The Zing Thing

Driven, hard-working and unafraid of failure, the youngest, social-media savvy generation, or Gen Z, is redefining work and workplaces

- Varsha Meghani

I employ people who are education-less, brainless and of zero quality,” says Sidhanto Saha. “I’m dead serious,” he adds.

After failing his exams while pursuing journalism at Manipal University, the now-23-year old entrepreneur decided to take a break. “I was totally depressed and didn’t know what to do,” he recalls.

Back home in Ahmedabad, Saha freelanced with a content writing agency for a few months while simultaneously studying for his exams. He passed eventually, but his heart wasn’t quite there. “Working for others sucks,” he offers. “I needed my freedom.”

Two years ago, he set up Kosho’s Hotdogs, a cloud kitchen at his home city that delivers the American fast food staple to consumers via Swiggy and Zomato. They were one of a kind in Gujarat, says Saha, offering a variety of hot dogs from 7 pm to 7 am. With initial funding from his father, Kosho’s now rakes in ₹4.5 lakh a month, fulfilling about 40 orders a day.

Saha talks excitedly about the learning curve being “steep but fun”, and how he would never have learnt as much—and as fast—had he taken the more routine, professional route. But what’s with the hiring policy? It goes against all conventional recruiting wisdom. “It’s about giving them [those at the bottom of the pyramid] a chance. If they are willing to work hard and learn, we will hire them, train them and give them a sense of purpose,” says Saha, with the air of a seasoned entrepreneur.

Saha is an example of Generation Z—the post-millennial cohort roughly between the ages of 18 and 24 (descriptions vary among experts) that is new to the workforce. Sure enough, Saha ticks all the boxes that experts talk of when it comes to Gen Z’s characteristics and workplace motivations.