Physical gift cards are so 2017. As the CEO of Giftbomb, Sai Bezawada has helped bring surprise gifting to the Minnesota masses with an easy-to-use app. Just select your local business, choose the recipient and dollar amount and boom — your new best friend gets a text with personalized gift card (that they’ll hopefully then share with you). Fried rice, challenges with team rhythm, and a very no-nonsense iPhone background — this is A Workday With Sai Bezawada.
Tell us a little about your background and how you got to where you are today.
I’m always curious about people and life in general, and that curiosity lead me to pursue diverse interests across continents. I pursued an accounting degree growing up in India, went to hospitality school in Switzerland, came to Northern Minnesota as a resort housekeeping intern, helped lead and expand the resort company, quit that role, and started another business to fund our current company, Giftbomb!
I have always kept an open mind to life and seeing where it takes me, so it seems like a fun game….for the most part 🙂
What time do you rise and shine?
Really depends on when I get to bed. As early as 5:30 and as late as 7 over the past few weeks.
What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Tea or coffee.
What’s the first work-related task you tackle each morning?
Review daily tasks and priorities.
What is your workspace setup?
A plastic four-foot desk and a chair. Mac laptop, note pads, random marketing collateral, pictures of family, and a balloon!
What’s the most interesting/fun/meaningful thing on your desk?
Buddha Doodles.
What’s one piece of tech you can’t live without?
Hard to decide between laptop and phone.
What do you need to get done before lunch to feel like you had a productive morning?
Completing or making progress on the most important task for that day.
What are you listening to these days?
Various Spotify playlists, Chill EDM, Classical Indian fusion, Sanskrit hymns.
What is your current TV obsession?
I don’t have TV.
What’s the last movie you saw and what would you rate it (out of five stars)?
I can’t remember. It was on a plane journey to India
What book would we find on your nightstand?
A stack of them waiting to be read.
Cats or dogs?
I love animals but don’t have any. I do have an orchid plant! 🙂
What are you currently rockin’ as your phone background?
The best part about living in Minnesota is…
Clean air and beautiful outdoors! Big-city feel in a small-city setting!
How do you fend off the post-lunch lull?
No lulls unless I eat a ton of fried rice for lunch! :/
What do you use to stay organized during a hectic day?
Timers and note pads.
What’s a recent work-related challenge you had to conquer? Walk us through your process.
There are always challenges to solve. A recent one for us has been finding rhythm within the team and freelancers we work with. It’s a new type of work environment for all of us. So, we decided we had to be focused and prepared for every interaction. Got each meeting organized better, took better notes, used various tools to help communication and efficiency, etc.
What’s one thing everyone could do to be more productive?
I think everyone has different ways. For me, it’s taking time to really breathe!
What’s the last work-related thing you do every day?
Usually emails.
How do you decompress at the end of a long workday?
A mix of walks, stretches, and quick workouts.
What time do you usually hit the hay?
11:30 p.m. – midnight.
If there’s a community thought leader or founder who you’d like to see featured in our “A Workday With…” series, contact us on Twitter @TECHdotMN or email info@tech.mn with the subject line “A Workday With… Submission.”
