Part 2: Aneesh Reddy of Capillary Tech on how being called a “bully” led him to be a better leader

First Principles

Welcome back to Episode 39 of First Principles!

A few weeks ago, you heard the first part of our conversation with Aneesh Reddy, the CEO and Co-Founder of Capillary Tech, a software company offering products and services in the customer experience space.

And you might remember that in that episode, Aneesh took us through the journey of Capillary in instalments – because as he explained, Aneesh dreams in instalments.

The second instalment was the years 2013 to 2018 – which Aneesh called “Capillary’s confusing years.”

They were particularly difficult years for them.

Having raised a massive amount of venture funding at an expensive valuation, Capillary started burning cash as they expanded ambitiously beyond India. The leadership had to justify their valuation, Aneesh said.

During this time, Aneesh’s co-founder Krishna Mehra, or KK, had moved to San Francisco in the US. Communication between the co-founders started breaking down even as the pressure on Capillary Tech started mounting.

Eventually, both of Aneesh’s co-founders left within months of each other. But before leaving, KK was upfront with Aneesh.

He told Aneesh that he had become a bully. He wasn’t workable anymore.

Aneesh went to the Capillary board and told them he wanted to quit.

In this second part, you’ll hear the two things that Aneesh ended up doing to bounce back.

The first was executive coaching. A difficult process, because Aneesh, in his own words, ‘was a hard nut to crack.’

Eventually, the coaching process proved to be so transformative for Aneesh, that Capillary today offers coaching to not just its entire leadership team but also down to first-time managers.

The second, very interestingly, was Vipassana. And again, as Aneesh explained, it was very difficult at first.

But it changed him.

He calls it a process of self-discovery and self-purification that every entrepreneur should experience.

In this episode, Aneesh talks to me about how these two interventions transformed him and Capillary.

He takes me through both processes – day by day, in the case of Vipassana — and how it made a difference to his temperament, leadership style, and his approach to managing.

We also talk about Aneesh’s fitness journey, finding a purpose in working, and the future of Capillary.

This is episode 39 of First Principles—The Ken’s weekly leadership podcast.

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