Business Lessons from The Maverick Effect

Harish Mehta and NASSCOM sparked the Indian Software Revolution

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DataDrivenInvestor

15 min readJan 11, 2023

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Ever wondered what it would take to create a hundred billion industry? In an environment where no one around you even understands what the industry does. With challenges in every corner. If so, continue reading.

Recently, I’ve been going over the book MAVERICK EFFECT: The Inside Story of India’s IT Revolution by the legendary Harish Mehta. To those of you not familiar, Harish Mehta is the founder and first elected chairman of NASSCOM(National Association of Software and Service Companies). NASSCOM is a giant collection of companies that acts as a giant union, acting as a unified voice of the Tech Industry when negotiating with policy makers, drive skilling initiatives that benefit the whole domain, and enabling collaboration+innovation. To give you an idea of its staggering scope-

NASSCOM is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry in India and comprises over 3000 member companies including both Indian and multinational organisations that have a presence in India. Our membership spans across the entire spectrum of the industry from start ups to multinationals and from products to services, Global Service Centers to Engineering firms
From their official website

This organization has brought about a true revolution in the Indian Tech Industry. As of 2022, the industry is estimated to have a revenue of 227 Billion Dollars. However, things weren’t always slated towards success. There was a time not too long ago when nobody knew what software even meant. In his book, Mr. Mehta even recounts a time when a newspaper misspelled software as ‘softwear’ b/c they had no idea what it was.

The industry has come leaps and bounds since then. Source

This post will cover the story of a Journey that impacted millions of people. A story of how Harish Mehta and NASSCOM dragged the Tech Industry from its infancy to maturity. In their path, they battled through bureaucratic red tape, lawmakers with no understanding of the domain, and an unfriendly business ecosystem. Their work allowed for the creation of millions of high-paying jobs and has been a huge factor in India’s Explosive growth since 1991.

How much has India changed since then? Since 1991, India’s GDP has quadrupled, its forex reserves have surged from $5.8 billion to $279 billion, and exports from $18 billion to $178 billion.
Read more about Indias growth

My writing(and other work) is also a small part of their legacy. It was their efforts that laid the foundation that allowed me to get into Tech and Software. As a Tribute to Mr. Mehta and his revolution, I will be keeping this post completely open access. No paywalls. So take your time and dig in. This is not a story that anyone should miss.

Key Highlights

A book like Maverick Effect has tons of lessons. Following were the ones that stood out to me-

Find a blue ocean- The Blue Ocean Strategy involves finding new uncontested domains and attacking them. When Mr. Mehta started his work, nobody in India understood software. Some might interpret this to mean that it had no scope in India. However, he correctly identified it as an industry of the future and acted on it. This paid off in spades.
Get drunk with people of common interests- This is something I haven’t seen anyone discuss when it comes to his book. NASSCOM started when a group of software entrepreneurs from India got together, got drunk, and complained about the bureaucracy shackling them. No, I’m not making this up (Page 33, if you want to confirm for yourself). What should you do if you (like me) enjoy complete sobriety? Read on to find out.
Go beyond your day-to-day- Mehta often credits the tenets of Jainism as a huge reason for his success, both personally and professionally. He also attributes his conversations with noted Philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurty as a reason for his questioning mind (along with his father). It can be easy to get caught up in your day-day plan, especially as you strive to achieve some fancy goal. However, there is a lot of value to seeking meaning beyond; to step back, wander, and contemplate. An interesting coincidence- I also happen to have a somewhat personal relationship with JK. The school I went to for 4 years, Rishi Valley, was the first school he and his crew founded.
Critique the project needs- There were times when Mr. Mehta was given a project to execute, and he didn’t. Instead, he reviewed the project details and requirements and noted that there was a better way to proceed. This allowed him to be more effective. He was even dubbed a ‘superprogrammer’ for this. We discuss this idea more in our post on becoming a 10x Engineer, according to Google.
Collaborate to compete- A rising tide lifts all boats. It can be tempting to guard your secrets against your competitors, to not reveal your ideas and thoughts to them. Especially if your current market is small. However, there is a lot of value to working with your competitors and increasing the market size. This is my spin on the book’s mantra of “collaborate and compete”.

This is not a story you want to miss. Take a deep breath, and get comfy, because this is going to be a fun one.

Find a Blue Ocean

Think of a giant ocean. Teeming with life, in a world where the rising temperatures and acidification of the ocean are not a threat to marine life. A veritable paradise for giant and fierce sharks, who can feast to their content.

In this ocean, there is an area, filled with lots of fish, seals, and dolphins. The most dense part of the ocean. All the sharks find themselves here. However, since they’re all here, they end up competing with each other, leading to a lot of bloodshed. This part of the ocean becomes red thanks to all the blood spilled. Competing over here is a game of tight margins, where the smallest errors and deviations have drastic consequences.

However, one shark is like me. It is woke. This shark decides to not go there. Find another area of the ocean, that is still is nice and blue. Sure, on the surface, this might not have as many creatures. However, here, the shark can feast in peace. It enjoys all the benefits to have a blue ocean all to itself. This is the essence of the Blue Ocean strategy.

Source. The image has a minor typo. Gary wrote Red Ocean twice instead of blue ocean.

Humans are social creatures. There are many things that tempt us towards the red ocean. It can range from the Status-Quo Bias (assuming things have to stay the way they are), prestige (imagine how cool it would be to thrive in this red ocean), to a lack of imagination (how many people make life decisions because others around them were making it). Mehta himself observed this in the early days. Tech firms were engaged in a brutal war of attrition, undercutting each other and trying to be the biggest frog of a very small well.

Instead, he envisioned something bigger. He identified outsourcing and software exports as an area with a lot of potential and an infinite scope for differentiation. Given the right ecosystem, everyone could grow and find a lot of work. It didn’t have to be a zero-sum game, where the winner won crumbs. Much of his (and NASSCOM’s) work has been towards fostering innovation and upskilling the public. This way, everyone wins. This last point is also tied into the mantra ‘Collaborate to Compete.’ We’ll cover that soon. Right now let’s get back to the Blue Ocean.

Once the Blue Ocean had been identified, NASSCOM could shape up without worrying about competing interests. Since the ocean is large, each player could easily transition and work in one area without being too concerned about being cut down by others. NASSCOM could benefit from the resources and expertise of every member, presenting a strong unified front when it came to the macro of the tech industry. And the members of NASSCOM could benefit from its network, allowing them to thrive in their respective micros.

Not every blue ocean will look the same, however. They depend on the context of your situation, each having unique characteristics. So how can you identify a blue ocean? Let’s take a slight detour from the book to discuss that.

How to Find your Blue Ocean

Comptetion is for Losers
-Peter Thiel, legendary tech startup investor. My post on his talk

Blue oceans are infinitely diverse. Based on your time, resources, and environment, your blue ocean will look very different. However, there are a few commonalities and ideas we can always look through to make the exploration less painful.

The first is to look outside. This can be to look outside your country/economy. Many successful Indian apps and companies like Flipkart and Ola are clones of Western Apps (Amazon and Uber respectively). Simply taking a successful product and bringing it to a different audience can work wonders.

You can also look outside your industry. I covered how the ‘as a service model has spread from software, to literally everything else in this post. Sometimes, you can have successful products/services by simply taking and tweaking a business model in another domain. Now BMW is even selling heated seats as a service.

Lastly, you can even look outside your present time for ideas. Reading some history can give you a lot of insights into repeating patterns and trends. Looking ahead into the future, you can work backward from your ideal end goal. Both are extremely powerful and should not be overlooked.

All of these will require a very strong foundation of technical skills, insight, and a birds-eye view of the world. This is why my newsletter focuses on a combination of Computer Science, Software Engineering, and the industry as a whole. While just focusing on Leetcode would be enough for your interviews (and that is what everyone does), it wouldn’t help you become more effective. Building your skills will help you win long-term, and progress along your goals much quicker.

That is not to say that the Leetcode solutions on my newsletter are not amazing. Feel free to compare them with any other resource found online. You’ll find the same thing.

Getting back to finding your Blue Ocean. One of the best ways to find the perfect blue ocean is to have other dynamic people you can bounce ideas off. These people will share their knowledge, help you refine your ideas, and help you implement your super grand plans. Sounds great, but where do you find these people? Prepare yourself, because I am about to blow your mind with a lesson they should teach in every business school/networking course. Courtesy of Mr. Harish Mehta.

Get Drunk w/ People of Common Interest

NASSCOM is a powerhouse because of its size and reach. So how can we get all the heavy hitters competing with each other together to share their inputs? Easy- get them drunk together.

Now, I have no doubt that Mr. Mehta is a man of earth-shattering wit, charisma, and interpersonal skills. However, we can’t ignore the contributions of alcohol and the many meetups Mr. Mehta and the many other luminaries had.

Why is Alcohol such a factor? Think back to the situation. When the would-be members of NASSCOM first met, they met as competitors in an industry. Not only were they fighting each other, but they also had global organizations and a non-supportive government to worry about. No wonder they saw each other as threats.

What the meetups and alcohol did was loosen the boundaries. It helped the members see each other as people first. People of similar interests, fighting similar battles, looking for similar kinds of help. In essence, they could see each other as comrades. However, this probably has a few of you thinking- “I’m completely sober, what should I do? Should I start using substances to network”

This seems like the perfect time to tell you that this post has been Sponsored by Jack Daniels!! Use the discount code ‘Devansh IS The GOAT’ to get 20% off + Free shipping. Bet you didn’t see that coming.

To those of you that enjoy your sobriety, don’t worry I got your back. There are plenty of ways you can make friends and connect with people. For me, this involves Fighting Gyms, Football (Soccer) watch parties, Hiking groups, history meetups, book/anime clubs, and volunteering. It will change for you, based on your interests and inclinations. I’ve met a ton of people through these avenues. I have a post titled How I got a Referal by getting Strangled with more deets.

I’ve gotten more job/referral offers in Combat Sports gyms than I have on my university’s job portal. True Story.

The goal is to have more avenues to connect with people. Once you have those, and the bonds start to form, you will find that you can help each other much better. This leads seamlessly to the next idea that I found very compelling in the book.

Go beyond the everyday

I get it, Life is hard. There are a ton of things to do, and no matter how high you roll that rock up the hill, it comes rolling back down. With all the priorities you have in life, there is no way you have the time and energy to add something else. Especially when there’s no immediate use for it.

However, looking for meaning and ideas beyond your day-day life will pay a lot of dividends. Mr. Mehta credits Jainism as a fundamental reason that he was able to both deal with the death of his first child and handle the frustrations of trying to lead a revolution w/o lopping off any heads.

This doesn’t have to be religious. Philosophy in general is something that you should integrate into your life. Not only will it help you appreciate a lot of fiction with more depth, but philosophy also teaches you how to examine your views and alternative perspectives with a lot of rigor. Quite literally every policy decision, big debate, and conversation can be better understood with a philosophical lens.

Number 4 is a tricky one. Everyone takes to philosophy differently. The YouTube channel Wisecrack is a pretty fun way to learn about philosophy in a fun and digestible manner. I also like debates on this stuff. Start from there and see where the winds take you. Brilliant’s course on formal Logic is a great one to practice logic through fun puzzles. As is the book, Lady or The Tiger.
My advice on people looking to get into philosophy. From my article, How I got a 100 Dollars per hour offer in Machine Learning at 21

Philosophy will also help you become a much deeper thinker. Since it is all about looking at a situation, crystalizing the base arguments and analyzing them, your ability to think through implications will skyrocket. It teaches you to ask the right questions. And this will help you a lot. Mr. Mehta credits his early conversations with Jiddu Krishnamurty, as a reason for his introspective nature. This helped him a lot, even professionally. Let’s cover how, and how you can use your newfound questioning skills to become a ‘superprogrammer’ as Mehta was called.

Change the Battle

Mr. Mehta mentions how his father often pushed him to question everything. This tendency was apparent later on in his career. There were 2 stories that stood out to me- his Story of working with Forbes and a huge project he was given to lead. Both highlight his keen domain insight, questioning nature, and honesty.

The first story is set in 1972. Mr. Mehta had just returned to the US after his marriage. His boss had a very exciting 150K project for him to lead. However, as he went over the requirements, he realized that this could be solved by making tweaks to an existing application.

The second is set later when he had torn up his Green Card and returned to India. Forbes had decided to automate their inventory control. Forbes asked Mr. Mehta to consult on this project. This was his first big client in India and something he needed. However, he went over the plans and realized that they would not be useful. So he recommended that they proceed with this as there would be no point. Even though this meant losing work.

In both instances, Mr. Mehta did not jump into engineering right away. He took some time to understand the domain and go through the needs before starting. And in both cases, he offered a much better and cheaper alternative. Both cases saw him rewarded handsomely. The first case led to his moniker as a ‘superprogrammer’ and great career progress. Forbes was so impressed by him that they offered him a second, bigger project instead.

This is a mentality that is beneficial to everyone. Taking some time to understand the real needs and evaluating a given project critically can be a gamechanger for the results you provide. For a more modern example of this approach, check out the post on the Rockstar software engineer, who got multiple promotions in 4 years. His superpower was his ability to reinterpret complex software engineering problems as simpler economic/product-related ones.

Assuming you have taken some time to build your knowledge beyond just coding, and have surrounded yourself with the people who help you come across novel and interesting ideas, you will find yourself able to add a lot of value by going through projects given to you, and evaluating whether the best what’s given is truly the best way forward. You might be able to look at what’s asked of you and find better ways to attain the desired outcomes. This would obviously require a desire and appetite to constantly ask questions and probe through situations.

With that out of the way, let us now cover the last and perhaps most important lesson in the story of NASSCOM. If you look into the book, you will see the phrase ‘collaborate and compete’ a lot. Following was my interpretation of this teaching.

Collaborate to Compete

It takes a lot of vision and guts to collaborate with the people you’re in competition with. Especially when the domain is as small and tight as the Indian Software Industry of the 1970s-90s.

However, the founders of NASSCOM were truly forward-thinking. They understood how winning in a small market by undercutting the competition would lead to a pyrrhic victory. The right ecosystem could 1000x the returns, and allow things to run smoothly. Once a snowball starts rolling, it can bring an avalanche.

Thus all the bigwigs got together and decided to work together to establish the correct environment for everyone’s success. If you helped one member of NASSCOM get stronger, then this member could in turn contribute more to NASSCOM, helping it be stronger. NASSCOM could then help someone else, creating a strong updraft. As NASSCOM established itself, it advocate for bigger policy changes, undertake larger projects, and etch itself deeper into the history of the Indian and Global industry.

The members of NASSCOM have come together and established a much better environment through their grit, vision, and collaboration. By collaborating and sharing their insights with each other, they have raised the floor for everyone, which allowed everyone to compete for much better prizes.

This is a lesson to take to heart. There is a lot of value to sharing your ideas and opening a dialogue. Many people are scared to have their ideas stolen. However, this fear holds you back from hearing about possible pivots, gaining alternative perspectives, and learning from the insights and experiences of others. Share your challenges, solutions, and theories with others. It will pay off in spades. You’ll be able to find groups going through the same problems as you. As the old story goes, a bundle of sticks is unbreakable.

This approach is also what has led to Tech’s extreme growth in the internet age. The access to information and the open source movement has led to exponential growth. This is a big reason that big tech companies put a lot of resources into open source projects. One such example was Meta’s Large Language model, OPT, which was meant to compete with GPT. I covered it and how Meta Open Sourcing the complete model impacts the industry here. Give it a read if you’re interested in Machine Learning and AI.

That’s it for this one. It was a long one, but the Maverick Effect has a lot to teach. I would suggest everybody, but especially my Indian readers, look through it. It has a lot to teach you.

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