April 4, 2017
The inauguration ceremony is done, we have started working from our Tehri office, it has been a month and it still feels like a dream. Having a workplace on top of a hill feels no less than a natural retreat. In this serene environment, we have tried to blend the best of both our worlds. The workspace and work culture still breathe the familiar ColoredCow spirit with an add-on of peaceful Garhwal hills on the outside.
View from Tehri Office
Like many people who kept on telling us that hills might not work for a software company, we too had a couple of doubts before we started. But these doubts vanished within the first week of our stay in Tehri. The entire environment somehow triggered in us the desire to give our best. And we started developing our flagship product ManageMyNGO from our Tehri office. As there were no major issues in terms of internet connectivity, workspace, accommodation or food, soon things formed a smooth cycle.
When the team compared their productivity from before we received amazing responses. Some of the team members even felt that their productivity increased 3x in last month. Maybe it is because of the place or newness of the idea but the entire positivity has doubled the speed in which we were building ManageMyNGO.
The impact of the hill journey has been such that not just the team but our clients are also drawn towards the idea. We recently had some of our clients/ColoredCow friends in Tehri and there is a long list of people who plan to visit us in near future. They first hand witnessed the positive change and the higher efficiency of the team. Mridu and Sarika in their humorous way kept on saying, “ColoredCow team is no longer living a 24hr day. They are far more inside work and yet find time for everything.”
Morning meditation sessions
Now when we laugh and think about it, we realize being her helped us in sorting our lives more. With no noise and distraction around we have more time for fitness, for meditation, for relaxed team lunches and dinners, for music, for reading….the list can go on. And so we have more time to think and work also. The effect is such that a lot of us decided to stay back and work from here for a couple of months.
Interaction with THDC-IHET students during a seminar organized by ColoredCow
Once we were sure about the feasibility of working here (that was within the first week) we started hiring in our Tehri office. We have been receiving a lot of positive responses and we hired our first intern from THDC-IHET ShubhamJoshi. The involvement from students and faculties in the Incubation Center has also been encouraging and we keep on seeing more students who want to learn, work on projects, apply for internships and full-time jobs or just want to know more about how software is built. This in itself has added to the motivation.