In This Episode You’ll Hear About:

• How his parents’ marriage was an arranged marriage, what brought them from India to the US, and what life in the Bay area was like as a kid
• Why he moved from an aspiring professional baseball player in college to an investment banker, working first as an intern at Union Bank of Switzerland and then working at the famous Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jenrette investment bank after college
• How after spending time in venture capital, then back to private equity, Neeraj wanted to become an business operator himself
• How a month consulting gig with TrueCar turned into seven and a half years and a huge opportunity to understand the inside of a business and how to thrive as a business operator
• What came about for him to become the CMO at TrueCar, furthering his career path to learn yet another aspect of a company that would help him later as a CEO
• What advice Neeraj has for leaders when it comes to working with different personalities and styles of responses to management, and why he’s learned to delegate over the years
• How he looks at recruiting and what he looks for when he is interviewing to hire key positions within the company
• How he took a step from his time at TrueCar to become the CEO of Byte and what special moment helped him realize the impact and importance of this company in the world
• Why he believes that a good leader delegates and lets others do their job, laying down ego, and thinking about the growth and health of the company with each decision he makes

To Find Out More:‍

byteme.com‍

Quotes:‍

“You're not going to build a great business unless you recruit great people and let them be. My job is to recruit great people. And when they need my help, I give them my help.”

“One thing that I've noticed is that CEOs and entrepreneurs and executives or whatever it is should constantly be showing their employees that they're in it, like they're deeply in it.” 

“Show the people that you're really caring about what they're doing.”

“One of the most important jobs for a CEO after they reach a certain stage is recruiting, if not the most important.”

“Your mind is always expanding and always thirsting for more knowledge, as long as you're willing to give it the opportunity.” 

“I want to grow this business, and I want to grow this brand to the most accessible and most affordable oral care brand in the world."

“If you're afraid to open your mouth, you're never going to find your voice.”

“We're changing people's lives. And so that has been the most powerful thing that I've gone through over the last year to understand how important what we're doing is for the world.”

“It might take a little bit longer because you're building from the bottom up rather than the top down. But you'll go there the right way because if you start to grow very fast, your experience is always there to save you.”

“I've seen this with early stage entrepreneurs. Stay healthy. Stay balanced. Because, you know, you can give 18, 19 hours a day for your work. And then if you ignore what's at home and you ignore that, it'll come back to bite you.”

“That's one thing I've learned is recruit great people and let them do their jobs.”

‍