“e-Commerce is all about creating an awesome user experience” says BookmyShow VP Marzdi Kalianiwala

BookMyShow has changed the concept of buying movie tickets in India. “Mood Kiya, Book Kiya” – says its popular TV ad. A part of Big Tree Entertainment, India’s largest ticket-selling portal boasts a customer-base of about 1.5 million.

BookMyShow currently has an employee strength of about 400. The e-commerce firm plans to hire an additional 200-300 people over the current year, a majority of which will be in the tech departments.

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To understand the current trends in e-commerce industry, we decided to talk to Marzdi Kalianiwala, head of Business Intelligence arm at BookMyShow. He oversees the Marketing, CRM & Analytics departments. He’s been integral in BookMyShow’s “Mood Kiya, Book Kiya” advertising campaign.

Marzdi completed his MBA along three co-founders of BookMyShow – Ashish Hemrajani, Parikshit Dar and Rajesh Balpande – at Sydenham College, Mumbai.

He spent eight years at Accenture, working across a range of industries like Oil & Gas, Banking, Technology and E-commerce helping clients develop market entry strategies helping them improve their supply chains. During his time there, he also built expertise in CRM competencies, to better manage his clientele’s distribution chains. He has also worked with The Jasani Group (India’s largest Diamond merchants) and Lodha Capital Markets (Investment Banker).

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Marzdi is also a National Snooker Champion, winning the U-21 Snooker Nationals in Bangalore 2003.

Here’s Marzi discussing e-commerce industry and hiring trends with Shiksha.com:

 

Take 5 Questions:

 

Question: What are the skills one needs to join the e-commerce industry? Does BookMyShow look for some specific skill while hiring?

Marzdi Kalianiwala: We at BookMyShow are looking for people who are self-driven, passionate about what they do and most importantly risk-takers, who are not scared to fail but eager to learn.

Someone who understands our end users, (whether he/she is a Product Manager, a UX designer or a Contact centre agent) and have the passion to translate it into a world class user experience.

Being a young organisation and considering the workplace as an extension of our family we look for individuals who have positive vibes, are honest, has a sense of judgement and are self-driven and not afraid to try at least one new thing every day. They also need to have a keen eye for detail, passion for whatever they do and a strong desire to excel at every level.

 

 

 

Question: Based on what criteria does the entire industry hire people?

Marzdi Kalianiwala: The overall e-commerce industry works on one principal which is creating an awesome user experience. Therefore, the one common quality which the industry would seek in talents would be those who always strive to get new ideas and use technology to create a great user experience for all its customers.

 

 

Question: Which are the top five institutes that students should consider for their studies/training before joining this industry?

Marzdi Kalianiwala: We feel that while students are considering pursuing higher studies there are a few things which they need to keep in mind:

a)      The course or the specialisation which they want to pursue which fit with their career goals rather than just following what their peers are selecting

b)      Conducting a thorough research on the colleges which they short list; like (faculty, curriculum, placement, industry exposure) to name a few

c)       If they are sure of a particular career route, then they should pursue a specialised course rather than just choosing a generic degree

 

 

 

Question: Things you wish you knew about the e-commerce industry as a student?

Marzdi Kalianiwala: eCommerce was a very unheard concept at least in India when I was studying. Even in the US players like Amazon and eBay were only just establishing themselves hence at that time it would have been very difficult to form any strong opinions on this area.

 

 

Question: Tell us about the career progression and what kind of packages students can expect in the e-commerce industry? (Junior, mid and senior levels).

Marzdi Kalianiwala: Gone are the days when one needs to visit a local brick and mortar store for buying. The e- commerce industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the current economy. Online selling & buying has established well in India with a growing need of more qualified professionals. With the right skill sets and right attitude the students will have an immense growing opportunity in the e-commerce industry.

Some generic high growth areas would be Product Management, Engineering, Design, Supply Chain, Merchandising, Talent Management, etc. While specific focus areas would differ for each company depending on its business model, these would be the most common.

 

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