Ashish Hemrajani has clicked his way to internet history with his ticket bookings website, BookMyShow. Founded in 1999, the engine sells more than a million tickets a month, today. His journey has been anything but smooth though. Hemrajani has survived two rocky business phases, and routinely lives through insanse peaks—like the IPL or F1 seasons. His ability to ride these waves isn’t due to quantified benchmarks. His productivity philosophy is simpler—say no to seemingly-tempting deals and the urge to always be connected.

I find it extremely unproductive to always be available and networked—something people believe entrepreneurs must be."

In high-growth companies, there are a lot of things that come your way. Employees, investors, advisors and other companies might want you to do new things. I believe in the art of saying no to what you shouldn’t do, can't do, or would not do. As a company, this art of saying no has evolved for us. Earlier, we’d go ahead and do a lot of things. Now, I’m on the border of being a recluse, and either don’t respond or politely decline many requests. Some people might even find me abrasive. But, really, I’m not rude. I’m just very transparent because it’s better to be direct and honest. You don’t get a lot of honest answers in India. It’s a very Southeast Asia thing; people don’t know how to say no. Either they don’t want to lose face, or don’t want to answer an e-mail and be honest to say something doesn’t work for them. 

Saying no isn’t enough though—you’ve got to live by those decisions because sometimes things you don’t agree to do can turn out to be huge partnerships and alliances for somebody else in your industry. Over the years, so many people have told us that online travel is a big segment, and since we already have a booking engine, we should get into it. But we’ve maintained that we wouldn’t do it because that’s not our focus. 

Similarly, I find it extremely unproductive to always be available and networked—something people believe entrepreneurs must be. For example, I get invited to several events and talks on entrepreneurship. Apart from invitations by colleges and schools, where I try and attend a session they’ve asked me to take, I don’t like being a talking head. I just refuse to go for those business conferences where people register and pay money, and I’m one of the speakers. I don’t understand—why and how much should you network? What does it do for you? Honestly, I  want to get rid of my cell phone at some time. Why does the company need me to have it? When I’m not travelling, I’m in office, and can be reached on the phone here. If I’m not in office, I’m at home. When I travel, I will carry the phone. Recently, I jumped off the Facebook bandwagon by deactivating my account. It’s been amazing, a huge relief. There’s just too much information and interaction out there. I don’t want so much around me. I like that my life is pretty boring. Actually, if somebody had to murder me, they’d find it very easy. On weekdays, I’m at office, then at the gym, and then I’m at home, that’s it. On weekends, I’m at the yacht club in the afternoons, at Cafe Mondegar in the evening, at the Yacht Club Bar after that, and finish with dinner at the Goodside Inn. I don’t see the reason for change. It’s like clockwork, and it's possible because I can say no.