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No road is long with great company! Celebrating 5 years at DesignAnswers – Sneha Sara Jacob

Every start-up tale comes with hustling day and night. You are constantly running a race with fewer resources and mostly fire-fighting deadlines. I love this hustle, which is why I've always preferred working in start-ups. As I believe it offers you a bigger window of opportunity, lets you truly find your strengths, and builds you as you aren't restricted to a defined job role.

I distinctively remember my first day at DesignAnswers; I knew it would be a whirlwind but wasn't sure if I'd make it through the storm. In a week, I found myself automatically getting things done, talking to clients, briefing the team, and as each day unfolded, my game point got stronger. Every time I closed a project or got a new one, I'd be on cloud nine.

Today as we get new business, create new partnerships, expand our area of expertise, my level of excitement has only increased. I'd like to raise a toast to my leaders, as they have nurtured me well and, to date, push me to explore my capabilities and grow with the organization. Right from the start, they have trusted me with everything I do, ensured I was part of every possible discussion or decision, heard me out, let me take the lead, manage every other bit of the organization, and expand my skillset! They have been through all my highs and lows and have constantly ensured my spirits were on point. You know you're in the right place if you love your workplace, your leaders, and most importantly, whatever you do!

The 'ONE' thing that I picked up from this experience was my perspective on life, how there's an element of design that compliments usage in the smallest of things. This made me appreciate everything that has ever been made in this world, small or big, product or service. Think about it; it's mind-boggling!

What I love about DesignAnswers and the reason for me to show up every day is the sheer amount of love, communication, and collaboration I have with my team and leaders. I'd say this is one of the best places I have grown and settled in my tenure.

When Covid 19 struck, every day was a challenge - managing people remotely, ensuring clients don't pull the plug, getting payments on time to avoid salary cuts, and so on. However, we focused on getting the team accustomed to this new working module.

It's been 1.5 years since working from home, and today I can confidently say we have it all under control. Together we perfected a work schedule that lets each team member take the lead of their tasks and get going with the day—just another way to spruce up each one's confidence level! Although we miss hanging out with each other, we find ways to connect every day.

Today we turn 5, and being a part of the leadership team; I'm grateful to have played a role in this ever-evolving design studio. From being an Account Manager to Group Head, from a team of 5 to 30, from 10 to 30+ clients and after one award, I can safely say this is where I'd stay to evolve every day, build the dream team, be the saving grace for all the biggies and the small ones of course and break the walls of challenges.

And with every great thing achieved, we'd like to stay humble and not stumble and do our bit for society during these challenging times. This year, our focus is to build a charity fund to help the underprivileged fighting Covid 19. The plan is still under construction, so pooling out the details is not the most ideal thing I should do on a public forum. Still, an overview of the project plan is to set aside a percentage of every project payment we receive to build the foundation and give back to our community. So, if you plan to sign us up for work, you'd be indirectly doing your bit for society.

Hell yes! To many more years for DesignAnswers.

(We got this information in a press release).

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