‘Class 9 pass, no English’: Hyderabad founder hires taxi driver as first employee

Rather than expecting immediate results, the company invested in his growth. He was enrolled in spoken English classes, given meaningful responsibilities, and encouraged to take ownership of important work.

“We enrolled him in spoken English classes. We gave him real, contributing, and impactful work. We treated him like someone who was going to grow, because we genuinely believed he would. He didn’t just grow. He flew,” Gajula said.

Ten years later, that same employee now leads procurement for the company, handling operations across India. For Gajula, the journey reflects what a people-first workplace truly looks like.

“People talk a lot about culture. About values. About people-first companies. But in practice, it looks like hiring someone the world would have overlooked. It looks like investing in them before they’re ‘ready’. It looks like giving them a seat at the table, and then watching them own the room,” he added.

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Ending his post with a message for fellow founders and leaders, he wrote, “That’s it. That was our only job. If you’re a founder or a leader reading this, your team will become who you believe them to be. Believe bigger.”

The post quickly gained traction on LinkedIn, with users praising the founder for recognising potential instead of judging candidates by their resumes.

“This is what backing potential actually looks like. Everyone talks about hiring for talent, very few are willing to invest before it’s visible. Glad you trusted your instinct,” one person commented.

Another user, identifying themselves as an HR professional, wrote, “As an HR, this really inspired me. Thank you for making me believe that founders can trust and stand by their loyal employees. Today, many companies hire people only to meet a requirement and let them go once that requirement is over. Thank you for proving that not every company is like that.”

“The best hires don’t always have the strongest resumes. Sometimes, qualities like integrity, curiosity, and willingness to learn outperform experience. Great leaders don’t just hire for potential- they invest in it until it becomes performance,” another comment read.

A fourth user added, “Skills can be developed, but integrity, ownership and the willingness to learn are much harder to teach. Backing those qualities often creates remarkable long-term outcomes.”