From part-time Telecaller to Sourcing Manager: This is Vijay’s story

Since Ninjacart was new in the industry, it was difficult to convince any farmer to join us. I was dejected that I was unable to get anybody on board. I called one of the co-founders and told him about my problem — In simple words, he said that we’ve been here for only a few weeks, while other businesses have been in the industry for over 30 years. It will be hard, but I needed to remember what we do has never been done ever before, and if I keep trying I can get people to join us.

Like pearls of wisdom these words stuck with me; I was motivated to give it my all and after several attempts, I managed to onboard a farmer with a big procurement order! This was a huge deal because the same farmer spread the word and got other farmers to join us as well. In the process, I identified gaps and problems in the operations and began solving them.

My ideas were a success and I was asked to implement the same in Chennai. The monsoons had set in during the time, four of my teammates and I had to travel through waterlogged roads to find farmers and potential locations; it was a crazy feeling and I felt like I was part of a great adventure! Chennai as a city had progressed very well, and soon I was asked to handle the entire procurement and sourcing operations of all upcoming CCs of Chennai. This, for me, was a remarkable milestone in my Ninjacart journey.

I came back to Bangalore in October 2018 to work on the sales model. The first thing we needed to do was to re-establish the calling team; I was a bit nostalgic because this was where I had started my career in the company. Looking back, I felt great about how far I had come, and I was glad I took the decision to join Ninjacart.

Currently, I am working in Pune as a Sourcing Manager. Ninjacart has helped me grow not only in my career but also as a person. I’ve learned how to handle situations better in life and I’ve achieved a lot in the past few years. The support I get from my peers is all I need to keep going, and I’d say they’ve grown to become more than family.

Narrated by Vijaya Kumar T, Manager Sourcing Pune