What is Meesho's 'Listen or Die' ritual? Here's what we know

Sanjeev Barnwal, co-founder and CTO of Meesho, traveled to Indore recently to attend the company’s ritual called Listen or Die (LoD). He observed that apart from receiving feedback about the company, this ritual has also helped the company make ecommerce better. The 'LoD ritual' refers to Meesho's policy of interacting with businesses which use the platform to expand their operations.
 
In a LinkedIn post, he wrote, “LoD is a truly unique initiative for everyone in this company. Apart from all the fascinating stories that come out from these interactions, we’re also humbled by the feedback we receive in-person from our users. Over the years, this has helped us make e-commerce simpler & more accessible for everyone in India and will continue to do so in our journey ahead.”

 
Sanjeev also shared a picture of him with Mohammad Wasim aged 22 years and his team, talking about how they have set an inspiring example by starting a company called Naima Manufacturers in 2009 with no previous experience and taking it to great heights. He was in awe of Wasim’s understanding about the business and how he grew his business on Meesho. 
 
Naima Manufacturers sells laundry baskets, handbags, blankets etc. Wasim's elder brother, Sikandar (39), started the company in 2009 with no prior business experience and has hustled for years to help it reach the heights it has today, Sanjeev stated.
 
“Originally from Muzaffarpur, there are 5 brothers in all. Each one of them handles one of the 4 manufacturing and 1 packing units respectively with ~180 employees on the payroll in total. They do close to 700-800 orders from the platform daily across nearly 500+ product listings,” 
 
The Meesho CTO said what impressed him the most during this conversation was Wasim’s understanding about the business, “how he grows his business on Meesho and the expansion plans he had for the near future, at such a young age”. 
 
“Such remarkable stories of MSMEs thriving on our platform is what keeps us inspired and motivated in the pursuit of our mission of democratizing e-commerce for everyone in India. Can’t wait for my next LoD visit!” he added.
 
Vidit Aatrey and Barnwal founded Meesho in Bengaluru. The company, which allows small businesses to sell their products online, has raised several rounds of funding from investors such as SoftBank, which has invested in well-known start-ups such as Paytm, WeWork, Didi Chuxing, Uber, and others. Fidelity Management and Eduardo Saverin's B Capital Group are also on board.
 
According to a report by Meesho that captures how the country shopped in 2022, a record 910 million orders were placed this year (up 135% year on year), equaling India's registered voter base in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.