Workplace friendships are super underrated. Now ofcourse, depends on what culture those friendships are made in. I really got lucky joining Stoa to find people with no malice or politics in their hearts. Today when I build Zen Barefoot, these are the people who suggest ideas, help me implement them, course correct when I am all over the place, and just act as a constant source of inspiration and energy. The amount of confidence I have to say "Karke dekhte hain, dekh lenge" comes from the fact that I know I have these10-15 folks behind me in case things don't go as expected. I think the mantra to a good friendship is to treat it like a friendship with no expectations, with no ROI in mind. The paradox - these will be the highest ROI friendships in life. (Atleast that's what my experience has been.) With Zen Barefoot, we don't just want to make shoes and be done with it. We really want to drive change in how people live more consciously, with themselves, the world and also the people around them. Still figuring how we can enable more of the latter through our design process. Will get there sooner than later.
You’ve highlighted something most founders overlook. Culture compounds faster than capital when the foundation is built on genuine trust. The same energy that fuels authentic friendships is what later drives creative resilience in startups. Teams built on emotional safety outperform those built on incentives every single time.
Founder@Zen Barefoot
1dwww.zenbarefoot.com