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PRICE ` 250
DECEMBER 15, 2023
SMALL-TOWN FOUNDERS
SMALL TOWNS,
BIG DREAMS
FORBESINDIA.COM / VOLUME 15 ISSUE 26 DECEMBER 15, 2023
Meet the entrepreneurs—
like iD Fresh Food’s
co-founder and CEO
PC Musthafa—whose
humble origins fuelled their
entrepreneurial streak
PC Musthafa at a
government school in
Chennalode, Wayanad
district, Kerala, from
where he completed
his primary education
www.forbesindia.com
Welcome to the
Digital Edition
This issue is packed with stories of humble
beginnings, grit and a burning desire to excel
Letter From The Editor
Toasts of the Town
“Sam Walton’s first store was a second-rate
store in a second-rate town in what no one
would have classified as a first-rate state.”
T
hat line from Giants of Enterprise: Seven
Business Innovators and the Empires they Built
by Harvard Business School Professor Richard
S Tedlow sums up succinctly the Walmart
founder’s strategy to build the retailing chain across
small-town America. The ‘second-rate town’ was Rogers,
in Arkansas, with a population of some 8,000 back in 1962.
As Walton himself wrote in his autobiography Made
in America: “As an old-time small-town merchant,
I can tell you that nobody has more love for the
heyday of the smalltown retailing era than I do.” The
Wal-Mart strategy was, as Walton put it, “simply
to put good-sized discount stores into little onehorse towns which everybody else was ignoring”.
That Walton may have been born away from the
urban outposts—Kingfisher, Oklahoma—and that
his family of farmers moved from one small town to
another in his early years may have something to do
with his dime-store outlook. That think-small vision
is responsible for Wal-Mart today being worth over
$400 billion and racking up $573 billion in revenue
in 2022 with operating cash flows of $24.2 billion.
Back in India, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and
Gurugram may be where India’s top industrialists
are based; but many first-generation entrepreneurs
have had village/small-town origins that played a
key role in their relentless pursuit of growth.
Dhirubhai Ambani, for instance, spent his formative
years in Chorwad, a coastal village near Junagadh and
Somnath in Gujarat, before moving to Aden in Yemen
when in his teens; and eventually returned to India to flag
STORIES TO LOOK OUT FOR
off his entrepreneurial journey that began with textiles.
Elsewhere, Prathap C Reddy, pioneer of the corporate
hospital chain Apollo, was born into a farming family in
the village of Aragonda, in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.
In this fortnight’s edition, Rajiv Singh takes the small
town to startup saga forward, into the digital age, by
shining a light on a clutch of new-age entrepreneurs
with origins in Indian villages and towns.
On the cover is PC Musthafa, founder & CEO of
a company that’s become synonymous with idli and
dosa batter, iD Fresh Food. Born in the scenic village
of Chennalode in Kerala’s Wayanad district, Musthafa
grew up without roads, electricity and schools; he had to
travel six kilometres for a primary education out of the
village. The founder of a company that last raised `507
crore (in 2022) tells Singh about the early difficult days:
His father earned daily wages of `12 working 13 hours
on a ginger farm; and his mother would skip a meal to
ensure food on the table for him and his three siblings.
Those tough days hold Musthafa in good stead as he
expands into new markets and categories, even as iD Fresh
continues to lose money. “The village way of life gives you
values, humility—and jugaad,” he says. For more on the iD
Fresh journey from Wayanad to international markets like
the US and the UK, turn to ‘A Batter Option’ on page 24.
This issue is packed with many more stories of humble
beginnings, grit and a burning desire to excel. Consider,
for instance, the serendipitous food foray of Agra-born
Vishal Jindal. A hedge fund manager in 2012, Jindal was
devouring kebabs and tandoori chicken on a visit to his
birthplace. It’s in the city renowned for its local delicacies
that he hit upon the idea of starting a pan-India kebab and
biryani chain. Result? An investor turned entrepreneur
and a venture called Biryani By Kilo was born. For
more on that recipe, go to ‘Rice and Spice’ on page 34.
Brian Carvalho
Editor, Forbes India
brian.carvalho@nw18.com
Best,
(From left) PC Musthafa of iD Fresh Foods hails from Chennalode in Kerala;
Vishal Jindal got the idea for Biryani By Kilo from his hometown Agra
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
3
Contents
DECEMBER 15, 2023
ISSUE 26
* VOLUME 15
O N TH E C OV E R
PG.
22
20 • THE WRIST
SPINNERS
Founders from small towns
are weaving entrepreneurial
dreams by exorcising the
nightmare of fear
22 • A BATTER OPTION
Moulded by values of a village
life, PC Musthafa built an
ever-expanding idli-dosa
batter empire in iD Fresh Food
PG.
34
PG.
28
28 • GROWING FANDOM
A rocky childhood taught
Sibabrata Das to find order
in chaos. With Atomberg, he
nipped the fear in the bud
34 • RICE & SPICE
6
Agra native Vishal Jindal is
trying to write a multinational
biryani story with Biryani
By Kilo
38 • SEALED & DELIVERED
Shailesh Kumar, a village boy
from Bihar, has built a
`150-crore logistics
company in CABT
PG.
38
PG.
46
PG.
58
42 • TICKET TO BHARAT
Growing up in a small town
helped Mohit Dubey relate
to the plight of millions of
common citizens. With
Chalo, a bus tracking and
ticketing platform, he hopes
to end their woes
PG.
42
46 • BHARAT JOURNEY
Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish
Kumar are driving ixigo
towards the IPO station
PG.
52 • A CORNER OFFICE
52
Tushar Mittal, a village
boy from Rajasthan, fought
formidable odds and turned
the tables on adversity with
his bootstrapped venture
Officebanao
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
PG.
63
PG.
77
Bala Sarda, founder, Vahdam India, outside a CVS store
Neetish Sarda with Harsh Binani (right), co-founders, Smartworks
58 • SOUND SLEEP
82 • HOW CAN WE
Ensuring a perfect-night
sleep for Wakefit users keeps
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda
awake
IN FOCUS
63 • AIMING FOR THE US
STARS
Some of India’s digital-first
brands are making their
presence felt in America. Do
they have a viable model?
68 • ‘EQUITY MARKETS
MAY STAY DIFFICULT
AROUND THE WORLD’
Manraj Sekhon, chief
investment officer of
Templeton Global Equity
Investment, feels India will
continue to be a good place
for funds due to its resilient
growth
77 • OFFICE PLAY
Timely pivot, sticky
enterprises, waning pandemic
and a more-than-strong
resurgence in demand for
office space have helped
Smartworks post a heady
growth
80 • IN-SPACE SUCCOUR
TO SATELLITES
Entrepreneurs at Inspecity
Space Laboratories dream
of space cities, but they
also know it starts with one
propulsion system, one sensor
suite at a time
PG.
PROTECT THE MAHADAYI /
MANDOVI RIVER?
Diversion of the river’s water
could have catastrophic
consequences on the region’s
biodiversity and climate
86 • COMVIVA 2.0:
FORBESLIFE
89 • ‘2024 PARALYMPICS
GOLD IS MY ONLY GOAL
NOW’
Para badminton star Pramod
Bhagat gives insights into his
champion mindset and how
his self-belief helped him tide
over challenges
REBOOT & CONQUER
Comviva made another
attempt to enter the lucrative
markets of US and Europe.
And the gambit is showing
results
92 • A TAPESTRY OF
ARMENIAN HERITAGE
Megerian carpets grace the
floors of renowned churches
in the world and the homes of
esteemed figures, including
the Queen of England, and
presidents of many nations
89
71 • FOR THE LONG HAUL
CDIL became the first Indian
firm to manufacture silicon
carbide components
74 • MEDIATEK AND A
BAG OF CHIPS
From Alexa to Paytm speaker
to TataSky to smartphones and
TVs of all top brands, there
is an invisible chip powering
most consumer gadgets.
Meet MediaTek
Para badminton star Pramod Bhagat
won three medals—a gold and two
bronze—at the Para Asian Games
REGULARS
WE VALUE YOUR FEEDBACK:
Write to us at: forbes.india@nw18.com
• Read us online at: www.forbesindia.com
• On the cover: Photographs by: ARUN CHANDRABOSE
FOR FORBES INDIA
l
10/ LEADERBOARD
PG.
92
The Megerian Carpet Factory Museum
l
96/ FROM THE FIELD
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LeaderBoard
The Big EV Push
Boardroom Battle
Foreign Flavour
Tata Motors’ electric vehicle
arm and Jaguar Land Rover
will work together to co-develop
electric vehicles P/14
Religare’s board of directors
opposes a takeover bid by
the Burman family alleging
fraudulent transactions P/16
From Dubai to Madrid, the
most-sought-after cities for moving
abroad, according to a
Remitly-Google investigation P/19
MARKETS
Russian Roulette:
The F&O trading trap
Playing the game of high probability does not necessarily make a
winner. So what makes these risky bets attractive?
10
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
PICTURE BEING PART OF A
Russian roulette. A bullet is
placed in a revolver, the
cylinder is spun, someone pulls the
trigger, and you are in the line of fire.
What are the chances of being killed?
Well, the probability of dying is one in
six in that random but lethal game of
luck. This game of probability is
almost exactly what pans out in
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
futures and options (F&O) trading,
also referred to as derivatives. High
risks and low or no returns have made
the equity F&O segment for retail or
individual traders an enticing but
deadly cocktail.
Surprisingly, despite steep losses,
the number of retail or individual
traders in the segment is ballooning.
Derivative trading has stripped cash
market volumes with a phenomenal
rise in the number of active derivatives
traders. In October, the total average
daily turnover (ADTO) in the segment
was `329 trillion, surging 130 percent
from the same month last year, at `143
trillion, shows analysis by Motilal
Oswal Financial Services, based on
data from NSE and BSE. This year so
far, ADTO in the F&O segment was the
SO, WHAT GIVES?
Human greed! And a few regulation
changes in F&O trading that have
made the segment attractive for all
varieties of traders.
Many factors can be attributed for
the high volume in the F&O segment
by retail traders, says Deepak Jasani,
retail research head, HDFC Securities,
citing gambling instincts and human
greed as driving factors. “It is human
nature to be aspirational and desire
to achieve monetary goals faster, just
like in gambling. Also, lower ticket size
of lots in derivative trading and low
premium for OTM calls/puts on expiry
days has made this segment attractive
among retail participants,” he says.
Introduction of weekly expiry and
zero days to expiration (0DTE) are a
few other factors, he says, that have
driven high volume of trade in the
F&O segment. 0DTE refers to options
contracts that are expiring on the same
trading day. Shorter durations indicate
that the options market is shifting
from hedging to speculation.
Change in contract structure,
leverage combined with the ease of
onboarding, and interfaces of trading
apps have triggered gamification of
F&O trends
ADTO in ` trillion
YoY growth in %
350
329
300
250
200
150 143
50
104
Oct-22
Nov-22
Dec-22
Jan-23
Feb-23
Mar-23
Apr-23
May-23
Jun-23
Jul-23
Aug-23
Sep-23
Oct-23
100
130
SOURCE NSE, BSE, Motilal Oswal
Financial Services
Retail F&O trends
ADTO in ` trillion
YoY growth in %
140
130
120
110
100 93
90
80
70
59
60
50
117
98
Oct-22
Nov-22
Dec-22
Jan-23
Feb-23
Mar-23
Apr-23
May-23
Jun-23
Jul-23
Aug-23
Sep-23
Oct-23
highest in September, at `334 trillion,
up 121 percent year-on-year (y-o-y).
However, the market regulator is
concerned by the exponential surge
of retail traders in the F&O segment,
which is considered risky and often
loss-making. In October, retail ADTO
in the F&O segment was `117 trillion,
rising 98 percent y-o-y, whereas retail
ADTO in the cash market was only
`290 billion, up merely 20 percent
y-o-y. Though retail ADTO in the cash
market segment was `357 billion in
September, it is comparatively small to
the `120 trillion in the F&O segment.
According to a study by the
Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi), the number of unique
individual traders who traded in the
equity F&O segment was 45.2 lakh in
FY22, growing from 7.1 lakh in FY19.
This is an increase of more than 500
percent in FY22 as compared to FY19.
Note: ADTO is average daily turn over
SOURCE NSE, BSE, Motilal Oswal
Financial Services
this market, says Ashish Gupta, CIO,
Axis Mutual Fund. As a result, he
adds, the number of active derivatives
traders has increased eightfold from
less than half a million in 2019 to 4
million.
“What’s driving retailers is the
introduction of weekly expiry by other
indices as that provides opportunity to
retail participants daily. Secondly, the
weekly options premium as compared
to the monthly options is less, hence
that has attracted many retail traders.
Also, as the margin requirement
has reduced, the bet size has also
increased,” says Jay Thakkar, head,
Alternate Research, Capital Market
Strategy, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
Others concur that changes in the
expiry date and nature of products
in the F&O segment have made it
attractive. Rishi Kohli, managing
partner & CIO, Hedge Fund Strategies,
InCred Alternative Investments,
says there is a mix of reasons for the
growth of F&O trading volume, such as
rise of online trading, especially driven
by people having spare time during
the Covid-19 pandemic and dabbling
in trading through online platforms,
introduction of weekly options first on
BankNifty, then Nifty indices, and in
recent past on FinNifty, MidcapNifty
and Sensex indices.
Also, trading platforms and online
brokers like Zerodha and Upstox have
helped grow the market, where tools
for simulation on F&O strategies is
provided to retail investors who never
had the chance earlier to dabble in
such stuff, which was the exclusive
space for institutional players.
Kohli explains. Weekly options
have been the major reason and now
index expiry is on each day of the
week. So, for a lot of retail traders who
buy options, when they trade on expiry
day their potential to make 10 times
of their capital is what is attractive, as
that opportunity is there every day of
the week. For option sellers who are
typically institutions and prop traders,
daily and weekly expiring options are
much better than monthly options,
which used to be the only option
duration till a few years back.
Typically, buyers of options get
attracted due to daily expiries where
the potential to make multiple times
their capital is very attractive, but as
it happens most retail traders end up
losing most of the time. Inexperienced
retail traders who sell options may
not have the expertise or knowledge
to hedge or manage risks, so a sharp
move ends up in sharp losses for them.
According to a study by Sebi, in
FY22 only 11 percent of individual
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
11
LeaderBoard
12
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Retail cash
segment trends
ADTO in ` trillion (LHS)
YoY growth in % (RHS)
400
250
350
200
300
290
250
150
241
100
200
150
20
100
50
0
-50
-44
Oct-22
Nov-22
Dec-22
Jan-23
Feb-23
Mar-23
Apr-23
May-23
Jun-23
Jul-23
Aug-23
Sep-23
Oct-23
traders in the equity F&O segment
made profits, with an average profit of
`1.5 lakh. The percentage went down
to 10 percent for active traders, though
the average profit made by them went
up to `1.9 lakh during the same period.
In FY22, 89 percent of individual
traders in the equity F&O segment
incurred losses, with an average loss of
`1.1 lakh in FY22, whereas 90 percent
of active traders incurred average
losses of `1.25 lakh in the same period.
“Mainly, retail traders are buyers
of options and not sellers. The
probability of winning in options
buying is 33 percent and with the
increased number of trades due to
lower premiums the probability of
winning in options turning in the
money decreases even more. Hence
nine out of 10 trades are in losses,”
Thakkar says.
There are two types of risks: First,
as an option buyer if the retailers
don’t put stop-loss, then their entire
capital invested for option buying can
become zero, as many options expire
worthless. Secondly, as an option seller
the gain is limited to option premium
credited but losses are unlimited if the
position goes in the opposite direction,
hence, in the absence of stop-loss it
can result in unlimited losses, he adds.
For groups of active traders, on
average, loss makers registered net
trading loss close to `50,000 in FY22
while average loss of a loss maker was
over 15 times the average profit by a
profit maker in the same year, shows
the Sebi study. The percentage of
loss makers was marginally lower at
83 percent for non-active individual
traders in FY22, compared to 76
percent in FY19.
“Option sellers need to understand
that even if they make money 90
percent of the time in an option selling
strategy but lose 10 times that amount
the remaining 10 times, they will end
up being losers. The overall payoffs
have to be understood rather than just
winning percentage of trades, which
is what naïve traders focus on,” Kohli
elaborates.
SOURCE NSE, BSE, Motilal Oswal Financial Services
Who is making money
in F&O equity segment
% of individual traders made loss
% of individual traders made profit
94
91
9
6
FY19
FY22
Average profit made by profit makers (`)
Average loss made by loss makers (`)
8,347
90,691
3,365
FY19
HANDLE WITH CARE
60,314
FY22
SOURCE Sebi
According to Chandan Taparia, head,
Derivatives & Technical Research,
Motilal Oswal Financial Services, retail
investors are attracted to this segment
of trade because it has the potential to
recover and make consistent money
if certain rules work and they can
manage their risk and position sizing.
“Many retail investors come with
revenge,” he adds.
However, the rise of retail traders
in the segment has the Sebi chief
confused. “I must admit, I am always
a little confused and surprised as to
why people continue to do that [bet in
futures and options], knowing the odds
are not in their favour at all,” Madhabi
Puri Buch, Sebi chief, said at an event.
Buch added there is a 90 percent
chance of investors losing money in
the F&O segment, “but we also know,
and the data shows us, that if you
take a long-term view of the market,
and if you invest with a long-term
perspective, you will rarely go wrong”.
On another occasion, Ashish
Chauhan, MD and CEO, NSE, also
warned that trading in derivatives
should be avoided by retail investors
due to the high amount of risk. The
irony is, higher volume of F&O trade
transactions benefit a few entities such
as exchanges, Sebi, discount brokers
and government on items like turnover
fees, GST, securities transaction tax
(STT) and stamp duty.
“All the warnings and caution to
retail investors by NSE and Sebi just
seem like lip service,” says an industry
veteran who did not want to be named.
The person says new upfront margins
for all-cash trades were introduced
by the regulator in 2020, which
itself made trading in that segment
expensive, indirectly driving a lot of
retail participants to the F&O segment.
“Why has Sebi not introduced
or implemented any regulations to
curb high volume trading in the F&O
segment by retail investors if it is so
risky?” asks the industry veteran. The
market regulator, NSE, government
and brokerage firms get richer on every
trade on the F&O segment irrespective
of the trader making profits or losses.
For instance, Sebi charges turnover
fees, etc on every trade conducted in
the segment. So, higher the volume and
turnover, higher the revenue for these
entities, the person explains.
●
NASRIN SULTANA
SHUTTERSTOCK
828
The number of Premier League matches
managed by Arsene Wenger, the most of any
manager in the competition’s history
SPORTS
The Ultimate Goal
Arsene Wenger, the iconic former Arsenal coach who was in the country
to inaugurate the AIFF-Fifa football academy in Bhubaneswar, has only
one target—to make India a great football nation
English club Arsenal to
three Premier League (PL)
titles and seven FA Cups now has only
one target—to make India a great
football nation.
On a recent visit to India to
inaugurate the AIFF-Fifa football
academy in Bhubaneswar, Arsene
Wenger, thrice declared PL’s manager
of the season and inducted into
English football’s hall of fame in 2006,
underlined football education as the
key differentiator between those
that meet the global benchmarks
and those that don’t. “You take three
boys, one born in Mumbai, one in Sao
Paulo and the other in Paris. There
is no difference between the three
after the first day or the first year
when it comes to football. It’s after
15 years that the difference between
the quality of the players shows up.
And that is only down to one reason:
Football education,” says Wenger,
now the chief of global football
development at Fifa. “And that’s what
the AIFF-Fifa football academy wants
to achieve—wipe out the difference in
the quality of education.”
The academy is coming up in
association with the government
of Odisha, with Fifa supplying the
technical knowhow and coaches. The
facility will house a residential facility
for around 50 players, who will be
trained for two years. Spain’s Sergi
Amezcua Fontrodona will relocate to
India to implement the project as the
head coach of the academy.
Wenger was at the Kalinga Stadium
in Bhubaneswar, witnessing Asian
champions Qatar beating India 3-0 in
the World Cup qualifier. “Honestly,
I feel the Indian team didn’t perform
well and Qatar deserved to win. It
●
KATHAKALI CHANDA
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
13
FRANCK FIFE / AFP
THE MAN WHO STEWARDED
reinforced my desire to change things
in India. When you think you had the
eleven best players out and Qatar was
[still] the best team by a good distance,
that’s what you want to change,” says
Wenger.
“The challenges in India are very
simple,” he further says. “First, you
need better identification of talent. I
must say I’m convinced in India not
every talent gets a chance. The second
part is you have to put the best with
the best together, because that is a
stimulation. Football is learnt with
difficulties you experience when you
play against good players.” The Fifa
programme, he adds, will identify the
talent, put the best with the best and
integrate the players in the first team.
Elaborating on how Fifa will
help prop up the local structures
of a country through the academy,
Wenger says the global football body
intends to create the first academy
and bring its own coach and technical
team to develop the players. “After
that, the target is to educate the
coaches in the clubs. That’s why the
AIFF needs to cooperate with us… to
develop coaching quality within the
country,” he says.
Fifa’s move to get involved in
the grassroots has been lauded by
renowned football presenter and
pundit Joe Morrison who dubbed the
initiative as one that goes beyond PR
bluster. “It is great that Fifa is actively
involved on the ground. Previously,
it has been sound bites and press
conferences. PR bluster will not get
India to a World Cup; only physical
activations will help the country fulfil
its footballing potential,” he says.
LeaderBoard
ELECTRIC MOBILITY
The Big EV Push
Tata Motors’ electric vehicle arm and Jaguar Land Rover will work together
to co-develop electric vehicles. Their first models are likely to be ready in 2025
IN HINDSIGHT, TATA MOTORS’
CHRIS RATCLIFFE / BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
14
acquisition of Jaguar Land
Rover (JLR) from Ford in
2008 has been one of the starring
achievements of the firm. The
company’s approach to letting these
premium brands grow with a largely
hands-off approach has worked, at
least in the case of Land Rover.
However, a dissonance has always
remained in how far apart these
two luxury brands are from Tata
Motors’ value-centric creations. The
completely different cost structures
and manufacturing processes have
limited synergies, a key factor in
reducing costs. Tata Motors has
reworked an older JLR architecture
before in its high-end Harrier
and Safari models. Still, a new
development brings the two firms
into a much closer partnership than
before.
Tata Passenger Electric Mobility
or TPEM (Tata Motors’ electric
vehicle arm) and JLR have now
signed an MoU that will see Tata
Motors license JLR’s latest electric
vehicle (EV) architecture currently
under development. TPEM will pay
a royalty fee to gain access to this
electrified modular architecture as
well as to critical components like
the battery pack and electric drive
units. Significantly, there will also be a
sharing of manufacturing know-how
to a much greater extent than before
which in effect means the two firms
will co-develop EVs.
The first models based on this
architecture will come to fruition in
2025. Tata Motors will incorporate
this into its top-tier Avinya models
currently under development late that
year, while Jaguar and Land Rover
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
branded offerings will also see light in
early 2025.
This notably streamlines Tata
Motors’ big push to become an
electric car maker of repute. The
Tata Passenger
Electric Mobility
and JLR have
signed an MoU
that will see Tata
Motors license
JLR’s latest electric
vehicle architecture
currently under
development
company has so far used frugal
engineering and great product
packaging to gain a sizeable headstart in the Indian EV market, but this
partnership now future-proofs this
advancement and opens up higher
and more profitable segments for Tata
Motors.
With battery cells and electric
motors integrated into the structure,
very high-speed charging capabilities,
over-the-air updates for software
and features, semi-autonomous
driving capabilities and high safety,
Tata Motors will have the latest in
EV technologies on hand to not just
challenge a wave of competitors
lining up in the Indian market but
also open up newer global markets to
complement JLR’s offerings. These
To this end, Tata Motors will be
EVs are expected to have over 550 km
involved at an early stage in the
of range, significant performance and
development of this architecture to
charging speeds of up to 300 kW.
help meet its needs. Eventually, the
Anand Kulkarni, chief product
company will also look at heightening
officer and head of high-voltage
local content in India to bring costs
programs at Tata Passenger Electric
further down.
Mobility, says: “The joint product
But there are some situations
development helps us reduce
to negotiate. These EVs from Tata
development cycles and improves
Motors will be their most premium
TPEM’s access to global solutions.
offering yet and will see it compete
We can have opportunities arising
at price points that are expected
out of aligned sourcing in order to
to be over `30 lakh. So far, Tata
leverage the benefits of scale and of
Motors’ EVs have succeeded with
location. And then in the
smart engineering and a
future with data-based
high value proposition.
The
value-added services, this
But globally EV sales
partnership
also becomes a common
have slowed down in
opens up
platform for connected
markets like the US
higher and
vehicles, thereby giving
largely with the high
more profitable
us added services at
upfront cost involved
segments for
an optimised cost
and infrastructure not
Tata Motors
proposition.
keeping pace. In India,
In terms of the financial
a certain amount of
benefits, this leverages economies
government initiative has helped,
of scale for a shared bill of material,
but they are still a small share of the
which is first and foremost. And then
overall car market. This is especially
you have access to high-value tech,
true in segments Tata Motors plans to
including domain-based architecture,
address with these offerings.
high voltage architecture etc.
Kulkarni assuages these doubts
With optimised upfront CapEx, all
by saying, “EVs have a high level of
of this is available to TPEM and
interest with our customers at Tata
it also provides TPEM with the
Motors. Our penetration today within
unique opportunity to optimise the
our portfolio has been increasing
industrialisation investments for the
constantly. It is at 13 percent today
premium pure EV products in India.”
and, therefore, we see this as
Kulkarni adds that this partnership
maintaining itself going forward. I
has been in the works for some time
think it also needs to be looked at
with the announcement coming once
from a perspective of forecasts or
reasonable targets for collaboration
expectations earlier versus reality.
have been met. This development
There is no doubt that even today,
is a classic example of the changes
EVs are one of the fastest-growing
the auto industry is going through
segments in the market. And there
currently with a shift towards
is no reason to doubt that with the
electric mobility. EVs are generally
value propositions that are available,
less complex than petrol- or dieselmore and more people will find that
powered vehicles, so finding common
significantly useful for themselves. So
ground between two price points isn’t
once that happens, you need to have
as difficult.
products set for these consumers
While manufacturing and labour
across the entire range of products.
costs will be reduced, the technology
It’s not possible for us to have only
is still pricey to develop, which is
products of a certain category and
where partnerships like this are
that’s what we are attempting to do.”
● TUHIN GUHA
valuable for keeping costs in check.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
GETTY IMAGES
12,491
Number of cars sold by Tata Motors in Q3
2023, accounting for 67 percent of total EV
cars sales in the period at 18,603 units
15
LeaderBoard
WAR OF WORDS
Boardroom Battle
Religare’s board of directors opposes a takeover bid by the Burman family alleging
fraudulent transactions; shields chairperson from charges of poor governance
16
Mohit Burman (left), chairman, Dabur, and Rashmi Saluja, executive chairperson, Religare Enterprises
MOHIT BURMAN: AMIT VERMA
MORE THAN FOUR YEARS AGO,
most analysts had written
obituaries of Religare
Enterprises. The controversy-hit
financial services company was under
the scrutiny of regulators for major
lapses in governance and its owners
were arrested for fraud and
embezzlement of funds. Somehow it
rose from the ashes, as the new
management steered a financial
turnaround. But there’s fresh drama
unfolding inside the boardroom again.
The Burman family, promoters of
FMCG company Dabur and the single
largest shareholders of Religare,
and Religare’s board of directors are
fighting a bitter battle for control.
When the family announced its plan
to launch an open offer to raise their
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
holding in the company to around
52 percent, it escalated into a mudslinging contest with accusations and
counter accusations of misgovernance
and financial irregularities.
Religare Enterprises and the
Burman Group did not respond to
a Forbes India questionnaire. The
markets regulator is reviewing the
matter. However, several proxy
firms and experts point out gaps in
disclosure and regulatory compliance
by Religare’s board of directors and
chairperson.
In an off-the-record conversation,
a former executive director at the
Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi) says he is disappointed
with the board’s conduct. “All five
independent directors are acting in
consort with the chairperson without
looking into concerns raised of lapses
in corporate governance,” he says.
Amit Tandon, founder and
managing director, Institutional
Investor Advisory Services, says as
a non-banking financial company,
sooner rather than later, Religare
would require capital that the Dabur
Group has offered. “If not Dabur, the
board must propose an alternative,”
he adds. “At the end of the day, [the
issue] is all about control, because
there will be [a promoter] looking
over the leadership to ensure there
are checks and balances.”
Shriram Subramanian, founder and
managing director of proxy advisory
firm InGovern, agrees: “Why would a
management, which holds few shares,
not want an investor to come in? They
seem to be blocking the bid by the
Burmans.” He says it is uncommon
for professional management with
negligible shareholding to thwart a
takeover bid.
SHUTTERSTOCK
$8.9 bln
Net worth of the Burman
family. It ranks 20th on the
2023 Forbes India Rich List
Burman and Saluja. In an encore of
sorts, after four years, investors have
been pushed to the edge.
They complained to Sebi and the
stock exchanges that Saluja was guilty
of insider trading because she partly
sold ESOPs after she was informed
about the open offer in a meeting. In a
THE BURMAN FAMILY
statement, Religare’s board members
On September 25, Religare applauded
said: “This process of liquidation of
Burman’s takeover bid as a “positive
ESOPs… was set in motion several
step reflective of the strong business
BATTLE FOR CONTROL
days before the said meeting that
platform on which the company
After Religare’s former owners,
happened on 20 September.”
stands”. However, in a quick U-turn,
Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, were
But proxy firms are wary of
its board opposed the move. It wrote
arrested in 2019, a new board and
regulatory breaches and nonto the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
management took over. The Singh
disclosures on part of the Religare
Sebi, and the Insurance
brothers lost control,
board relating to Saluja’s ‘excessive
Regulatory and
following the sale of
“As an NBFC,
remuneration’ and the issue of ESOPs,
Development Authority
pledged shares by
Religare needs
for example. “[This] can be seen as a
of India, pressing
lenders in the face of
capital. If not
mechanism to reward herself [Saluja]
charges of fraud and
incriminating charges
Dabur, the board
by flouting regulations and keeping
market manipulation
of money laundering,
must propose an
shareholders of Religare Enterprises
against the Burman
manipulation of
alternative.”
in the dark,” Subramanian notes.
family. Saluja and
share price, and
In a scathing report, InGovern
the independent
lack of disclosures,
- Amit Tandon, founder
and managing director,
estimates that Saluja owned ESOPs
directors alleged that
among others, which
Institutional Investor
of Religare and its subsidiary Care
the Burmans were
reportedly caused a loss
Advisory Services
Health Insurance worth over
colluding with the
of over `2,347 crore to
Singh brothers, and
minority shareholders.
`480 crore over and above her
questioned the Burmans’ source
Religare’s new board comprises
compensation. There is no disclosure
of funds for acquisition of the
five independent directors and is led
of the same in the annual report. Also,
controlling stake.
by Rashmi Saluja, who is executive
shareholders’ approval was not taken
Following these allegations, an
chairperson of Religare Enterprises
for ESOPs granted to Saluja, who was
FIR relating to illegal betting through
and non-executive chairperson of
reclassified as executive director.
the Mahadev Betting app surfaced. It
Care Health Insurance. A doctor,
“Once the regulator has said no,
included the names of Mohit and his
lawyer and an MBA, her LinkedIn
should Saluja be eligible for the same
brother Gaurav, director, Dabur, and
profile says she is as an entrepreneur
amount of ESOPs in the insurance
accused them of money laundering.
leading the organisation’s growth
business by wearing a different hat?”
Authorities claim the app defrauded
strategy. Saluja holds a 1.42 percent
Tandon observes.
people of nearly `15,000
stake in the company.
Subramanian red
Over the past three years, Religare
flags related party
crore.
Enterprises stunned the Street as its
transactions that raise
The Burman Group
“It’s [ESOPs worth
share price rose from `19 a piece in
concerns regarding
called the FIR false and
`480 crore] a clear
true ‘independence’ of
said it was an attempt to
March 2020 to around `272 a piece in
mechanism to
Religare’s independent
block their acquisition
September 2023.
reward Saluja by
directors.
of Religare Enterprises.
The Burman family bought shares
flouting regulations
On November
“If this information
from the market to inch up its holding
and keeping
20,
in a statement to
is true, it appears to
to 21.5 percent in August 2023. Two
shareholders in the
exchanges,
Religare’s
be a mischievous act
months ago, they reportedly increased
dark.”
board of directors
driven by malicious
their stake by 5.27 percent. As per
- Shriram
refuted the charges:
intent and is devoid of
Sebi takeover norms, this triggered
Subramanian, founder
and MD, InGovern
“We are shocked and
any facts. We deny the
the open offer clause. In September,
disappointed by the
allegations,” a family
the Burman family said it planned to
accusations against
spokesperson said.
invest $255 million in an open offer
us and our chairperson. The board
and buy out 26 percent from public
denies all allegations raised by certain
shareholders at `235 per share.
THE RELIGARE BOARD
people with vested interests,” it said.
This marks the beginning of a
The Burmans accused Saluja of
● NEHA BOTHRA
murky tug of war between Mohit
wrongdoing and poor governance.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
17
LeaderBoard
INTERVIEW
‘Companies Should Always Focus
on Getting Better, Not Bigger’
Alex Hill, author and professor at Kingston University London, highlights the perks
of looking beyond the short term and immediate shareholder value
Q Why a book now on
centennials, Centennials:
The 12 Habits of Great,
Enduring Organisations? How does
it fit into the business context?
18
Businesses are dying earlier and
earlier each year. Particularly in the
UK and the US, where most startups
don’t make it to their second birthday,
and even established firms now only
live for 15 years.
Some would argue this is a good
thing. As when a company fails,
so they say, its resources can be
reallocated to a better concern.
However, this view ignores the
friction and wastage that corporate
death involves, that the long-term
success of any economy or society
depends on the stability of its core
institutions, and that the longterm challenges that we all face—
education, health, immigration and
climate change—are less likely to be
addressed, if we only focus on the
here and now.
A recent McKinsey study, for
example, showed that if more US
companies had taken a long-term
perspective over the last 15 years,
they would have performed better
for longer, and the US’ GDP would
have increased by over $1 trillion, and
there would have been five million
more jobs.
Q How do centennials balance a
‘disruptive edge’ with a stable core?
When you spend time in a centennial,
you notice that some parts of the
organisation are constantly changing,
while other parts never change, and
always stay still. In the book, I have
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
described this as being ‘radically
traditional’. The centennials have
both a ‘stable core’ to guide them
forward—their purpose, stewardship,
and openness—and a ‘disruptive edge’
to move them forward too—their
experts, nervousness and accidents.
Q How do great organisations
go about attracting and
nurturing talent?
They know that they are only as
good as the people they recruit. So
they work incredibly hard to try to
find the best people they can. They
Q Do you feel leadership transitions
are tough in family businesses?
It can be hard for an old leader to
step back, especially if they are
emotionally attached to the business,
and it has become their life. The
trick, the centennials have found, is
to ensure that the new leader has as
much experience and responsibility
as possible before they take over.
And that the old leader is given
an important and interesting job
afterwards, so they want to stay
on and help. Every organisation
is vulnerable when a significant
leader changes. But this shouldn’t
be a problem, if the new leader is
sufficiently prepared and the old one
stays on to help.
Q Growing bigger too fast
has brought the downfall of
startups in India too. What
are the perils involved?
do this by drawing from the largest
and most diverse pool they can. And
they develop puzzles and tests too, to
help them find the people they need,
and normally work with a person
part-time, for at least six months to
see how they work, before they offer
them a full-time job.
Once a new person enters the
organisation, they never stay still.
As they have to work in different
projects, in different teams, and walk
around the office several times each
day, so they are always bumping into
new people.
A recent study of 3,000 startups
found that the most common reason
that they failed was that they grew
too fast. It found that companies fail
when they get the wrong investors,
launch the wrong products, recruit
the wrong people, or attract the
wrong customers. And all of these
things are more likely to go wrong,
when you grow too fast.
Q Where should the
focus lie instead?
Companies should always try to focus
on getting better, not bigger. And only
grow when they really have to—if
they have to become more financially
stable or want to create more impact.
●
ANITHA MOOSATH
SHUTTERSTOCK
5 bln
Number of leisure trips Indian
travellers are projected to take
within the country by 2030
TRAVEL
Foreign Flavour
From Dubai to Madrid, the most-sought-after cities for moving abroad,
according to a Remitly-Google investigation
WHETHER IT’S THE PURSUIT OF
an enhanced quality of life
or the allure of promising
career prospects, people are
increasingly opting to reside in
foreign lands. According to Remitly, a
financial services provider, statistics
indicate that, as of 2020,
approximately 281 million people
have chosen to call a country other
than their birthplace home. The big
question now revolves around where
people are currently looking to
relocate. Remitly studied the search
volume for the phrase ‘move to
(city)’ on Google to find the answer.
If you are looking to experience life
overseas or simply looking for a
destination for your next holiday,
here are five of the most popular
cities to move abroad.
1. DUBAI
Dubai stands out as a premier
cosmopolitan destination globally,
renowned for its extraordinary
blend of stunning features. The city
boasts an unparalleled coastline,
captivating desert landscapes and
magnificent urban vistas. Beyond its
natural beauty, Dubai offers a wealth
of exploration opportunities, showcasing cutting-edge architecture, world-class
shopping experiences and luxurious hospitality services.
2. MIAMI
Nestled in the sun-soaked US state
of Florida, Miami stands out as one
of the globe’s most popular vacation
spots. Renowned for its vibrant
nightlife, particularly along the stylish
South Beach, the city sparkles with
the architectural gems of the Art
Deco district. Miami’s allure extends
beyond its urban charms, offering enthusiasts opportunities for deep-sea fishing
as well as indulging in the leisurely pursuits of golf and tennis.
4. NEW YORK CITY
19
New York City stands as one of the
most thrilling metropolises globally,
boasting an unmistakable skyline
that captures the essence of urban
excitement. With iconic landmarks
such as the Statue of Liberty and the
Empire State Building, the city invites
exploration. Central Park, a sprawling
341-hectare urban park, adds a touch
of natural grandeur to the landscape.
3. PARIS
5. MADRID
Madrid is renowned for its grand
museum and bustling streets that
feature exciting shops. It also has
restaurants with world-class cuisine.
Amidst the lively atmosphere, the city
also boasts tranquil and enchanting
historic locations.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
SHUTTERSTOCK
As the capital of France, Paris holds
a position of utmost significance and
influence globally. Renowned for its
exquisite cuisine, opulent culture and
stylish fashion scene, the city offers
abundant experiences. From iconic
landmarks like the Eiffel Tower to
the Champs Elysées, Paris presents
a myriad of attractions. Immerse yourself in the enchanting Parisian way of life
and discover the countless treasures this captivating city has to offer.
1
20
a
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7
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FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
The
Wrist
2
A bold new generation of founders
from villages and small towns is weaving
entrepreneurial dreams by exorcising the
nightmare of fear and rejection
By RAJIV SINGH
mere seven years after my graduation
day, I had failed on an epic scale,”
JK Rowling made a confession at a
commencement speech at Harvard
in 2008. “An exceptionally shortlived marriage had imploded, and
I was jobless, a lone parent, and as
poor as it is possible to be in modern
Britain, without being homeless,”
said the celebrated author of the
Harry Potter book series. “The fears
that my parents had for me, and that
I had for myself, had both come to
pass, and by every usual standard,
I was the biggest failure I knew.”
Back in Bengaluru, PC Musthafa
was going through the toughest, and
lowest, patch in his life. The IIMBangalore grad was into the fourth
year of his maiden entrepreneurial
venture of selling idli-dosa batter. iD
Fresh Food, which Musthafa started
with his cousins in 2005, was staring
at an uncertain future. The founder
had exhausted all savings and
capital in his Chennai-foray gambit,
which failed miserably; venture
capitalists shied away as they
couldn’t understand the potential of
the market; and after a slew of job
stints in Europe, the Middle East and
India—including Citibank in Dubai
and Intel in Bengaluru—it seemed
like Musthafa had failed at an epic
scale. There was no money to grow
the business, the salaries got delayed
by several months, and Musthafa
couldn’t pay the tuition fees of his
son. “It was tough,” he recalls.
Meanwhile, the journey was
getting punishing for Chaitanya
Ramalingegowda too. Started by
1. PC Musthafa of iD Fresh Food; 2. Chaitanya Ramalingegowda of Wakefit; 3. Tushar Mittal of SKV and
Officebanao; 4. Vishal Jindal of Biryani By Kilo; 5. Aloke Bajpai of ixigo; 6. Sibabrata Das of Atomberg;
7. Mohit Dubey of Chalo; 8. Shailesh Kumar of CABT Logistics
OVERVIEW
4
5
Spinners
3
Ankit Garg and Ramalingegowda in
March 2016, Wakefit disrupted the
Indian mattress market by taking
the product direct to the consumers,
and selling it online. The duo
was greeted with scepticism and
mistrust. “Mattress is a touch-andfeel product. From where will you
get the buyers?” was the question
asked by everybody, including the
potential funders who stayed away
from taking a bet. “I met 42 investors
in close to three years. All declined
to invest,” laments Ramalingegowda,
who had run two failed ventures
before starting Wakefit. The
going didn’t look promising for
the third one as well. Though
not dejected, Ramalingegowda
was living the feeling of being
rejected umpteen times.
There was somebody else also
who faced rejections all his life.
Mohit Dubey, in fact, came up with
an innovative defence mechanism to
deal with rejections. He embraced
rejections. “There was no fear of
being rejected. There was no fear
of failure,” says the co-founder of
Chalo, a bus tracking and ticketing
platform started in 2014. Dubey
indeed had a mortifying track record
in terms of rejections since his
childhood. From being robbed off
from buying things that would bring
a smile on the face of the small-town
boy due to limited resources of the
family, to coping with a broken glass
frame in boarding school, to being
bullied by the seniors, to finding
no takers for is venture after the
pandemic, Dubey had learnt to live
with a no. “I don’t fear rejections,”
he says. Those hailing from small
towns, and villages—Dubey’s
hometown Harshud eventually got
submerged under the Narmada
reservoir dam in 2004—have
nothing to lose. “That’s why they
have nothing to fear,” he adds.
Meanwhile, back at Harvard,
Rowling continued with her
gritty story. “Rock bottom became
the solid foundation on which I
rebuilt my life,” she underlined.
In this special issue of Forbes
India, you will uncover how a
bunch of gritty founders from
small towns and villages built and
rebuilt their lives on the fearless
solid foundation of big dreams and
hard work. Small-town mentality,
which was once a taunt, a jibe
and negative connotation, has
now become a badge of honour.
Resistance to change and the fear
of the unknown—which defined a
traditional small-town mentality—
are now a thing of the past. The ones
coming from such backgrounds are
fearless, high-risk takers, and adapt
to changes as swiftly as fish take to
water. “It’s amazing how the term
has flipped 180 degrees and assumed
positive vibes,” says Vinay Singh,
co-founder and partner at Fireside
Ventures, an early-stage VC fund
backing consumer brands. “Founders
from small towns have typically
better insights about the larger ‘India
2 or Bharat’ opportunity,” he adds.
There is something else which
is fascinating about such founders.
Anil Joshi explains. “There are
finger spinners, and then there are
wrist spinners,” says the founder
of Unicorn India Ventures. Both
are equally effective. But there is
something magical about wrist
spinners. “Founders from small
towns and villages are wrist
spinners,” says Joshi. “They are
special. They are mesmerising.”.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
21
22
PC Musthafa,
co-founder and CEO,
iD Fresh Food, at one
of the ginger farms
where his father
and he worked in
Chennalode village,
Wayanad, Kerala
TALK OF
THE TOWN
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
PC Musthafa was born in
Chennalode, a village in
Wayanad district of Kerala
ID FOODS
A Batter
Option
Battered by a rough childhood and
moulded by values of a village life,
PC Musthafa was driven to build a
venture where money was made in
the right way, for a right cause. The
result is an ever-expanding dosa-idli
batter empire in iD Fresh Food
t
23
Did schooling from government
school, Chennalode, and
government high school, Thariod
Completed his
MBA from
IIM-Bangalore
Bengaluru, 2010
he business was getting battered on
two fronts. First was the inability
to expand the frontiers of the idlidosa venture beyond Bengaluru.
PC Musthafa knew that the failure
to do so had nothing to do with
the product. In fact, it was the
superior quality of the batter that
made iD Fresh Food—the venture
started by Musthafa and his cousins
from a 50 square feet kitchen in
2005—a name to reckon with in
the software capital of India.
Back in 2005, the brothers were
convinced that batter was the best
business option for them. There was
a pressing need and huge demand
for superior quality of batter. The
supply, though, was unreliable
and unorganised. The kirana
background of the four cousins,
who ran a pocket-sized grocery
store in Indiranagar in Bengaluru,
and the enterprising mindset of the
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
ARUN CHANDRABOSE FOR FORBES INDIA
By RAJIV SINGH
“A village way of life
gives you values,
humility and jugaad.”
PC MUSTHAFA,
CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, iD FRESH FOOD
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
24
maverick IT professional—Musthafa
had a few job stints in Europe, the
Middle East and India, including
Citibank in Dubai and Intel in
Bengaluru—prodded them to take
a stab at the problem. They made a
humble beginning with a grinder,
mixer, sealing machine, weighing
scale and a second-hand Scooty,
and ended the first year with a
modest collection of `8 lakh. Over
the next three years, the revenue
jumped to `50 lakh. The business
was moving at a brisk pace.
Then came the big Chennai
experiment in 2009. iD was
selling around 3,500 kg of batter
in Bengaluru, and the aspiration
was to go to the Mecca of idlidosa: Chennai. Musthafa moved
swiftly, invested all the savings of
the company—`20 lakh—opened
a plant in Chennai and launched
batter at `40 per kilo. The move
flopped. Rivals were selling batter
at half the rate, some even lower
than `20 per kg. “Forget profit, their
MRP was not even the cost of my
raw material,” rues Musthafa, who
didn’t want to play the price game.
After over a year or so, iD exited a
profusely bleeding Chennai market.
The bombing of the Chennai
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
experiment had another devastating
collateral damage. iD started losing
ground on the home turf, Musthafa
didn’t have any capital to expand,
and the option of taking a bank
loan was never an option to begin
with. Musthafa explains. “We
don’t pay interest, we don’t take
interest. It’s against our ethical
values,” he says. EMIs, he adds,
are one more reason to shun any
kind of loan, and kill creativity
in individuals and businesses.
So, iD stayed confined to
Bengaluru, there was no bank money
to tide over the crisis, and raising
capital was well-nigh impossible.
This was a serious problem on the
second front. “Idli-dosa was not
a fancy business,” rues the firstgeneration entrepreneur who did
his MBA from IIM-Bangalore. “If I
had started a pizza business after my
MBA, many would have invested,”
he says. The business indeed had
a problem in terms of sizing by the
venture capitalists (VC). “They
were not sure of the size,” says
Musthafa. With VCs staying away
and the founder failing to get money
to grow the business, iD was in
the midst of a brewing crisis. The
batter play was becoming too thick.
Meanwhile, on a breezy evening
in Bengaluru, Musthafa was in
the thick of action. The carrom
game with employees—many
were friends, family and relatives
from Kerala—was entering into
an intense phase. Musthafa was
making another attempt to pocket
the queen, and yet again he failed.
After a few seconds, he again got
a chance. He again failed. The
brothers knew there was something
odd. They glanced at the big player,
who looked lost. The salary had
been delayed by almost six months.
“I was not able to pay the tuition
fees of my son,” recalls Musthafa,
who used to play carrom with his
cousins and relatives every day. “It
was tough,” he says. “I couldn’t pay
salaries, and still many stood by
me,” he says. The camaraderie and
the emotional bonding, the founder
underscores, is one of the blessings
that a village way of life gives you.
The village way of life, though,
was grinding. Musthafa takes us
back to his birthplace. Chennalode,
a secluded village in the Wayanad
district of Kerala, was not an easy
place to grow up in. “Back then,
there were no roads, no electricity,
and no schools,” he says. The young
boy had to travel six kilometres
every day to reach primary school.
“The high school was outside the
village,” he says. Life was difficult
for the boy. His father was a daily
wage earner and used to work on
a ginger farm. “He used to work
for 13 hours and earn `12 every
day,” he says. Musthafa’s mother,
he underlines, used to skip one
meal every day so that there was
sufficient food for the kids. The
hardship emotionally forced the
iD FRESH IN
NUMBERS
1.1 lakh kilo
Quantity of idli-dosa batter made
by iD Fresh every day
4 lakh
Parotas
manufactured
every day
2 lakh
Chapatis made
every day
72%
Around 72% of the revenue comes
from India; rest comes from GCC
(Gulf Cooperation Council)
26%
Karnataka happens to be the
biggest state contributing 26% to
revenue; Maharashtra comes
second with 17%; Telangana and
Andhra Pradesh chip in 14%
ID FOODS
PC Musthafa used to play
carrom with his cousins
and relatives every day.
The camaraderie and the
emotional bonding, he
says, is one of the
blessings that life in a
village gives you
is a way of life where there are no
shortcuts, even if that means paying
a hefty price. It was sometime in
2011. Musthafa launched a few side
products to shore up sales. One of
them was a diamond cut wafery
biscuit, which had the shape of a
mini samosa. The chilli-flavoured
product got an encouraging
reception in the market, and demand
started growing briskly. Then one
day, the founder got a call from one
of the big hotels in Bengaluru. The
manager made a weird demand. “He
wanted to buy thousands of kilos of
diamond cuts,” recalls Musthafa,
adding that the order for a month
NAME & GAME
iD Fresh Food was started
by PC Musthafa, Abdul
Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar
TK and Noushad TA in 2005
Raised seed funding in
2013; last funding round
of ` 506 crore was in
January 2022
Has a presence in 40 cities;
is available across 30,000
retail stores in India
Backers include Sequoia
Capital, Helion Venture
Partners, Premji Invest and
Foreign presence includes
the UAE, Oman, KSA, UK, US
and the UK
was more than what iD managed
to earn in a year. It was a jackpot,
and a God-sent opportunity to tide
over the financial blues. The eager
entrepreneur went to the hotel, met
the chef, and tried to understand
how such a huge quantity of
product would be consumed.
The diamond was about to lose
its sheen. “They wanted to make
it a bar snack, and serve it with
liquor,” says Musthafa. “Should I
be promoting my product to sell
liquor?” he wondered. The founding
team was confused. They discussed,
they debated, and they declined
the offer. “I felt like crying after
refusing to supply,” says the founder
who was torn between morals and
business realities. “Whatever be the
cost, I won’t do anything which has
a value conflict for us,” he says. It
was a tough call. iD badly needed
money to grow, to pay salaries
on time, and to expand its reach.
The money was on the table, but
Musthafa declined. “I was really
on the verge of crying,” he says.
Meanwhile, during his
engineering stint at Calicut, the
college student did cry once. It
was a seminar, and Musthafa had
to make a presentation. “I froze. I
couldn’t utter a word,” he recalls.
The huge crowd in the auditorium
was stunned. “It was my favourite
subject. I had prepared it so well.
Yet I couldn’t speak,” he says.
Musthafa left the room with tears
rolling down his face. “I failed
but I resolved to become a public
Gets 43 percent
revenue from batter;
33 percent from parota,
and 12% from
dairy
NewsQuest Capital
Has five manufacturing plants in Ajman,
Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad
Plans to enter
Bahrain, Kuwait
and Qatar in FY24;
Singapore and
Malaysia plans are
slotted for FY25
Has raised around
` 366.53
crore
in funding so far
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
25
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
young lad to work with his father,
who defined his role. “I used to
uproot the ginger, clean the soil, put
it in a bag and load it on my dad’s
shoulder. That was my role,” he says
with a smile. There was a cart, he
lets on, on which the produce was
loaded and transported to market
Years later, in 2007, Musthafa
faced a serious transport problem.
He started iD with one secondhand Scooty, and later bought
another vehicle. On a busy Friday
afternoon, the transport vehicle
broke down. The driver and the
salesman tried to fix it, but failed.
The towing vehicle demanded a
hefty fee of `2,000. “We couldn’t
afford it. So taking it was out of
question,” he recalls. The vehicle
remained stranded for hours, and
then a sudden realisation hit and the
panic set in. Saturday was the best
business day for iD. A stuck vehicle
meant zero business, and the impact
of it would be felt for weeks. Late in
the evening, Musthafa reached the
spot. “There has to be some way to
move this,” he thought and hunted
for a rope, wire or anything that
could help tow the vehicle. There
was none, though. Suddenly, his
salesman removed his lungi, tied it
to the stranded vehicle and took it
to the service centre. “Fortunately,
he was wearing underwear,”
says Musthafa, bursting into loud
laughter. “The city doesn’t teach you
this jugaad way of life. This comes
from the village,” he says smiling.
What also comes from the village
ID FOODS
26
speaker one day,” he says.
Back in his village, he flunked
in class VI. “I was not good at
studies. I dropped out of school,”
he says. On one of the days when
he was assisting his father on the
farm, he was spotted by his school
teacher. “Matthew sir motivated
me to go back to school,” he says.
After that, there was no looking
back. He worked hard, improved
his ranks, and eventually topped
the school. After finishing higher
secondary, he saw the world
outside of the village. “And after
my engineering, I saw a world
outside Kerala,” he says.
Fast forward to 2021. There
was another—and obnoxious—side
of the world that Musthafa was
about to see. There were social
media posts that alleged that iD
Fresh had animal extracts in its
products. The malicious rumour
went viral, the crisis snowballed,
and suddenly everything was
at stake for the company that
had amassed sizeable growth.
In FY21, iD clocked an operating
revenue of `294 crore, had a wide
presence in more than 45 cities,
and a retail footprint of 30,000
stores. “The false news was a
huge propaganda against iD,” says
Musthafa, who took a leaf out of his
village life in handling the situation.
“Every crisis is an opportunity for
a village boy,” he says, explaining
his disruptive move. “We opened
up our factory for a live tour and
live stream,” he says. The trigger to
do so, he explains, came from the
realisation that the village boy had
nothing to lose, and nothing to hide.
The inspiration, though, came
from his IIM professor. Back
during his MBA days, Musthafa was
REPORT CARD
Figures in ` crore
Operating revenue
Loss
FY23
FY22
FY21
FY20
238
294
522
32.88
70.38
27.69
42.8
SOURCE Regulatory filings and company
made to understand the difference
between a rat and an elephant in
terms of mindset. If a rat has to cross
MG Road in Bengaluru, explains
Musthafa, nobody will notice, and
the rodent will take shortcuts to do
it. On the other hand, if an elephant
crosses the road, the world will
notice. “iD had nothing to hide.
Elephants can’t hide,” he says.
The gambit of being transparent
worked, and the crisis was diffused.
A few quarters later, in 2023,
the economics of running a
transparent business seems to be
handsomely paying off. Let’s look
at the report card. From `238 crore
in FY20, the operating revenue
jumped to `522 crore in FY23. The
losses during the same period came
down from `42.8 crore to `32.88
crore. iD has five manufacturing
plants across Ajman, Mumbai,
Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad;
has raised around `366.53 crore
in funding so far; and has backers
such as Sequoia Capital, Helion
Venture Partners, Premji Invest
and NewsQuest Capital. In terms
of revenue distribution, around
43 percent comes from batter, 33
“They have a great understanding
of value proposition and exhibit a
value-conscious mindset.”
RAHUL CHOWDHRI, PARTNER, STELLARIS VENTURE PARTNERS
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
412
percent from parota, and 12 percent
from dairy. The company now
plans to enter Bahrain, Kuwait and
Qatar over the next few months. In
terms of manufacturing prowess
too, iD has morphed into a batter
goliath. Around 1.1 lakh kilos of
idli-dosa batter, and 4 lakh parotas
are made every day (see box).
Frugality, reckon funding gurus,
is one of the biggest weapons of
most of the founders from small
towns. Take, for instance, iD. A
loss of just `32.88 crore is peanuts
as compared to the bulging
bottomlines of most consumer
product startups. “Most of them
have come from a background
where resources were scarce,”
says Rahul Chowdhri, partner at
Stellaris Venture Partners. They
have a great understanding of value
propositions and have a valueconscious mindset. “The values
also get reflected in employee
relations and the understanding
that they have,” he adds.
Musthafa, for his part, lists
out three attributes from life in a
village that have become a part of
his DNA. “Values, humility and
jugaad… earning money the
right way and for a right cause is
extremely crucial,” he maintains.
A tree, he underlines, laden with
fruit will always bend low. “This
is what your village and your
family teaches,” he signs off.
28
TALK OF
THE TOWN
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Sibabrata Das was born in Dwarbond
village, Cachar district of Assam
Studied till class 6 at Anipur, which
is two hours from Silchar district
ATOMBERG
Growing
Fandom
With a rocky childhood, wobbly
upbringing and dodgy formative
years of entrepreneurship,
Sibabrata Das learnt to find order
in chaos. The result is a heady fan
following for Atomberg
Sibabrata Das,
co-founder, Atomberg,
at the Durga Puja
pandal of Pandu in his
hometown in Guwahati
Relocated to Guwahati, finished
schooling from a Bengali-medium school
Did BTech in civil engineering
from IIT-Bombay
29
Mumbai, 2019
hirty days. Almost seven years of a
bumpy Atomberg ride was all set
for a screeching halt in a month.
“Thirty days were all we had,”
recalls Sibabrata Das, who joined
Manoj Meena as a co-founder in
2013. “We had run out of money,”
rues Das, who made countless—and
futile—funding pitches to almost all
venture capital (VC) funds in India
and abroad between 2016 and 2018.
Unfortunately, nobody believed
in the story of a bunch of upstarts
who were hustling to disrupt an
archaic ceiling fan industry with
their energy-efficient smart fans.
The reason for the disbelief
was a no-brainer. Atomberg was
pitted against legacy players and
industry Goliaths such as Bajaj,
Crompton, Havells and Usha. “Who
will buy your fans?” was the usual
scepticism that greeted the founders.
“You won’t be able to scale” was
the regular dismissive prophecy
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
NILOTPAL BARUAH FOR FORBES INDIA
t
By RAJIV SINGH
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
30
made by umpteen marquee
VCs and industry experts.
Das, meanwhile, was
hoping against hope. “We
had stretched ourselves to the
maximum,” recounts Das, adding
that the odds were heavily stacked
against the fledgling startup that was
building fans which were designed
to consume only 28 watts—this was
65 percent less than the energy
used by the plain-vanilla peers—as
against 75-80 watts by the muchfamed rivals. “Forget the first choice,
we were not even the last choice
of the VCs,” he says. Funders
shied away from taking a
punt on the greenhorns.
The gloomy prediction of abject
rejection and failure by experts,
though, was a bit unfair and farfetched. Incubated at the society for
innovation and entrepreneurship
(SINE) at IIT-Bombay in 2012,
Atomberg started as a technology
consulting venture, underwent a
slew of pivots over the next few
years, and in 2015, started building
energy-efficient ceiling fans to
supply to institutional buyers such
as hospitals and colleges. A year
later, in 2016, Atomberg made
a transition from B2B to B2C
business, and started selling fans.
Ironically, the route taken to
reach out to consumers gave more
ammunition to the naysayers. “Are
fans bought online? Can you sell
them online?” were the two big
questions staring at the founders
who were trying to make a mark in
an industry where the absence of
offline distribution muscle resulted
in the premature death of endless
local challengers who dared to take
on the might of the incumbents.
However, by early 2019,
Atomberg had put on enough heft
to muffle the critics. The numbers
looked impressive. While the
operating revenue for FY19 was
`37 crore, Atomberg was producing
1,000 fans every day. “Still, we
couldn’t find institutional backers,”
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
ATOMBERG IN
NUMBERS
$130 mln
Funding amount
raised by the
smart consumer
appliances
brand so far
1 million units
Monthly manufacturing
capacity at Chakan
plant in Pune
6 million+
Number of units sold by
Atomberg so far
25,000+
Number of retail
touchpoints across
the country, and 400
service centres
rues Das. Now in 2019, the blades
of the fans were set to stop. There
was no imminent funding in sight,
salaries were getting delayed,
and vendors started hounding for
their pound of flesh. “We just had
a lifeline of 30 days,” he says.
Back in a nondescript village in
Assam, it was all about 730 days.
At Anipur, a young Das, his family
and scores of fellow villagers
survived 730 days—two
years—without electricity
and water supply. Born
in Dwarbond, a remote
village snuggled in the Cachar
district of Assam, Das got enrolled
in a ramshackle local school where
Bengali was the only medium of
instruction. “My friends used to
skip a few classes, step out of the
school to take cattle for grazing,
and then come back,” recalls Das.
Life progressed in slow motion,
studies took a back seat, and
there was little to complain about
the laidback life. Like his father,
most of the villagers worked in a
nearby sugar mill, which got shut
down when Das was in class IV.
The next two years were tough.
The closure of the factory had a
cascading effect. Erratic supply
NAME & GAME
Atomberg was founded by Manoj Meena
and Sibabrata Das in 2012
Consumer appliances brand raised $86 million in its
Series C round led by Temasek & Steadview in May
Product portfolio includes energy-efficient BLDC & smart fans, mixer grinders and smart locks
Mumbai-based firm claims
to have sold more than 6
million units so far
Has offline presence across
25,000+ retail touchpoints
across the country
Company has raised nearly
$130 million so far
Backers include A91 Partners, Temasek, Steadview Capital, Trifecta Capital, Jungle Ventures, Inflexor
Ventures, Survam Partners
Has a manufacturing facility at Chakan, Pune, with a capacity
of more than 1 million units/month
Has over 400 service
centres across India
ATOMBERG
My friends used to skip a few classes, step out of the
school to take cattle for grazing, and then come back
on bare minimum resources, and
the learning got inadvertently
embedded in his muscle memory.
Months lapsed, Das cleared
his class X papers, and decided to
prepare for engineering. Though
he exhibited enough enthusiasm,
displayed keen intent and put
in the required hours of intense
preparation, nobody at his coaching
centre—neither the teachers nor his
batchmates—remotely expected a
winner out of the village boy. The
reason was his crippling handicap in
comprehending English. “I used to
take a long time to respond,” recalls
Das, who couldn’t clear the exams in
his maiden attempt. Failure, though,
was never an option for Das who
“Nobody believed
that the brand could
make a dent in the
brick-and-mortar
world.”
SIBABRATA DAS, CO-FOUNDER, ATOMBERG
made it to IIT in his second attempt.
Interestingly, during his IITBombay days, Das had a string
of failures as a fledgling founder.
In his second year, he started a
website development venture
with his friend. The year after,
he started trading in silk. “We
used to export silk from Assam to
Dubai,” he recalls. In the fourth
year, he started an online cosmetics
marketplace, somewhat similar to
Nykaa. All the ventures flopped.
“Some didn’t have a productmarket fit and some failed due to
immaturity,” he confesses. Giving
up, though, was never an option.
Back in Mumbai, during the
formative years of Atomberg, the
resilience came in handy. For
three years—2013 to 2015—the
co-founders dabbled in various
ventures. The initial gig of taking
projects from institutions such as
ISRO, Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre (BARC), Indian Institute
of Technology (IIT) and Defence
Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) fuelled the
tech consulting business for a while.
There was no scale, though, and the
co-founders were still figuring out
how to decipher the larger picture.
Then came a series of rapid-fire
cameos: From a vehicle tracking
system to a data acquisition device
to three more ideas. Everything was
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
31
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
of electricity came to a sudden
halt, and water supply too got
disconnected. After two years of
hardship, Das’s family relocated to
Guwahati. Nothing changed, though.
The patriarch continued with his
relentless hustle, Das got enrolled
into a government school where he
continued his learning in Bengali
and gradually got inducted into
the elementary world of English,
and the young lad discovered his
talent for cricket. Nobody gave
him a chance though. In one of the
cricketing camps conducted in class
VIII, Das enlisted himself. The team
got selected on the second day of
the three-day process, but a few
players, including Das, were left
in the lurch. “We were not given a
chance, favouritism was at play, and
the team was selected,” he rues.
On the final day, however, a
miracle happened. The coach tossed
up the ball to Das and asked him
to bowl an over. The young lad
grabbed the opportunity, took three
wickets in six balls, and impressed
everybody. In fact, he stunned the
coach by uprooting his stumps with
sheer pace. As expected, Das made
his way into the shortlist of 16,
and then eventually found himself
as the 11th player. Over the next
few months, the lad lived up to his
potential, and his name started
popping up in local Assamese papers.
The happiness, though, was shortlived. When Das was in class IX,
his father passed away. Das’s eldest
brother had to drop out of college,
and his mother started working.
Suddenly, cricket went out of his
life. The only mission in his life
was studies, the only recreational
activity that gave him happiness was
walking through the steep hills a
few kilometres away from his house,
and the only indulgence was aalo
paratha that his mother brought
once in a fortnight. “Once a week
we would get bakery biscuits, which
we would ensure last for over 10
days,” he recalls. Das was surviving
ATOMBERG
645
32
tried, and everything bombed. “We
were dubbed as failures,” recalls Das.
Friends and well-wishers advised
the duo to take up jobs, many
suggested that entrepreneurship was
not for them, and the peer pressure—
IIT-Bombay grads were in the news
for raising funds for their respective
ventures—was becoming unbearable.
Back during the IIT days,
pressure was a constant companion.
“I was at the bottom 5 percent,”
Das makes a blunt assessment of
his pecking order. Interestingly, a
few years down the line, Das again
found himself at the bottom of the
pyramid. This time the context was
Atomberg’s offline presence. By
April 2018, Atomberg had started
producing 500 fans daily—it was
30 fans per day in April 2016—but
its ability to scale at a furious
pace was constrained by a lack of
offline presence. “Nobody believed
that the brand could make a dent
in the brick-and-mortar world,”
says Das, who takes us back to
his childhood days. As a young
lad, Das used to walk for hours
and climb treacherous hills. “I
used to love the view from the
top,” he says. The initial hike, he
adds, is the most difficult part of
climbing. “But the exercise helped
me conquer my fear,” he adds.
As he grew up, the art of
trouncing fear became a potent
weapon. From engineering
coaching classes to inside the
college campus to the numerous
bombed experiments in IIT and
the tumultuous formative years at
Atomberg, fear was always nipped
in the bud. “The word doesn’t exist
in my dictionary,” says Das, who
shares the secret sauce of slaying
fear. “If you can navigate the initial
REPORT CARD
Operating Revenue
Figures in ` crore
Loss
346
143
68.9
13.2
39.2
39.3
138
FY20
FY21
FY22
FY23
SOURCE Regulatory filings and company; FY23 loss includes `92 crore of non-cash provision and one-time expense like fundraising cost
turmoil, and if you have enough
patience to ride through the storm,
you will survive and grow.”
Das’s resilience, along with the
gumption of his co-founder, who
hails from Jaipur, gets mirrored in
the growth trajectory of Atomberg.
From an operating revenue of
`68.9 crore in FY20, the numbers
have pole-vaulted to `645 crore
in FY23. The smart consumer
appliances brand has raised $130
million in funding so far; has a
monthly manufacturing capacity of
1 million units at its Chakan plant
in Pune; claims to have sold over
6 million fans since inception; and
has built a vast retail footprint of
over 25,000 touchpoints and 400
service centres across the country.
What is most impressive, though,
about the founders is their venture.
Vinay Singh explains. “Founders
from small towns have typically
better insights about the larger
‘India 2 or Bharat’ opportunity,”
reckons the co-founder and partner
at Fireside Ventures, an earlystage VC fund backing consumer
brands. Sibabrata, the VC contends,
understood the importance of
electricity bills for an average Indian
consumer. Using this insight, they
created a motor which helped in
“Founders from small towns have
better insights about the larger
‘India 2 or Bharat’ opportunity.”
VINAY SINGH, CO-FOUNDER AND PARTNER, FIRESIDE VENTURES
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
saving money. There are other
founders from small towns who
had a better pulse of the consumer
pain points and needs, and ended up
creating a product or service which
is a much-needed pull rather than
a push. Take, for instance, Animall.
The co-founders are from IIT, but
they were brought up in a family
and culture where cattle played an
integral part. “Now somebody from
the city can’t even think, forget relate
to, of starting such a business,” he
says. “This is what small town does.”
Das, meanwhile, lists out his
takeaways from his upbringing in a
village and small town. “Humility
is the most important trait,” he
says, adding that the quality gets
reflected in the brand. “We have
had several acquisition offers from
big brands over the last few years,
but we declined politely,” he says.
“We never said we will crush them
all and be the biggest,” he says. The
second trait that got inadvertently
ingrained in the brand DNA was
ambition. “We are ambitious, but we
are not impatient. We are hungry,
but we are not greedy,” he says,
adding that the culture of ‘hire and
fire’ is missing from the company.
Commenting on his small-town
upbringing, Das reckons that
everybody gets an opportunity in
life. What eventually differentiates
success from failure is two things.
First is an individual aware of the
opportunity when it knocks. Second,
if aware, did he/she grab it with both
hands. “We did,” he signs off.
34
TALK OF
THE TOWN
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Vishal Jindal was born in Agra and lived there
until he was 11; the family then relocated to Delhi
BIRYANI BY KILO
Rice and
Spice
a
An Agra native is ambitiously
trying to write a multinational
biryani story. Can Vishal
Jindal get the ingredients
right with Biryani By Kilo?
35
Vishal Jindal,
co-founder and CEO,
Biryani By Kilo
Completed engineering
from IIT-BHU
Completed MBA from Syracuse
University, New York
Agra, November 2012
fter a gap of four years, Vishal Jindal
was back in his hometown. There
was a nip in the evening air and the
brightly lit bylanes of Sadar Bazaar
were packed with foodies. The hedge
fund investor, who had been born in
Agra and completed his schooling
from the land of the Taj and then
went on to study engineering from
IIT-BHU, was one of them. As he
was busy relishing his kebabs and
tandoori chicken, a thought struck
the investor who had moved to
Singapore and had a significant
exposure to food and beverage
companies in his Asia portfolio.
Agra, he thought, was known
across the country for a slew of
delicacies such as petha and jalebi.
“There are local players. But
can there be a national brand?”
he wondered. “And why can’t a
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
AMIT VERMA
By RAJIV SINGH
Added 38 outlets in FY23,
and entered Bengaluru and Hyderabad
Around 30 percent of revenue
comes from Delhi-NCR; 16 percent
from Bengaluru and Hyderabad;
18 percent from Mumbai and Pune
Now has 95 outlets
across 45 cities; 41 outlets
have dine-in as well
Started as a
delivery-only brand;
opened first cloud
kitchen in Gurugram
“I want to build a
large, multinational
biryani brand out
of India.”
VISHAL JINDAL,
CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, BIRYANI BY KILO
multinational brand be built out
of a local cuisine?” he pondered.
The captivating taste, and the
thought lingered in the investor’s
mind over the next few years. If
McDonald’s and Domino’s can
appeal to the palate of Indians—
and make it big—then why can’t
the success be replicated by a
local food brand… the innocuous
thought tormented him for months.
The years went by, Jindal shifted
from the hedge fund to a private
equity (PE) firm in India, made
zero investments in any food
business, but started investing time
in interacting with a diverse army
of F&B experts across the country.
His quest was to find out the secret
ingredients that would make a brand
out of a local food commodity. “I
somehow was never comfortable
with the investment career,” he
confesses. “I was always a founder.”
And indeed Jindal was a founder
to begin with. The second-generation
entrepreneur who worked in the
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
36
Biryani By Kilo was
started by Kaushik
Roy and Vishal
Jindal in May 2015
Has raised `270 crore in
funding so far; backers
include Ivycap Ventures and
Alphawave
NAME & GAME
US for a year after completing his
MBA, came back to India in 1996
and started an electronics trading
company along with his brother. The
duo used to import high-value added
equipment from the US, Europe,
China and Taiwan, and supply it
to a bunch of companies such as
IBM, Compaq and HP. “We were
their preferred vendors,” he claims.
The business went on for close to a
BIRYANI BY KILO
IN NUMBERS
10,000 kilos
Quantity of biryani made every day
2,500
95
SKUs in kebabs
sold every day
Number of outlets
across 45 cities
“At times, you need an outsider
to spot the big opportunity in
cities. Biryani is one such
classic example.”
ASHITA AGGARWAL, PROFESSOR OF MARKETING,
SP JAIN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Is in talks for its
international foray in the
Middle East
decade, Jindal lost interest due to
a constant dip in the profit margins
and the realisation that he had
morphed into a trader rather than
a founder. The thought of building
something of his own was always
buzzing at the back of his mind.
Now, in early 2015, Jindal was
taking a food break. Done with his
PE gig, he decided to start his food
venture along with Kaushik Roy.
The reaction of Jindal’s colleagues
and friends was along expected lines
when they got to know that he had
decided to start a biryani brand.
They thought the investor was out
of his mind. “Are you relocating to
Agra to sell biryani? Who makes
biryani in a handi? How big can the
business be? It’s a regional dish, and
has regional variations. You can’t
standardise biryani… these were
some of the questions, apprehensions
and jibes that the second-time
founder with zero experience in the
food business was greeted with.
Scepticism was nothing new
for Jindal. In fact, as a young boy
he had seen it from close quarters
when his father decided to become
an entrepreneur. “My grandfather
was a lawyer, and nobody had
a business background in my
family,” says Jindal. The business
of manufacturing stabilisers, he
points out, had its moments of ups
and downs but his father navigated
them quite well. “He always asked
me to live my dream,” he says.
BIRYANI BY KILO
REPORT CARD
Figures in ` cr
Operating
revenue
52.26
FY20
of `3 crore. With a plan to expand
the footprint, Jindal entered into
funding talks with a big VC fund.
The process got protracted, Jindal
was set to run out of money over
the next few months, and the
prospective funder chickened out
at the last moment. “At the eleventh
hour, he decided that the market
for biryani was not too big to make
a bet,” says Jindal. Miraculously,
in June, IvyCap led a Series A
round of $5 million. The next big
221.75
135.11
65.67
Loss
Loss
22.5
Biryani met the criteria
Jindal had in mind:
The food had to be
something that could be
delivered without losing
its flavour and it had to
be a meal, not a snack
15.68
FY21
42.63
FY22
100.71
FY23
SOURCE Regulatory filings and company
crisis came in 2020 when Covid
threatened to consume the food and
hospitality businesses. However,
having a delivery-first model in
the DNA came to the rescue.
Biryani By Kilo, reckon marketing
and branding experts, is not the first
to build a brand out of biryani, but
it is definitely a trailblazer when it
comes to building a national brand.
“There are strong regional biryani
brands across India but they are
challenged by their geographical
limitations,” says Ashita Aggarwal,
professor of marketing at SP Jain
Institute of Management and
Research. Jindal, she contends, has
taken an audacious step, and it is
still early days for the brand. While
having a uniform taste might be a big
challenge, the positive side is that it
helps it to scale. “They also need to
take care of their losses,” she sounds
a word of caution. From `22.5 crore
in FY20, the losses have jumped
to `100.71 crore. During the same
period, the revenue has increased
from `52.26 crore to `221.75 crore.
Jindal, for his part, maintains
that he is focusing on bringing down
losses and hitting profitability. Jindal
explains the reason behind the jump
in loss from `42.63 crore in FY22 to
`100.71 in FY23. In FY23, he points
out, the brand added 38 outlets.
It came on the back of a sizeable
number which were added in FY22.
“There was also an increase in
marketing and advertising costs
because the brand entered the
new markets of Bengaluru and
Hyderabad,” he says. “We are
on the path to profitability and
you will see that in the FY24
numbers,” he claims, adding that
his dream is to build a `1,000
crore profitable food brand out
of India. “We also plan to go
overseas,” he says. “There are
monuments and then there is the
Taj. Similarly, there are biryani
brands and there is a disruptor in
Biryani By Kilo,” he signs off.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
37
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
“There was nothing like the Taj
before the Taj was constructed,” was
his favourite one-liner. “If you can
build a business out of your passion,
then it’s magical,” was his advice.
In 2015, foodie Jindal was
ready to listen to his passion. “I
didn’t select biryani randomly,”
he maintains, adding that there
were a slew of prerequisites that he
looked for in a cuisine before taking
the plunge. First, the food had to
be something that could be easily
delivered without losing its flavour.
He knew pizzas, burgers and dosas
scored poorly on this front. Biryani
ticked the box. Second, the food had
to be a meal and not a snack. The
insight came from his birthplace
where he had seen that in spite of
the love people had for snacks, there
was an unmet craving for a dish
that could be filling and fulfilling.
Biryani again scored highly. Third,
it was okay to have a strong regional
nuance or taste palette for a cuisine—
take, for instance, biryani variants
like Hyderabadi, Muradabadi,
Lucknawi and in Kolkata—but
it must have a pan-India appeal.
Biryani, without any reservations,
outdid every rival cuisine. With all
the ingredients in place, Jindal rolled
out delivery-first brand Biryani By
Kilo in Gurugram in May 2015.
The first few years were sedate.
Biryani By Kilo opened two outlets
in 2015, doubled it the next year,
and by March 2019, it had 18 outlets
and was clocking a monthly revenue
38
TALK OF
THE TOWN
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Shailesh Kumar was born in Morey, a
village which is 20 kilometres from
Samastipur district in Bihar
CABT LOGISTICS
Sealed &
Delivered
After two flop ventures
in cabs and ecommerce,
Shailesh Kumar joined
Flipkart as a delivery boy
in 2017. Six years later, the
village boy from Bihar has
built a `150-crore logistics
company, and half of the
business comes from Flipkart
t
39
Shailesh Kumar, founder &
CEO, CABT Logistics, with his
mother in the courtyard of
the house he was born in, in
Morwa Raytol in Samastipur
district, Bihar
Did his
schooling from
Samastipur
Completed engineering
from Punjab Technical
University
Samastipur, Bihar
he math teacher was about to
introduce two new concepts.
“You can change the orders, but it
won’t alter the sum or the result,”
contended the tutor, explaining
the commutative property of
addition in algebra. If you add four
to two, he shared an example with
a bunch of attentive students in a
state-run municipal school, you
will have the same result as when
you reverse the order. Similarly, a
change in the order of a group of
numbers doesn’t change the sum.
“This is an associative property
of addition,” he underscored. A
few students looked perplexed.
One of the lads at the back,
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
MADHU KAPPARATH
By RAJIV SINGH
The Gurugram-based
CABT Logistics
Bootstrapped company
though, had a smirk on his face.
NAME
intra-city
logistics
firm
claims to have a
was
started
by
“I completed the chapter much
&
GAME
has
seen
its
revenue
jump
network
of over 15,000
Shailesh
Kumar
in
2016
ahead of the others,” recalls
and became operational
riders and delivery
from ` 1.7 crore in FY20
Shailesh Kumar, revealing his
in 2018
to ` 159.22 crore in FY23 partners across India
natural advantage. His teacher
It handles 20 lakh orders per day;
happened to be his father
has set up 35 micro-warehousing facilities
who made him fall in love
across the country
with math and physics. “He
Counts Flipkart, Amazon, Meesho, Purplle,
used to teach us at home
and Ferns N Petals among its clients
as well,” says Kumar, who
had a knack for numbers and
calculations, and was blessed with
a poignant sense of observation.
Kumar completed his BTech in
CABT IN NUMBERS
The perceptive quality helped
2011. The next challenge was to
the lad during his formative years
clear the Graduate Aptitude Test
in Samastipur, his hometown
in Engineering (GATE), which
in Bihar. Over three-and-a-half
he did, but the gates to a golden
decades back, Samastipur was a
future remained shut. Poor marks
CABT has a
Claims to have
quintessential small town in an
and low ranks meant one thing:
network of over
serviced
overwhelming agrarian set-up
He had to start from scratch.
over 30
15,000 delivery
of Bihar. Life would move at a
A few quarters later, Kumar
enterprises so far
partners
leisurely pace, the aspirations of
had calculated his risk, and
the students would either be to
reward. After a few quick job
become a doctor, an engineer or
stints—the first didn’t work out
Services over 12,000+ pin codes
at best join a state government
as he was deemed overqualified,
and 23 states
service, and the happiness quotient
and got frustrated; the second was
would always top the chart on
stressful as he didn’t get paid for
the ‘things-to-seek list’. “Life was
four months; with just `17,000 per
was a rewarding future. Well, the
calculated, and so was the ‘risk
aspirant couldn’t make it, came
month, the third was not worth
and reward’ ratio,” he says.
back to Bihar, and prepared for
pursuing for long—Kumar landed
Growing up in a one-room house
other engineering examinations.
a `32,000-a-month job at Dell. His
with five occupants—Kumar had
That too didn’t work. His father
cab driver, though, used to earn
three siblings—the young lad clearly
forced him to take admission in
`60,000 every month. This made
understood that education was the
Punjab Technical University, and
the young engineer think of avenues
only key to upgrade his quality of
to make quick money, and starting
life. With a modest monthly income
a cab service looked promising
of `1,400, his father did his best to
and rewarding. In October 2013,
he took a loan, bought a Toyota
take care of the family. “We were
Innova, and after two weeks, he
always strapped for resources,” he
got to know the risk. His cab got
says. Born in 1986, Kumar grew up
stolen from Gurugram. “My salary
listening to the underdog story of
was `32,000, and the EMI of the car
the Kapil Dev-led Indian cricket
team which lifted the World Cup in
was `29,800,” he says with a smile.
1983. “He took the risk of thinking
The cab business, though, soon
of making a career in cricket, and
came back on track. After a few
he got amply rewarded,” he says.
months, the car was recovered,
Meanwhile, in Kota, Rajasthan,
Kumar joined Yatra.com as a
Kumar was crystal clear about the
vendor, and he took more loans
“When you have
risk and reward. After finishing
and borrowed from friends to buy
nothing to lose,
his secondary schooling, Kumar
more cars to expand the fleet. All
you have
dashed to the coaching hub to
went well for a few months, and
everything to win.”
prepare for IIT. The risk was losing
then came the Supreme Court
a year or so if he couldn’t make it
verdict banning diesel-run vehicles
SHAILESH KUMAR, FOUNDER, CABT
LOGISTICS
in the first attempt, and the reward
in Delhi NCR. Though Kumar’s
15,000+
30+
12,000+
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
40
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
CABT LOGISTICS
Kumar had a knack
for numbers and
calculations, and was
blessed with a poignant
sense of observation
a fairy tale: From a paltry `1.7 crore
in FY20 to a staggering `159.22
crore in FY23; from 40 employees
in 2019 to over 2,000 now; and
from delivering across a handful
of cities to covering 23 states and
over 12,000 pin codes in 2023.
The journey, though, had its
“Fear of
failure
doesn’t
cripple
them.”
RAJAN GAHLOT, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
(COMMERCE), UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
REPORT CARD
Operating revenue
FY21
FY20
`
`
FY23
Profit
`
FY22
`
5.95 crore
4.28 crore
98.88 lakh
17.48 lakh
`
1.7 crore
`
29.12 crore
`
95.69 crore
`
SOURCE
159.22 crore
Regulatory filings and company
share of hiccups. For at least close
to three years, Flipkart was the
biggest and dominant source of
business. Overdependence had
its flip side which got exposed
during the end of 2020. The big
task to diversify the business and
add more clients started from
2021 onwards. The second big
challenge came from well-funded
rivals who started poaching from
Kumar’s team. The bootstrapped
company found it hard to keep
its flock together. Some left,
many stayed back. Kumar, for
his part, doesn’t feel that staying
bootstrapped was a handicap
when it came to fighting the big
boys in the market. A funded
startup, he underlines, will also
pay its team at the end of month,
and so will a non-funded venture.
If the inputs remain the same,
Kumar explains, the output will
be the same even if you rejig the
inputs. “This is the commutative
property of addition, which I
learnt in school but understood
when I started CABT,” he says.
Founders from small towns,
reckon experts, are usually
unrelenting in their pursuit of
success. “Well, they haven’t had
much during their growing up
years. So, they have a high level of
desperation,” says Rajan Gahlot,
assistant professor at the University
of Delhi. Most of them have lived
a rock-bottom life, so they shun
the low-hanging fruit and display
high risk in trying to maximise
their bets. “The fear of failure
doesn’t cripple them,” he adds.
Kumar, meanwhile, believes
that a shoe-string upbringing
prepared him to endure tough
times during his entrepreneurial
gigs. “Do you know why
people from Bihar have
a good track record in
cracking civil services?”
he asks. “They know they
don’t have an option. They
have to do it,” he signs off.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
41
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
business was largely unaffected
due to new cars in his fleet, the
sudden regulatory change made him
rethink about a business that was
tied to external factors. “I decided
to change track,” says Kumar, who
also found a new job at HCL.
Kumar’s next side gig was
an ecommerce venture. From
T-shirts to shoes to electronics and
headphones, Kumar bought goods
from wholesale distributors, and
started selling them online. The
business bombed. Why? The naïve
founder failed to figure out the
high cost of reverse in ecommerce.
The cost of returning the unsold
goods was much more than their
cost price. “I failed to realise that
logistics could play such a big role
in the venture,” laments Kumar.
As unsold inventory started piling
up, losses ballooned, and Kumar
pressed the exit button. With zero
capital reserve and a pressing need
to keep the fire burning, Kumar
joined Flipkart as a delivery boy
in 2017. “When I got married, I
was a manager at HCL. Within
months, I was a delivery boy,” he
says. Over a year later, he rolled
out his own intra-city logistics
firm CABT (creativity at best
technologies) Logistics in 2018.
Cut to November 2023. The
delivery boy from Flipkart has
built a bootstrapped delivery
business, which clocked close to
`160 crore in FY23. When put in
context, the CABT story looks like
“One trait I value
the most is openmindedness… and
you learn this the
most when you
have to adapt.”
Ticket to
MOHIT DUBEY, CO-FOUNDER AND
CEO, CHALO
42
TALK OF
THE TOWN
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Mohit was born in
Narsinghpur,
Madhya Pradesh
Did primary schooling from Harshud, a
700-year-old small town which got
submerged under the Narmada reservoir dam
Bharat
m
CHALO
Influenced by the constraints of growing up in a
small town, and disciplined by a regimented way
of life in a boarding school, Mohit Dubey learnt
to relate to the plight of millions. In Chalo, he has
built a bus tracking and ticketing platform for
Bharat and India
By RAJIV SINGH
Did his master’s in
management from
Goa University
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
43
AKASHDEEP VERMA FOR FORBES INDIA
Completed class VI
to XII from Sainik
School, Rewa
1983, Harshud, Madhya Pradesh
ohit Dubey was standing in a queue
for an hour. There were many
who were patiently waiting in the
serpentine row for over two hours.
“The sight of the neatly-lined up
water buckets was fascinating,”
recalls Dubey, who was nine years
old then. With no water supply in
Harshud, tankers used to come twice
a week on Monday and Thursday.
This Monday, they got delayed.
The young boy, though, had little
to complain about. The screeching
noise of the railway track, which was
close to the place where the tankers
got parked, and constant chatter of
the ones sweating it out in the line,
kept Dubey hooked. “I used to talk
and mingle a lot,” he recounts.
What also kept the boy busy was
putting in extra hours in studies.
Born in Narsinghpur in Madhya
Pradesh, Dubey’s family shifted to
Harshud, from where he completed
his schooling till class V. “You start
valuing things much early in life if
you are born in a place that doesn’t
have water,” says Dubey, who used
to cycle six kilometres one way to
reach school. “Electricity, too, was
a luxury and privilege,” he says,
adding that his father gave education
a top priority. He was employed
in an agricultural department of
the state, and wanted his son to
have a bright academic future.
Future definitely was the only
reason why Dubey’s father decided
to put him in Sainik School.
Residential schools affiliated to
CBSE and run by the defence
ministry, Sainik Schools were slowly
being looked up to as a ticket to
a bright future. The one in Rewa
had better infrastructure, offered
impressive opportunities and
boasted highly qualified teachers
than what Dubey had access to till
then. The boy started a new innings
in class VI. “I am doing what is best
for you,” the father told his son
about the apparently harsh decision
of exposing him to the hostel way
of life at a young age. “Remember,
when you grow up, you too must do
what is best for you and society,”
was his life-changing advice.
Dubey’s life, indeed, was about
to change dramatically. “Suddenly
I was on my own,” recounts Dubey,
who started getting a hang of an
independent and regimented way
of life. From competing with boys
from the top cities to standing up
to the rowdy ones who would bully
him because of his short height,
Dubey was learning a new way of
life. “I lived with two options at
the hostel for seven years,” he says,
alluding to his stint at boarding
schools. “Either I had to eat, or
I was free to stay hungry,” he
smiles, referring to lack of choice
in the mess unlike home where he
was pampered by his mother.
Fast forward to 2001. Dubey again
had tryst with two choices. The
software programmer had just got
his prized US visa, and decided to
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
44
NAME & GAME
Chalo was founded by Mohit Dubey,
Vinayak Bhavnani, Priya Singh and Dhruv Chopra
in 2014
Bus tracking and ticketing platform
closed its first round of funding in 2015;
has raised $119 million so far
Runs premium buses for daily commute in
Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata
Chalo
acquired Shuttl
in 2021, and Vogo
in 2022
Is present in 51
cities across India,
as well as in
Philippines and
Thailand
Claims to deliver close to 2 billion rides
every year on its platform
CHALO IN NUMBERS
Present in
51
cities
Downloaded
more than
10 million
times
Live-tracks over
15,000
buses
Powers
150 million
rides
in a month
Raised
$119 million
to date
spend three months with his in-laws
in Bhopal before joining his overseas
job. During the period, he joined
a small company which provided
citizen-centric services to villagers
such as getting a birth certificate
and a copy of land records. During
one of his visits to a remote hamlet,
he discovered a shocking side of
the countryside: People didn’t have
access to doctors; one had to wait
for hours to get a bus; and many
“Founders from small towns
know how to do more with less.”
ANISHA SINGH, PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, SP JAIN INSTITUTE
OF MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Backers include Waterbridge, Advantege Capital,
VH Capital, Raine, Xiaomi, Lightrock, Filter Capital, Avataar
Ventures and Lightrock
died because they couldn’t reach
the city hospitals on time. Dubey
dumped his US dream. “Dying
due to lack of health care access is
outrageous,” he said to himself, and
decided to take a stab at telemedicine
to solve rural India’s woes.
The idea was to connect distant
villages with district hospitals.
The problem, though, was that
few believed in his idea. For three
years, Dubey made futile attempts
to convince government officials
and politicians, but to little avail.
Rejections didn’t bother him.
The reason to overcome the fear
of rejection was his formative
upbringing, and stint at the
boarding school. From being
rejected by seniors to becoming a
part of the group, to being denied
extra pocket money, to being not
able to clear the IIT entrance…
Dubey had a long innings of ‘nays’
in his life. Meanwhile, after his
telemedicine venture didn’t get
the green light, two years later, he
co-founded CarWale, an automotive
classified portal in 2005.
Cut to 2020. Dubey was into
his sixth year of his second
entrepreneurial gig. And this time,
the entrepreneur listened to his
heart and co-founded intra-city
bus tracking and ticketing platform
Chalo in 2014. Six years later, Covid
disrupted the travel and hospitality
CHALO
Growing up in MP's Harshud, Mohit Dubey, the Chalo
founder, had to wait in hours-long queues for water
all the boxes, and Dubey decided
to shift gears from cars to buses.
Friends, colleagues, experts and
industry observers found the idea
outrageous. “Can buses make
money?” was the big question.
Nine years into the bus ride,
Dubey has the answer. Chalo
increased its operating revenue
from `27 crore to `139 crore in FY23.
A big factor aiding a jump was a
slew of acquisitions over the last
few years: Shuttl in 2021, and Vogo
in 2022. Overall, Chalo has raised
$119 million so far from a clutch
of backers such as Waterbridge,
Advantege Capital, VH Capital,
Raine, Xiaomi, Lightrock, Filter
Capital, Avataar Ventures and
REPORT CARD
Figures in ` crore
143
139
Operating revenue
Loss
56
27
FY20
125
66
42
38
FY21
FY22
FY23
Lightrock. The startup is present
across 51 cities and towns, as well
as has an overseas presence in
Philippines and Thailand. “We
deliver close to 2 billion rides every
year on our platform,” claims Dubey.
Industry observers are not
surprised with the diverse trajectory
of Dubey: From cars to buses. “Most
of the founders from small towns
solve real-world problems that are
closer to the environment,” says
Anisha Singh, founder of She Capital.
“They are not only more optimistic
but also more resourceful.”
Dubey, meanwhile, shares his
best resource: Learnings from
small towns. “It made me fearless. I
don’t fear failure and rejection,” he
says, adding that he keeps himself
balanced by staying rooted to his
background. The upbringing, he
underlines, also had an impact on
the way the entrepreneur builds
his team. “I don’t look for degrees
and pedigree. I look for hustlers
and people who can adapt,” he says.
Small town, Dubey reckons, gives
you wings. “But only the ones with
immense self-belief can discover
them,” he says. The founder, it
seems, has loads of them..
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
45
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
sectors, and many founders like
Dubey. Revenues vanished, investors
panicked, and Chalo was left
stranded. Over the next few quarters,
as the pandemic eased a bit and
travel came back on track, Dubey
tried knocking on the doors of over
three dozen funders. “Nobody was
interested. All rejected,” he says.
Back in 2014, ‘rejection’ haunted
the entrepreneur who was taking a
bold step. By 2013, Dubey realised
that cars were not the best vehicles
to reach out to the masses. Car
penetration, which was one car for
100 Indians in 2008, had laboured
to two cars per 100 Indians in five
years. A reason for the muted growth
in car ownership in cities was largely
due to the mushrooming services
of Ola and Uber which had made
city slickers stay away from buying
cars. “Indian mobility is definitely
not cars,” he concluded. Buses had
the wheels that moved Bharat. In
terms of business too, buses made
sense. The sector was six times
bigger than the taxi segment, and
presented a $20-billion opportunity.
There was another reason to
board the bus. Dubey was influenced
by Peter Thiel. The GermanAmerican billionaire entrepreneur
and venture capitalist once talked
about two kinds of businesses: One
with competition, and one without.
Dubey yearned for two things:
A business without competition,
and a venture which touched the
lives of millions in smaller cities,
towns and villages. Chalo ticked
46
Aloke Bajpai,
co-founder and
group CEO, ixigo,
plays gully cricket—
something that he
would regularly do
as a child in Kanpur,
Uttar Pradesh
TALK OF
THE TOWN
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Aloke Bajpai was born in
Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Stayed in Allahabad for six years, and
then the family relocated to Kanpur
IXIGO
Bharat
Journey
The roller-coaster ride of Aloke
Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar came
on the right track when they
started criss-crossing Bharat
on trains and buses. A decade
later, they are driving ixigo
towards the IPO station
t
47
Completed schooling from Kanpur; electrical
engineering from IIT-Kanpur
Did his MBA
from INSEAD
Bengaluru, 2007
he pitch meeting was all set to start.
On one side of the table, there was
this venture capitalist (VC) who was
loaded with dollars, and arrogance.
The IIT grad, on the other side,
was brimming with confidence, and
humility. The contrasting picture,
though, had deep hues of overlap.
In terms of demand and supply,
both were evenly matched. One had
abundant precious dollars, and the
other badly needed to inject money
into his bootstrapped fledgling
venture which was certain to run
out of oxygen in a few months.
In skills as well, there was a
close tie. The VC was notorious
for extracting the best deal for her
fund; the engineer from Kanpur,
on the other hand, did his MBA
from INSEAD and learnt his craft
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
MADHU KAPPARATH
By RAJIV SINGH
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
48
at Spanish multinational travel tech
company Amadeus. In terms of
report cards too, the ‘seeker’ and the
‘sought-after’ were even-Stevens.
Entrepreneurs aspired to have
the VC on their board, the maiden
venture of the funding aspirant—
ixigo—too had an envious start. After
a four-year stint with Amadeus,
Aloke Bajpai and his IIT-Kanpur
batchmate Rajnish Kumar came back
to India in 2006, and started ixigo
in June 2007. In just seven months
of its launch, the meta-search
website for flights raced to cross
over 1 lakh organic-visitors’ mark.
Meanwhile in Bengaluru, the
founder was confident of raising
his maiden round of funding.
Sadly, Bajpai’s hope dashed within
minutes of pitching. “What is your
ask?” was the query. “One million
dollar,” came a swift reply. “I would
be surprised if you ever raise that
kind of money,” the VC gave her
assessment. The market reality
was bitter. A bunch of OTA (online
travel aggregators) players such as
MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, Yatra, ibibo
and Travelguru had already made a
splash, and the cluttered space didn’t
have room for one more OTA player.
In fact, the problem with ixigo was
that it was not even an OTA player
when it started. It didn’t sell any
tickets. “We used to compare, crawl,
and redirect into websites that were
selling tickets,” he says, explaining
the original business model.
An unknown business model was
a problem. First, it was beyond the
comprehension of investors as there
was no precedent. Second, it was
not sure if the model had enough
potential to become big. Third,
everybody looked for tried-andtested businesses. “To be honest,
we didn’t do enough analysis of the
market sizing,” he confesses. In
spite of a spate of unticked boxes,
Bajpai didn’t expect anybody to
tear into the confidence of the
founders. This is exactly what the
VC did. “Forget funding, I don’t
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
ixigo IN NUMBERS
$60 mln
96.84 mln
50%
11%
3.2%
Funding raised
so far
Mobile app
downloads in
FY23; it was
62.83 million
in FY19
In online train market, the
company, along with its
subsidiary ConfirmTkt, has
a 50% share in terms of
gross booking value in FY23
In online bus
booking segment, it
has a 10% volume
share along with its
subsidiary Abhibus
In online flight
booking, it
commands a
12% volume
share in FY23
SOURCE Company, and VIDEC report July 2023
think you will ever make money
or grow big,” she concluded.
The brief meeting left a lasting
impact. “I went back dejected and
couldn’t sleep that night,” Bajpai
recalls. The fierce and unrestrained
criticism of the business, and
unwarranted attack on the founder
shattered the self-belief of the
greenhorn. “Imagine somebody
telling you that you’re not worth
anything… it was brutal,” recounts
Bajpai, who was born in Allahabad,
got relocated to Kanpur after
six years, and then his father got
an overseas stint of four years
“No matter what we
have achieved, we
always remember
where we have come
from. It keeps us
grounded.”
ALOKE BAJPAI,
CO-FOUNDER AND GROUP CEO, IXIGO
at Mombasa, Kenya. The family
came back to Kanpur, and his
father continued to impart the
lessons of self-belief into his lad.
The seeds of self-belief were sown
in school. When he was in class 8,
Bajpai’s father took him to IITKanpur to give him a dekko of the
hallowed institution. “This is one of
the best in India. If you work hard,
one day you can study here,” he told
his young son who was impressed
with what he saw. “Self-belief is the
key,” underlined his father, who
did his masters in Maths. “I found
an old IIT application form in his
closet,” says Bajpai, who wanted
to live the dream of his father.
The young boy did make his father
proud. But the success came after
a shocking twist in the tale. It was
1997. “I still vividly remember the
year,” recalls Bajpai. “It was the only
time the engineering entrance exam
got cancelled because the paper
got leaked,” he adds. Everybody
predicted that the new paper would
be the toughest in the history of JEE
(joint entrance examination). “And
many pundits still believe it was,”
says Bajpai, who cleared his exams
and joined IIT-Kanpur. “Confidence
and perseverance pay off,” he says.
Fast forward to July 2008. The
perseverance did pay. After failing
to raise any funding from top-notch
VCs in 2007, Bajpai reached out
to his B-school friends, raised a
small amount, and got a lifeline.
A few months later, in February
2008, an inbound interest from a
Singapore-based VC fund—BAF
IXIGO
NAME
&
GAME
ixigo was
co-founded by
Aloke Bajpai
and Rajnish Kumar
in June 2007
Two years after the Lehman collapse, ixigo rebounded,
raised money and underwent a couple of pivots. Flights
meant quick singles, but trains got you the maximum
says Bajpai. The founders took a 100
percent cut, the rest of the staff went
to half, and a generous landlord, too,
decided to take a 50 percent cut in
rent. “We survived,” says Bajpai.
Back in the early 90s, in the
narrow bylanes of Kanpur, a young
schoolboy was learning the art of
survival. “We used to play gully
cricket,” says Bajpai. The nature of
the playground—a long vertical strip
hemmed from both the sides, a few
Le Travenues
Technology, the
parent company,
includes brands such
as ixigo, ConfirmTkt
and Abhibus
Registered users
increased at a CAGR of
71.78% between FY20
and FY23
Repeat transaction rate
was 83.23 % in FY23
Last funding
round of $53
million was led by
Singapore-based
GIC in July 2021
ixigo is the
second-largest
online travel
aggregator in India
after MakeMyTrip
in terms of net
operating revenues
Elevation Capital
is the biggest
shareholder with
around 23.8%
Next is SCI Investments with 15.95%,
Gamnat has a 9.85% stake as on March 31
Co-founders Bajpai and Kumar own 9.23% and 8.71%,
respectively, as on March 31
stationary scooters dotted on the
road, and a Maruti 800 of Bajpai’s
father parked on one of the ends—
meant that the best scoring shot
for a batsman was a lofted straight
drive. Though one could score in
singles by placing the ball either
on the left or right of the wicket,
hitting. straight meant maximum.
Meanwhile, in 2010, two years
after the Lehman collapse, ixigo
rebounded, raised money over the
next few months and underwent
a couple of pivots. From a leadgeneration platform for others, it
was moving towards being a fullfledged OTA. Though it did help
it to make more money, still it was
not the lofted straight drive that
Bajpai and Kumar were looking
for. Flights meant quick singles.
Trains, on the other hand, were
the maximum. In 2014, it launched
a train app; in 2019, it became
an OTA; and in 2021, it bought
train booking firm ConfirmTkt,
and emerged as the biggest train
travel booking platform in India.
The straight drive seems to have
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
49
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
Spectrum—resulted in a seed round.
The funding, interestingly, had a
cascading impact. All the VC funds
who once rejected the upstarts
came back and made a queue to
invest. In July, the hustlers got a
term sheet for $7 million from a
top-notch VC fund, and the deal was
supposed to get inked in 30 days.
There was a delay of 30 days,
though. And it cost a lot. The ixigo
funding was set to get sealed on
September 13. Two days later, on
September 15, Lehman Brothers
filed for bankruptcy. There was a
full-blown global financial crisis,
and in India, the prospective funder
backed out. Bajpai was in a big fix.
He was soon going to run out of
money. The absolute certainty of an
impending funding had propelled
the founding team to do things they
would have never done: Hire more
people, shift to an office which was
three times the size of the last one,
and increase marketing expenses.
“With no funding, we were staring
at an imminent crisis,” he recalls.
A town hall was summoned, the
founders discussed the situation
with the employees, and the need for
a quick fix or layoff was underlined.
A young engineer, interestingly,
came with a solution: Take a salary
cut and increase the runway. “This
was the formula which made us
survive for the next 12 months,”
IXIGO
50
paid off. Look at the numbers. From
`112 crore in FY20, the operating
revenue has jumped to `501 crore
in FY23. Now when one looks at
the contribution of the train, one
gets to see the real picture. In FY23,
booking of train tickets was the
highest revenue grosser with 61
percent, followed by flight and bus
which contributed 21 percent and
1 percent, respectively, according
to TheKredible, a startup data
intelligence platform owned by
Entrackr. What’s more interesting
is that ixigo has turned profitable.
Bajpai explains why he hopped
on to a train ride. When the OTA
business model started in India,
he underlines, everyone launched
flights, followed by hotels. “That’s
the western template of building an
OTA in India,” he says, underscoring
that around 93 percent of Indians
have never stepped in an airport in
their life. “This number will come
down to 90 percent over the next
few years,” he says. The fact remains
that, for most of the Indians, travel
is equivalent to a train or a bus.
“So if we are not serving that core
audience, we can’t build a large
travel company,” he says. Most of
the users of ixigo, he claims, come
from Tier II, III and beyond. “I can
empathise more with the pain of the
guy sitting in a sleeper class in a train
or commuting in a non-AC bus,” he
adds. In August 2021, ixigo bought
Hyderabad-based bus ticketing
and aggregation platform AbhiBus.
“Once I sat on the roof of the bus and
commuted. There was no seat and
I had to reach a town. That’s why I
did that,” he says. Over 90 percent of
the companies want to build for the
REPORT CARD
Operating revenue
Figures in ` cr
112
501
Profit/loss
380
136
23.4
7.53
-26.6
-21.1
FY20
FY21
FY23
SOURCE Regulatory filings and company
top 100 million users. “But we are
building for Bharat. That’s the future,
and the big opportunity,” he says.
Founders from small towns,
reckon VCs, are privileged to
sniff the untapped opportunity
in Bharat. “They build for the
masses by identifying a problem
and pain point,” says Gagan Goyal,
partner at India Quotient. Such
founders don’t start their venture
by zeroing on how big the total
addressable market (TAM) is or
rolling out a me-too product. “They
solve for pain, and that’s why they
gain,” he says. The gain, though,
is not sudden. It takes years.
Bajpai, for his part, tells us how
the co-founders kept themselves
in the game for years. “We have
been growing every year. But it’s
only when we hit the `500-crore
mark that you start noticing us,” he
smiles. “Nobody notices the first 10
years or the journey from zero to
“Founders from small towns are
underdog stories. Their business
model is based on solving a
problem, and not TAM (total
addressable market).”
GAGAN GOYAL, PARTNER, INDIA QUOTIENT
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
FY22
`100 crore,” he says. His resilience,
he points out, comes from the place
where he was brought up, and
the man who brought him up.
“I have seen my father’s slog
from being a clerk to a senior
manager. It was a 30-year ride,”
he smiles. Small-town folks are
underdogs, he adds. “People won’t
believe you. They won’t back you.
But you still need to carry on,” he
says. Kanpur, too, went unnoticed
for decades in its journey from
being a small town to now having
the strappings of a big city globally
known for chemicals, textiles and
leather. “But it still has the fiery
soul of a small town,” he says.
Meanwhile in 2018 and 2019, Bajpai
had to endure a trial by fire. “We
spoke to over 100 investors,” he
says, alluding to the tough task
of raising funds. “All declined,”
he rues. The self-belief and the
business, however, remained intact.
In 2007, the young entrepreneur
was conjuring his self -belief
after a verbal thrashing by the
investor. “The next morning, I
told myself that I must prove that
she is wrong,” recalls Bajpai. Over
one-and-a-half decades later, the
gritty founder has lived up to his
promise umpteen times.
52
TALK OF
THE TOWN
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Born in Rudawal village,
Bharatpur district of Rajasthan
Studied in a Hindi-medium
school in Rudawal
OFFICEBANAO
A Corner
Office
A village boy from Rajasthan fights
formidable odds and manages to
turn the tables on adversity with his
bootstrapped venture. Can Tushar
Mittal now get a seat at the table
with his VC-backed Officebanao?
t
53
Tushar Mittal,
founder and CEO of
Officebanao, sits in
a classroom of the
school he attended
as a child in
Rudawal, Rajasthan
Did engineering from government
college in Kota, Rajasthan
Rudawal, Bharatpur, Rajasthan
he ‘agonising’ Friday was back to
haunt the village boy. It was a day
when Tushar Mittal found himself
helpless, and emotionally torn
between his moral duty and dream.
On one side was his industrious
father who ran a small kirana store
in a remote village, and on the
other hand was the burning desire
of the 12-year-old to be in school
every day. “Aaj dukaan pe baith jaa
[take care of the shop today],” was
the command from the secondgeneration shop owner who used
to go to Jaipur—the capital city
of Rajasthan was some 200 km
from Rudawal village in Bharatpur
district—once in 30 days to buy
his monthly quota of ration. “He
wanted me to take care of the store
on the last Friday of every month,”
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
AMIT VERMA
By RAJIV SINGH
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
54
recalls Mittal. “Kuch seekhega nahin
school jaake [you will learn nothing
at school],” was the assessment
of the man whose kirana store
was the only shop in the village.
A young Mittal gave in to his
duty, and unpacked his bag. Though
he was aware of the monthly
ritual—and also the fact that there
was some element of truth in what
his father uttered about the quality
of education in the school—he
eagerly looked forward to his daily
learning. The fact that he had to
walk a few kilometres every day
to attend the government school
was never a deterrent. The fact
that most of the time the teachers
used to bunk their classes never
dampened the enthusiasm of the
young learner. And the fact that
even English used to be taught
in Hindi was not a bummer for
Mittal. “My uncle always used
to tell me that I can change my
destiny through studies,” recalls
Mittal, who ran away from his home
after finishing senior secondary.
Reason: He wanted to study.
A little help from his relatives
landed him at a coaching institute
in Kota. The father relented, took
an education loan from a PSU bank,
and the rebel boy started preparing
for the engineering entrance. He
failed in his first attempt to clear
IIT, and lack of financial resources
preempted any move to continue
with his studies for another year.
“I got admission in a government
engineering college in Kota,”
says Mittal, who opted for civil
engineering. To make ends meet,
he started working with local
contractors on a part-time basis
and also ran a canteen in Kota. This
was, however, not the first time
that the young boy was exhibiting
his enterprising side. During his
school days, he used to borrow
money from his father, buy comics
from the nearest town, and then
rent them to his friends. “I even
bought a cycle, and gave it to my
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
friends on rent,” he recounts.
A few years later, in 2005,
Mittal didn’t have any money to
pay rent when he landed in Delhi.
After finishing engineering, he
wanted to join National Institute
of Construction Management
and Research (NICMAR).
The trigger was his three-month
internship at a big, multinational
construction company during his
college stint. Mittal noticed that
the engineers who were armed
with a degree from NICMAR had
an edge over others in salaries
as well as professional stature.
He borrowed money from his
friends and relatives, came to
Delhi and stayed at Nizamuddin
Railway station for a few days.
After the professional course,
Mittal discovered another bitter
reality. Though a campus placement
landed him a job at DLF, he didn’t
stand a chance among his peers who
came from hallowed institutions,
had a privileged background and
flaunted their fluency in English.
“They got laptops and desk jobs, and
I was made to run in the fields,” rues
the civil engineer who struggled
with his communication skills. “I
thought that the language barrier in
the city will never let a village boy
shine,” he says. “I felt dejected.”
The curse, though, turned out
to be a blessing in disguise. The
field job helped Mittal get his
hands dirty, learn the tricks of the
construction business, and build
trust with vendors, contractors
and other stakeholders in the
industry. There was another plus.
The young professional used to
work late to ensure that he had an
edge over his colleagues. The office
used to get vacant by 7 pm, but
Mittal’s day ended after midnight.
He had two more reasons to
spend more time in office. The
first was to literally keep his cool.
“I didn’t have an air-conditioner
[AC] in my one-room flat,” he
says. “Working late in office meant
spending some time in AC,” he
smiles. The second was to fend
off the pressure from his family
and a bunch of lenders. A `17,000
monthly salary was not something
that his father expected from his
lad who defied him and refused
to take care of the kirana store.
“Itney toh mere se hi le leta [you
could have easily taken this amount
from me] was the recurrent cold
jibe from his dad. Mittal was also
juggling to manage the bank loan
and money borrowed from a clutch
of friends and relatives to continue
his education. All had exhibited
NAME & GAME
Officebanao is a workspace
interiors platform started by
Tushar Mittal in 2022
Raised $6 million in its
seed round led by
Lightspeed India Venture
Partners in March
The full-stack office
interiors player takes
care from design to
procurement to delivery
Claims to have customers
across 25 cities, including
tier 2, 3 and beyond
Mittal’s first venture was
Studiokon Ventures
(SKV) in 2009
Over
70%
rs
of the orde h
g
u
come thro
d
n
a
l
a
digit
ia
social med
ls
e
chann
A turnkey business
interior solutions
for corporate, retail,
educational and
hospitality segment,
SKV closed FY23
with revenue of
`208 crore
The Gurugram-headquartered startup
brings architects, contractors,
designers, material suppliers and
furniture providers under one umbrella
OFFICEBANAO
While in school, Mittal would rent comics to friends; he
even bought a cycle and rented it to his friends
the first year. Over the next few
quarters, SKV gathered steam
and kept expanding at a furious
pace. By 2015, the bootstrapped
company was close to the `100crore mark and remained profitable.
Then came the turning point.
For years, Mittal lived with an
“When life gives you
lemons, you make
lemonade… this is
what guys from
villages and small
town do.”
TUSHAR MITTAL, FOUNDER AND CEO, SKV
AND OFFICEBANAO
unwarranted guilt of not having
education from a world-class
institution. The opportunity came
in 2016 when he got to know
about the executive education
programme of Harvard.
He enrolled himself, immersed
himself in the course, and was set
to face an unintended fallout in
India. The business, which was in
an auto pilot and growth mode,
kept bagging big projects, especially
from a battery of MNC players.
This called for hefty investments
and meeting a flurry of tight
financial deadlines and protocols.
SKV slipped on most counts,
and the business suddenly
faced a working capital deficit
of `80 crore. To salvage the
situation, Mittal disposed of an
office in Gurugram, and his wife
Swati sold all her jewellery and
dipped into her life savings.
“She played a big part in saving
the business,” says Mittal. The
business came back on track in
2017, clocked a revenue of `121
crore in FY19 and was on track
to breach the `200-crore mark.
Then came another twist. Armed
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
55
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
exemplary patience. But Mittal’s
job at a big brand like DLF gave
them a false impression about
the ‘handsome’ salary package.
“They all wanted their money as
soon as possible,” he says.
Hard work brought
in its wake some unforeseen
opportunities. One of the project
managers made an untimely
exit, a large contract got stuck,
and consequently the project
got delayed. Mittal was picked
up as the Man Friday and asked
to prove himself. And he proved
his mettle in a remarkable way
by delivering the project in two
weeks. Soon, the unofficial crisis
man was in huge demand.
Meanwhile, Mittal was busy
calculating ‘demand and supply’
of a different kind. A little over
one-and-a-half years into the
job, Mittal resigned. He spotted
something that the others couldn’t.
“That something was a huge
demand, poor supply and a big
opportunity,” he says, alluding
to the dynamics of the office
construction industry in 2008.
The segment was overwhelmingly
unorganised, there was a stark
absence of professionals and the
demand for office interiors in
top cities as well as tier 1 towns
was picking up at a furious
pace. Mittal decided to take the
plunge into entrepreneurship.
It proved to be disastrous
though. Mittal stitched two failed
partnerships in over a dozen
months. The sad part was not the
failure, but the breach of trust.
Conned by his partners, and
shaken by the bitter experience,
Mittal went solo in 2009 and
rolled out Studiokon Ventures
(SKV). A bootstrapped firm,
SKV provided turnkey business
interior solutions to corporates,
retailers, and educational and
hospitality institutions. The
business had a promising start
and Mittal earned `10 crore in
OFFICEBANAO
56
with his Harvard learnings, and
the teachings of his professors,
Mittal decided to amp up his
entrepreneurial game by several
notches. The trigger, he explains,
was the motivational push by one
of the professors at Harvard.
“Anybody can make money, but
a founder has to build a brand and
leave a legacy,” his mentor drilled
the point into his disciple’s mind.
The teacher made Mittal face
some searing questions: Do you
see a similar trajectory for SKV?
Can you build it into a `10,000crore company? Can your name
be synonymous with trust in the
construction business? Once
back in India, Mittal decided to
launch Happy Monday towards
the latter half of 2019. A managed
office space venture which offered
flexible workspaces to global
and Indian corporates, Happy
Monday had a brisk start.
Within months, though, Happy
Monday had an unhappy ending.
The pandemic came calling in
March 2020, offices shut down,
and Mittal was forced to pull
the plug on the venture.
The next 12 months tormented
the entrepreneur who struggled
to stop the slide in the main
business of SKV. The revenues
dipped from `192 crore in FY20
to `71 crore in FY21. Profit too
slipped from `13.57 crore to `1.69
crore during the same period.
Things were uncertain, the
future looked gloomy, and the
entrepreneur was hunting for
an elusive light at the end of
the long tunnel. Unfortunately,
it was pitch dark.
Years ago in Rudawal, a young
boy was struggling to finish his
REPORT CARD
Operating revenue
Profit/Loss
Figures in ` crore
Studiokon ventures
208
192
143
121
71
11.68
13.57
FY19
FY20
1.69
FY21
8.59
16.19
FY22
FY23
Officebanao
FY22 0.12
4.56
-5.82 FY23
school work. For many hours a
day, the village usually remained
pitch dark. “The electricity supply
was erratic,” recalls Mittal, who
tells us that something else was
gloomy on another front.
The kirana business mostly
happened on credit, it was
normal for the payment cycle
to get delayed, and his father
grappled to keep operations and
the venture intact. There was a
devastating fire one year. The
house and the shop got gutted. His
father had to start from scratch.
“He worked hard and never
complained,” recalls Mittal.
Cribbing, his father used to
underscore, makes one lazy and
takes one’s eyes off the problem.
“You must face it, not evade
it,” was his advice to his son.
“They know how to make the
most of any opportunity or
challenge.”
SUSHIL SHARMA, FOUNDER, MARWARI CATALYSTS
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
21.73
Back in 2020, Mittal was bravely
staring at the problem. He cut his
expenses, curtailed the expansion
plans, and waited for the bitter
macro and micro environment to
settle down. And things did start to
normalise. The revenues bounced
back from a low of `71 crore to a
high of `143 crore in FY22. The
same year, Mittal decided to
revisit his grand plans of building
a brand and creating a legacy,
which he couldn’t with Happy
Monday. He started Officebanao,
a workspace interiors platform
that takes care from design to
procurement to delivery.
Officebanao has a unique
playbook. The Gurugramheadquartered startup brings
architects, contractors, designers,
material suppliers and furniture
providers under one umbrella. In
March, it raised a funding of $6
million in seed round which was
led by Lightspeed India Venture
Partners, and over the next few
months it expanded its play
across 25 cities, including tier 2,
3 and beyond. “SKV reinforced
my self-belief that a village boy
can do anything,” says Mittal.
“Officebanao will use the tech
template to build a brand and
take it across the country.”
Founders from the hinterland,
reckon industry observers, have
led a strapped life in terms of
resources. “You give them an inch,
and they will convert it into a
metre,” contends Sushil Sharma,
founder of Marwari Catalysts, a
Jodhpur-based startup accelerator
that has been backing founders
from small towns over the last few
years. “Their hunger to succeed
is insatiable because they have
nothing to lose. All they want to do
is to prove themselves,” he says.
Mittal, for his part, just wants
to prove one thing. “When
life gives you lemons, make
lemonade. This is what I have
been doing,” he signs off.
58
TALK OF
THE TOWN
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda
was born in Mysuru
Till class 1, he studied in Challakere,
which is 200 km from Bengaluru
WAKEFIT
Sound
Sleep
Brought up on ample lessons
in trust and empathy, the
entrepreneurial journey of
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda
has inadvertently been shaped
by his childhood experiences.
And what keeps him awake is
ensuring a perfect-night sleep
for Wakefit users
s
59
Chaitanya
Ramalingegowda
in front of the Balarama
Jayarama Gate of the
Mysore Palace in Mysuru
Completed his schooling from Mangaluru,
Bengaluru, Belgaum and Tumakuru
Did his engineering from National Institute of
Engineering, Mysuru; and MBA from ISB Hyderabad
uddenly, the young boy turned
anxious. He started counting money
again. Dejected with the outcome,
he tried his luck for the third time.
The result was the same. Seven 10rupee notes were firmly clutched in
his fist. Three were still missing. It
was a pleasant Saturday morning,
the schools were closed, and he
had stepped out to buy medicines
for his grandmother from a local
pharma store, which was a few
blocks from his house. The shop
was vacant, there was no queue
outside the cash counter, and the
boy looked baffled. He timidly
put his hands inside his pockets,
but he couldn’t find anything.
The owner of the pharmacy was
keenly watching his actions. “Paisey
kam hain [Falling short of money]?”
he asked. The boy nodded gingerly.
“Koi baat nahin. Agli baar de dena
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
SELVAPRAKASH LAKSHMANAN FOR FORBES INDIA
By RAJIV SINGH
FUNDING JOURNEY
December 2018
December 2020
Series A of `65 crore by
Sequoia Capital India
Series B of `185 crore by Verlinvest
and Sequoia Capital India
November 2021
January 2023
Series C of `200 crore by SIG,
Sequoia Capital India and Verlinvest
“Treating people with
respect, and looking
at relationships
without any strings
attached are smalltown things.”
CHAITANYA RAMALINGEGOWDA,
CO-FOUNDER, WAKEFIT
SELVAPRAKASH LAKSHMANAN FOR FORBES INDIA; INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
60
[No stress. Pay me next time],” he
said in a reassuring tone, flashed a
warm smile and handed over the
medicine to the boy. “Don’t run,
and be careful while you cross the
road,” he said and gave a toffee to
the boy. “He was Shenoy uncle. I
still remember his name,” recalls
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, who
cleared his dues the next day.
“He trusted me, and I kept his
trust,” says Ramalingegowda, who
was born in Mysuru, completed
his primary schooling from
Challakere, a small town which
is some 200 km from Bengaluru.
“Trusting somebody you don’t even
know,” he underlines, “is such a
quintessential small-town thing.”
Over 20 years later, it was
Ramalingegowda’s turn to trust
people he didn’t know. It was 2016
and the young boy was now an adult.
After two failed startup ventures
and a slew of corporate gigs,
Ramalingegowda was into the early
days of his third venture which was
headquartered in Bengaluru. “I had
put failures behind me, and made
a fresh start,” says the 35-year-old
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Series D of `320 crore by Investcorp,
SIG, Sequoia Capital India and Verlinvest
selling, too, had serious limitations.
There was no touch, feel and
warmth. “The biggest issue was
trust,” he recalls. The buyers
didn’t trust an online brand.
The seller, though, badly needed
to instill trust. There was only one
way out for Wakefit: It had to trust
strangers. Ramalingegowda thought
of doing a Shenoy uncle. He decided
to trust the unknown buyer. In 2016,
the co-founders rolled out a ‘30-day
free trial’. The idea was disruptive:
Take the mattress, use it for 14 days,
and if it doesn’t work, return it.
Nobody would ask any questions,
nobody would charge any money.
The move attracted a lot of
scepticism. “What if the buyer
didn’t return the mattress?” was
one of the questions that didn’t have
an answer. “What would happen
if the mattress gets damaged?”
was another pertinent issue. “And
does it make any business sense
to trust strangers?” was the most
important nail that hit the core
of the 30-day free trial plan.
Ramalingegowda, for his part,
had seen the downside of blind
trust. It could be disastrous. In
fact, it was disastrous for the
greenhorn founder when he rolled
entrepreneur who finished his 16
years of formal education in 10
schools across eight small towns in
Karnataka, including Mangaluru,
Belgaum and Tumakuru. “My
father was in government service.
So, I had a nomadic childhood,” he
smiles. Many moons later, in March
2016, he co-founded Wakefit—a
sleep solutions company selling
mattresses online—along with
Ankit Garg, who hailed from Agra.
Big city Bengaluru, interestingly,
sprung a rude jolt for the guys
from sleepy towns. The duo
wanted to disrupt the traditional
way of buying mattresses. There
was one small problem, though.
The offline segment had been the
only ‘trusted’ medium known to
generations of shoppers who had
bought mattresses from physical
stores. Wakefit’s pitch fell flat.
Nobody would trust an unknown
brand, and an online medium
of sales which lacked touch and
feel. Ramalingegowda knew that
the orthodox way of selling was
flawed. Why? The human body
requires 14 days of regular sleep
on a mattress to know whether
the body can adjust to it or not,
he reckons. But the new way of
WAKEFIT IN NUMBERS
19,000
2 million
18
25 lakh
` 770 cr
Services over
19,000 pin codes
across India
Served over
2 million
customers so far
Has 18 warehouses
and 40 stores
across the country
Sold over
25 lakh
products so far
` 770 crore in
Raised
funding so far
WAKEFIT
When he was a child, a
local pharmacy store had
trusted Ramalingegowda
to return later with the
money he had fallen short
of. Ever since, trust has
been a key theme for the
Wakefit founder
rooted in churning out engaging
content. Ramalingegowda wanted
to chart a woman’s journey
from puberty to menopause,
and everything that they face—
pregnancy, wedding, dating,
relationship, fashion, fitness,
hormonal changes and more. The
business model was based on
driving ‘content to commerce’. The
second-time founder hustled for
three years, and eventually shut
shop. The experience, and back-toback failure, were disheartening.
“But life had to move on,” he says.
NAME & GAME
Wakefit was started by Ankit Garg
and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda in
March 2016
The Bengaluru-based D2C home
and sleep solutions brand
remained bootstrapped till
November 2017
While furniture contributes over
25 percent to the revenue, the rest
comes from home solutions’ and
decor products
Wakefit has raised four
rounds of funding since
December 2018
Last funding round of
` 320 crore was raised to
expand its category play
and reach across Tier II
and III cities
Wakefit is eyeing Ebitda
profitability and revenue
of ` 1,100 crore by FY24
Back during his school days, his
nomadic life moved at a frenetic
pace. Being carted around eight
towns and 10 schools was painful.
“Imagine a new town, a new set of
friends, a new environment… and
all this again and again for close to
16 years,” says Ramalingegowda.
“It leaves an imprint on you.”
A new beginning, a precipitous
ending and frequent cultural
changes meant that the boy had to
embrace adaptability much faster
than his peers. What this also
meant was having an extra edge
in terms of developing smooth
inter-personal skills and human
relations. Having a mother who
had a master’s in English literature,
a phenomenal understanding of
philosophy, and someone who
was a stickler for discipline and
etiquettes meant that the boy was
being groomed to inculcate a high
level of emotional quotient (EQ).
Years later, high EQ came to
the fore during Covid. There
was no revenue for months, the
subsequent rebound was slower
than expected, and still the dark
clouds of uncertainty loomed large.
“We didn’t lay off a single person,”
claims Ramalingegowda. “It was an
easy option. But it was not a morally
correct option,” says the founder,
who values a sound sleep more than
valuation. “Integrity, honesty and
simplicity mean a lot to the ones
coming from smaller towns,” he
says, adding that he would never
ever think of evading taxes or being
late in filing annual financial returns
or coming up with a ‘crooked’
way of revenue recognition. “It
just scares me and makes me
deeply anxious,” he confesses.
Meanwhile, in 2016, the 30-day
trial gambit paid off. But there was
enough anxiety on another front,
and it lasted for dozens of months.
Though Wakefit was scaling
profitably at a fair pace—operating
revenue increased from `6.75 crore
in FY17 to `80 crore in FY19—it
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
61
ILLUSTRATION: CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
out his first startup in 2011. “It was
a dating matrimony app,” he says,
sharing the unique idea and the
belief on which the venture was
started and positioned. A strong
consumer feedback—and the
widespread presence of a similar
progressive concept in the US—
prodded the first-time founder
to look beyond caste, community
and culture. There were a battery
of events such as pottery classes
and dancing where you could
meet prospective partners. “The
idea was to look at psychological
and mental compatibility,” he
says. There was an initial burst
of enthusiasm, but within 10
months, the startup shuttered.
“I lost all my savings,” he rues.
What went wrong was too much
trust or naivety. Ramalingegowda
explains. “I was too naive to believe
what people shared in focus groups
and interviews,” he recalls, alluding
to a strong positive feedback on
the need for a dating matrimony
app which reflected the aspiration
of a new generation of consumers.
The reality, though, turned out
to be fiction. Once people joined
the app, they started looking for
prospective partners from their own
community, caste and religion. “The
entire premise collapsed,” he rues.
Then came the second venture.
An online community for women,
the venture was inspired from the
dating matrimony app, and was
WAKEFIT
813
62
failed to attract any venture capital
(VC). “I met 42 investors in close to
three years. All declined to invest,”
laments Ramalingegowda, who
finally got Sequoia as the first backer
in December 2018. More money
flowed in 2020 and 2021—Series B
of `185 crore, and Series C of `200
crore, respectively; the business
expanded at a furious pace, and
it looked like there was no room
for anxiety to revisit Wakefit.
Unfortunately, the business
landscpe changed for the worse
after November 2021. A series of
quick events followed. First, the
profit margin kept shrinking at
an alarming pace since FY16, and
the business slipped into losses
for the first time in FY21 (see box).
The reason was not cash burn or
high consumer acquisition cost,
but a massive expansion and
diversification drive that Wakefit
had undertaken over the last
two years. It kept on adding new
verticals, which meant the reserves
kept dipping. Second, the fullblown funding winter blocked any
potential funding possibility. Third,
the economy too was going through
a churn as consumer discretionary
spends dipped. Mattresses and
furniture and other associated
products suddenly went out of
the priority list of the consumers.
Fourth, the new furniture factory
took more-than-expected time to
start operating efficiently. “Last
year was the toughest year for us.
There was a question mark on our
survival,” says Ramalingegowda,
who still declined to press the layoff
button. “We knew we just needed
to hang on. The fire had to die out.”
The fire eventually did
extinguish. Wakefit bounced back
REPORT
CARD
Figures in ` crore
409
Operating revenue
6.75
0.51
80
9.95
Profit/Loss
-37.42
-146
FY17
FY19
FY21
FY23
SOURCE Regulatory filings and company
with a bang in FY23. The revenue
jumped from `409 crore in FY21
to `813 crore in FY23. Though
the losses too leapfrogged during
the period—from `37.42 crore
to `146 crore—Ramalingegowda
claims the company is on track
to close FY24 with Ebitda
(earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortisation)
profitability. “In terms of revenue,
we are on track to cross `1,100
crore in FY24,” he claims, adding
that the founding team and the
employees have exhibited enough
resilience to stage a comeback.
High level of resilience, reckon
industry experts, is something that
the founders from small towns
are naturally blessed with. “When
you are highly ambitious and you
have seen enough lows, you will
be resilient as well,” says Sumit
Keshan, managing partner at
Wipro Consumer Care Ventures.
Imagine somebody, underlines the
VC, who has a constrained life in
“The ones coming from small
towns have high ambitions. Their
hunger to succeed is very high.”
SUMIT KESHAN,
MANAGING PARTNER, WIPRO CONSUMER CARE VENTURES
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
terms of resources. “The hunger
in them to succeed would be
higher than others. This is where
high self-belief also comes in,”
he says. What is also interesting,
he points out, is high empathy
they exhibit in their dealing with
employees and stakeholders.
Ramalingegowda, for his part,
prefers to stay humble even in the
face of high provocation. And there
are enough, interestingly, from irate
consumers who cross the line of
decency in their communication
and expression of their anguish.
Take, for instance, the recent
LinkedIn post of the co-founder
which gives a peek into their mental
scars. “Hey Chaitanya,” wrote one
of the users who took to social
media to vent his frustration on a
delay in the delivery of the product,
“bloody idiots, X&%$...you people
are unfit for business…&%$#@.”
The co-founder, however,
choose to keep his cool. “Being a
D2C founder or a team member
is like being in front of a firing
squad every single day,” admits
Ramalingegowda while reacting
to a series of such posts. He first
acknowledged the plight of the
consumers. “They have every right
to be angry at missed promises
by any brand,” he wrote. It is also
fair that customers have low trust,
he added, because they have been
taken for a ride by unscrupulous
brands in the past. “But I do believe
that some lines get crossed by irate
consumers,” he rued. Opening
any of the social media handles
(includng personal ones) can feel
like a stressful experience as family
members, investors and batchmates
are tagged on complaints, he
underlined his point. “Please show
a bit of kindness to them (brands),”
he implored. “In all probability,
they are working 24x7x365,”
underlined Ramalingegowda.
The founder again might be
naïve to think that there are many
like Shenoy uncle in town.
digital brands
In Focus
Aiming for
the US Stars
Some of India’s digital-first
brands that have breached
the `100-crore revenue
milestone, are making their
presence felt in the US. Do
they have a viable model?
By PRASANNATA PATWA
I
n July, Vahdam India, a tea
brand based in Delhi, entered
over 4,000 CVS Health
Stores in the US. Its founder,
Bala Sarda, claims the retail
expansion is a natural progression as
Vahdam had been selling digitally in
the US since it was founded in 2015.
It’s a similar tale for Mumbaiheadquartered Skillmatics. The
PeakXV Partners (earlier known as
Sequoia Capital India)-backed firm is
selling its educational-based games
for kids online and across more than
15,000 stores in US-headquartered
retail chains, including Walmart,
Target and Hobby Lobby.
The Ayurveda Experience, which
started operations in 2014 as an
ayurveda content platform, started
selling face and body oils in the
US. And men’s hygiene player Skin
Elements gets up to 35 percent of
its revenue by selling in the US.
Over the last two decades, India
has developed a reputation for being
the backend tech support for many
American multinational firms. The
nation is also known as one of the
best software services providers in
the world, thanks to Freshworks
and Zoho, among other softwareas-a-service (Saas) platforms.
But Indian brands have not
been able to rule the American
consumer market as much as US
63
Bala Sarda, founder, Vahdam India, outside a CVS store
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
In Focus
brands—from food and clothing
to bathing—have done in India.
From Levi’s and McDonald’s to
Cetaphil, every person living in
India regularly uses an American
brand. “It is only a matter of time
before the trend of selling service
from India to the world comes to
the world of consumer brands,”
says Vinay Singh, co-founder and
partner, Fireside Ventures.
To be sure, brands, including
Himalaya and Dabur, have been
operating in international markets
for decades now. Himalaya started
its first international office at
Houston, Texas, in 1996, and
opened its first brand store in
Cayman Island in the same year.
“Indian papad and bhujiya
companies have also been selling
internationally through India food
stores for many years now,” says
Mohit Satyanand, an angel investor.
But going international took
Himalaya almost 66 years, while the
new-age Indian consumer brands
aim to sell to American consumers
from Day 1 of starting their business.
Ayushi Gudwani, founder
of clothing brand Fable Street,
claims her firm has been shipping
products internationally since
around the second month of being
founded in September 2016.
All this is because of the
technological advancement in the
consumer shopping category and
digital marketing, which can start
for about a thousand dollars. “To
start a brand, you need a place
to sell, a distribution channel
and someone who can take your
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
64
Growing a consumer brand before
internet and after
Taking brands interntional traditionally
(BEFORE INTERNET)
Start exporting to
neighbouring
Build the brand in countries and
To expand
India first.
regions with
in the US,
Accumulate similar consumer
set up an
capital for
habits and
office and
international purchasing power an on-ground
expansion
as India
team
STEP 1
STEP 2
Decide if the Start by selling
brand is for India
through
or the US. Create marketplaces.
high quality
Simultaneously
product
create brand
awareness
through content
on social media
platforms
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
Get consumer If the product is
Create an
Sustain
feedback
getting traction
on-ground
growth in
online and decent
and keep
team to
existing stores
volumes then handle offline and also enter
updating the
start thinking distribution and
product
new stores
about entering
till productlogistics
physical retail
market fit is
stores
achieved.
Taking brands international in current times
(IN DIGITAL AGE)
products to the consumers,” says
Dhvanil Sheth, founder, Skillmatics
(Grasper Global Pvt Ltd).
Ecommerce marketplaces
and seller platforms such as
Etsy take care of these needs.
Avenues, including social media
platforms and one’s website, can
be used for brand-building, solving
for advertising, while courier
partners take care of delivery.
Over the last decade, most
new-age brands, including the
“Indian papad and bhujiya
companies have been
selling internationally
through India food stores
for many years now.”
MOHIT SATYANAND, ANGEL INVESTOR
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Find retail
shelf space to
create product
and brand
presence
Sustain sales in
existing stores
and increase
Do marketing
product
campaigns
presence by
to build brand entering new
awareness physical outlets
newly listed Honasa Consumer
Pvt Ltd, Mamaearth’s parent
company, and Boat Lifestyle, got
their start on Amazon, among
other digital marketplaces.
But isn’t it still difficult to attract
American consumers, who are
not only being lured by domestic
firms but also by French, British,
Israeli and Chinese companies?
NO ME-TOOS ALLOWED
So far, brands from India that
have found success in the US have
some form of differentiation. “Any
category or product, which is
known to be India’s specialty, has
a consumer base in international
waters. India is known for silk,
indigo, teas and handicraft,
among many other things,” says
Singh of Fireside Ventures.
Just like South Korea is
associated with electronics and
digital brands
Japan with matcha tea.
While The Ayurveda Experience
is bringing in ayurvedic personal
care products, Vahdam India’s
proposition is locally sourced
high quality tea from India.
But companies could also enter
a category where there might be
headroom to grow. Skin Elements’
founder Raghav Sood claims when
he launched his men’s intimate
hygiene wash, the category
was non-existent on Amazon’s
domestic and US websites.
Similarly, TeaFit’s founder
Jyoti Bharadwaj found a gap in the
unsweetened beverage space in
India and is now tapping into the
international tea drinking market
in Singapore and New Zealand.
“There should be a real
differentiation and not a perceived
differentiation in your product,”
explains Skillmatics’ Sheth. This
means having a similar product
as another brand and selling it for
cheaper cost would not suffice in
the American consumer market.
Pricing is an important factor to
consider while selling in the US.
More than half-a-dozen consumer
brand founder Forbes India spoke
with, however, say the quality needs
to always trump everything else.
INTERNATIONAL SENSIBILITIES
“People in the US are quality
sensitive,” claims Sood. If
the consumer is satisfied
Dhvanil Sheth, founder, Skillmatics
with the product, it can also
be priced at a premium.
For instance, one of Skillmatics’
game called Space Explorer retails
for `664 ($7.97) on Amazon India,
while the same is being sold on the
marketplace’s US website for $24.99
(`2,082). Similarly, Vahdam’s lemon
ginger tea, with 50 tea bags, retails
for `374 ($4.5) in India, while it’s
sold on the brand’s website in the US
for $24.99 (`2,082) for 100 tea bags.
Manufacturing in India is
cheaper and the rupee is weaker
compared to the dollar. Hence,
the pricing in US dollar might
seem high when compared with
rupee but it is competitive.
In India, the market is so
US contribution to annual revenue
ANNUAL REVENUE SHARE
VAHDAM INDIA
PRESENT IN: US, UK, Canada, UAE, India
SKILLMATICS
PRESENT IN: US, UK, Canada, India
SKIN ELEMENTS
PRESENT IN: US, UK, Vietnam, Singapore,
Canada, India
THE AYUVEDA EXPERIENCE
PRESENT IN: US, Europe, Australia
USA
INDIA
65%
8-10%
70%
15%
35%
30%
Refrained from sharing region-wise break up
price sensitive that consumers
wouldn’t mind switching brands
if there is a slight hike in pricing
and the competitor brand’s
product is a bit cheaper.
Moreover, the products also
need to be made with American
sensibilities. In the initial years,
Sheth hired US-based agencies to
help him with developing the first
few SKUs (stock keeping units).
And Vahdam India kept building
its online distribution channel to
test its tea among the American
consumer to see what works.
Undercutting on price is not
a wise strategy just because you
are manufacturing from India and
the manufacturing cost is lower.
“Your company is manufacturing in
India. So, maybe your production
cost is lower. But there is another
company, which is manufacturing
from China,” adds Sheth.
“When it comes to products,
the US market is not driven by
emotions but by facts,” says
Sujata Biswas, co-founder
of Suta, a sari brand.
Consumers would rather
want the company to be direct
and show them the functionality
of the product rather than have
sentimental slogans like ‘Desh
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
65
In Focus
ka namak’, a Tata Salt slogan.
If Suta were to advertise in the
US, the campaign would revolve
around, easy-to-wear saris and
fabric quality, adds Biswas.
The bootstrapped sari player has
made inroads in the US by selling
through its India website. The
company is also exploring US-based
companies to tie up with, who could
show them the rules of the new
land. Since the rules are not clear,
the founders are shipping their
products to the US through courier
partners, including DHL Express.
“Courier partners advise on the
mandatory paper work needed
for sellers looking to export to
the US or the UK,” says Muskaan
Sancheti, founder, The State Plate.
The four-year-old ethnic snack
platform started selling products
internationally two months ago and
claims the largest number of orders
as of now have come from the US.
66
THE RULE OF THE LAND
To build a respectable brand in the
US, a company has to adhere to
certain rules and regulations, and
acquire a bunch of licenses. For
instance, if a brand wants to operate
in the food and beverages category,
it will have to get a Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) licence. It
will also need an import-export
licence, says Chirag Gada, vice
president (new businesses), Think9
Consumer. Founded in 2022 by
Ashni Biyani, Think9 Consumer
Pvt Ltd has taken a house of brands
strategy and acquired multiple
brands to grow outside of India.
A company would also need to
Perfora co-founders Jatan Bawa (left) and Tushar Khurana
have a few members working locally,
according to at least four founders
running their brands in the US.
Currently, Vahdam India, Skillmatics
and The Ayurveda experience
have on-ground teams in the US.
“If you are trying to build a brand
for the American consumers, it is
critical to research and understand
the gap in the market, speak to
consumers to know what they
want and then customise your
offering accordingly,” says Sarda
of Vahdam India. For instance,
Vahdam would have a Halloween
tea collection as it is a popular
festival in the US, and also release
testimonials of Ellen DeGeneres and
Oprah Winfrey, who are popular
personalities in the country.
Similarly, Skillmatics advertises
its products with American kids.
“If you see our website and social
media, no one would be able to say
that this brand comes from India,”
says Sheth. “We are currently doing
“A company’s cost can
inflate quickly if it does
not get the air-to-sea
shipment ratio right.”
CHIRAG GADA, VICE PRESIDENT (NEW
BUSINESSES), THINK9 CONSUMER
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
over `400 crore in revenue. At this
stage, we have to expand in retail.”
A local logistics team can help
in figuring out the retail route and
whether the products should be
shipped by air or sea. “A company’s
cost can also inflate quickly if
they do not get the air-to-sea
shipment ratio right,” adds Gada.
If a product is being sold
for $100, about one-tenth of
the cost goes in shipping by
air, according to Jatan Bawa,
co-founder, Perfora. The twoyear-old oral care brand started
selling in the US through Amazon
international about a couple of
months ago. “It is too soon to talk
about numbers. But we want to
get better volumes so that we can
start shipping by sea,” says Bawa.
COUNTING THE DOLLARS
Customer acquisition cost (CAC),
which is a major expense for
digital-first brands in India, can
also be cash guzzler in the US.
“The cash burn becomes even
more expensive there because
the spends are in dollars,” says
Rishabh Chopra, founder, The
Ayurveda Experience. Similarly,
hiring a full-time US-based
team is also an expensive affair
as salaries are paid in dollars.
But entering offline stores can
digital brands
“To build a madein-India consumer
brand and find
acceptance the
world over is every
founder’s dream.”
JYOTI BHARADWAJ
FOUNDER, TEAFIT
in retail stores, according to Singh.
More than 50 percent of India’s
retail market is unorganised, run by
kirana stores. In the US, though, 90
percent retail is run by organised
chains, including Walmart, Target,
Walgreens, Costco and Macy’s.
Sustaining in these retail stores
is another battle. “Getting into
the US retail market is not easy.
And once you do get in, your
product needs to keep moving
and you need to keep delivering
growth in sales to the retail chain
year after year. Or they will not
stock your product anymore,”
says Vahdam India’s Sarda.
WHY LEAVE INDIA?
India’s consumer spends have been
Rishabh Chopra, founder, The Ayurveda Experience
on an upward growth trajectory. In
the June-ended quarter, consumer
spending stood at `23,126 billion
compared to `21,824 billion for the
same quarter last financial year,
according to research firm Statista.
Fashion brand Fable Street
has decided to focus on the
Indian market as there is still a
lot of room to grow. And even for
Skillmatics, close to 15 percent of
revenue comes from India, with the
country being the fastest growing
region for the kids’ brand.
But consumer brand founders still
aspire to be treading in international
waters. “As an Indian consumer
brand founder, I can definitely say
that we, as a country, have not yet
produced a worldwide enduring
brand like a Coke or a Red Bull,”
says TeaFit’s Bharadwaj. But unlike
two decades ago, Indian brands
are also catering to and finding
product acceptance from consumers
outside of the India diaspora.
“If your brand is successful in
the US, you have recognition in the
world’s biggest consumer market,”
says Gada. This is equivalent to
having global recognition and also
opens up neighbouring markets
such as Mexico and Canada,
and a few European markets
for the brand, he claims.
Building a brand in the US is also
not completely different from doing
it in India. Factors, including digital
marketing, customer acquisition
cost and timely retail expansion, are
similar for both countries. Major
differences come in creating a
differentiated product with top-notch
quality, cost effective management
of supply chain, understanding
the consumer nuances, and
figuring out retail distribution
and sustaining in those stores.
“To be able to build a made-inIndia consumer brand and find
acceptance the world over is a
dream of every founder… it’s also a
testament to the quality of products
by the brand,” says Bharadwaj.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
67
MADHU KAPPARATH
only get the necessary volumes,
which could then make for better
unit economics. “It is difficult
to pinpoint how much a brand
would earn and what volumes are
required because every category
has its own play. There is no
formula or one-size-fits-all kind
of approach,” says Think9’s Gada.
“The gestation period for every
category will be different based
on their product-market fit and
operational efficiency,” he adds.
Expanding offline is the only
next logical step to building a
brand in the US. A local operations
team is required to set up offline
expansion. As of now, Vahdam
India is present across more than
6,500 stores in the US, UK, Canada
and the UAE, while Skillmatics
is in over 15,000 stores in the US
and the UK. These numbers are
miniscule, claims Fireside Venture’s
Singh. “Instead of thinking of store
count, a brand should focus on
figuring out how it can increase
its presence across various retail
chain formats,” he adds.
If Walmart has 4,623 stores in the
US and if a brand is present across
more than 4,000 stores that’s when
it would have successfully expanded
In Focus
‘Equity Markets May Stay
Difficult Around The World’
With growing interest from investors, Manraj Sekhon, chief investment officer
of Templeton Global Equity Investment, feels India will continue
to be a good place for funds due to its resilient growth
By NASRIN SULTANA
A
s equities are
combating stiff
competition from
fixed income
returns, navigating
through choppy and uncertain
waters has been getting difficult
68
“India has been
resilient and has
demonstrated
strong growth.”
MANRAJ SEKHON
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
in the last few months. However,
Manraj Sekhon, chief investment
officer, Templeton Global Equity
Investment, thinks complexities
will continue to increase due to the
gradual rebalancing of global power.
Sekhon adds that investors
will pay a premium for growth
as they are looking for sources of
growth in the emerging world,
excluding China, which is resilient
but also less correlated and
that’s where India comes in.
He explains that China is no
manraj sekhon
longer in favour among investors as
views on emerging markets are going
through a shift following Covid and
geopolitical tensions between the US
and China. Sekhon is optimistic that
India will continue to be a destination
for funds. “So far India has been
resilient and demonstrated strong
growth. We like India. We think
there are some interesting bottom-up
opportunities in India across a whole
range of sectors, large caps, small
caps, consumer financial services,
technology, industrials... that breadth
of opportunity is quite unusual. We
like India in that respect,” he adds.
Edited excerpts from an interview:
Q Take us through the investment
environment right now, in the
context that there is a spike in US
bond yields and equities, especially
in India, we are looking at a crisis
in West Asia with the Israel and
Palestine war, which typically
creates a lot of uncertainties.
The investment environment today
is probably a sharp illustration of
what we should continue to expect
for the next five to 10 years because
the world is a complex place. The
geopolitics where different powers
around the world are eyeing for
influence. There’s a rebalancing of
global power that is occurring. Trust
in government is a challenge globally,
it’s not just in the West. The trust in
government is a challenge and there
is populism. India is an extreme
example of that, but it is happening
elsewhere in the West as well. So,
you put that all together, that’s
creating a lot of geopolitical, sociopolitical, socioeconomic uncertainty.
After Covid, we have had the
Russia-Ukraine crisis, conflict in
the Taiwan Straits and now what’s
happening in the Middle East. So
the US is stretched dealing with all
of these challenges. It has to make
choices about where it allocates its
resources. Coming back to what
you mentioned about bond yields,
bond yields have spiked. Growth
has been strong, resilient in the
US in particular, surprising a lot of
investors, how strong and resilient
it has continued to be—jobs growth,
consumer growth, corporate
profitability. So it is a complex
environment with bond yields, short
bond yields around 5 percent. That’s
not a bad return for any investor: US,
non-US, 5 percent in US dollar terms
without doing much is an attractive
return which means that it is going to
continue to be a difficult market for
equities generally around the world.
Q What are investors
looking for now?
Because we are in this relatively
low growth environment around
the world, investors are looking for
growth, visibility, certainty and really
resilient growth. So when they find
that growth, they will pay a premium
for it. That is what we’ve seen in
the US, where you have seen these
“I would argue,
depending on your
time horizon, this is
not a bad time to be
looking at equities.”
large mega cap stocks, the so-called
magnificent seven, deliver a strong
return this year. Over 80 percent of
S&P returns in the first nine months of
this year came from those companies.
So the rest of the markets actually had
a difficult time but the headline masks
a lot of differences in performance.
People also want growth that
is relatively less correlated, that’s
where India comes in. So we have
seen in the last couple of years the
views on emerging markets shift.
China was very much in favour
pre-Covid. Now a combination of
Covid, domestic transition in China,
geopolitical tensions between the
US and China and in the other parts
of the world means that China is no
longer in favour. People are looking
for sources of growth in the emerging
world, excluding China, which is
resilient but also less correlated
and that’s where India comes in.
As a global investment organisation,
the amount of interest we have
seen from foreign investors looking
to allocate to India is probably
the highest we have seen.
Q In the last one year?
I would say in the last 18 to 24 months,
and it has continued. Now, that
doesn’t necessarily mean the interest
is turning into flows, but there’s a lot
of curiosity and interest, there’s better
understanding for all the reasons I
mentioned before. I think India as a
destination for funds will continue to
be a good place. India will continue
to have its own share of setbacks,
some self-inflicted, some otherwise.
The elections are coming, [they]
will be a source of uncertainty,
maybe volatility in the markets,
but so far India has been resilient
and India has demonstrated strong
growth. We like India. We think
there’s some interesting bottom-up
opportunities in India across a whole
range of sectors, large caps, small
caps, consumer financial services,
technology, industrials... that breadth
of opportunity is quite unusual.
We like India in that respect.
Q Currently, equities are struggling
with heated competition from
other asset classes as people
are shifting their money to fixed
income while global central banks
all over the world have started to
increase interest rates. Are you
re-looking at your portfolio and
re-strategising your investments
from equities to fixed income?
So within Templeton and the
business which I manage, we
only focus on equities.
We certainly have colleagues
that look at both fixed income
and equities, but we only focus
on the latter. I think investors are
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
69
manraj sekhon
In Focus
70
reallocating to fixed income from
equities because, as I said, 5 percent
in US dollar terms is attractive.
We are probably in the later
stages of the economic cycle and the
tightening cycle in the US. In Europe,
it looks like inflation has peaked.
In the US, growth is still resilient.
Inflation looks to be quite sticky and
it will probably not go back down to
the extraordinarily low levels of the
last couple of decades but inflation
is probably close to peak. So when
you put that together and you look
at equities and fixed income on a
three-five-year view, is this the right
time to be allocating to fixed income
relative to equities? I would argue not.
I would argue, depending on
your time horizon, this is not a
bad time to be looking at equities.
If you look around the world, the
US has performed well in terms of
the equity market returns but that
performance has been concentrated
in a very small number of stocks.
So the rest of the market has
actually not done terribly well.
If you look at the rest of the world,
it’s also lagged. India is a standout,
but Europe has lagged. Japan has
lagged. China has certainly lagged.
Emerging markets, outside of India,
one or two other exceptions have
lagged. So there’s a lot of opportunities
outside of the US where I think you
can find valuation and growth.
Q There has been a lot of noise and
interest for ESG funds. India has
been lagging in green and impact
investments but after Covid, lot
of new fund launches were ESGfocussed. But that enthusiasm
is cooling off gradually. Do you
think that the entire clamour for
ESG investments is dying now?
How do you look at ESG now?
There are many different ways of
looking at ESG investments. Some
investors look at companies that have
strong ESG credentials and invest on
that basis. We try and think about that
whole area in terms of sustainability.
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
Now what does sustainability mean?
Sustainability is about sustainability
of the business model that means
companies that can operate with
all its stakeholders whether it’s
clients, customers, community,
employees, in a sustainable way,
environmentally, as well as, how it
ensures that all stakeholders benefit
in as much a fair way as possible.
Now companies that may not have
great ESG credentials today but
are transitioning in a sustainable
way provide attractive returns.
It is important to think about
these companies and these areas
we invest in in a holistic way. What
does sustainability really mean? So
companies in India, for example,
that for the sake of argument in the
“Investors are
looking for visibility,
certainty and really
resilient growth.
And when they find
it, they will pay a
premium for it.”
energy space that are generating
significant carbon emissions but
employing thousands of people
that are sustaining their lives based
on their employment. Are those
investable? Are those non-investable?
Are they transitioning? There
are some investors who believe
simply because they are carbonemitting, they should be avoided.
We believe our job is to engage
with these companies, work with
them to see how we can help them
transition to a model that’s more
sustainable. But their role as a
sustainable business is not simply
about environmental sustainability. It
has to be thought about holistically.
So I think we have to be careful
in how we categorise the kinds of
ways we invest whether we call it
ESG or sustainable. The companies
we invest in, we have to think
about it holistically. We have to
think about it globally. We have
to think about it in how it impacts
the overall community not just in
terms of the outcomes today.
I am not surprised that some of
those investments have gone badly.
I think when investors focus on a
fad without thinking about the
long-term outcomes, that is the issue.
Q Companies may still be focusing
on green and ESG investments
but the mutual fund industry,
somehow, is lacking that
enthusiasm for launching new
funds because they are probably
not convinced anymore?
I would say the fact that they
are setting up a new category
raises questions. All investing has
to be done sustainably. When I say
sustainably I don’t mean purely
environmental. A company can’t
be viable in the long term if it is
not managed in a sustainable way.
So whether you are investing in a
mutual fund that was set up 20 years
ago or a mutual fund that is set up
tomorrow it has to be done that way.
Setting up a separate category,
whatever it might be called, ESG
or otherwise, with a clear focus
on a certain subset is going to
produce a different outcome.
Q So it will take some time in India?
It will take time in India but again
it depends on the kind of investments
you make. A lot of green projects
have been predicated on a low
interest rate environment, that’s
not the case anymore. There’s
been a lot of capital thrown at new
projects and some of these projects
may not be viable in a high interest
rate environment but there’s a lot
more capital thrown at it. There
will be a market clearing and that
will provide opportunities.
(THE REPORTER WAS IN HONG KONG AT FRANKLIN
TEMPLETON’S INVITATION)
cdil
For the Long Haul
CDIL has led the way in semiconductor manufacturing for six decades
and recently became the first Indian firm to manufacture silicon
carbide components. What’s next for the family-run company?
By NAANDIKA TRIPATHI
Inderdeep Singh (left),
president and managing
director, and Prithvideep
Singh, general manager,
CDIL Semiconductors, at
their plant in Mohali
I
n the 1960s, when India
was making its first
attempt at manufacturing
semiconductor chips,
31-year-old Gurpreet Singh
collaborated with California’s
Continental Device Corp to make
silicon chips and devices in Punjab’s
Faridabad. Months after commencing
the business in 1964, the firstgeneration entrepreneur happened
to meet Homi Bhabha, the father of
the Indian nuclear programme. When
Singh told him that they are making
silicon semiconductors just outside
of Delhi, Bhabha didn’t believe
a word of it and said, “Nobody is
doing silicon in India, and you can’t
be doing it.” Only after personally
getting it cross-verified did he finally
believe it, reminisces Inderdeep,
son of the late Gurpreet Singh.
Shortly after, Continental Device
India Ltd (CDIL) became a wholly
Indian-owned company and also
the first to manufacture space-
grade semiconductor devices for the
Indian Space Research Organisation
(Isro). Apart from aerospace, the
59-year-old company manufactures
semiconductor devices for sectors,
including industrial, consumer
electronics, defence and audio.
Recently, the company also started
supplying semiconductors for solar
panels and electric vehicles (EVs).
CDIL’s first-ever production lot
went for exports because the Indian
potential customers those days were
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
AMIT VERMA
71
In Focus
72
quite sceptical that anybody in India
could do silicon. “But eventually,
when people saw that it was a
reliable product, acceptance in the
homeland gradually started picking
up,” says Inderdeep, president and
managing director of CDIL. A few
years ago, the company largely
exported to countries like the US,
UK, China and South Korea. But
now demand has picked up in the
domestic market, and the company
supplies 70 percent of their products
in India and the rest globally.
CDIL has designed many devices
from scratch. It also ran a wafer
fabrication facility in Delhi for over
30 years until 2008, with their own
R&D, fab masks, processes and
designs. A semiconductor fab, short
for fabrication, is a manufacturing
plant in which raw silicon wafers
are turned into diodes, transistors
and complex integrated circuits
(ICs). Later on, CDIL moved to a
fabless foundry model and relocated
those designs and processes to
partner foundries abroad. They still
make chips as per the company’s
specifications. However, wafer
design is not a key focus today. It
has shifted to the ATMP (assembly,
testing, marking and packaging) side.
“Our wafers and chip fabrication
were quite popular in the Southeast
Asian market, and we were selling
large amounts of volume to China.
Eventually, we stopped our wafer fab
because of the transition to the next
level of technology. But the fact that
we were running our own fab gave
us a lot of technical insights into the
product. We’ve also been lucky to
have the best people working with
us,” recalls Inderdeep. For instance,
Vinod Dham, who is well-known
today as the father of the Pentium
chip, started his career with CDIL.
In August, the company
inaugurated a new surfacemount semiconductor packaging
line at their Mohali plant in
collaboration with the government
of India’s scheme for promotion
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
From left: Gurpreet Singh, founder of CDIL, S Ujjal Singh, the company’s first chairman,
Commerce Minister Manubhai Shah and Van Winkle, VP and technical director, Continental
Device Corporation at the inauguration of CDIL plant in India
of the manufacturing of electronic
components and semiconductors
(SPECS). With this, adding another
first to its credit, CDIL became
India’s first silicon carbide (SiC)
component manufacturer.
SiC devices are the reason behind
“Our firm managed
to survive the
Covid-19 crisis
because we didn’t
have to worry about
servicing debt.”
INDERDEEP SINGH
PRESIDENT AND MD, CDIL
the ‘fast charging’ of batteries in
EVs and other electronic gadgets.
Anything that increases efficiency
is there to stay and grow strong,
explains Chandranath Dey, India
head, operations and BD, L&I, JLL,
a global real estate services firm.
“The growth of the semiconductor
sector in India will provide muchneeded fuel to several booming
sectors like electronics and consumer
goods, automobiles and the power
sector in the forthcoming decade.”
Silicon carbide has a significantly
wider bandgap compared to
traditional semiconductor materials
like silicon. This enables the devices
to operate at higher temperatures
and handle higher breakdown
voltages. Consequently, SiC emerges
cdil
as the optimal choice for the EV,
power management and solar
sectors, as it allows semiconductor
components to operate reliably in
high temperatures, reducing the
need for complex cooling systems.
CDIL has already initiated
pilot production in August with
50 million units and delivered its
inaugural batch to customers in
both the domestic and international
markets. The expansion of assembly
lines has increased their total
plant capacity to 600 million units
annually. At present, it supplies
to organisations like Dixon,
Luminous, Livgaurd, Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre, Bharat
Electronics Limited, and Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited, among others.
Their semiconductor division
also manufactures discrete
semiconductors like transistors,
diodes, thyristors, MOSFETs,
rectifiers, Schottkys, voltage
regulators, and transient voltage
suppressors, with a focus on highpower devices. The company
imports a major chunk of the
raw material due to the lack
of a semiconductor ecosystem
in India. They primarily come
from the semiconductor
manufacturing hubs in the east.
The veteran company has also
signed a MoU with the SemiConductor Laboratory (SCL),
a research institute in Mohali
under the Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology
(MeitY), undertaking research
and development in the field of
semiconductor technology.
The bootstrapped company has
been seeing a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent
over the last three years, and its
revenue stands at approximately
`250 crore. “We have remained
conservative in our expenditure of
money and never went into very
lavish types of operations. There’s
no end to how much you can spend,
but you have to be able to survive
An engineer involved in wafer inspection at CDIL’s plant in Mohali, Punjab
the down cycles whenever they
come, and they will come. Our firm
managed to survive the Covid19 crisis because we didn’t have
to worry about servicing debt,”
says 63-year-old Inderdeep.
About 15 kilometres away from
Chandigarh, CDIL’s plant in Mohali
is spread across 16,000 square
metres. While giving a tour of one of
the oldest semiconductor assembly
and packaging plants in India,
Prithvideep, the third-generation
entrepreneur and general manager
of the company, takes us through
the process of chip making. From
separating the wafer into individual
chips (dicing), placing the chips
onto a substrate through bonding,
“CDIL was much
ahead of its time,
and Gurpreet went
through difficult
times to get the
technology in India.”
RAJOO GOEL
SECRETARY GENERAL, ELECTRONIC
INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION OF INDIA
to ensuring proper assembly, wire
bonding, and packaging of the
chips, the whole process is quite
complex and needs attention to
detail. Going forward, the company
has plans to deeply focus on making
chips for the automotive sector.
“In the past, the semiconductor
sector has rarely been viewed as
a strategic industry of national
importance. Post the Covid19 pandemic and the global
semiconductor shortage, that
stance has changed, and the
sector’s strategic importance has
been imbibed by policymakers
in India,” says Prithvideep.
It’s a very capital-intensive
business, yet the company has
managed to stick around for six
decades. “CDIL was much ahead of
its time, and Gurpreet, the
founder, was a very forwardlooking entrepreneur. He went
through a lot of difficult times
to start up the company and get
the technology in India, but he
eventually managed to do it, and
they became the first company to
introduce silicon semiconductor
technology in India,” says Rajoo Goel,
secretary general at the Electronic
Industries Association of India.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
73
In Focus
MediaTek And
a Bag of Chips
From Alexa to Paytm speaker to TataSky to smartphones and TVs of all top brands,
there is an invisible chip powering most consumer gadgets. Meet MediaTek, the
Taiwanese heavyweight that has been silently flexing its muscle in India
By RAJIV SINGH
“Chips are the
heart of a device.
You can’t see the
heart but you can
feel the heartbeat.”
ANUJ SIDHARTH
74
MADHU KAPPARATH
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
(MARKETING),
MEDIATEK INDIA
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
mediatek
“Brands trust us, that’s
why we power them. Now
we want to tell the same
story to the end-users.”
ANKU JAIN, MANAGING
DIRECTOR, MEDIATEK INDIA
Name & Game
MediaTek is the world’s 5th largest
global fabless semiconductor company
Globally, the Taiwanese giant powers
more than 2 billion devices a year
Around 20 percent of homes and
nearly 1 of every 3 mobile phones
globally has a MediaTek chip
Back in India, MediaTek started
operations in 2004; now it has
over 1,000 employees in the
country
Global revenue
has jumped from
NT$ 15.4 billion in 2001
to NT$ 136.1 billion
in 2013 to NT$ 548.8
billion in 2022
It has two R&D centres in Noida and Bengaluru,
which caters to hardware design
for chips and software design for gadgets including
modems, 5G softwares and Wi-Fi softwares
SOURCE
in one of the full-page print ads.
Interestingly, the advertisement
didn’t mention any feature of the
product except one fact. “Powered by
MediaTek Dimensity 9000,” it read.
Back in January this year in
New Delhi, MediaTek—the world’s
fifth largest fabless semiconductor
company—was busy conducting
its month-long consumer and
retailer awareness programme.
“MediaTek’s Dimensity 5G family,”
underlined one of the tech executives
conducting the workshop, “includes
the 9200, 9000, 8200, 8000, 1000,
900, 800 and 700 series.”
Anku Jain, managing director
of MediaTek India, intervened to
simplify the tech jargon for the
attendants. The Dimensity 5G
family, he underlined, not only
powers the high-end smartphones
but brings flagship 5G technology
to the mass market so that everyone
can experience the power of 5G.
“MediaTek brings 5G to devices
Global March,
Local Dominance
MediaTek
GLOBAL (2022)
35%
30%
MediaTek global filings; company; NT$ is new Taiwan dollar
everywhere—not just smartphones—
but PCs, routers, mobile hotspots and
more,” he added. “With MediaTek
Dimensity, you can always expect
incredible 5G experiences.”
Meanwhile, at one of his stores,
Gupta was about to be surprised by the
invisible power of the ‘incredible’. A
shopper bought an Oppo smartphone
and scanned the QR code to make
the payment. The Paytm speaker
at the checkout counter announces
the amount received, signalling the
completion of the transaction. Another
buyer purchased an HP notebook,
and boAt airdopes. “By any chance
do you have Amazon firestick and
Echo Dot or these are available only
online,” inquired one of the buyers.
Gupta, interestingly, was busy
giving command to Alexa. “Can you
turn down the volume,” he ordered.
“I thought that the chips of MediaTek
are only in the smartphones,” says
Gupta when he was told about how
the chips are ubiquitous across a
battery of gadgets: From Samsung,
Oppo, Vivo and Motorola phones
to Paytm speaker and Mi routers
75
Qualcomm
Q2 2023
32%
28%
INDIA (2022)
SMARTPHONE
CHIPSET
MARKET
SHARE
Q2 2023
46%
53%
27%
21%
SOURCE
Counterpoint
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
S
unil Gupta tells us about
the ‘visible’ side of the
boxed story. “Till 2015,
the shopping lingo of a
smartphone buyer was
confined to just four things,” reckons
the retailer who has been in the
business of selling handsets for over
a decade. “Inch, MP, RAM and mAh,”
he says, listing out the four must-haves
sought by consumers. While inch
was all about the size of the screen,
MP (megapixel) signified the visual
prowess of the camera, RAM (random
access memory) gave an idea about
the might of the storage, and mAh
(MilliAmpere Hours) denoted the
power of the battery. “All these were
the visible side of the smartphone,
and were printed on the box,” says
Gupta, who has three mobile and
consumer electronics’ outlets across
Noida and Greater Noida in Uttar
Pradesh. Over the next few years,
Gorilla Glass, he adds, happened to
be the only new spec—and the fifth
item—the buyers added to their
customary probe list while shopping.
Seven years later, Gupta unboxes
the sixth feature—GHz (GigaHertz).
“This is the ‘invisible’ side of the
smartphone story,” he says. With an
evolution in the nature of the buyer
who has done enough homework
and, thus, deep prior knowledge,
smartphone makers are giving pride
of place to the chip manufacturers
in their advertisements as well
as consumer communication.
Take, for instance, the commercial
of the OnePlus Pad, which highlighted
the mouth-watering price tag of
`36,999 (which included bank
discount offered by ICICI Bank)
mediatek
In Focus
76
to Alexa and firestick to OnePlus
and Motorola smart TVs (see box).
“It’s incredible,” says Gupta.
Jain and Anuj Sidharth tell
us about the silent and invisible
transformation of MediaTek from a
B2B company to a consumer brand.
“For long, we stayed invisible and
enhanced the quality of lives of the
users,” says Jain. “Now it’s time
to be visible and become a partner
in their journey,” adds the India
managing director of the Taiwanese
chipmaker that enables nearly 2
billion connected devices annually. In
India, every second smartphone has
a MediaTek chip inside, he claims.
Though globally, the Taiwanese
major has a slender edge over the
American counterpart Qualcomm—
while MediaTek had a 32 percent
share, Qualcomm cornered 28
percent of the smartphone chipset
market in the second quarter of
2023—in India, the gap is substantial.
MediaTek has an overwhelming 53
percent share, and Qualcomm has
21 percent, according to the data
shared by Counterpoint Research.
Jain, though, is not thinking about
the market share. “It’s the consumer
and retailer mindshare that we are
focusing on,” he says. Sidharth, deputy
director (marketing) of MediaTek
India, chips in to underline the
new trajectory in the growth of the
media-shy company where brandbuilding takes centrestage. The real
power of the company, he reckons,
is not in powering gadgets of all
shapes and kinds. “The real power
is when consumers know the chip
powering the gadgets,” he says.
From consumer and retail
outreach to regularly conducting
MediaTek enables nearly 2 billion connected devices annually. Back
Mediatek Globally,
home, in India, every second smartphone has a Mediatek chip inside. Here are a
slew of brands powered by the tech global chipmaker:
Inside
Smartphones
Smart TV
Iot
Routers/TWS
Laptop/Chromebook/Tablet
Realme,
Oppo, Samsung,
Vivo, OnePlus,
Xiaomi, iQ,
Agni,
Motorola
Xiaomi,
OnePlus,
Motorola
PayTm soundbox,
PoS terminal,
Lenovo Smartclock,
Amazon firestick,
Amazon Echo Dot,
Broadlink Smart
bulb holder
Mi Xiaomi;
boAt aairdopes
HP, Jiobook, Primebook,
OnePlus Pad, RealmePad2
awareness sessions where the
focus is to simplify tech jargon and
underline how the chips are adding
delight to the life of the consumers,
MediaTek has been on a consumer
overdrive to take the chip out of the
box and make it consumer-friendly.
Technology analysts and industry
watchers are not surprised with the
branding initiatives of MediaTek.
Though a bit late in the game of
building a brand out of a commodity—
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, in contrast,
had a headstart in making consumers
aware about the chips inside
smartphones—MediaTek has pressed
on the accelerator at the right time.
“The turning point for the company
came after the Covid pandemic,” says
Tarun Pathak, research director at
Counterpoint. From powering the
entry-level smartphones, MediaTek
jumped a few notches by moving
into mid-premium and premium
devices,” he says. The domination
in the Indian market—MediaTek
overtook Qualcomm in India in
2020—makes it necessary for the
company to make itself visible
and reach out to the end users.
MediaTek, reckon marketing
and branding experts, is doing an
Intel. Before 1991, Intel was the
darling of OEMs (original equipment
“MediaTek’s turning point
and its hockey-stick growth
came after the pandemic.”
TARUN PATHAK, research director, Counterpoint
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
manufacturers) but was largely
unknown to the consumers. “In
1991, the chip maker rolled out ‘Intel
Inside’ campaign, which made it
a household name,” says Ashita
Aggarwal, professor of marketing
at SP Jain Institute of Management
and Research. The move was
unprecedented. Reason: No tech
company had ever showcased
ingredient advertising. MediaTek,
she points out, has taken a leaf out of
Intel’s playbook, and de-jargonised
tech. Today, consumers are highly
educated and aware about what
goes inside every product. From
‘no-cruelty to animal’ labels used by
cosmetic makers to ‘eco-friendly’
ingredients in other products, the
users want to have the knowledge
of everything. “This helps them in
making an informed choice,” she
says. “That’s why Intel made them
aware of what’s driving the laptops,
and that’s what Mediatek is doing.”
Jain, for his part, is in no mood
to scale down the brand awareness
campaign. The other high-priority
things for the brand, he points out,
are to ensure a sharp focus on a
seamless 4G to 5G transition, and
expanding portfolio for smartphone
and smart devices. Recently, the
company introduced the Dimensity
auto platform for EVs and partnered
with NVIDIA to deliver a wide range
of in-vehicle AI cabin solutions for the
next generation of software-defined
vehicles. “Industries understand
technology, and consumers
understand stories,” he says. “Our
job is to make technology simple and
take it to the masses,” he signs off.
smartworks
Office Play
Timely pivot, sticky enterprises, waning pandemic and a
more-than-strong resurgence in demand for office space have helped
Smartworks post a heady growth. Can India’s biggest managed
office space provider keep up with its furious pace?
By RAJIV SINGH
“Though Covid put
a question mark on
our survival, we
knew that offices are
not going to die.”
NEETISH SARDA
FOUNDER, SMARTWORKS
Neetish Sarda with Harsh Binani
(right), co-founders, Smartworks
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
SELVAPRAKASH LAKSHMANAN FOR FORBES INDIA
77
In Focus
April 2021, Noida
N
INFOGRAPHICS: MUKESH SINGH
78
eetish Sarda was
spaced out. One,
though, can’t blame
the entrepreneur for
feeling disoriented.
It had been over 12 months of a
lockdown, the country was in the
midst of a deadly second wave of the
pandemic in April 2021, and, in an
uncertain environment, the only thing
that seemed certain was an end of
the world. Like most of the startup
founders battling the Covid headwind,
Sarda too was hoping against hope,
grappling mental demons, and
praying for his world to stay intact.
“What if Covid lasts for another eight
months or so,” wondered Sarda, who
co-founded Smartworks in 2016.
Started as a co-working startup in
Delhi-NCR, Smartworks had a sedate
growth in the formative years, pivoted
to a managed office space provider
in 2019, and closed the next fiscal
with a heady operating revenue of
`257.6 crore. Sarda had managed to
find a space for his maiden venture.
Then came Covid. Work from
home became a new normal, offices
had almost turned into an obsolete
concept, and after four years of
managing millions of square feet
of business space, Sarda’s thinking
shrunk into inches. “Would this
industry survive? And even if it does,
will it be able to stand on its feet?”
asked the founder who closed FY21
at a muted revenue of `279.6 crore.
What was exceptional, though, was
the fact that Smartworks and Sarda
had survived. “But for how long?”
wondered the founder who raised
$25 million from Singapore’s Keppel
Land Limited (Keppel Land) in
Series A round of funding in 2019.
“Will offices survive?” was the
larger question yet to be answered.
Another searing question, which was
certain to emerge post-pandemic,
was: Who will pay a premium to
get flexibility at workspaces?
Fast forward to August 2023. The
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
pandemic has waned, work-fromhome has lost its charm, the hybrid
model of work is gaining ground, and
enterprises are back in action and
have doubled down on their office
space requirement. What this means
for Smartworks—especially the last
part as enterprises make up around 90
percent of the revenue of the startup—
is just one thing: India’s biggest
managed office space provider is
back with a bang. The revenues have
almost doubled from `360.2 crore in
FY22 to `710.3 crore in FY23; the area
of operation has leapfrogged from
4.9 million square feet to 7.2 million
square feet during the same period,
and footprint has expanded from 10
to 12 cities. “We knew that offices
are not going to die,” says Sarda,
adding that the pandemic was worse
than recession. “We always gave
ourselves a faint chance to survive.”
What Sarda didn’t know, though,
was the fact that a comeback would
be much bigger than the setback. “It
has been a hockey-stick recovery,
and the demand has skyrocketed,” he
says, adding that during the pandemic,
Smartworks closed just two centres,
and held on to its supply. “Nobody
expected demand to come back in
such a manner,” he confesses.
So, what has worked for the flex
space provider? Is it the normal
demand, which has staged a strong
comeback after the pandemic or did
Sarda tweak the business model? It’s
a mix of both, maintains the founder.
In 2021, Smartworks switched
to a ‘campus-managed solutions’
model, which means managing
large independent campus-like
structures as opposed to independent
floors in a building or a complete
building which co-working players
usually take up to run operations.
The math of taking up larger
space, he points out, worked.
First, it provided flexibility to the
enterprises who were now looking
for more options and services for
their employees. Second, it also
helped Smartworks negotiate on
its capex, and add more amenities
which made sense in the postpandemic world. Third, it helped
Sarda to offer standardisation in
services, something which enterprises
yearn for but struggle to find in the
market. “Last year, we sold more
than `4.5 crore worth of food on a
monthly basis,” says Sarda. From
food to grocery deliveries to gyms
and cab services, Smartworks did
all to make life easy for employees.
Though Smartworks has clocked
a brisk pace of growth over the last
year or so, the road ahead won’t be
easy. One of the big challenges is to
Report card (` cr)
710.3
Revenue from operations
Loss
Cash from operations
360.2
279.6
257.6
216.1
204.2
152.9
114.3
101.6
(profit)
1.8
FY19
53.9
69.8
FY21
FY22
14.5
FY20
FY23
SOURCE RoC filings; company; Entrackr; FY23 numbers are unaudited
smartworks
Footprint
Types of Flex Work
MANAGED
HYBRID
CO-WORKING
l F ully customised as per client
l F ully serviced, mix of open and
lM
embership based,
lO
perator maintains it, and
l Leased to multiple tenants on a
needs, furnished and serviced,
private or semi-private space
client pays a fee
l T ypical tenures of 36-48
months with lock-ins; leased
on per sq ft basis as well
dedicated desks, meeting rooms
and private cabins
per workstation basis for a fixed
tenure (say 12 -24 months)
NUMBER OF
CITIES
social working
environment, events
and community set up
FY19
l I ncludes hot/dedicated
desks & private offices
l F ocus is on enterprise clients,
community engagement and design
l T ypical tenures as low
FY20
9
FY21
9
9
FY22
FY23
FY22
FY23
10
12
AREA
as 3-6 months
(million square feet)
FY19
FY20
FY21
0.9 1.9 2.6 4.9 7.2
Enterprises are
back with a bang
Top 7 flex operators account for around 61%
share of all seats leased from FY21 to FY23
Managed Clocks Furious Growth
While co-working and hybrid players have seen a decline in their respective shares of operational flex
stock over the past two years, managed space operators have seen their share grow by 3.4x over the
same period. The operational footprint of the latter has grown by 10 times to around 15 mln sq ft till
March 2023 compared to the 2018 numbers, according to a recent report by JLL and Smartworks
8.2
PERCENT SHARE OF
OPERATIONAL FLEX STOCK
Managed
Hybrid
Co-working
38.8
20.7
31.4
53
2018
bring back the bottomline into shape.
From a profit of `1.8 crore in FY21,
Smartworks has slipped to a loss of
`204.2 crore in FY23. Harsh Binani,
though, is not pressing the panic
button. Smartworks, points out the cofounder, is in a high-growth stage. It
has increased its operational footprint
from 1.9 million square feet in FY20 to
over 7.2 million square feet in FY23,
and expanded from nine cities to
12 during the same period. “We are
likely to close FY24 at a revenue of
`1,100 crore and an Ebitda (earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortisation) of `150 crore,” he
claims. Due to rapid growth, Binani
maintains, the company incurs
depreciation and lease provision—
both being non-cash in nature—which
gets reflected in negative PAT.
NUMBER OF SEATS
92,400+
27.6
28.1
47.9
44.2
2021
Q12023
Another challenge would be to
ensure that it doesn’t spread itself
too thin. Offices are buzzing with
employees again, but a muted funding
environment and the micro and
macro business outlook—domestic as
well as globally—call for a cautious
approach rather than being bullish
on expansion. “It’s easy to open but
tough to scale back and contract,” says
a venture capitalist who has invested
in a smaller co-working rival. “We
were hyper aggressive over the last
year, and unit economics went for a
toss,” he says, requesting not to be
identified. Smartworks, he points out,
must realise that if big enterprises—
which form a chunk of their revenue—
get hit, the business of office space
will get impacted. “Caution must
take precedence, and aggression
1.39 lakh+
79
43,700+
FY21
FY22
FY23
SOURCE India’s flex space market, JLL and Smartworks
must take a backseat,” he advises.
Sarda is aware of the pitfalls of
running too fast. When one is growing
at a high speed, he underlines, one
must ensure that growth is sustainable
and operations are standardised.
“Rather than going wide, we are
going deep,” he says, alluding to the
business strategy of not opening
multiple centres across the country.
“Our concentration,” he explains,
“is going to be confined to 14 cities
at most. Reckless growth, Sarda
avers, has serious consequences.
Though Smartworks has graduated
from the floor of a building to
taking a complete building to now
managing huge campuses, the
focus on carving a profitable path
of growth remains intact. “We will
keep working smartly,” he adds.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
In Focus
In-space Succour
to Satellites
Entrepreneurs at Mumbai startup Inspecity Space Laboratories dream of space cities, but
they also know it starts with one propulsion system, one rig, one sensor suite at a time
By HARICHANDAN ARAKALI
MEXY XAVIER
80
Arindrajit Chowdhury (right)
and Tausif Shaikh of Inspecity
Space Laboratories
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
inspecity
P
rofessor Arindrajit
Chowdhury at IITBombay and his
student Tausif Shaikh,
a propulsion systems
expert, started Inspecity Space
Laboratories only last year. This year,
they’re preparing to launch a small
CubeSat propulsion system that is
about the size of a small tiffin box.
It will take them one small
step forward in developing
Yashas Karanam (left),
and Rohan Ganapathy of
Bellatrix Aerospace
$6.55 billion
Projected global
market for in-space
robotic servicing
an ecosystem of in-space life
extension of satellites, involving
repairs, navigations and eventually
controlled de-orbiting manoeuvres.
The demand for such services is
expected to grow to several billions
of dollars over the next decade.
The duo is looking to launch the
CubeSats on an Isro platform as well
as a standalone satellite. Next, they
want to work with a partner satellite
operator to test if their module can
approach it, rendezvous with it, and
perform some proximity operations.
To begin with, “we are not going
to do any kind of docking or robotic
applications. We are just going to
get close, go around, observe, and
measure parameters like distance,
attitude, the rate of change of attitude
and so on”, Chowdhury says.
Space, around the Earth, is getting
crowded, and in addition to the
natural celestial matter crossing
paths with us, debris and parts and
old satellites that no longer work all
constitute a growing problem. This
will become a more urgent problem
as businesses like SpaceX and others
send tens of thousands of satellites to
low Earth orbits in the coming years.
Inspecity is tapping the
opportunity to provide in-space
repairs where possible, or a
controlled de-orbiting of a satellite
Investor PoV
“Inspecity’s
autonomous robotic
platforms and inorbit servicing
capabilities hold
promise for the
future of space
exploration and
development.”
VISHESH RAJARAM,
MANAGING PARTNER, SPECIALE INVEST
Inspecity Space
Laboratories
FOUNDED:
2022, Mumbai
Arindrajit Chowdhury,
Tausif Shaikh
FOUNDERS:
WHAT THEY DO: Robotic in-space
satellite servicing for life extension
and de-orbiting
COMMERCIALISATION: Proof
of
concept and initial prototypes
established
TEAM: 25
FUNDING:
$1.5 million
$1.5 million, preseed investment, April
LATEST FUNDING:
INVESTORS INCLUDE: Antler, Veda
VC, Speciale Invest, Anicut Capital,
DeVC, PointOne Capital
CUSTOMERS INCLUDE: Potential
customers across satellite
operators in multiple markets
Source: Company, Tracxn, media reports
where nothing else can be done. The
current flagship they’re developing
is a “vehicle for life-extension and
deorbiting activities” or VEDA
and its mini-me RIG (Robotic
Insert for satellite Guidance).
Tausif adds: “To do this, the
three key technologies that we
are going to develop in our first
stage are a propulsion system, a
robotic arm, and a sensor suit that
gives us very good visibility” to
be able to manoeuvre VEDA.
And they have already
demonstrated that their propulsion
tech works, winning one of the
iDEX challenges—part of the
innovation for defence excellence
make-in-India programme.
Circling back to these founders’
dream of building things in space,
it’s not about doing something fancy.
There’s scientific evidence to show
that many activities can be done
better in space—under circumstances
of little or no gravity. That apart,
“imagine being able to shift all our
polluting industries to space… you
can return planet Earth to its pristine
green past”, Chowdhury says.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
81
In Focus
VIJAY SINGH / SHUTTERSTOCK
82
How can we
Protect the Mahadayi /
Mandovi River?
Known as Mahadayi in Karnataka and Mandovi in Goa, diversion of the river’s water
could have catastrophic consequences on the region’s biodiversity and climate
By SUMAIRA ABDULALI & ANAND PENDHARKAR
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
mandovi river
The Mandovi River, often
referred to as the ‘lifeline’
of Goa, supports wildlife
and humans and provides
drinking water to millions of
people along its 117-kilometre
journey through Karnataka
and Maharashtra, down to the
Arabian Sea at Goa
T
he Mandovi river
begins its life as the
Mahadayi river in the
Bhimgad sanctuary
of Karnataka,
in a series of swift springs and
streams. Crisscrossed across a wet
evergreen forest in one of the largest
contiguous stretches of national
parks and sanctuaries in the Western
Ghats, the river with two names
is legally protected at its source,
Bhimgad, where efforts to protect
an endemic and endangered species
of bat—the Wroughton’s Free-tailed
bat—resulted in the notification of
the Bhimgad sanctuary in 2011.
But not only endangered bats
depend on the diverse ecosystem
of the Mandovi River. The river
supports wildlife and humans and
provides drinking water to millions of
people along its 117-kilometer journey
through Karnataka and Maharashtra,
down to the Arabian Sea at Goa. It is
often referred to as the ‘lifeline’ of Goa
which it supplies with fish, drinking
water and water for irrigation.
Since water is regulated by
state governments in India, the
importance of water created a
dispute between Karnataka and Goa,
both of which depend on it for their
own sustenance and prosperity.
The 2011 Notification of Bhimgad as
a sanctuary provided legal protection
just one year after the decades-old
water dispute between Karnataka and
Goa resulted in the setting up of the
Mahadeyi Water Disputes Tribunal
in 2010 through interventions in
the Supreme Court (SC) of India.
The diversion of Mahadayi’s
waters to supply about 30 waterscarce villages in Karnataka was first
planned in 1970 and in 1989, when
the Karnataka government planned
to build across two major tributaries,
Kalasa and Banduri, to divert drinking
waters to the Malaprabha River and
supply Dharwad, Belgaum and Gadag
districts with water for irrigation.
The dispute escalated when farmers’
protests in Dharwad district resulted
in police brutality against them in
2016 and the issue continues to remain
contentious while both states claim
the supremacy of their need for water.
Diversion of water affects the
entire river as a whole and causes
irreversible changes to its ecosystem.
The course of human history can be
traced through changes in rivers and
the ecosystems they support. “Some
river civilisations have faced chronic
problems; that is, regular, incremental
changes over decades or centuries
(eg, salinisation) and which in some
instances are manageable from year to
year. Others have faced sudden, acute
and catastrophic events (like flooding,
prolonged drought), occurring during
single or successive seasons. Despite
the different timescales, both forms of
change can lead to irreversible impacts
on riverside societies, and in some
cases have resulted in total societal
collapse,” says an article of the Lincoln
Centre for Water and Planetary
Health, University of Lincoln (UK).
A 2016 study by AK Chaubey of the
National Institute of Oceanography
found that in one glacial period
about 1,20,000 to 20,000 years ago,
Goa’s two main rivers, the Mandovi
and Zuari, flowed into the Arabian
Sea together as one. The combined
river was swifter, deeper and the
volume of water was much higher
than it is today. Over the millennia,
the rivers separated through
sedimentation and acquired their
meandering, tranquil nature that
define their flow through Goa today.
However, while natural processes
change ecosystems over time, human
interventions pose significant threat
to the river, and all those species that
depend on them, much faster and
create emergencies immediately.
In 2022, in acknowledgment of
the importance of water, the first UN
Climate Change Conference (COP27)
highlighted the links between water,
biodiversity and global warming,
Csaba Kőrösi, president of the
United Nations General Assembly,
reiterated: “This is the water COP”.
Like other rivers originating
in the Western Ghats, a Unesco
World Biodiversity Hotspot, the
Mandovi supports various species
of endemic and other fish, including
the barramundi and mangrove
jack. A recent study identified 84
species of fish in Goan rivers.
Nevertheless, scientific studies to
identify the totality of the biodiversity
surrounding the river and the effects
of diverting its water are insufficient.
“If the water flow of the river is
reduced [by diverting water to the
Malaprabha river], then obviously
the fauna will also change,” says
naturalist Parag Rangnekar, an
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
83
In Focus
NOMADOGRAPHER / SHUTTERSTOCK
84
ecologist based in Goa. “If the fresh
water is reduced, salinity will also
increase, again impacting fauna. This
is understood by everybody. But which
fish will be impacted, how the fauna
will be affected… commissioning
proper studies is very crucial.”
In present-day Karnataka, the
Mahadayi cascades over the verdant
cliffs and valleys of the Western Ghats
in spectacular waterfalls including the
Dudhsagar and Vajrapoha waterfalls
before morphing into the meandering
Mandovi at Goa. The Goa portion
of the river has seven species of the
16 species of endemic birds found
in the Western Ghats. However, the
fragile ecosystem is being threatened
among ever increasing water needs
as water-intensive sugarcane farms
in Karnataka along the way expand
and replace traditional farming.
In Goa, the river faces further
challenges. Environmentalist Rajendra
Kerkar traces the chronology of
Goa’s water woes, pointing out
its long history of environmental
mis-management. “Watershed
destruction in Goa has been
persistent since its independence.
Initially, the government promoted
timber logging, which affects
the river catchment,” he says.
Extensive mining in Goa has
also destroyed its ground water
table and it is ironic that some of
the same mining companies, after
exhausting Goan mines, are now
looking towards the catchment
areas of another major Goan river,
the Tiracol, which originates in the
Sawantwadi-Dodamarg wildlife
corridor of Maharashtra, despite an
order passed in Awaaz Foundation’s
petition by the Bombay High Court
to declare Sawantwadi-Dodamarg as
eco-sensitive, where mining is banned.
Kerkar also points out that more
recently, “Tourism was hailed as
the dream vision towards economic
prosperity. However, persistent
water shortages and crises destroyed
the infinite growth model. Now,
the construction boom and overFORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
The Mahadayi River cascades over the verdant cliffs and valleys of the Western Ghats in
spectacular waterfalls like the Dudhsagar before morphing into the Mandovi River at Goa
concretisation is showing absolute
lack of ‘water literacy’ among the
policy makers and citizens, equally.”
Even during the British Raj in
India, water conflicts between states
were already escalating, and in 1956,
the government constituted the
national Inter-State Water Disputes
Act. However, since then, threat to
water security has only intensified
and created political conflict, and has
given rise to sustained protests and
social and environmental movements
in various locations across India.
The Godavari and Krishna Dispute
Resolution Tribunal was set up
in April, 1969 to settle the dispute
between Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Madhya
Pradesh. As a result, bilateral and
tripartite water sharing agreements
were reached between states in the
1970s. “The Tribunal gave its Award
in July, 1980,” says the government’s
website of Department of Water
Resources, River Development and
“If the river is
diverted, if the
fresh water is
reduced, salinity
will increase,
impacting fauna.”
PARAG RANGNEKAR,
ECOLOGIST
Ganga Rejuvenation. However, new
projects in the states have resulted in
numerous litigations thereafter and
the matter remains pending in the SC.
Water from the Narmada river
is disputed among Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Although the central government tried
to mediate these disputes in 1963 and
1965, their attempts failed and the
Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal
(NWDT) was set up on October 6,
1969. The Narmada disputes and the
Sardar Sarovar Dam gave rise to one
of India’s most prolonged struggles
to rehabilitate those impacted
by the construction of the dam,
which spanned several decades.
The Kaveri river waters too are
disputed between Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu. During a drought in
Tamil Nadu, when the SC ordered
the release of extra water to Tamil
Nadu, riots in Bengaluru resulted in
hundreds of cars, buses and trucks
being set on fire, shops vandalised
and death of two people.
Within this situation of longstanding conflict over water, the
Government of India is in the
process of diverting multiple rivers
arising in the Western Ghats and
across the country. The Minister of
State for the Ministry of Jal Shakti,
Bibeshwar Tudu, said in response
to a Parliamentary question in
December 2021 “the interlinking of
rivers programme is being pursued
based on the principle of consensus
mandovi river
Twenty-five years ago, there were many
sightings of the state bird of Goa, the flamethroated bulbuls, along the Mandovi
disease prevention. Water is about
peace. Water is about sustainable
development, fighting poverty,
supporting food systems and creating
jobs and prosperity. Water is about
human rights and gender equality.
That’s why water needs to be at the
centre of the global political agenda.”
The political tensions surrounding
water between Karnataka and Goa
have intensified again in recent times,
as elsewhere in India. In these times
of worsening climate change and its
effects on the lives of people, disputes
over water continue to escalate
political tensions between states
and further fuel the climate crisis.
Although Goa Chief Minister
Pramod Samant’s message while
presenting the State Action Plan
on Climate Change for The State of
Goa for Period 2020-2030 says, “We
wish to reiterate our preparedness
for climate related adaptation,
mitigation and emergencies related
to climate change. Our approach
will be inclusive and balanced
keeping interest of all stakeholders
“Tourism was hailed
as the dream vision
towards prosperity.
But water shortages
destroyed the infinite
growth model.”
RAJENDRA KERKAR ,
ENVIRONMENTALIST
and ecological sustenance of our
State,” the Plan itself goes on to
say, “water security scenario in the
state is likely to deteriorate further
under climate change scenarios.”
Exactly 25 years ago, in July
1998, nature enthusiasts, including
co-author Anand Pendharkar, on
behalf of Sanctuary (Asia) magazine,
embarked on a wildlife survey of the
Mahadayi and Bhimgad regions. Their
aim was to document the quality of
forests, biodiversity and life of the
communities residing along the course
of the Mandovi (Mahadayi) river.
From Sanquelim, the team traced the
Mandovi all the way to the Vajrapoha
Waterfalls. En route, they had many
sightings of the state bird of Goa,
flame-throated bulbuls. Besides that
many endemic creatures such as the
Malabar grey hornbill, Malabar giant
squirrel, flying lizard or draco. Sadly,
a dead gaur and king cobra, too.
These were some of the best
evergreen forest stands, which led
to the limestone Caves of Barapeda,
housing the world’s only known
nesting population of Wroughton’s
Free-tailed bats. The survey urged
then governor PC Alexander to
squash the plans of mining around the
Bhimgad caves and build mega dams
along the Mandovi and Mahadayi
parts of the river, and temporarily
averted the crisis. They urged the
governor to declare these regions as
a sanctuary as they were vital tiger
and elephant corridors, besides rich
repositories of medicinal plants.
The importance of science and
scientific knowledge about endangered
species served to protect the habitat
of the Wroughton Free-tailed bat
as Bhimgad sanctuary in 2011. Will
the recommendations of science to
protect the entirety of Mahadayi
and Mandovi rivers be imperatives
towards action today, within the
escalating effects of biodiversity loss,
water scarcity and climate change?
(ABDULALI IS THE CONVENOR OF AWAAZ
FOUNDATION AND PENDHARKAR IS AN ECOLOGIST
AND CEO, SPROUTS)
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
85
EDWIN GODINHO / SHUTTERSTOCK
and agreement among the concerned
states. An interlinking project would
reach the implementation stage once
agreement amongst party states
is reached on water sharing.”
Water disputes also fuel the climate
crisis through political imperatives
that ignore the biodiversity loss and
consequent climate crisis which they
fuel. Even as we await the COP28
in November and December 2023
ordinary citizens across the world face
worsening climate woes including
heatwaves, wildfires and landslides.
The United Nations has taken
note of the linkages between water
and climate change. UN Secretary
General António Guterres at the first
United Nations Water Conference in
March 2023 said, “We are draining
humanity’s lifeblood [water] through
vampiric overconsumption and
unsustainable use, and evaporating
it through global heating.”
In 1972, to safeguard environment,
legal philosopher Christopher Stone
proposed that environment should be
granted legal personhood with a legal
guardian tasked with safeguarding of
rights. However, it was only in 2017
that the first river was actually granted
personhood, the Whanganui River
in New Zealand. Thereafter, other
rivers have been granted personhood,
with legal rights similar to people
who are minors, with guardians. The
rights include the right to flow freely.
In March 2017, the Uttarakhand
High Court granted legal personhood
to the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.
However, in July the same year,
the SC reversed the earlier order,
stating that the rivers are not living
entities even though Ganga-mata
is revered and more than 500
million people depend on her.
UN Secretary General Guterres
said in his closing remarks on the first
United Nations Water Conference
in March 2023, “As humanity’s most
precious global common good, water
unites us all. And it flows across a
number of global challenges. Water is
about health, sanitation, hygiene and
In Focus
Comviva 2.0:
Reboot & Conquer
Hit by regulatory uncertainties in Africa, dwindling revenue from telecom content
business, and the need to cater to enterprises, Comviva made another attempt to
enter the lucrative markets of US and Europe. The gambit is showing results
By RAJIV SINGH
86
“We are in the midst
of Westernisation of
the portfolio, and
this is happening
after 25 years.”
MANORANJAN MOHAPATRA
CEO, COMVIVA
MADHU KAPPARATH
T
his time, it was a
dogged onslaught. The
intent was unwavering,
the mood sombre, and
the goal unambiguous:
The army can’t retreat from America.
Manoranjan Mohapatra, the battlescarred crusader, deciphers the mood
within his camp. “This time, we went
without a Plan B, we burnt our ship
and we declared there is no going
back,” recalls the chief executive
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
officer of Comviva, who is alluding
to the strategy embraced by the
mobility solutions company when it
made a decisive push to enter into the
hyper-competitive markets of the US.
Born as Bharti Telesoft in 1999, the
company was renamed Comviva in
2009, and eventually changed hands
as it entered the stable of Mahindra
Group when Tech Mahindra bought
51 percent stake in March 2012. For
the next two decades, Mohapatra
lorded over the prepaid and VAS
(value added services) markets of
India, Africa and Middle East. The
spoils were generous, the journey
remained profitable, and the empire
kept growing. The CEO, who has had
a 15-year stint with Aricent and was
a core member of CDOT (Centre for
Development of Telematics) before
joining Comviva in 2007, got to helm a
company which used to get 40 percent
of the revenue from India in 2007.
comviva
Gradually, the overseas contribution
increased at a furious pace, and India’s
share halved over the next decade.
There was no reason to complain,
though. A booming global market
kept the cash registers ringing.
Moons later, sometime after the
onset of Covid in 2020, the veteran
honcho was trying to emulate a
decorated Spanish war general who
set out on a voyage to conquer new
frontiers. Mohapatra starts to narrate
the story of Hernán Cortés, who along
with 600 soldiers landed in an alien
geography—which is now Mexico—in
1519. The team was exhausted, the
perils of fear of an unknown enemy
plagued the minds of the fighters, and
there was reluctance in making the
decisive move to conquer the territory.
Sensing a strong wave of unease
among the troops, Cortés did the
unthinkable. He burnt the ship
which brought them to the shore.
The army was left with two choices:
Fight and win or die. Comviva,
underlines Mohapatra, had made
half-hearted attempts to enter
into the American markets in the
past. Plan A, though, didn’t work
because there was a flourishing
and successful Plan B which had
been oiling the mobility services’
kingdom of Comviva across Africa,
the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The ‘Plan B’, interestingly, had
always been the ‘Plan A’. A booming
overseas market, a lucrative prepaid
The Big Bang West
Estimated ARPU* (pre-paid market)
American/European
markets
$40-50
$2.5
African markets
*Average revenue per user
Comviva’s Rising
Revenue from US
33 %
and Europe
*
13-14%
0%
FY21
2-3 %
FY22
SOURCE
FY23
FY27
Company, industry estimates
segment which ensured a hefty 15
percent Ebitda (earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortisation), and a thriving telecom
content business meant only one
thing: There was no pressing need
for Comviva to step out of its comfort
zone. Consequently, the abortive
attempts to do so lacked serious
intent and sufficient firepower.
The rules of the game, though,
changed dramatically in the years
leading to the pandemic. Mohapatra
starts with the first big blow. In
2007, the telecom content business
contributed around 60 percent of
the total revenues of the company.
Over the next decade, it started to
dwindle, and, by the end of 2019, it
slipped to around 15 percent. The
onset of the pandemic, though,
accelerated the decline. The
second—and a more serious and
immediate one—blow emerged
around regulatory uncertainties in the
overseas market, especially Africa,
where it was becoming increasingly
difficult to expatriate forex.
The CEO shares a freaky example
of regulatory uncertainty from
Nigeria. Recently, Mohapatra was
informed that Comviva would take
a hit of around a million dollars
in free cash. Reason? The Central
Bank decided to devalue naira (the
local currency) overnight. “It was
increasingly difficult to do business in
emerging markets,” rues Mohapatra,
who was forced to devise a new
strategy and look at the matured
markets of America and Europe. The
opportunity was massive. The prepaid
ARPU (average revenue per user) in
Africa is $2.5; in the Western markets
of the US and Europe, it’s $40-50.
The task, though, was not easy.
First, in spite of a decent prepaid
segment—an estimated 70 million
prepaid sim users out of 450
87
Story so Far
In March 2012,
Tech Mahindra bought
51% stake for `260
crore
Bharti Telesoft provided
integrated VAS solutions
for mobile operators in
emerging markets
In December 2017,
Tech Mahindra bought
another 22.14% stake
for `226.9 crore
In April 2009,
it was renamed
Comviva Technologies
Subsequently, it acquired
9.93% stake from Westbridge
Ventures II Investment
Holdings for `101.75 crore
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
INFOGRAPHIC: MUKESH SINGH
Comviva started as Bharti
Telesoft in 1999, and was
incubated by Bharti
Enterprises
comviva
In Focus
88
million—the US happens to be an
overwhelmingly post-paid market.
Second, the user expectation,
experience and behaviour were
different from the Indian and the
African markets where Comviva was
born and achieved its adulthood.
Third, the Indian warrior was
altering its approach and moving
aggressively towards catering to
enterprises. This needed a fresh
perspective and differentiated
game plan. And there was a strong
possibility of a previous debacle
in the US playing on the minds.
Mohapatra baked his US strategy
by beginning to tackle the last
impediment: Past failure. The idea was
simple. Unless one knows what went
wrong, one would never be able to
get it right. The CEO decodes another
crucial ingredient which led to a bitter
experience in the past. “We went to
the US with a little bit of arrogance of
success,” he confesses. Establishing a
foothold in a new market needs time,
energy, investment and a realisation
that the new venture might impact
the Ebitda in the formative years.
“We did not think about the complete
ecosystem which was required to
succeed,” he says. The naive thinking
was maybe half-a-million investment
and hiring a few guys—two or so—
was good enough. Sadly, it was not.
So this time, Mohapatra covered all
chinks. “This time, we made a plan of
$4-5 million investment, and looked
at support, pre-sales, technical, sales
and the overall big picture,” he says.
The second element of the
‘Westernisation’ plan was to look for
Though the venture is
profitable, the magic,
Mohapatra says, is
in free cash flow
the silver lining. Though a dominant
postpaid market, the prepaid
market in the US and Europe has
been growing at 3 percent CAGR.
Prepaid, Mohapatra explains, has
been growing largely on the back of a
few reasons. First, it doesn’t have the
binding contract element strapped
to it. “People want flexibility and
options,” he says. Second, the KYC
process is cumbersome. Third, there
has been a growing realisation among
the telecom operators that there’s not
much scope for growth in postpaid. So,
they now follow a strategy of acquiring
a prepaid user, and then converting
her to a postpaid consumer. What is
aiding the process is a huge difference
in ARPU of postpaid and prepaid.
While the prepaid ARPU is $35$40, postpaid stands at $50-$60.
Lastly, operators are willing to
co-invest and co-create. Most of the
biggies, underlines Mohapatra, are
cutting capex. “What is hurting them
is the fact that investment cycles have
been shrinking,” he says. While they
got 8-10 years to recover money on 2G,
it was just three to four years for 4G as
5G has started kicking in. “So, they’re
looking more at revenue upliftment
than operational efficiency and cost,”
he avers, adding that the mood has
worked in favour of Comviva which
Report Card (` cr)
Revenue from operations
646.7
PAT
629.7
82.5
FY19
657
88
FY20
143.3
43.9
FY21
FY22
SOURCE
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
877.4
648.4
51.6
FY23
Annual reports; standalone financials
has mastered the art of ‘gain-share’
business model over the decades.
“We know how to manage processes,
people and systems. Everything
is geared towards the gain share
model,” he says, adding that around
45 percent of the company’s revenue
today comes from gain share.
Just two years into Comviva 2.0,
the results are encouraging. The
percent of revenue from the US
and Europe has jumped from 2-3
percent in FY22 to 13-14 percent in
FY23. The target over five years is to
take it to 33 percent. “We have been
Westernising our portfolio and the
pace will gather steam,” says the CEO.
The magic of the business, though,
is not in data that reflects operating
revenue. After staying in the zone of
`600 crore over the last few fiscals, it
leapfrogged to `877.4 crore in FY23.
Though the venture stays profitable,
the magic, Mohapatra underlines,
is in free cash flow. “When I came
here, our free cash was 10 percent of
Ebitda, and it remained so till a few
years ago as well,” he says. “Now,
it is at 40 percent of Ebitda and the
target is to take it to 60 percent.”
Challenges, however, remain.
One big one is low PAT (profit after
tax). It was just `51.6 crore in FY23.
When asked to spell out long-term
goals to shore up the bottomline,
Mohapatra turns philosophical. He
talks about the discourse of one of
the spiritual gurus which his mother
was watching on television. “I saw
this and fell in love,” he says, sharing
the insight. On a pitch-dark night,
the guru started his sermon, when
one starts a car, the headlight can
only show visibility up to 100 or 150
metres. “But do you stop moving
because you can’t see the destination
or you keep your foot firmly on
the pedal,” she asked. You move
because you believe in the system,
the car and the support system.
“Clarity for 100 metres is sufficient,”
she underlined. Comviva, reckons
Mohapatra, has enough clarity. “It’s
an exciting journey,” he signs off.
ForbesLife
interview
'2024 PARALYMPICS
GOLD IS MY ONLY
GOAL NOW'
Pramod Bhagat, who recently won three medals at the Para Asian Games, is also eyeing
a record fifth World Championship title. The World No 2 gives insights into his champion
mindset and how his self-belief helped him tide over challenges—on and off the court
By KUNAL PURANDARE
P
ramod Bhagat has made winning a habit.
The para badminton star won three
medals—a gold and two bronze—at the
recently-concluded Para Asian Games
in Hangzhou, China, where India
finished with its best ever tally of 111 medals.
The 35-year-old has the rare distinction of
winning a gold in three majors—Paralympics,
World Championships, and the Para Asiad.
One of six siblings, the Bihar-born shuttler
pursued the game despite financial hardships
and a physical disability—he was diagnosed
with polio when he was five. He was
adamant on proving his naysayers
wrong and believes, despite his
achievements thus far, there’s
still plenty left for him to
achieve. Currently World
No 2 in singles, he has now
set his sights on winning a
gold at the 2024 Summer
Paralympics in Paris.
Bhagat speaks to
Forbes India about his
recent purple patch,
preparation for big
tournaments, his
strengths, and role
model—Sachin
Tendulkar.
Edited excerpts:
Q What is the
significance of
the three medals that
you won at the Para Asian Games?
This was a big event before the Olympics, and
I am glad that I won a gold in singles and
bronze in men’s doubles and the mixed
doubles. I had hoped for a gold in the men’s
doubles too. This was my fourth Asian
Games, and I was keen on defending my
2018 gold. I am happy with my victories…
I still have three tournaments to compete
in—Japan Open, Dubai Open and the
World Championship in Thailand. Those
are important for my Olympic qualification.
Q You were trailing 13-18 in the last set of
the singles final. What was going
through your mind then?
I did not think it would get
so close. I have won several
matches out of nowhere
previously, but this
was a difficult game.
My opponent [Nitesh
Kumar] was Indian
and that’s what made
it a challenging
affair—he knew
my weaknesses,
Para badminton star
Pramod Bhagat won
three medals—a gold
and two bronze—at
the recently-concluded
Para Asian Games in
Hangzhou, China
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
89
ForbesLife
interview
playing style and pattern. My mind was blocked at
13-18, but I changed my approach. I decided to focus
on each point. After I won three points on the trot, I
grew in confidence. I gave it my all and that worked.
Q You are a star shuttler with a gold at
three major championships. What goes on
behind the scenes to taste such success?
When you reach the top, it is difficult to maintain
that position. You are not alone who’s working
hard; athletes the world over strive to achieve
their goals. However, when you win a few
tournaments, you gain confidence and believe
in your ability. You believe that you can win
from any position. That positive thought helps
you make the impossible possible. It was my
self-belief that helped me win from 13-18.
Q You have been World No 1. Give us an
insight into a champion’s mindset.
90
When you become a champion, you always think
you are the best. I think on the same lines—that I am
the best and that I can win against anyone. I study
my opponent and adapt my game accordingly. I
devise a strategy that’s often useful. For instance, in
the 2021 Paralympics, I was down 4-12. I changed
my game there too. It was windy, and when I’d lift
the shuttle cock, it would go out. If I hit it softly, it
would land straight in my opponent’s hitting zone.
I then began playing flat and benefited immensely.
Eventually, I won the game. One should be calm and
cool at all times—your mind works best then. You
can think clearly. That comes with experience too.
Whether in life, sport or my training style, I work
on myself and my thought process all the time.
Q What are your strengths and where
do you think you need to improve?
My strength is my self-belief. That keeps me
going. I keep improving myself. It doesn’t matter
how hard you work; it matters how you execute
things, especially during crucial times. One needs
to improve always. And I am always ready to
learn. It’s something one has to do all their life.
Q When did you begin playing the
sport? What were the hindrances?
I started playing the sport in 2002, when I was
14. Initially I used to be scared that I’ll fall and
get hurt. I also faced a lot of hardships in those
years. But I was adamant on making a name for
myself. Despite the hurdles and obstacles, I did
not give up. Eventually, I began playing with
seniors and participating in junior tournaments.
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
I got to know of para badminton only when
I started playing for the state in 2005.
Q What about the financial pressure?
And the lack of infrastructure?
There were financial struggles initially. There
wasn’t much support from the government and my
economic condition was not good either. My first
coach SP Das supported me a lot in that phase.
Q You were detected with polio at the age
of five. Did you ever feel like giving up?
I never felt like giving up. My father would
encourage me, saying I could do anything. Since
my childhood, I have been open to doing all kinds
of work and that’s my strength. A lot of people
would dissuade me, saying you won’t be able to do
it. So, my constant aim was to prove them wrong.
Today, people are more accepting of sportspersons,
especially para athletes. Youngsters don’t have to
struggle much now. We had to prove ourselves. It
was only then that we got support and appreciation.
Q How does government support
help sportspersons like you?
It spurs you on. For example, during the exchange
programme, you get to interact with top foreign
athletes, go to their countries and learn new
techniques. All this is because of government
support… our equipment is being imported,
and there’s an infrastructure boost as well. We
are aggressive in promoting sports as one can
see with initiatives like Khelo India. When the
government does all this, the athletes can focus
solely on their game. Corporates are also pitching
in financially. That benefits us immensely. When
the government supports you, or the Prime
Minister appreciates your performance, you
feel the world has come together to help you
win. There’s a lot of opportunity for youngsters
today, many doors have opened for them.
Q The Prime Minister has also praised you.
I’ve met the Prime Minister more than 10
times. He speaks freely with us. We can discuss
anything with him with an open mind. And he’s
receptive to what we tell him. That gives us a
"WHEN YOU REACH THE TOP, IT IS DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN
IT. YOU ARE NOT ALONE WHO’S WORKING HARD; ATHLETES
THE WORLD OVER STRIVE TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS."
Q Are you looking forward to the qualification
tournaments for the Paralympics? Are
you confident of winning a medal?
I am confident of defending my gold medal [at the
Paralympics]. And I am getting all the necessary
support. At times, there are issues with acclimatising
to the weather and food. So, we plan to go to Paris
in January and have a training camp for twothree months. We are focussed on our target.
Q What’s your advice to upcoming athletes?
I would tell them to work hard and go ahead
in life. Today, our society, government and
people will accept you and promote you. You’ll
just need to put in the effort and show results.
The sports fraternity will also stand by you.
"I HAVE ONLY ONE GOAL—TO DEFEND MY GOLD IN THE
2024 PARIS PARALYMPICS. THE COUNTRY HAS LOTS OF
HOPES... AND I DON’T WANT TO DISAPPOINT."
Bhagat
competes
in the
badminton
men's
singles SL3
semi-final
against
Daisuke
Fujihara of
Japan
Q Do you feel athletes get enough attention?
Or is it reserved for cricketers alone?
Cricket is a different universe altogether. Their
stature, obviously, is bigger, and even the kind of
attention and publicity cricketers get is massive.
But they are trying to come into our world—trying
to participate in the Asian Games, Olympics. A sport
like cricket coming into the Olympics will help us,
and we’ll be able to move forward together. Some of
our athletes are already superstars—Neeraj Chopra
is one of them. He’s often compared to cricketers.
So, sportspersons other than cricketers are also
getting attention. And I believe we’ll be rubbing
shoulders with cricketers in the coming years.
Q Do you follow other sports?
Who do you look up to?
I do watch long jump, high jump. I am highly
impressed with Sheetal Devi, the 16-year-old archer
who won two golds and a silver at the Asian Para
Games. I am inspired by her journey. She comes
from a poor family in Kashmir, and winning medals,
and getting a hashtag like ‘armless archer’ is a big
thing. There are other promising youngsters too.
91
Q Who’s your role model?
My role model is Sachin Tendulkar. I like his
conduct, behaviour and sportsman spirit. There
have been times when he’s been given out when
he wasn’t, especially when he was batting in
the '90s… he’s such a big player, he could have
objected against those wrong decisions, but
he never did that. That stuck in my mind. It’s
inspiring. I met him after my Olympic gold and
we bonded well. He advised me on managing life
and sport, and how to balance the two. He also
told me how to overcome crucial phases in sport.
His support and encouragement mean a lot.
Q What are your goals?
I have only one goal—to defend my gold in the
2024 Paris Paralympics. The country has lots of
hopes on you once you win a gold medal. And
I don’t want to disappoint. So, I’ll work even
harder. My immediate goal is to win the World
Championship. I have won it four times. I want to
level Lin Dan’s record of winning it five times.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
KIYOSHI OTA / GETTY IMAGES
lot of confidence that we have the backing of
our Prime Minister. It motivates us to do well
for our country. He had called me personally
after my Olympic gold. All this is inspiring for
any sportsperson, especially a youngster.
ForbesLife
armenian carpets
A TAPESTRY OF
ARMENIAN HERITAGE
Megerian carpets grace the floors of renowned churches in the world and the homes of
esteemed figures, including the Queen of England, and presidents of many nations
By VEIDEHI GITE
92
N
The
Megerian
Carpet
Factory
Museum
Raffi
Megerian,
the thirdgeneration
owner of the
Megerian
Carpet
Cultural
Complex
the vintage carpets that grace the floors in room
after room of the museum make you ponder if
you can even walk over them. But Galina, the
museum guide assures us, “There is an Armenian
saying that the carpets are meant to be walked
upon. We clean these rugs once every six months
with cold water and a special soap which is made
of natural oils.” Megerian’s renowned designs
find their origins and inspiration in these ancient
carpets, which serve as both the wellspring and
blueprint. In doing so, they proudly preserve
the rich tapestry of Armenian heritage.
Arranged on a turquoise boat-shaped table in
the first room of the factory, a collection of six
natural dyes reads like a poetic recipe: bark of the
mulberry tree for beige colour, indigo (imported
from India) for the blue colour, the root of madder
for red colour, rind of pomegranate from Megri for
coffee and black colour, immortal flower (a type of
wildflower that grows in the mountains) for yellow
colour, and walnut shell for brown colour. “These
humble ingredients, when skilfully combined, give
birth to a staggering array of nearly 600 shades,”
says Galina. In ancient times, Armenian carpet
weavers obtained red dye from the cochineal insect,
a type of red beetle. Today, she adds, cochineal dye
(Vordan Karmir) is very expensive, so madder root
is often used instead, including to paint Easter eggs
red. “Alum (mineral) and wine stone (leftover wine
that becomes stone over the years at the bottom
of the barrel) are two fixators that are used to fix
the colours to the wool. We use two more fixators
which are a trade secret. This formula keeps
colours vibrant and prevents them from fading.”
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
93
PHOT0GRAPHS: VEIDEHI GITE
estled on Madoyan Street, a mere
10-minute drive from Republic Square,
the bustling heart of Yerevan, the
Megerian Carpet Cultural Complex
houses a factory, a museum and a
culinary school, all of which offer a glimpse into
the world of 100-to-400-year-old Armenian rugs
and carpets. In Armenia, the art of carpet weaving
has been passed down through generations,
each stitch preserving a thread of the country’s
rich heritage, and the Megerian family stands as
a testament to this enduring tradition, proudly
perpetuating its legacy for all to admire.
The Megerian Carpet Factory was established
in 1917 in New York City by Hovannes John
Megerian, the grandfather of today’s owners.
Back then, Megerian was involved with washing,
buying and selling, and repairing of antique rugs.
Three decades later, they boldly ventured into
reproduction. The company was passed on to his
children and in the 1970s they opened factories
all over the world, though now they only have
two—in New York and Yerevan. In 2002, the
Megerian family acquired Aygorg Union, a Sovietera rug-weaving company in Armenia that used
chemical dyes and the Persian one-and-a-half
knot technique. They completely revamped the
company's production methods, switching to allnatural organic dyes and the Armenian double knot
technique, the world's oldest knotting technique.
The Armenian double knot technique, in contrast
to the more common Persian one-and-a-half knot
technique, only becomes tighter as it is pulled.
Fast forward to today, the company is one of
the biggest makers of traditional Armenian rugs,
whose motifs and designs whisper echoes of
centuries past. They also make vast rugs, some
reserved for momentous occasions, others that
grace the halls of presidential palaces, churches,
and other important landmarks. And it is here,
within the walls of the complex, that Megerian’s
craftsmanship and artistry unite in a symphony of
colours and patterns, where one can marvel at the
making of unique carpets and even buy them.
At the entrance, Raffi Megerian, the thirdgeneration owner of Megerian Carpet Cultural
Complex, directs our attention to an Armenian
alphabet door gracing the entrance. He highlights
the uncanny resemblances between the
Armenian and Indian Sanskrit alphabets and the
interconnectedness of cultures. Stepping into the
confines, the interiors pulsate with earthen pots,
antique tapestries, and a display of coloured wool
encased in a glass case. The sheer magnificence of
ForbesLife
94
armenian carpets
A group of 40 skilled female weavers diligently
operates the looms in the factory. Some of them
have worked here for over a decade. Qnarik has
been weaving for over 20 years, while Anush and
Ripsinp are also experienced weavers. Each meter
of rug takes a minimum of two months to weave,
depending on the complexity of the design. A single
square meter of rug contains 1,60,000 Armenian
double knots. Each loom has its own map, which
is a grid of tiny squares, each representing one
Armenian double knot. Weavers weave row by
row, using a tool called a Ktut to secure the knots
after each row is complete. Megerian sources
old Armenian carpets from around the world
and recreates their designs on new carpets.
“We have several small looms but only one large
power loom that can weave rugs up to 100 square
meters in size. These eco rugs take three years to
weave and require 4-6 women to work on them
simultaneously. We typically do not sell these large
rugs, as they are woven for special occasions and
placed in presidential palaces, churches, and other
significant locations. Some of these rugs are even
donated,” says Raffi Megerian, adding, “We keep the
price of these rugs very reasonable and confidential,
but it is estimated to be around $500-$1,000 per
square meter. We have woven rugs for the Vatican,
the largest of which was 100 square meters."
Their high-quality production process involves
washing the carpets 4-5 times and combing out
the extra wool fibres to prevent shedding when
the carpets are taken home. “The final product
is perfectly shiny and smooth wool that will last
for generations. Like the Armenian carpets my
grandfather left us, these carpets are unique
works of art that are worth the investment. We
use only the highest quality, hard lamb wool in
our rugs. Once the rugs are finished, we turn
them over and place them on the floor. We then
spray them with a special natural insect repellent
made from tree bark, flowers, and roots from
the Armenian mountains. This protects the
rugs from moths and other pests,” he adds.
Ancient Armenian carpets were meticulously
crafted by independent weavers, each piece infused
with their cultural heritage, historical narratives,
social perspectives, and personal anecdotes. The
newly created carpets serve as faithful replicas
of those designs, preserving the essence of those
weavers expressions and experiences. All the rugs in
the Megerian Carpet Museum are at least a hundred
years old. A large worktable in the museum displays
a carpet that was woven for the 2,800th anniversary
of Yerevan in 2019. Four craftsmen worked for over
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
(Top)
Antique
carpets from
Armenia, 100
to 400 years
old, at the
Megerian
Museum;
(Bottom) An
Armenian
carpet at the
Megerian
Carpet
Museum
showcasing
traditional
motifs
a year to create the carpet, which depicts some of
the most important events in Yerevan’s history.
Other notable rugs on display include the Tiknani
carpet from 1898 with intricate floral patterns, the
Khndzoresk from 1928, illustrating a scene from
the Armenian village of cave dwellings, the Sisian
Rug (a 20th century rug with traditional Armenian
motifs) and the 19th-century Tree of Life, which
is a common motif in Armenian art and culture.
The oldest, a 400-year-old carpet, is a 16thcentury Vaspurakan carpet from Western Armenia,
a near-perfect example of the superior processes
used in Armenian carpet-making. The left part
of the carpet was restored in Soviet times with
the help of chemical dyes and is very different
from the colouring on the right side, which was
neither damaged nor restored. It’s a nod to the
fact that yarn dyed with natural colours never
loses its vibrancy. A Lori carpet, a replica of the
original held in the treasury museum of the Holy
Etchmiadzin, the spiritual centre of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, is also on display. The carpet
has been reproduced six times, not for sale, but to
be gifted to individuals who have made significant
contributions to Armenia's development. Five have
been gifted—to Pope Francis, Charles Aznavour,
footballer Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Catholicos of Cilicia
95
Aram I, and Turkish MP Garo Paylan. Another
Lori carpet was woven for George Clooney.
Most rugs have a unique story, and some are even
symbolic. For example, the 160-year-old Vahan
(shield) rug is a symbolic artefact of the Armenian
Genocide. In 1915, a mother divided their family
carpet into two pieces and gave one to each of
her daughters, telling them that if they were ever
separated, they might be able to find each other
again someday with the help of the rug. Fifty-three
years later, the sisters were reunited in New York
City, thanks to the two pieces of the rug. In 2017, the
Megerian family also donated two of their Armenian
rugs to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and
the St. James Brotherhood. These rugs are placed
on the altar of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
one of the holiest sites in Christianity, where
Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected.
A picture of the Pazirik carpet is another
impressive display in the museum. The Pazirik
carpet was found in a tomb which was called
Pazyryk, hence the name. Believed to have been
woven in the 5th century BCE, the carpet has
Armenian origins. The original, woven with
Armenian double knots and dyed with red
filaments from the Armenian cochineal, is kept
in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg,
(Clockwise
from top left)
The oldest
carpet in the
collection, a
400-year-old
Vaspurakan
carpet from
Western
Armenia;
Executive
Chef Sedrak
Mamulyan,
who is at the
helm of the
Megerian
culinary
school; the
Megerian
restaurant
on campus
serves a
number of
national
dishes; the
factory's
workforce
includes 40
women
Russia. The ornaments in the carpet design depict
the frescoes of the Urartu palace. A 200-yearold Nshagorg carpet with almonds symbolises
maternity and fertility. Women who were unable
to give birth believed that weaving such a carpet by
hand would make them a mother. Therefore, when
looking at an Armenian carpet, you are not just
glimpsing a beautiful piece of art; you are darting
through a tapestry of memories and emotions.
At the restaurant in the complex, hung with
Megerian carpets, they weave heritage of a different
kind. “At Megerian, we don’t just weave carpets
but also culinary magic that will leave you craving
for more. Our on-site culinary school embodies
the essence of traditional Armenian cuisine,” says
Executive Chef Sedrak Mamulyan. Go ahead and
indulge in national Armenian dishes such as dolma
(minced meat wrapped in leaves), sorrel with
yoghurt, freshly baked Lavash bread with Lori and
Chanax cheese with herbs, Ishkhan (Trout fish),
and Gata (sweet pie), Halva and Ani sweet for
dessert. And don't forget to request a bottle of the
Megerian family vodka, one of the best you’ll ever
taste. Chef Mamulyan will insist on giving you a
refill, even if you say no. They call it clearing the
dust. This is just one of many delightful Armenian
traditions that you’re bound to appreciate.
DECEMBER 15, 2023 • FORBES INDIA
ForbesLife
From The Field
‘I Was Scared to Play the Short
Ball, So I Retrained My Mind’
Shane Watson, the former Aussie World Cup-winning all-rounder,
on how he put mind over matter
‘I was scared to play, that’s when I sought help’
In 2014, Phil Hughes tragically died after being hit by
a bouncer on the head. His death put in me the fear of
playing fast bowling. Before that, I knew I could get hurt
if I got into a bad position, facing some of the fastest
bowlers. Broken arms, broken fingers, broken ribs… I’d
seen those. But never did I think you would get killed.
From then on, I knew the next ball from a fast bowler
had the chance to have that impact on my life. And that’s
where my performances, and game against fast bowling,
just spiralled to a point where I was going to retire. In
the second half of 2015, I just couldn’t perform anywhere
near as well as I knew I could. It was around that time, I
had a random meeting with IndyCar driver Will Power,
who went through something similar, and
connected me to Dr Jacques Dallaire,
who’s been doing mental skills
training with high-performance
people. I flew over to the US,
where he’s based, and spent
two days with him. And
things changed significantly
from then on.
CHAITANYA DINESH SURPUR
96
‘I didn’t re-learn, just
retrained my mind’
Dallaire knew nothing
about cricket, he just
educated me on how the mind
works. One simple thing that
I immediately understood
was that your mind can only
process one thought at a
time. From a performance
perspective, when a fast
bowler came on, I was
allowing space in my mind
for the thought ‘short ball’
to come in. As a batter, that’s
the last thing that you want,
because you’re going to be out
of position to play the short ball.
The right thing for me would be
to be aggressive, and if I focussed
FORBES INDIA • DECEMBER 15, 2023
on that, my mind wouldn’t have the space to let the wrong
thought come in. It sounded so simple I knew I could do
it. So, as the bowler would run in, I’d be filling my mind
with the technical checklist for batting. As the ball came
out, I was aggressive. And, as the bowler would walk back
to his mark, I’d have my sequence of thoughts around
troubleshooting the last ball. And once again, I was back
to marking the checklist as the ball was being bowled.
‘I worried a lot, but worrying never helped’
Cricket is a performance-oriented sport. People look at
your numbers to judge your successes. It’s incredibly
challenging not to get bogged down by that. I worried
a lot because the results meant so much to me. And the
worrying put more pressure on myself, especially when
things didn’t go to plan. But then Dallaire asked me a
question that changed my life: When has worrying
about results ever made the results better? Thing is,
never. So, focus on your preparation, which you
can control, and move on.
‘Australia believed in sticking to the
basics in crunch games’
I’ve been part of Australian team setups
that have won two World Cups and
two Champions Trophy titles. The two
things that I learnt from those teams
was the belief in themselves, and an
understanding of what they needed
to do to be at their best. There was
one thing my first international
captain Ricky Ponting would say:
The team that does the basics right
for longer under pressure will be
the team that comes out on top.
That’s what made the Australian
team perform incredibly well in
World Cup knockout games. You
see a lot of teams start to look at
the enormity of the situation
and tell themselves “we need to
win this game”, and that often
overwhelms them.
Kathakali Chanda
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