeah, we’ll, we’ll chat in Slack soon.
222 00:35:02.680 ⇒ 00:35:07.380 Uttam Kumaran: All right, thank… oh, sorry, I do have, like, one last question, because… Yeah, please.
223 00:35:07.380 ⇒ 00:35:09.449 Elizah Joy: It’s on the 24th.
224 00:35:09.570 ⇒ 00:35:18.520 Elizah Joy: And I think the last day of ours is on the 24th, if I’m not mistaken, and I’m way beyond that two-week, notice to…
225 00:35:19.220 ⇒ 00:35:21.720 Elizah Joy: File for an out-of-office?
226 00:35:22.170 ⇒ 00:35:22.830 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
227 00:35:22.830 ⇒ 00:35:25.480 Elizah Joy: Is that possible for me on the 20th?
228 00:35:25.480 ⇒ 00:35:37.310 Uttam Kumaran: Oh, yeah, so, I mean, so we actually… all of our… so most of our team is actually going to be… like, I’ve given everybody on the team the ability to take off between the 24th and the 1st.
229 00:35:37.510 ⇒ 00:35:47.659 Uttam Kumaran: So a lot of our team will be off. Everybody has 24 or 25th off for holidays, so no need to book out of office for those days.
230 00:35:47.660 ⇒ 00:35:50.660 Elizah Joy: Oh, okay, okay, I’ll keep that in mind, yeah, because.
231 00:35:50.660 ⇒ 00:35:59.099 Uttam Kumaran: But you should check our hol… you should check… we do… I think there is a holiday policy, so that’s what you’ll have to check.
232 00:36:00.210 ⇒ 00:36:16.970 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, I told every… I told everybody that, a lot of our clients are also off all of the next two weeks, if not, most of the holidays. So some people will be working, though, like, you know, of course, like, some people don’t celebrate Christmas, or…
233 00:36:17.200 ⇒ 00:36:22.930 Uttam Kumaran: you know, some people just like to do engineering work, so I’ll be on also here and there, but for the most part, I’ve given everybody the…
234 00:36:23.090 ⇒ 00:36:24.110 Uttam Kumaran: the time off.
235 00:36:25.300 ⇒ 00:36:42.680 Elizah Joy: All right, I’ll ask Rika for that one, but yeah, for the 22nd and 23rd, I’m okay with that, just the 24th, because it’s, it’s a tradition here in the Philippines to celebrate even before Christmas, or the night of the, yeah, 24th evenings.
236 00:36:42.680 ⇒ 00:36:58.590 Uttam Kumaran: No, same here, same here. I’ll be celebrating Christmas Eve. So, I know it’s a big holiday season there, so, I appreciate you guys even… I know all of our… we have a couple team members in the Philippines, everybody celebrates, so yeah, I’ll be off 24-25th.
237 00:36:58.700 ⇒ 00:37:01.870 Uttam Kumaran: And I’ll also be off, I think, the 31st.
238 00:37:01.990 ⇒ 00:37:03.849 Elizah Joy: And then Jan 1, so…
239 00:37:03.850 ⇒ 00:37:05.450 Uttam Kumaran: Yeah, no problem at all.
240 00:37:06.830 ⇒ 00:37:09.700 Elizah Joy: Yeah, alright, I think, yeah,
241 00:37:09.970 ⇒ 00:37:18.669 Elizah Joy: That’s every bit for me, I’ll just ask Rika about it, and yeah, I do look forward to getting that, contract amendment.
242 00:37:19.600 ⇒ 00:37:20.710 Uttam Kumaran: Okay, perfect.
243 00:37:20.980 ⇒ 00:37:23.579 Uttam Kumaran: Alright, thank you both. I’ll talk to you soon.
244 00:37:23.740 ⇒ 00:37:25.889 Elizah Joy: Alright, thank you so much!
245 00:37:26.400 ⇒ 00:37:27.000 Uttam Kumaran: Okay.
246 00:37:27.150 ⇒ 00:37:27.910 Uttam Kumaran: Bye.
247 00:37:28.140 ⇒ 00:37:29.690 Elizah Joy: Thank you, bye!