For the average person, multitasking is a complex challenge that leads to chaos and poor results. This is because most of us work more effectively when we narrow our lens to one specific task or goal, giving it a strong and uninterrupted focus. As a result, this is often the way that we approach system building as well - dialing in on one single component, working it to perfection in an isolated bubble and then attempting to fit that isolated piece into the real world. While this is an excellent approach for developing highly specialized tools and techniques, it can create huge challenges when that base component has to integrate into a larger web of elements or when a base system must scale up to meet a larger network.
For someone like Rahul Asati, taking a step back to see the big picture, in order to streamline and consolidate, comes very naturally. This unique ability, alongside his expertise in complex software technology, has taken him to the top of his field as a leader of all-in-one-systems for big business.
Zenefits Benefits from Mr. Asati
Rahul Asati began his career in finance - working in D.E.Shaw, a hedge fund, in his home country of India, he was writing algorithms to price asset-backed securities and identifying non-performing loans using data analysis. After five very long years, he was incredibly bored of crunching endless numbers and hoped to find more customer-facing work. Luckily, it was at that moment that he received a call from an old manager asking him to be a part of an exciting new startup called Zenefits, based in San Francisco, CA.
Rahul was the fourth engineer on the team at Zenefits, and when he joined the company they only had a couple of customers and around $15M of funding. Zenefits was the first of its kind cloud-based software solution in HR, payroll, and benefits. Mr. Asati designed, architected, and built the infrastructure for their award-winning People Ops Platform. All-in-one systems, such as this, are complex software systems that cover all aspects of a given domain by taking point solutions and integrating them seamlessly together. Different products can communicate with each other, share data and react to changes. This allows for greater ease of automation, and allows a small business to scale its growth without having to rebuild the business model.
During his time with the company, Zenefits encountered a substantial issue as their customer support cost ballooned to a staggering 35% of their revenues. Thankfully, Mr. Asati came up with an initiative and led a team to automate customer support operations. His team worked across the product and engineering organization to optimize products in order to reduce customer support cases. This saved Zenefits thousands of hours per month in support costs and resulted in millions of dollars worth of savings in time, costs, and labor in operations.
Zenefits was incredibly successful and within his four years there, Rahul managed the team that help generate more than $30M in annual revenue. Furthermore, by the time he left the company in 2017, it had reached a valuation of $2B and his products were being used by thousands of companies around the world.
Glide - Smooth Sailing with Mr. Asati
Similar to his experience at Zenefits, Rahul Asati was the second employee at Glide and was brought on as the Director of Engineering. Once again, his ability to integrate varied tools and products together for an all-in-one-system was crucial.
With his team, Mr. Asati built and implemented an all-in-one platform for the real estate industry. Glide offers free tools for agents, brokers, & teams to streamline their transactions. The system coordinates all steps in the real estate process on one platform, from allowing clients to fill out their disclosure forms, to ordering NHD reports and even comparing various offers - it is a one stop shop.
Rahul's big picture approach took the company even further. He worked tirelessly to establish essential relationships with multiple MLS systems and National and State Associations for real-estate, which proved vital to Glide's business. Once again, he found a way to create even deeper integration of the point solutions.
Over the five years that he has spent with the company, Rahul not only built but also led almost all revenue-generating products, taking Glide to $3M in annual revenue. Glide gained such great value from his efforts that they were acquired by Compass Inc in May of 2021.
Rahul Asati has made a great name for himself in an industry that is becoming even more essential with the effects of globalization. He has a keen ability to see the interweb that connects seemingly separate pieces and a unique talent to create software that brings the pieces together. Only time will tell us what his next stroke of genius will create.
