“One product that failed because of technical reasons was a jelly product called Gollum. We had to stop it because it wouldn’t store very well.”
Wait. It was called Gollum? After the creature in Lord of the Rings?
Murty laughs. “When we were thinking up of names I threw in that one too. Eventually it was used.”
Murty is a big fan of the fantasy genre of literature. “Well more ‘funny fantasy’ than anything else,” Murty clarifies. So while the Gollum was a brand decision inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s dark world, Murty’s heart lies with Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series of books. When I tell him I haven’t read a single one, his face falls.
While the Gollum was a less-than-successful project, Murty’s other baby, the Temptations series of premium chocolates, was a triumph.
As he takes a rare pause to spread mustard on a crusty piece of garlic bread, I ask him about something he calls his “personal adventure”—Origin Resources, a start-up he launched with some success when he moved to Bangalore in December 2003. Murty figured that Bangalore, with its cost-effectiveness, was a perfect place to try and set up a company. “And I had a healthy appetite for risk. I still do, in fact,” he says.
So, after reaching an amicable agreement with his then employers, who let him work part-time, Murty set up a consulting and training firm that would work with financial companies to train advisors.
The start-up did well and Murty would nurture it through a subsequent stint with Britannia as well. But he finally called it off after he joined EBay India in December 2005, more than a year after the Indian auction site Baazee.com had been acquired and rebranded by EBay. “Many of the early Baazee.com employees still work with us,” Murty explains. “And we still have to ask the local Udipi restaurant to deliver idlis to Baazee!”
Murty is proud of the amicable relationships he maintains with employees and employers, old and new. “I never left a job in bad blood and always got on fabulously with my bosses. I like people. I am good with them,” Murty says with a modest shrug of his shoulders.
These people skills, Murty later explains, are the key to his steep career graph—Murty went from management trainee to country manager in just 11 years. “I trust people to run with projects, and then I manage by walking around,” Murty explains as he makes a little walking man with his fingers on the table. Five minutes with the right person in office, he says, and a couple of good questions reveal much more information than any fancy presentation.
We then talk of how EBay India developed uniquely, as compared to countries abroad. For instance, its fixed-price transactions, without auctions or bidding, were very popular. Murty reckons it is because users are still new to the online trading platform and tend to opt for simple transactions. EBay India also has a unique payment system that was developed locally to make transactions more secure.