– By Sudipto Roy
If you’ve built businesses across geographies, you’ll know this:
In the West, Dec 31feels like fairy lights,polite optimism, and “Let’s circle back in Jan.”
In India, Mar31 feels like Excel sheets sweating,CFOs not taking calls, and the last over of a World Cup final.Same concept.Very different adrenaline.
1. In the West,
Yr-End Is a Curtain Call In India, FY-End Is a Closing Bell Dec closes like a theatre lowering its curtains after applause. Mar closes like a SE floor 5 mins before trading stops. One says:“Enjoy the holidays.”The other says:“Have you closed the receivables?”
As W Buffett famously said:“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” In India,Mar is low tide season.
2. Execution Intensity Becomes Visible
I once saw a sales head in mid Mar who had aged 3 years in 3 weeks.On April 1,he looked10 yrs younger.Nothing changed overnight except targets were either me or not.
3.The CFO Transformation
In Dec (Western mkts):“Let’s evaluate strategic optionality in Q1.”
In Mar (India):“Please send that invoice TODAY.”I’ve seen founders who can deliver TED-style keynotes freeze when the CFO says:“Cash flow projection?”
“Cash is like oxygen. You don’t notice it until it’s missing.”Mar is when everyone checks if they’re breathing.
4. Investor Behaviour Changes Too In Dec abroad:
“Let’s revisit in the New Year.”In Mar in India:“Can we close this before year-end?”Investor patience is real but not infinite.A seasoned VC once told me:“We didn’t lose belief in the founder.We lost belief in the math.”Math becomes very loud in Mar.
5. Governance Gets Real Growth stories are romantic
Yr end reconciliations are not. But governance is not bureaucracy it’s survival architecture.
6.The Funny Truth
In India:Mar25:“Let’s do this next qtr.”Mar 28: “Can we close this in 2days?”Mar30:“Send the doc right now.”Mar31, 11:48 PM:“Has it been accounted?”
Meanwhile, in many Western mkts:Dec24:“See you in Jan.”Dec28:Out of office.Dec 31:Champagne.Neither is wrong.But the rhythms are different.
7. What This Means for Founders Execution has a season.
In India, Mar is not about reflection.It is about proof.Not about vision decks.
About delivered numbers.Not about ambition.About reconciliation.Pressure clarifies character.
March is degeneration month. And that’s a compliment.The Deeper Analogy If Dec in the West is like resetting your watch at midnight Mar in India is like submitting your exampaper while the invigilator is counting down from ten.You can smile in both moments.But your heartbeat is very different.
The Real Founder Lesson
Execution intensity is not about panic.It is about discipline.It is about:
Cleaning up the B/S.Making hard calls.Closing loops.Converting narratives into numbers.Because when April1arrives, momentum doesn’t come from resolutions.It comes from the quality of closure.And if you can laugh in Mar while delivering in Mar You’re building something durable.