I have always believed in one thing very strongly:
If people have helped you build something, and you are growing, they should grow too.
That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone has to stay with you forever.
People move on. Companies change. Roles disappear. Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is not keep them with you, but help them find their next opportunity.
I’ve never wanted to be the founder who stops someone from outgrowing me. If someone working with me can get a better opportunity, make more money, learn more, or build a better life, I would rather be the person enabling that growth.
And recently, I got a chance to actually live by that belief.
The acquisition changed things
BeHooked recently got acquired.
Obviously, with an acquisition comes restructuring. The acquiring company already had people doing some of the roles that existed inside BeHooked, so they didn’t need our entire team to move over.
Thankfully, this affected only two people from our side.
But to me, that didn’t mean:
“Okay, acquisition is done. Not my problem anymore.”
These were people who had worked with us while we were building the company.
So I felt responsible for trying my best to make sure they landed somewhere good.
Not because there was a contract forcing me to.
Just because it felt like the right thing to do.
Meet Nizam
One of those people was Nizam.
Nizam had been working with us for around five or six months as a video editor.
He lives somewhere in Odisha, far away from where most of our team operates, and he’s genuinely one of those guys who doesn’t realise how good he actually is.
He’s super underconfident about his editing.
And I would constantly be like:
Bro, you edit really fucking well.
Give him something and he’ll figure it out.
AI videos. Reels. Talking-head content. Different editing styles. Random shit we needed at BeHooked.
He would somehow make it work.
He is simply a really good guy who happens to also be a really good editor.
When the acquisition happened, Pawas told me they wouldn’t need another video editor because they already had editors internally.
Which meant Nizam was going to lose his job.
And that didn’t sit well with me.
So I started making calls
I thought, okay.
I know people.
I’ve spent years building relationships with creators, founders, agencies and companies.
This is exactly what a network should be useful for.
Not just getting yourself opportunities.
Sometimes it should help you create opportunities for other people.
So I made a few calls.
Sent a few messages.
Recommended him personally.
And within basically a day, we managed to place Nizam with the team at Finance With Sharan.
And the craziest part?
He got more than a 100% hike on what he was making with us.
The dude was potentially going to lose his job and instead ended up doubling his salary.
All within a day.
That’s fucking cool.
Then he posted this
Later, Nizam put up a story on his Close Friends.
I saw it.
And I’m not going to lie, I had a few tears in my eyes.
Building companies is usually portrayed through funding announcements, revenue numbers, acquisitions, launches, LinkedIn posts and all the big flashy milestones.
But sometimes the moments that make you feel the proudest are extremely small.
Seeing one guy who worked with you feel like his life just moved forward because you could make one phone call for him hits differently.
I was genuinely so damn happy.
Not because I got him a job.
But because someone who took a bet on working with us ended up leaving the company in a better position than when he entered it.
I think that’s how it should be.
Your network shouldn’t only work for you
We talk so much about “building a network.”
Usually in the context of:
How can this person help me?
Can they introduce me to an investor?
Can they give me business?
Can they help my startup?
But a network becomes much more meaningful when you can use it for someone else.
One introduction from you might mean nothing.
For another person, it could double their income.
Change their career.
Or remove an enormous amount of stress from their life.
That’s probably one of the coolest forms of leverage you can build.
Take your people forward with you
I’m still extremely early in my career.
I’m still figuring out what being a good founder, leader or manager even means.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes while building companies and managing people.
But this is one principle I want to carry with me wherever I go:
Take care of people who helped you build.
You won’t always be able to keep everyone.
You won’t always be able to give everyone the raise they deserve.
And sometimes business circumstances genuinely force you to part ways.
But that doesn’t mean your responsibility as a human being has to end the second someone’s payroll stops.
Make the introduction.
Write the recommendation.
Call the founder you know.
Put your reputation behind someone who deserves it.
If you’re moving forward, try pulling a few good people forward with you.
Because sometimes the best thing you build isn’t the company.
It’s what happens to the people who helped you build it.