Episode Summary
Asesh Sarkar is helping transform the way people control their personal finances, at a time when this kind of service has never been more important. Discover key insights from Asesh relating to leadership, financial responsibility, and inclusive capitalism.
Episode Notes
Defeating the Personal Debt Trap (ft. Asesh Sarkar)
Asesh Sarkar is changing the way employers and employees handle salary
OPENING QUOTE:
Just like when I joined the workforce as a grad and I had a great experience, making sure that people who join us have a great experience, as well. So yeah, it’s quite the journey, and then one we’re very much still on and learning every day.
—Asesh Sarkar
GUEST BIO:
Asesh Sarkar is the Global CEO and Co-founder of Salary Finance. Salary Finance is a fast-growing FinTech company which enables employees to receive wage advances to help them pay off their debts faster and save towards their financial goals, operating in both the UK and US. It’s been featured twice by Forbes as one of the leading socially responsible startups and as one of the five fast-growing businesses to watch. It’s also already become a Harvard case study. Across the UK and US, Salary Finance is used by 500 top employers and available to around 4 million people.
CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:
[4:38] –Four Things Great Leaders & Bosses Do
Lessons from Asesh’s first great mentor
Asesh recounts the boss who played the role of a coach in his early career, providing him with four key gifts— autonomy, a listening ear, the feeling of being valued, and flexibility. With these four tools, a coach gives a person much more than any domineering, hard-charging boss could ever provide.
[17:42] – The Model of Reciprocation
You don’t have to be an extrovert to thrive
If you genuinely go out and show other people that you are interested in helping them, you don’t have to be an extrovert to thrive in business. If somebody reaches out to help you, and you are happy to help them, it’s often as simple as that. Build authentic trust-based relationships where people know that you are not just in it for a transactional benefit, and your reputation will reflect that. Meanwhile, people that have a history of transactional-based interactions get a reputation for having transactional-based interactions. The number of people who genuinely want to work with them declines over time.
[28:31] – Combining Social Intent with Business Acumen
Asesh’s formula for impact
Asesh shares his vision for an organization with the greatest positive role in the world: the best talent working on problems which can make a real impact in society, combined with a commercial model which means it is commercially scalable and can raise capital to do it at a big, big scale. This idea of business with social purpose is what inspired him to go all-in on Salary Finance.
[50:12] – Asesh’s Message to Leaders
Learning to cut the line
There’s always more work than there is time in the day. It’s rarely a bad decision to cut the line and stop work time a bit further, then use that extra time to spend with colleagues and form human relationships. It makes you better, it makes them better, and everyone performs better as a result. Focus on relationships and watch performance soar.
RESOURCES:
- [0:53] About Salary Finance
- [26:21] “Serve to Lead”
- [37:37] About inclusive capitalism
- [48:00] About MyBnk
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