⚪ Jowar ki Roti (Issue 014)

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In today’s Issue 📥 :

• Jowar ki Roti.

• Why Values Matter So Much in Business.

• Twitter will open-source its algorithm.

• Presidential Bid for 2024.

Jowar ki roti or Jonna rotte, a flourishing business amidst the bustling alleys of Hyderabad

A new wave of women-led entrepreneurship is sweeping the city.

One roti at a time: The women roti entrepreneurs in Hyderabad rely on hard work to prepare and sell fresh rotis to their customers every evening, from busy roads to residential areas. Despite the minimal investment, their business is thriving due to constant demand, allowing them to earn a livelihood one roti at a time.

What most of these stalls sell is ‘jowar ki roti’ or as it is better known as ‘jonna rotte’.

These rotis are produced with sorghum flour, are oil-free, and are baked by sprinkling some water on top of the roti.

Srilata, a jowar roti shop owner in Ameerpet, is one of many women who balance domestic responsibilities and regular household chores during the day and make rotis in the evening to support their families. Says she, “I work at two houses in the day and put up a stall in the evening between 6 pm to 11 pm. I sell around 100 rotis per day at Rs 15 each and Rs 20 with curry.”

Sharing equal responsibilities: Making healthy rotis requires significant expertise, and these women are all skilled in making them thin and soft, as they should be. Some of these women, including Kavita who owns a food stall in Banjara Hills, claim that they earn enough to share financial responsibilities at home equally with their husbands. “I put up this stall around 15 years ago and it felt like a good idea to start this business as it is something we have been making since my childhood,” she says.

The success of roti entrepreneurs’ businesses could be attributed to the increasing awareness of the importance of maintaining a balanced diet and consuming healthy food while avoiding junk food.

“I used to sell leafy veggies earlier but didn’t earn much with that. When I observed many women selling these rotis, I too started selling them too and my earnings are better than earlier, ” said Laskhmi, another roti entrepreneur at Padmarao Nagar.

IMPROVEMENT SIP

Here’s Why Values Matter So Much in BusinessHere’s Why Values Matter So Much in Business

It’s a common perception that business is all about money and that there’s something inherently selfish or aggressive about it. However, successful businesses know that to thrive over the long run, they must continuously deliver benefits to a range of stakeholders, including investors, employees, partners, clients, vendors, and even governments. So, how do they do it? By embracing a set of core values that guide their decision-making and behavior.

Values are basic principles that favor some goals, attitudes, and actions over others. They play to people’s sense of identity and foster trusted long-term relationships. In fact, according to Jim Collins, the best-selling author of Good to Great, having a set of core values that do not change is the one non-negotiable element for any business that strives for greatness.

But what exactly are these values? A team of 40 psychology researchers has identified six core virtues that exist in virtually all cultures: wisdom, courage, empathy, justice, temperance, and transcendence.

Here are four reasons why values matter so much in business:

1. They Help Define Culture: Values help define the culture of a business by providing the settings that prioritize some goals over others. This impacts a company’s policies, work modalities, team dynamics, and communication tone. Values create a work culture that can be unique to a particular industry or company. Silicon Valley, for example, is known for a more relaxed work environment and collaborative work methods, while Wall Street law firms value prudence and discipline to establish standards more highly.

2. They cement relationships: Shared values are important for creating benchmarks for behavior and dispute resolution, as research shows that an adopted value becomes a reliable indicator of future behavior. The reliability of authentically held values in predicting behavior makes them critical for quality, long-term relationships.

3. They coordinate efficient decision-making: With a set of core values in place, stakeholders can make decisions based on their preferences without micro-management. Values provide heuristics during times of uncertainty, enabling decentralized and efficient decision-making that stays true to a company’s long-term goals and identity.

4. They sustain a company’s mission: Values provide the vehicle for how a business achieves its mission, and a congruent set of core values is necessary to give shape to the journey. While words are important, values ultimately come down to actions, and integrity is the value at the center of all others, representing the alignment between words and actions.

HOT SIP

Indian-American Tech Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy Announces Presidential Bid for 2024

Today we’ll be discussing the recent announcement made by Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has declared that he will be contesting the 2024 Presidential election in the United States.

Ramaswamy is the second Indian-American to enter the Republican presidential primary race, after Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the UN, launched her presidential bid last week. According to a series of tweets by Ramaswamy, he is running for President to revive the ideals that united Americans 250 years ago. He believes that the country has celebrated diversity so much that it has forgotten the values that bind Americans together.

Ramaswamy’s parents were Indian immigrants who moved to the US from Kerala, and he was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in August 1985. He completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard College, majoring in Biology in 2007. Later, he went to Yale Law School to pursue a Doctor of Jurisprudence. While at Harvard, Ramaswamy was the president of the Harvard Political Union and performed “Eminem covers and original free-market-themed rap songs” as his alter ego, Da Vek.

After starting and then selling his technology company in his early 20s, Ramaswamy established Roivant, his pharmaceutical venture that focuses on applying technology to drug development.

In 2015, he was featured on the cover of Forbes magazine, which called him “The 30-Year-Old CEO Conjuring Drug Companies from Thin Air.” Ramaswamy stepped down as the CEO of Roivant Sciences in 2021 and co-founded Strive Asset Management, an Ohio-based asset management firm that was financially backed by billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel and venture capitalist JD Vance, who is also a law school friend of Ramaswamy’s.

Ramaswamy has emerged as a conservative pundit in recent years, especially after his numerous appearances on Fox News. He has been known for criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement, “cultural totalitarianism” enforced by “liberal elites,” mask mandates, and US-border protection.

He also advocates for meritocracy in every field, including immigration. In an interview with The New York Times, he said that if elected as the president, his first action would be to “repeal Executive Order 11246, which has banned discrimination and required affirmative action for federal contractors since 1965.”

What do you think about Ramaswamy’s candidacy for the 2024 Presidential election? Do you think his background as a tech entrepreneur and his conservative views will resonate with voters? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

SMALL SIPS

Rank 4: A new global report ranks India fourth out of 51 countries in terms of having a quality entrepreneurship ecosystem, showing the country’s consistent development in the economic environment over the years.

Apple reveals: Apple has always taken its Watch series seriously, constantly improving it and making it a benchmark. The Apple Watch has several heart health features, including notifications for high and low heart rates, irregular rhythms, and the ability to take an electrocardiogram (ECG). These features provide users with a better understanding of their heart health and actionable insights to improve it. Now health researchers are using Apple Watch to study the heart.

China’s silence: China has been silent over the fate of its Zhurong rover, which is now on Mars. The rover, which is part of China’s Tianwen 1 mission, has gone silent, although there has been no official confirmation of its exact condition. Tianwen 1 is China’s first interplanetary mission, which was completed its mission two years ago on February 10.

Hugs & tears: Tears in their eyes, warm affection and a deep sense of gratitude — this is how emotionally moved Turkish citizens bid farewell to a medical team of the Indian Army when they were departing from Turkiye after rendering humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the quake-ravaged country.

Stands Strong: US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday Ukraine “stands strong” a year after Russia’s invasion and that Moscow would never defeat it, speaking hours after the Kremlin suspended a landmark nuclear arms control treaty over the West’s support for Kyiv.

With CHAI ☕

Ceo: Citigroup lifts CEO Fraser’s 2022 pay to $24.5 mln.

How to: be a social intrapreneur.

Aww: Me after touching a dog.

It’s Interesting: The highest-scoring game in NBA history was on December 13, 1983, when the Detroit Pistons played against the Denver Nuggets. The final score was 186-184 in triple overtime, with the Nuggets coming out on top.

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