Meet intrepid entrepreneurs from Africa and South Asia, hear their stories of trial & triumph, and gain insights and guidance from Stanford University faculty and global business experts on how to transform today’s challenges into tomorrow’s opportunities.
From securing investment and planning family succession, to mindful leadership and managing in adversity, you’ll learn firsthand from entrepreneurs and experts on how to develop the grit you need to grow your business — in times of crisis and calm. Walk away with actionable information, new perspectives, and fresh inspiration to take your business to the next level.
Listeners can also take a deep dive into entrepreneurship with masterclass episodes featuring interviews with Stanford faculty and global experts. It’s a unique opportunity to hear about cutting-edge research, get practical business tips, and learn proven leadership strategies from some of the world’s leading thinkers and practitioners.
Grit & Growth is brought to you by Stanford Seed, a Stanford Graduate School of Business-led initiative that partners with entrepreneurs in emerging markets to build thriving enterprises that transform lives.
About The Host:
Darius Teter is executive director of Stanford Seed, a Stanford Graduate School of Business-led initiative that partners with entrepreneurs in emerging markets to build thriving enterprises that transform lives. Darius has held leadership positions at Oxfam America, the Asian Development Bank and with the US Government where his experience included advising governments on economic policy, developing human rights programming, and financing infrastructure megaprojects across Africa, Asia and Latin America. All the while, he remained intrigued by the human experience and our universal drive towards growth and prosperity.
Meet Raj Prakash, cofounder of Zifo, a science informatics company in India. While growing revenues is on almost every entrepreneur’s mind, Prakash believes building a thriving culture should be too. Hear how creating a great place to work is helping his company achieve great results.
Zifo is one of the largest global pure play science informatics companies, with over 1,800 employees. And it counts many of the largest global bio-pharma companies among its customers. The company focuses on technology for collecting and analyzing data that has been instrumental in the development of medications and vaccines for global viruses and illnesses. But that’s more of the quantitative story. For Raj Prakash, thinking about the qualitative experience of his employees is essential to success. “We are a science-first, people-first company,” he explains.
Prakash has a broader definition of what it means to grow. “It's just not revenue,” he says. “ It is about opportunity to people, opportunity to explore self. It's doing something impactful. It's a people-driven mechanism that encourages persistence and tenacity to get results."
“There is a culture of playing to win. Every action is measured in terms of intent and intensity of action, not just on result. It's fun, it is tough, but winning it together, or playing it together, even losing it together, it's fun. We want to be a place which is highly valued as a great place to work.”
And it seems to be working. Zifo has been listed as one of the great places to work for seven consecutive years.
Hear how Prakash is building a thriving culture while growing a company that leads to scientific breakthroughs.
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