Opening the door to new insights

• Want to control costs? Stop trying to, well, control costs. “No billion-dollar company was made by cutting costs,” said Amit Saberwal, founder & CEO of 500-backed hospitality company RedDoorz.
• Amit advises founders to focus on growing revenue instead. “The best defense is a good offense,” he shared, adding that when the gap between revenue and costs widens, the latter automatically diminishes.
• After successfully breaking even in 2022 in both of its key markets – Indonesia and the Philippines – what insights can Amit share with other founders?
• In general, be mindful of what cost optimization measures you take, especially against a temporary winter funding. “You have to give your company a specific goal, and basically a great goal to give is revenue,” he said. 
• Amit shares 4 actionable tips for founders to consider.
• Don’t throw people at processes. He revealed that the right automation systems can reduce non-revenue producing costs by 50% to 70%. They are especially helpful in back-end processes such as customer service, finance, and partner support.
• Outsourcing may not decrease costs. It may be tempting to outsource HR and accounting roles to reduce manpower costs, but it can be costly. Founders can also consider automation in this case.
• Disciplined experimentation helps. “If you don’t experiment, next year and the year after next gets impacted,” Amit said. That said, founders should focus on their core business as it would bring in 80% of the revenue.
• Don’t slash too deep. “If you cut the soul of the company, it is very difficult to rebuild,” he warned, noting that laying off too many staff during tough times can come at the cost of the firm’s future growth.
• Read the full interview on Tech in Asia.