Chapter 1: How I got introduced to Frappe

The world had just opened up post-Covid when I and one of my friends decided to go on a hike to Karnala Fort near Mumbai. The mesmerising valley view of the Bombay-Goa Highway from the summit leads us into some deep discussions on what, where, and how’s of life.

I had been working with my dad for a year and had a brief corporate exposure. One thing I was sure of was that I wanted to not just help one business but be a part of a lot. Apart from this, I was clueless about what to do. Maybe an MBA?

Yes, but I wasn’t fond of any masters. I believed in practical knowledge without even knowing what an MBA could have taught me. And this is when my friend asked me - “Why don’t you try Frappe?”. Become a Barista? Haha, no. He explained to me what exactly Frappe is and the culture it follows. The “Free and Democratic” Private Limited operates out of Mumbai. And of course, about ERPNext. This got me interested in knowing more about the company’s culture and products.

Note: The culture is what gives a chance to each individual to be the owner of their work.

ERP - Enterprise resource planning, a tool that helps businesses operate their physical processes using a digital platform. This is my MBA. This is the learning, this is how I could try out “helping multiple businesses” and creating those impacts.

Chapter 2: ERPNext, consultancy, understanding Frappe, moving out of Mumbai

4th January 2021, the date on which I joined an organisation that is changing the world - Frappe. I felt like swimming in the ocean without knowing how to float. But I wanted to learn fast, learn how to do those strokes.

Taking advantage of all the knowledge and mentors available around, I began my journey of “An MBA at Frappe”. Our daily conversations looked like -

“Okay, let’s run the procurement cycle to manufacture the iPhone 13. 🤣”
“Let’s buy crores worth of raw materials to build those buildings. 🚀”
“Create a notification every time a customer forgets to pay on time. 🤯”

Soon, breaking my fear of accounting and advancing in the examination, I made it to the list of certified ERPNext consultants, opening my doors to the customers waiting to hear from me.

While the prospect seems exciting, the first experience is invariably daunting. Providing advice on solutions that will have a tangible real-world impact can be nerve-wracking. But that doesn’t mean it ends there. This is when the motivation kicks in to get things done, to take the leap of faith. And how did it go? Crazy year filled with projects worth thousands to lakhs and beyond.

Nothing mattered more than receiving messages from customers/friends, mentioning how a particular solution helped them solve a problem. Those were the nights of peaceful sleep that fuelled my drive to become better every day.

This is how my love story started with the tech of Frappe. As Frappe continued to provide consultation services, I led a team named - “Coffee Bean” (Frappe and Coffee Bean 😉) to cater to international clients, and also to add the essence of exploration to the daily work.

While things were developing on the consulting side, I also decided to move to Bangalore for a year to take advantage of remote working and learn how to travel and work.

P.S. Once I shifted to Surat to learn horse riding.

Chapter 3: Product love-story and Frappeverse

Freedom and curiosity are the two important factors that help in exploring unexplored territory. At Frappe, I was introduced to 'Freedom at Work’ for the first time. Unlike my previous organization, where I was asked not to be creative and just complete my work, Frappe appreciates creativity. It brings in better ways of doing work, and at times, something beyond your ‘daily work’.

While exploring some of the coolest features of the Framework, I tried learning to hack the system using some basic Python code lines just before going to sleep. I was flabbergasted that I re-discovered automation. Eureka! How you click a button and something happens, for me that was it. I tried to build that something step by step and thought that I had nailed it.

At the same time, Frappe’s conference was scheduled for November 2021. I wanted to showcase my newly learned skills. But to my surprise, or maybe I expected it, my talk was rejected.

Fast forward, after a year of not stopping to learn and implement some of the automation, I presented at the Frappe Conference in 2022. The talk received the most views on YouTube. Hacking ERPNext.

By the way, I had no clue what I wanted to present. Rushabh and Faris guided me to identify this.

To add to this journey of events, I was glad to host the community at Frappeverse 2023 and Frappe Build 2024.

Chapter 4: Building Frappe Europe; adding travel to work.

Talking about work, at Frappe there is a phrase - “Choose your own __”.

Choose your own pay, choose your own time, choose your own work.

Working with clients across the globe for almost a year made me question myself: “Can I get to talk to more customers, can I help grow the market”?
The only answer to these questions was to move to the team which does the work of talking to prospects and guiding them to evaluate our products. Sales team.

Genuine sales are tough, and asking someone to trust you with their money is tougher. I was scared of it. When organisations trust you with their money, you are responsible for delivering high-quality products and services. Not only did I want to help Frappe build the market but also remove this fear of sales from within me.

It all started with addressing queries and talking to prospects from all over Europe. I believe in having a product-first approach and knowledge. This helped me understand clients at the problem level and how we could help them solve it. From my first enterprise sales call which was taken from the mountains of Himachal (Rishikesh) two years back, up till today, it has been a great journey.

Covid changed us all. Google Meet and Zoom became popular. And even after the atmosphere became normal, we continued working and taking calls from our devices, without making ourselves uncomfortable. This is when things changed, this is when I embraced my wanderer trait. Adding the magic of work travel.

I feel that in-person connection is an important element in business, and also in humans. To make this work, I planned a 69-day trip across 50+ cities in Europe.

Got the visa, sipped my coffee, took the blessings from my parents, flipped my rucksack onto my shoulders, and hit the road. (Listen to the talk here)

If I was asked to describe this mathematically, it would be: Travel + Work = Culture, people, learning, better relationships, trust.

This would not have been possible without the freedom and the will to be an entrepreneur. This was my reason to work, try to be impactful, and bring changes (small or big) in the lives of people I interact with.

Chapter 5: Entrepreneurship at Frappe

I always wanted to run a business. Take control of things I want to do or things I like. My initial plan was to work for a few months, learn, and start something of my own.

At Frappe, I felt everything was my own. Decisions, work, time, control, and the ability to freely speak. Even the salary was decided by me based on the work I have done or want to do. To be honest, I never thought I would be able to complete 3 years.

But this has been the best decision of my journey called life. I mockingly say that “Frappe has spoiled us” by providing us with a culture no other company could think of.

To build a great company, you also need great people, and people who believe in the importance of feedback. Lucky to have some of the best people available to help and provide feedback which helped me grow immensely. Especially, the person who is behind this culture - Rushabh Mehta.

When you become a part of Frappe, you not only become a part of the tech but also a part of our culture.