Business Athletes: Prags Mugunthan

Hello and welcome to Business Athletes everyone 👋 

Each week, we’ll explore the athlete-like habits behind a different business leader. In less than 5-minutes, we aim to provide you with practical tactics that you can quickly apply in your day-to-day.⚡️

In this edition of Business Athletes, we spoke with Prags Mugunthan, co-founder of Pangea.ai, the first software development agency marketplace — connecting the top 7% of agencies and fractional technology talent with leading startups and enterprises.

The Pangea platform offers product leaders expedited hiring, superior talent quality, minimised risk, and hyper-curation tailored for specific challenges. 

Over our conversation, Prags shared how he navigates the highs and lows of the market with a resilient and adaptive approach.

Here are some of my favourite takeaways:

• Adapt Your Routine for Focused Momentum: Prags’ mornings are about focus over formality. He skips extensive routines, starting with key messages to his team to build mental momentum before diving into work.

• Incentivise with Impact, Not Entitlement: Prags structures incentives as “mini-exits” — meaningful rewards that motivate without creating complacency, like helping team members fund personal goals, while keeping everyone driven toward the next win.

• Communicate Clearly in Tough Times: Rather than scripted updates, he relies on open dialogue, fostering accountability and shared understanding during challenging periods.

• Balance is Built Through Discomfort: To handle business volatility, Prags uses physical challenges, like running and boxing, to build resilience, training his mind to stay present and push through obstacles.

• Stay in the Game for Lucky Breaks: Prags believes endurance breeds opportunity. His philosophy? The longer you stay in the game, the better your chances to capture those breakthrough moments when they appear.

⚡️ Hope you enjoy the read!

Pre-Game Preparation

A Morning Focused on Momentum

My mornings don’t start with meditation or affirmations — honestly, I’m not one of those guys. I used to think I should be that person who wakes up at 5 AM and goes through a long routine of self-improvement exercises, but I realized that’s just not me. 

The first thing I do when I wake up is check my phone. I read every Slack message, every email, but I leave them unread. It’s like getting a head start on my day without fully diving into it.

I then grab my coffee, take a slow moment to gather my thoughts, and then I'm ready to tackle whatever’s ahead. The way I set up my mornings isn’t about being in the perfect headspace; it’s about creating momentum. 

Setting Up The Right Environment

Environment plays a crucial role in my productivity. When I’m doing deep work, I prefer a darker room. It’s like creating a tunnel vision effect that keeps me locked in.

But when I have calls or meetings, I need a brighter, more open space. That shift between environments is like switching between offense and defense in a game, you adapt based on what’s in front of you.

Lessons From The Field

Pangea’s Financial Obstacles

To be honest, the financial journey of Pangea.ai has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. There were times when we were at rock bottom — borrowing money from friends and family just to pay our bills and keep the lights on.

I remember sitting in our big Berlin office, wondering if we’d even make it to the next month. There was a point when our landlord was about to kick us out, and we had to get really creative just to survive.

We were these young, ambitious guys, pretending we had it all figured out with our big office and flashy branding, but underneath it all, we were struggling to even afford proper Christmas presents. It was humbling. We had to strip away our egos, accept the reality, and find a way to stay in the game, even if it meant maxing out our credit cards and making some sacrifices. It was a reality check that forced us to get clear on what really matters, staying resilient and ready for when the market turns.

The Role of Lucky Breaks

Luck plays a much bigger role in success than most people like to admit. I remember one specific incident where we were deep in debt, struggling to pay our bills, and a random opportunity came up to be part of a token launch during the ICO boom. 

That ICO ended up being a game-changer for us. We got tokens that skyrocketed in value, and suddenly, we had the funds to pay off our debts and keep the company afloat. It was like scoring two goals in injury time to win the match. That experience taught me that sometimes, you just have to stay in the game long enough to get lucky.

You have to be prepared to grab those lucky breaks when they come your way. The key is to be resilient enough to hang on through the tough times so that you’re still around when luck finally turns in your favor.

Communication During Tough Times

Communication with the team, especially during tough times, is one of the hardest things to get right. We learned that transparency is key, but how you deliver that transparency matters a lot. During our ups and downs, we tried to communicate honestly about our situation in one-on-one meetings and team gatherings, rather than just sending out generic Slack messages.

We had some pretty raw conversations where we’d say, ‘Listen, we’ve been lucky to have a good run, but now things are different, and we need to up our game.’ It wasn’t always smooth. There were moments when our message didn’t land the way we hoped, and that’s something I’m still learning—how to rally the team when the chips are down.

When things were going well, complacency started to kick in. I would tell my team, ‘We’re doing great financially, but honestly, we’re still just average in terms of our product and execution.’ The goal was to keep everyone striving for excellence, even when the numbers looked good on paper.

To Raise or Not to Raise

Our philosophy when it comes to fundraising is simple: I don't want to take someone else’s money unless I was absolutely sure I could turn $1 into $2.

I feel it is our responsibility as founders to know how to generate and multiply revenue before involving external investors. It’s a different mindset when you’re using your own money versus someone else’s. You become laser-focused on creating sustainable growth instead of just chasing the next funding round.

VC-backed companies often feel the pressure to grow at all costs, while bootstrappers like us are constantly balancing risk and resource constraints to boost profitability. In the end, it’s about knowing what game you’re playing and whether you’re comfortable with the rules.

Player & Coach

Staying Balanced During the Highs & Lows

One thing I’ve learned is that when things are going well, don’t get too high, and when they’re rough, don’t get too low. You have to stay balanced. Because in reality, a lot of what happens in business is out of your control.

One moment that clearly comes to mind was the transformative period of the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, we were struggling to convince people about the benefits of remote work. No one wanted to listen. Then, almost overnight, the world shifted, and we grew tenfold in 18 months. We didn’t change; the market did. Staying in the game long enough to ride that wave was what made the difference.

How to Set the Right Incentives for Your Team

Setting the right incentives for your team is a bit of an art. Early on, when we finally started making money, we had to figure out how to distribute it in a way that motivated the team without creating a sense of entitlement. Do you give out bonuses all at once, or do you spread them out over time? How do you make sure those bonuses don’t lead to complacency?

We chose to implement what I call ‘mini-exits’—when the company does well, the team gets rewarded in a way that’s meaningful, like paying for a down payment on a house or funding a dream vacation. These rewards were significant enough to change lives but not so extravagant that they’d make people sit back and relax.

Building A Winning Culture

Building the right company culture is like constructing a championship team. Early on, Pangea.ai’s culture was very close-knit, trying to make ends meet. We were all in the trenches together, and that camaraderie kept us going through the toughest times.

We transitioned from that tight-knit, hustle vibe to more of a sports-team mentality. It’s not enough just to be close anymore; now we focus on performance, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Lessons From Sports

How to Intentionally Build Mental Toughness

In 2023, I hated running — absolutely despised it. I’d always avoided it, even during my football days as a kid when I chose to be a goalkeeper just to skip the running. But as I saw business challenges approaching, I knew I had to build my mental resilience. So, I took up running to force myself into discomfort.

It wasn’t about becoming a runner; it was about training my mind to deal with adversity. In just a few months, I went from hating it to completing a half marathon. That discipline—to push through when your mind tells you to stop—became crucial in my ability to keep moving forward when things got tough at Pangea.

Developing Quiet Confidence

Boxing is more than just a workout for me. It’s a way to let it all out. Every punch in the ring releases the pressure that builds up from running a business. It’s not just physical; it’s about sharpening my mental edge.

Boxing teaches you to stay quick on your feet and adapt in real time—skills that are invaluable in business. Knowing you can handle yourself in a fight gives you a quiet confidence that translates to meetings and negotiations. It’s about staying calm, focused, and ready for anything that comes your way.

Hot Yoga & B2B Sales Cycles

Hot yoga is another beast entirely. Imagine being in a heated room, holding poses that make every muscle in your body scream, and all you can focus on is your breath. That’s hot yoga for you. And honestly, it’s a lot like navigating a B2B sales cycle.

In yoga, you’re stuck in these poses where your instinct is to move, to do something, but you can’t. You have to hold still, breathe, and wait it out. It’s the same in business. You have to learn to be patient when you’re waiting for decisions, when the pace is out of your control, and when you’re dealing with slow-moving sales cycles.

Rest

All Rest Is Personal

I’m terrible at maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. I work best at night, so I’ve learned to compensate with power naps during the day. I’m unapologetic about it — those 20 to 30-minute naps are like a reset button for my brain, keeping me sharp when the day gets long.

Then weekends are my mental detox. I let myself unplug, even if work is still simmering in the background. It’s like taking a walk when you’re stuck on a problem, and suddenly, the answer just comes to you. Connecting with friends who are founders in other industries also helps clear my mind and often sparks my most creative ideas.

The Business Athlete Mindset

For When Things Get Tough 

When things get tough, I think back to the 1999 Champions League final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich. United were losing 1-0 right until the 91st minute, and then out of nowhere, they scored twice to win the game. It was unbelievable, like the ultimate comeback story. 

This game is more than just a memory, it’s a guiding principle. Success can come at the last minute, but only if you’re still in the game. That’s how I think about business, especially during the rough patches. You never know when you’re going to turn things around, but you have to be there to make it happen.

What Winning Means to Prags

Winning, for me, isn’t about hitting numbers or achieving targets—it’s about continuous learning and becoming the person I always thought I was. It's about making a meaningful impact on the lives of those who have stood by me, trusting in my decisions, judgment, and vision throughout the journey.

In sports and in business, the real victory is in showing up, putting in the effort, and staying in the game, no matter what — and win or lose, having the strength to go again shortly after with renewed enthusiasm. 

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