Fit to Lead | Pepperfry's Ashish Shah: "Fitness provides the necessary flexibility to zoom in and out of situations"

Ashish Shah, co-founder and chief operating officer, Pepperfry

Note to readers: Fit to Lead is a series of interviews with business leaders on their approach to fitness, leadership and navigating the new normal.

As Pepperfry prepares for an initial public offering (IPO), it is as good a time as any to delve into its origin story. Ashish Shah and Ambareesh Murty were e-Bay colleagues chatting at the organisation’s Christmas party when they came up with the idea for their start-up.

“We started it as an online marketplace almost a decade ago. It was only in 2015-16 that we decided to change direction and evolved into a furniture brand,” recollects Shah, co-founder and chief operating officer, Pepperfry.

Quite like the company, Shah, a chemical engineer and materials management specialist by education, has had a career that has evolved a fair bit. The 45-year-old started in sales at a chemicals firm, zooming around the National Capital Region on his fuel-efficient motorbike in the early 2000s before moving to eBay and starting its used vehicles division before launching Pepperfry.

Perhaps, it was his stint in sales when he used to ride across Delhi that first made him fall in love with riding bikes. Whatever the case, since his first road trip to Ladakh in 2015 along with his co-founder Ambareesh Murty, he has been hooked to it.

“We explored most of Ladakh by road for 6-7 days. The terrain was mesmerising, and I had never seen a more beautiful place. Since then, the mountains have kept calling us back and we have done several treks, bike trips and car trips in the Himalayas,” he says.

Despite having lead a fairly active life all along, it was only around this time that he started focusing on incorporating a fitness routine. “I don’t like being sedentary or stationed in one place. I truly enjoy meeting people, understanding what motivates them, basically what makes them who they are… However, I never got on to a fitness routine till very late in my life and till as late as 2015. In order to keep myself fit for the treks and trips to the mountains, I got into a fitness routine and have continued doing so,” recalls Shah, who loves walking and believes in solvitur ambulando, a Latin phrase that translates to “it is solved by walking.”

Your health and fitness routine…

I do multiple things to keep my fitness regime interesting. I exercise all seven days and mix it up with yoga and meditation thrice a week, gym workouts thrice a week and play cricket or go for a swim once/twice a week. I also walk every day. My yearly average on FitBit is more than 11,000 steps.

Favourite fitness activity…

Walking. It helps me to get a lot of personal time for myself. During those 40-45 minutes, I clear my thoughts, plan my day and get set to take on a brand new day. Whenever I have to clear my head, I step out of the office for short walks and come back rejuvenated.

The toughest?

I test my limits in Yoga by trying challenging asanas. I like to do things with speed… yoga slows me down. I enjoy the seamless flow that it enables in my body and my mind.

Your typical day…

I’m an early riser. The first 2-3 hours are the most precious… I spend time with myself. I start with an hour of yoga or exercise and walk and then I head to the office, where I am among the first ones in. I discuss our day in advance with my co-founder Ambareesh over breakfast at office and bring each other up to speed on the tasks and projects in hand.

I derive energy from people and hence prefer meeting people in-person. Since April 4, 2022, all folks at Pepperfry are back in office and we once again enjoy meeting and working with each other.

I’m back home by 8-9 pm. I spend some time with my wife and kids talking through the day with each other and then hit the bed. Weekends are mostly reserved for family. I’m essentially a home body.

The new normal…

Our business was in the non-essential category, so our supply chains were shut and business had come to a halt for a long time. So, we focused on building for the future and came out shining when things reopened. We were a much more resilient, stronger, larger and profit-focused business when the Covid restrictions ended. We now call ourselves “anti-fragile”— those who come out even stronger with every challenge that life throws at you.

I did make the most of the lockdowns by spending time with my wife and my 18-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. We started a walking routine called #mumbaionfoot which included 2.5 to 3-hour walks… we walked from Prabhadevi to Nariman Point; Chembur to Juhu and a lot more. We saw a very different side of Mumbai and this brought us together.

Ambareesh and I used to meet our senior team at each other’s place, helping build a strong bond among us. And my fitness routine helped me maintain a healthy body and a calm mind, significantly enhancing my focus, productivity and temperament during a challenging time.

The one change you would encourage your teammates to make to deal with the challenges of current times.

Fitness is not optional. It’s like investing in the self to make yourselves resilient. Covid has taught us that those who invested in themselves are the ones who came out stronger and better.

Leadership lessons in your fitness journey…

Resilience. Fitness provides the necessary flexibility to zoom in and out of situations and evaluate a situation or problem more objectively. A good fitness regime makes you self-aware, alerts you on your limits and challenges you to go beyond your comfort zone every time. It also teaches that what you can measure, you can improve.

What impact does your image of a “fit leader” have on your team?

A fit leader gives people the confidence to be more, to do more, and to achieve more.

Has being fit helped you become a better leader and a better version of yourself?

One of the key responsibilities of a leader is to stay fit, healthy, and always high on energy. Most folks as they enter office in the morning look at their leaders and derive the energy from them for the day.

Your leadership style…

It’s simple: roll up the sleeves and get down to business. I do whatever it takes to lead by example and set the right standards early.

I believe in providing great context on role expectations and in providing required resources to do one’s job. Once that is done, the team has a free hand to do their best.

I take great interest in people and their career and go out of the way to understand their goals and motivation in life; it helps me collaborate better and allows me to help them and myself grow.

What about work-life balance?

I do not worry about work life balance. I am good at compartmentalising: weekdays for work and weekends for family and friends.

Goals for the year…

I would like to go on a solo walk for 2-3 weeks and explore a completely new terrain or city. At Pepperfry, you get a one month paid sabbatical on completion of every three years. I would undertake the walk during my next sabbatical and observe how it changes me as a person.