Beyond Reach, Episode 1: Harjot Saluja on Building Reach, Brick by Brick
We are kicking off a new series called Beyond Reach, a set of conversations with the people shaping Reach. The goal is to go past the product updates and into the decisions, the risks, and the habits behind the work.
For the first episode, we sat down with our Founder and CEO, Harjot Saluja. We talked about what Reach actually is, why he would build it the same way again, what keeps him up at night (spoiler: not the business), and what he would do if it all went back to zero tomorrow.
What is Reach, in plain terms?
Reach is a technology company. There is a big shift happening in the U.S. mobile market, where people are buying mobile service from companies other than the major carriers. The large ISPs like Comcast and Spectrum started that trend by bundling mobile with internet, their new triple play. But they spent millions of dollars to do it, and not everyone can.
Plenty of other providers and brands want to move in the same direction. Reach is the platform that lets any company launch its own mobile brand without spending millions, or even thousands. They can go to market fast and still have a great product. Think of us as the Shopify of telecom. We started in the ISP vertical, and now we support retail, fintech, affinity brands, and more.
Did you always want to build something, or did you fall into it?
I am wired to build from the ground up. It is very hard to just fall into a startup. As fun as they sound, they are hard work. In some ways it is like watching paint dry, because you do not make progress fast. It takes time. It is brick by brick. I did not fall into it. I drove in that direction, and I would do it all over again.
What problem were you originally trying to solve?
The clean story would be that we saw something broken and fixed it, but honestly this fell into our lap a little. We set out to build a consumer mobile brand that was cool and digital. As we went to market, we saw a much bigger need: all these companies wanted to offer mobile and could not. At the time, only very large players could do it. It reminds me of Shopify. They started because selling snowboards online was too hard, then realized they could make it easy for everyone. Once we saw that, we said this should not be only for the big guys. Today, we can enable almost anyone to go into this business. They still have to figure out selling and distribution, which is not easy, but we have solved the rest.
Were you scared when you started?
Not really. I do not have the kind of personality that carries a lot of anxiety. The worst case was that it did not work out. But if I did not try, it was not going to work out anyway, so what was there to lose. It is like an underdog going up against Argentina. You have nothing to lose. When you walk into a new country with $250, you are not scared of much.
Everyone is launching something in telecom. What makes Reach different?
It is pretty clear in the industry that we lead the category we focus on. Telecom is enormous. Everyone has a phone, often before they buy anything else. There is room for many innovators, and we are leading one very large space within it.
Almost six years in, what actually keeps you up at night?
There is always risk in business. You think about whether it will grow fast enough, at the right pace, with the right return. I think about those things, but they do not keep me up at night. Honestly, nothing about the business does. We live in this enormous universe, with mountain ranges and everything else around us. No single business problem really compares to that.
If it all went back to zero tomorrow, what would you do next?
Starting something new is in my DNA, so it would be in that direction. Telecom again or something completely different, I do not know. I am getting older, not younger, and I believe strongly in giving back, so whatever is next would probably be in the nonprofit world.
You have teams in Mohali, the U.S., and Bangalore. How do you keep everything connected?
We live in a connected world, so reaching people is the easy part. I get up early and I have a routine. Location makes it harder, but it comes down to intent. If you have the intent, the rest is excuses. I do wish I were physically closer sometimes, so I am traveling more to our locations. Part of that is business, and part is family. Mohali is where I was born, so it gives me another reason to come back.
You do a lot of one-on-ones. Do people actually tell you the truth?
That is a hard one. I think most people open up to me. There are probably pockets where they do not, but I do not think I come across as intimidating. I have a pretty friendly style. Even back in college, people told me I could herd cats.
What does Harjot look like outside of work?
I am an avid runner, four or five days a week, plus workouts. I love nature and biking. And I spend a lot of time with my kids, my family, and my parents, because there is no substitute for that. My life outside work is fairly simple and repetitive, and I do not get bored by that. I find repetition meditative.
What have you had to sacrifice to build this?
People love to talk about everything they sacrificed, but I do not really feel that way. I did exactly what I wanted to do, and I would take the same path again. If I had to name one thing, it is some of the time away from my kids when I travel. But even that can be healthy, because they get to watch their parents build something from the ground up. My dad passed away last year, and one regret I do not have is time with him. I spent as much as I possibly could.
Rapid fire
Coffee or tea? Coffee.
How much do you sleep? Seven hours a night.
Most-used emoji at work? Smiley face. And I do not even use the emoji, I type it old school with the colon and bracket.
The richest you have ever felt? I do not really feel the need to feel richest.
The best part of my job is... The people I work with.
Watch the full conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fzbSv-zvjc
Want to learn more about Reach? Visit www.reachplatform.com