Guest post by Vaibhav Goel, summer intern at Zaakpay. Vaibhav is a final year engineering student at Delhi Technological University (formerly Delhi College of Engineering). This post was not edited by Zaakpay.

In order to Stand out, In order to create a difference you need to take an opportunity that proposes before you a new challenge at every step so as to allow you to grow and expand your vistas of knowledge. It is because of that, when Zaakpay – a start up for providing online payment solutions in this e-commerce frenzy world, announced it was coming to take interns, it took me little thinking to convince myself to sit in for the interview for the two month internship period during the months of JUNE-JULY 2011 as a part of my summer internship. The whole idea of joining a company for summer internship is to learn, to enter areas you have not been introduced to before and Zaakpay looked like a perfect opportunity.

The interview was slated to be around 10 am on the 4th of June and all interested candidates reached the TNP department on time. As was the habit with all recruiters, the recruitment staff came only after noon and started their presentations the moment everything was set up.

The recruitment staff consisted of two people , Ms. Upasana Taku (Founder of Zaakpay) and Mr.Bipin Preet Singh(Co-founder of Zaakpay). On the very first day, with their presentations, I could get the clarity of thought Upasana had and what exactly were they trying to focus upon. Their presentation was crisp and to the point, no beating about the bush of what sales target they aim to achieve, how great they were as a company and blah blah. They came to point almost instantly, what they wanted, what requirements should one have etc. was clearly spelled out.

Almost, instantly after finishing their presentation, they shortlisted candidates on the basis of our resumes. The company wanted serious business and this was clear from the  sense of urgency they proceeded everything with. Thankfully, I got through the short-listing phase and was called for the interview. Being the first candidate, it did give me slight jitters. However, the moment I stepped in, they made sure I relax and this made me much more comfortable. It wasn’t a per-se interview, rather it was a session where both the parties exchanged ideas. They asked me of my past experiences and internships.  I was asked to explain what projects I have done and then shifted towards some technical questions pertaining to my field. From the interview itself, it was clear that the Zaakpay team is looking to include people who can bring in something new to the table. The session then moved to questions related to ‘what I can do for the company’ and ‘what suggestions I have for them’. I gave suggestions related to SEO of the site, increasing security features and testing the product as a whole. From the look of both of them, it seemed that they genuinely took my suggestions and with each suggestion, I was informed of the current working of the company. The entire session, made me all the more clear about the working of the company.

I got a reply from them, the next day and I was elated to know that I was selected. They asked me to join in from the 8TH and gave me my remuneration details. To my surprise my job description consisted of the suggestions I had made during my interview and this made me all the more excited to join in. I immediately sent a confirmatory mail.

I came to know that another girl from my College was also  selected, we decided to reach Zaakpay office around 9.30 AM. We reached the office on time after a tiresome 2 hour journey and were introduced to the Zaakpay team. The Zaakpay office has a homely feel to it. Unlike cubicles that are designed to choke you out, we were free to sit in any place we feel comfortable. As it was a start up there were only a handful of employees and this was another evidence that we wouldn’t get lost in the crowd. We were to be taken in at every step and our opinion mattered, not only in the field related to our area but also in trivial decisions being made.

Ms. Upasana Taku came in and made sure we were comfortable, had a good seating arrangement and introduced everyone around. For the first day, we were asked to study the site ‘www.zaakpay.com’ and were introduced with the language and framework being used. For the first couple of weeks I was given the task of SEO improvement of the site and this was something I was looking forward too. I got to read how Google lists pages and what it takes to get your site on top of the search ladder.

Apart from the set work, new challenges were put before us, like for instance I was asked to solve a problem with the HTTPS secure shell lock and had to look up in depth of its working. The working motto was that, “We are engineers and every step has a logic behind it”. Instead of having fixed technicians, Google and developers forums were made our guide and these things really helped us vasten our knowledge.

One day, all interns were taken for lunch by Upasana and Bipin and this experience helped us open up a lot. The informal chat, made me realize the thought process behind Zaakpay. Upasana was not just our employer, but also she turned out to be our mentor. The experiences she shared with us and her thought process in building up Zaakpay, are inspirational and the informality with which she addressed our issues made me respect her all the more.

We were not treated like ‘just another intern’ of a company, we were part of even the small decisions being made such as deciding the visiting card of the company.

What surprised me the most was the amount of hard work put in by everyone around, everyone was determined to get the ball rolling and it was amazing as to how even the most minute elements were given so much thought. Even after a hard day of dealing with endless issues it was amazing to see how Upasana got the stamina to review my work, make suggestions and notice every single detail. This really pumped me up to work better and bring out the best in me. When the person across the table is so pumped up, the enthusiasm is bound to be infectious.

The next task given to me was increasing the security features to the Zaakpay site and bug fixing.

The freedom to come up with an optimal solution that we feel would enhance the products feature and the joy of seeing our ideas being actually implemented is something that Zaakpay promised and delivered.

The way, Zaakpay team worked, made me agree and believe that when we have technology we can simplify the most complex problems.

I remember, during my end of internship days, I had a talk with Upasana, regarding my future job plans. I was brazen enough to say, I wasn’t looking for a hard-core coding job, with the preconceived notion of it being mundane. The talk I had with her really helped me clear my thoughts. With her simple life experiences, she asked me to approach everything without a preconceived mind set.

The attention and concern with which every little problem of ours was addressed was encouraging and helped us work better.

After completing two months with Zaakpay ,I have my own set of points on why should or why shouldn’t one work with a start-up and particularly Zaakpay

  • Work with a start-up , if you don’t want to be just ‘one’ of the employees. A start-up is the best place where you can polish your skills, learn new tricks of the trade, and compete with your own self. There is a continuous hunger to prove yourself, and devour as much as you can, within the stipulated period.
  • It is a Start-Up so the amount of work is diverse and extensive research on your part is required. So, if you are ready to take up something completely new everyday and challenge yourself, there is nothing better than joining a start-up(esp. Zaakpay).
  • Again, a start-up might be short of resources, and you have to realize you are here to learn as well, nobody’s perfect and it is a system of information exchange. Be free to ask questions and be ready to answer them. Be Patient and try not to get the frustration of losing/of getting the continuous errors seep into your head. Try again and try harder.
  • As the number of people in a start up are few, your accountability increases, you have to meet deadlines and try to figure out work on your own. This helps you widen your knowledge by heaps and bounds and it helps you to see how the company is building up.
  • There are times, when you are stuck somewhere and you need help. You know it’s a silly issue and can be fixed if someone just sat beside you. Still you find no one and you end up resolving the issue yourself with a lot more effort than you expected. I guess when you are working in a start up you need to adjust to the fact that you are pretty much on your own. Someone might just say it’s a blessing in disguise.

So, that’s pretty much it. For all the future Zaakpay employees, I can say that this place is full of excitement and buzz. Once you are with Zaakpay, you are not just an employee, you are as much part of the successes and the failures as the company heads are. Be ready to face new challenges, toil hard, party harder and don’t forget to gorge on the endless chips and cookies that you and your boss share on the same table. If you want to learn and work, if you want to have a feel of how a company builds up and work despite of new problems sprouting up everyday, then Zaakpay wouldn’t disappoint you.

The memories I have with Zaakpay are forever to cherish . We cant predict the future but what I learned here and not just the technical aspect, is going to remain with me and help me in whatever I do.

THANK YOU ZAAKPAY!