Aniket Batabyal

DoorDash just opened its first India office in Hyderabad, and they’re hiring, but most of them won't be software engineers. They’re starting with around 500 people and plan to cross 3,000 in two years. That's good news but not the full news.  This is DoorDash's third global service centre. The first roles are in customer experience, fraud review, and admin.  Telangana's IT minister said more technical roles could be added over time. So if you're a CS student, let me tell you how to take advantage of a new company setting up its office in India.  1/ Read the roles, instead of the headline. Open DoorDash's careers page, pick India, and search "engineer". The headline says 3,000. Your real number of opportunities is whatever shows up in that search. 2/ Get in early, before the tech roles open The people joining today will be the ones giving referrals next year. Follow the company page, connect with people who just joined the Hyderabad team, and set a job alert for "DoorDash software engineer India". 3/ Build what they build DoorDash runs on deliveries: maps, delivery time, live order tracking, and fraud checks. One project like "predict how long a food order will take" makes your resume match the company before the role even opens. 4/ Don't look down on non-tech roles if you need a job now and have no options. A tech support role at a global company is still a job. Take it if you need it. Just keep preparing for the role you actually want. Many people have taken this route earlier.  A lot of people post news just to farm engagement, I want you to be smart and use any opportunity you hear about to your advantage. 

921

15 Comments

“We chase salaries first… and clarity later.” I’ve noticed something interesting in how people choose jobs, salary often becomes the biggest deciding factor. And honestly, it makes sense. Stability matters. Security matters. But sometimes, when money becomes the only filter, we unintentionally lose sight of the kind of career we actually want to build. What I’ve learned over the years is simple: Your 20s, especially till 30, shouldn’t be only about earning. They should be about choosing: • work that feels meaningful to you • roles you want to grow into • companies that help you build skills you’ll use for years You don’t need a perfect roadmap. Just a 5-year direction that you revisit every year and adjust as you grow. Life changes, industries change, market change, you change - and that’s completely fine. Because relying only on money is risky. Sometimes you won’t get the salary you expected. Sometimes you will get it - and still feel empty. That’s when your relationship with the work itself is the only thing that keeps you steady. I’ve seen this in my journey too. Coming from a non-tech background and beginning my career in an agency, I never thought I’d one day be working in Growth & GTM at one of the fastest growing startups. But every year, I kept nudging my path a little closer to the work I actually wanted to do. That clarity is the reason I’ve turned down roles paying 30L+, because they didn’t align with the life or career I’m building. And just to be clear: I’m not saying you should “love your job every single day.” I’m not saying you need to turn into a workaholic either. Have a life outside work. Keep your people close. Take breaks. But when you are working, it should at least feel like a choice - not a trap you walked into for a higher CTC. A simple reminder for anyone feeling stuck right now: Choose a path you won’t want to escape from. Money will follow - but clarity will take you further. #sundaythoughts

7

Remember not too long ago, in the post-COVID era, when reaching the airport 𝟑 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 was the golden rule for survival? Today, I went from my cab to the boarding gate in 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬. No physical ID, no paper boarding pass, no friction. Just a face scan and I was through. This transformation is powered by 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐘𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐚, and the foundation of this seamless experience is 𝐀𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐚𝐫. I’m always fascinated by how robust digital identity frameworks can optimize stressful legacy processes. DigiYatra is a masterclass in this, demonstrating how Aadhaar serves as the single source of truth that makes the entire biometric journey secure, scalable, and instant. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗔𝗮𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗮𝗿'𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲) DigiYatra uses Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), but the technology is only as good as the identity verification behind it. Here is exactly how Aadhaar acts as the cornerstone of the process: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Aadhaar-Verified Setup: When you register, you link your profile to your Aadhaar. This ensures that the identity tied to the app is verified against India's most robust digital identity database. 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 "𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥": Your face is cross-referenced with your Aadhar biometric data. Once verified, a secure, encrypted "digital credential" is created on your device, certifying you are who you say you are. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞: When you "Share" your boarding pass via the app, you are sending a digital token that essentially says, "This Aadhaar-verified face belongs to this specific flight ticket." 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐎𝐧-𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: As you look at the camera at the airport e-gates, the system performs a 1:1 match against that verified token, instantly confirming your identity without needing to query a central database in real-time. Without Aadhaar's extensive coverage and digital verification capabilities, creating this level of streamlined, paperless travel wouldn't be possible. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 Here is a simplified visualization of how the components interact: [Aadhaar Database] —(Initial Verification)—> [User App] —(Encrypted Token)—> [Airport E-Gate] —(Access Granted)—> You are ready to fly. It’s incredible to see India leveraging its digital public infrastructure (DPI) to lead the way in smart travel. We aren't just saving paper; we are saving our most valuable resource: 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 A huge shoutout to Suresh Khadakbhavi sir (CEO, Digi Yatra Foundation) and the entire technical team for building a world-class product that puts India at the forefront of global aviation tech. When was the last time you used DigiYatra to check in, and how was your experience? Did you beat my 12-minute record? #DigiYatra #DigitalIndia #Aadhaar #DPI #TravelTech #ProductManagement #UX #Innovation #Efficiency

30

You know you are working with product team when every question, big or small, eventually leads to this text: 'It's in the PRD. Your First PRD Will be beautiful, detailed , perfect. Your first shipped Product will be none of those things. Let's see What is PRD , Hota kya hai ye ?! Technical Language :- Product Requirements Documents Reality Language :- Koi bhi Product Kyu bna , Kaise bna hai , kb tk bn jayega , kis team k kya kya kaam rhega , Product success kaise mana jayega and many more stuffs like this. Dekho Koi bhi product ho toh they need proper structuring and flows. Everything need to be properly planned w.r.t to User needs , Quarterly or yearly Goals , Bandwidth of all the teams like Tech , Design , Bussiness , Engineering , Marketing , Operations , Phoenix Etc. And This PRD are written by Product Managers , Handled and Managed by them as well. But It is Completed with Contributions from all the different teams whoever is needed to make Product more efficient. The Gap between PRD and reality is where you actually learn PM - A simple solution that works beats a complex one that's " almost ready " - How to negotiate with tech with compromising on features - How to Kill your darlings main features due to bandwidth issues - Everyone nods in the meeting then later tech says that's not possible rn. Every PM often sees the Success metrics and What all is Great with their Product. But Exceptional PMs are often those who know where their Product might fail and what might go wrong with the Product. PRD and PMs is the never ending love story. If u had any great memories do share it. For more such Content , U can find me at Gaurav Golchha

26

2 Comments

Rapido may have just started the next big startup war in India. First, they disrupted Ola & Uber. Now they’re going after Zomato and Swiggy. And the strategy they’re using is surprisingly simple. Here’s what’s happening: A few years ago, Ola and Uber dominated ride-hailing in India. Their business model was straightforward: take ~25–30% commission from every ride. Great for the platform. Not so great for drivers. Then Rapido came in with a completely different idea. Instead of taking a percentage from every ride, they charged drivers a flat ₹29 per day and allowed them to keep the rest of their earnings. Drivers quickly did the math. Under Ola/Uber: pay a large percentage of every ride. Under Rapido: pay ₹29/day. The supply side flipped quickly. Once drivers moved, the marketplace dynamics changed - faster rides, better availability, and rapid growth across more than 100 cities. Now, Rapido appears to be applying the same playbook to food delivery. Today, restaurants on food delivery platforms often pay 25–35% commission per order. After adding packaging costs, platform fees, and discounts, many restaurants are left with extremely thin margins. Rapido recently launched Ownly, a food delivery app starting in Bengaluru. The pitch to restaurants is simple: • 0% commission • Restaurants keep the full order value • Customers pay a flat delivery fee (~₹30) But the real advantage isn’t just pricing - It’s infrastructure. Most food delivery startups failed because they had to build a logistics fleet from scratch. Rapido already has a massive network of riders on the road every day. Food delivery simply becomes another job layered onto the same network. Which means the marginal infrastructure cost is dramatically lower. And here’s the interesting twist: Back in 2022, Swiggy invested about ₹950 crore into Rapido. There was no exclusivity clause in the deal. When Rapido entered food delivery, Swiggy exited its entire stake for roughly ₹2,400 crore. The bigger lesson here isn’t about Rapido vs Swiggy or Zomato. It’s about how disruption actually happens. Most startups try to win by building better technology. But many of the biggest disruptions come from changing the economic structure of the market - deciding who captures the value. Rapido did it once with drivers. Now they’re trying to do it again with restaurants. If this model works, India’s food delivery market might be entering a very interesting phase. Curious to hear what others think: Will restaurants actually shift platforms if the economics improve?

15