I always travel in a Meru anonymously: CEO Pahwa reveals all on beating competition

Success Quotient is a weekly feature that appears every Friday in Firstbiz, which looks at the pains and joys en route to success for a head honcho - whether a CEO, MD or an entrepreneur. The column looks at the ideas that helped launch a company, its highs and lows.

Siddharth Pahwa, CEO, Meru and Meru Genie Cabs rarely travels in his car to work. He prefers to hire a Meru and pay the fare. Coming from a family of professionals, Pahwa says his parents dinned into him the value of doing one’s job honestly. In spite of having passed his Chartered Accountancy exams with an all-India ranking of 42, Pahwa decided to give it a go-by after his stint as a trainee.

Excerpts from the interview:

What attracted you to your job at Meru?

I have worked in FMCG and pharma companies which have a close connect with consumers. All these industries were well developed but the radio cab industry is not. I got an opportunity to work with a brand like Meru and make it a pioneer in the transport segment. Though a lot of how we live, work and view the world has changed— right from our eating habits, dress to communication among a host of other things—travel has remained a pain point in the country. I realized we could change it with the use of technology and make travel a matter of convenience for people.

What changes have you been able to make at Meru since you joined?

When I moved in 2011 here, the biggest challenge at Meru was how to deliver a profitable model to our investors.  We had to take the company from an asset -owned to an aggregator model business and use technology not only for back-end processes but front-end too. We used technology for consumer interface with apps, etc. Our investors see us as a profitable model. We got $50 million in the second round of funding from India Value Fund. This will help us to further grow and change consumer behavior. People should be able to use our App more.

Do you travel in competitors cabs?

Of course I do. But only 10 percent of the time. Ninety percent of the time I travel in a Meru, anonymously. When I joined, I would call for a Meru at 4 am and travel like any other passenger would. This was done to ascertain how consumers felt travelling with us. I was able to bring in some changes on account of my rides –  What should a driver do if the passenger makes him wait for over 10 minutes and sometimes up to half  an hour?  What should a driver do if he has a flat tyre or meets with an accident?; and how can we help in these situations. We then created the 24x7 helpline. We found that some consumers did not feel safe travelling alone with a driver in a car. So we launched the Trip Tracker facility in 2012 and the Emergency button – ICE in 2013, on the App  so that a passenger can use it in case of an emergency.

What were the lessons that you learnt from these rides?

Once I took a competitor’s radio cab to go to another city. The operator charged me an exorbitant amount. I decided to resolve this with services of our own. We realized intercity travel reduces costs because travelling on highways increases mileage. In a day, we could get 100 kms which was not possible in the city. So we launched intercity services where we charge the most affordable fare at Rs 11 per km instead of Rs 17 charged by competitors.

There are instances of Meru cabs refusing to ply.

Yes, it happened with me too. Once I had booked a Meru for a short commute of 4-5 kms and the driver did not turn up citing the short distance, due to which I had to miss a meeting. We checked up our data and found there were many such incidents. Earlier we did not know how to address this concern. Now, we have brought in a mechanism to check it. This industry is at a nascent stage and we have to bring in processes as we mature. When we are the pioneers, we should replicate and do better.

What is your revenue goal?

The company has reported a turnover of Rs 420 crore for 2014; and we expect to touch Rs 1,000 crore by 2016.  In addition, we plan to expand our base to 40 cities by March 2016.

You have an interesting hobby. You run marathons. What does running mean to you?

I run 4-5 kms a day and do 25 kms a week. Running is the time that I am with myself. I try to think about my personal and professional space while running . I am a long distance runner. To me, life is not about the short-term but about sustaining it for the long haul. It is always about long-term gains. I run regularly at Carter Road, Bandra. I see different people with different capabilities there as I run. I realize that we have to take them all in when we think of success. It is not about individual success alone. I also play football with my son once or twice a month. It goes without saying that with age on his side, he hits more goals than I do!

What is your life mantra?

I believe in the Gita. There are three philosophies I live my life by: You have the right to your work but not to its fruits; Do not let the fruits of your action be the motive for doing work; Don’t let your attachment to anything lead you to inaction – irrespective of who is in the fray, friend or relative, always do what is right. It is important to be fully honest. Honesty and integrity cannot be compromised.