9 Young Turks On Their Turfs

December 6, 2016 written by
Young Turks on theirTurfs

 

The platform has been laid for them. They are  the coveted lot, but they have a lot of responsibly on their shoulders as to where they would take their brands to. Today’s young entrepreneurs have the advantage of the internet, which has collapsed time and distance barriers. We laid out a platform and let  the YOUNG TURKS do the talking and gave them an opportunity to speak out on their role in their company, share some of the lessons they’ve learned through their business and what is it like to be an entrepreneur.

 

Introducing our 8 Entrepreneurs:-

Ayush Jain - Director - KCJ Apparels Pvt. Ltd.

 

Ayush Jain, Director, KCJ Apparels pvt ltd.

“I have done management retail marketing from UCLAN University  London.  I’ve been in business passed 2 years and started running the company in 2013. I handle all the marketing activities for the company putting in my best effort  I take care of all the sales operations and keep an eye on how the products are being promoted and presented to the Indian market. I believe you should keep on pushing forward in order to gain success. I wish for our products to be available all over India. Earlier we would produce lingerie and kids undergarment. But now we plan on taking up active wear too. In a short period of time I believe our products have done extremely well in the market. Our brand coco berry  is very well known to the consumers. It’s been four years and still running well. So day by day as we are moving we are learning. We have a finance, product and sales team that’s giving us good support and working very well. Earlier they did not have an export division, we they do.  My mentor has always been my father who has been dong business for the past 30 years. I saw a very good scope in this industry and hence joined forces with my him.  I believe  younger entrepreneurs should plan their  five year plan as to where you want to see your company and it’s vision. ”

Hiren Kubadia shalbhadra creation pvt ltd

Hiren Dhrajlal Kubada, Director,  Shalbhadra Creatons Pvt. Ltd.

“I was Brought up in Mumbai and I completed my graduation here. Dedication, hard work, and my father Mr. Dhrajlal Kubada Introduced me into this business.  We have been dedicated in this business from last 7 years. My day starts in the morning at 7’O clock,  prioritize my tasks and head for the gym.  I try to keep focus on my dally routines. We can make my company better with better employee relationships and customer drive. Understand the needs of customer and fulfill with suitable product/service.  Our plans are customization towards customer requirements.

We can make my company better with better employee relationships and customer drive. Understand the needs of customer and fulfill with suitable product/service.  Our plans are customization towards customer requirements. Risks are many . . . and risk taking is almost synonymous with entrepreneurship to start and support your own business you will have to deserting the steady incomes, sacrificing personal capital, depend on cash flow, estimating popular interests, trusting key employees, betting deadlines, contributing personal time and health. We have faced a challenge for launching our New Brand in market, understanding on consumer behavior and price sensitivity etc.

I consider employees to be the single biggest investment in any company, only by improving their efficiency, creating a great environment you can expect good returns, loyalty although an old fashioned thing still needs to be earned, having said that, I have always employed for personality and then trained their skill, it has increased my ROI many times over. I would define success “When prospect become a loyal customer”. My father & Uncle, out of their busy schedule, they would always take the time to advise me on my activities and allow me to ask them better business related questions without judgment or impatience. I truly learned a lot from them and they inspired me to become an entrepreneur. As we know lingerie industry is growing day by day. Indian market is accepting western culture. I have seen gaps in between, started to fill it.

What I believe. . .

  1. Develop a desire to break away from the crowd.
  2. Persevere through setbacks
  3. Learning from mistakes.
  4. Maintain self-discipline
  5. Commit to your business idea and to all those people who are part of your plans.”

ketan gulati kalyani innerwear pvt ltd

 

Ketan Gulati, Director,  Kalyani inner wear pvt. ltd

 

“Kalyani innerwear pvt ltd a company started in early 90’s, like other Initial ventures faced lot of ups n downs, but constant hard work and capability of all the people associated, helped the company to take a stand .One of the main pillars to make it stand is my father- Mr Suresh Gulati – also my mentor. He is a man with a vision, he always dreamt of making company big, to have a brand name “Kalyani”. My father’s dream became my passion n from there I decided to pursue textile designing. Four years of course duration helped me learn a lot about fabrics and techniques associated with it. So there was no doubt in going for anything else, but to carry forward the legacy with my kind a twist in it.I joined the company in 2011 ,as a worker not as an owner , learned every minute details, and that time my father said to me -‘Make your passion your paycheck’. Hence my passion never dies and my check digits are increasing. 5 years in the company n m still blooming I won’t call myself successful, want for more never lets you stop!

Throughout my career, I have always worked well with a wide range of people of varying skill sets. It has been a strong point of mine to always involve several people in my decision making process. This style of collaboration has made me a very effective director in my company and I strongly believe that it’s the people of any company that are the most valuable resource. The only reason I have ever been successful in my career is because I always look at the bottom line. It’s been my nature to come up with creative solutions to the toughest problems – problems that make most people squirm. It does not matter what the challenge is, I have my own performance standards that always lead me to victory in the end.

My father introduced me in 2011 in this business. So I am working for my company from past 5 years.  During my typical workday, I am responsible for overseeing my teams as they progress on various tasks. I check in and help them with any issues they face. I analyse how the market is going and what necessary steps we need to take to give our best in terms of fabric, design, fitting and most importantly quality of product , as its most important to check on quality while you increase production and setting production targets.

I firmly believe that any company that does not welcome change will eventually fade away. I would definitely relish this opportunity of working more in tune with marketing of my products via social media and achieving the overall goals of my organization.  I have bought various new machines and technologies to scale down the waste and give better efficiency of resources which in result has increased the production manifold.

Most entrepreneurs are risk takers by nature. They sometimes face losing everything they invested into business. Other risks  include building a brand with no established credibility, failing to innovate or keep up with the needs of your target market, misguided marketing strategies, bad hiring decisions and the pressure to maintain a steady flow of customers. My overall challenge is to provide customers with quality products and right fit.

Good employees are essential to the success of any business. It is important not only to have employees that are qualified but employees that care about what you are doing as a businessman. If you can get an employee to buy in to what you are doing, then you have a great chance of succeeding, because you can work to trust the employee with things that you would normally have to do yourself. Having employees that believe in what you are doing is vital to the growth of the company and to your overall success. As it is said, you can’t do it all by yourself and in business this is the truth. You can’t do it all by yourself and you need employees that care and take some ownership in what they are doing.

 

My father (Mr Suresh Kumar Gulati) MD-Kalyani innerwear pvt ltd is a natural entrepreneur. With his help, we developed just the right marketing strategy — putting on a show with lingerie’s that created a “wow” impact. He is someone whom I trust and who is largely responsible for our success. He has the knowledge and skills to keep us focused. Looking back, I realize he really engineered our first foray into business to build our confidence and help us understand what it’s like to work for ourselves. Even now, nearly 5 years later, I always seek his advice when we’re planning or making decisions.

Ecommerce and the rise of the global economy have opened the business world’s competitive floodgates. New competitors are arising on every front as technology lowers the barriers to entry and more and more companies cross over into each other’s lanes. Many great companies are founded and led by fierce competitors.  Competitive spirit, the relentless drive to win, is a critical success factor that will only increase in value as the competition gap grows. You learn to adapt and develop these abilities through experience. And that, in turn, will give you a long-term advantage in this ever changing world.”

Groversons Group pvt ltd

Siddharth Grover, Director, Groversons Group Pvt. Ltd

“I am a Commerce graduate from Modern School Vasant Vihar New Delhi. I’ve done my Bachelors of Business Administration from Amity University transferred to Birbek- University of London, London UK and Masters of Business Administration (FMB) SP Jain Institute of Management and Research. There are many reasons for success , it’s always a  team effort that makes any organization successful , the hard work of the team from production to frontline sales force along with distributors gives the success. I’ve been working along side doing my MBA ( FMB),but I’ll complete 2 year of working full time this year. The day starts with planning the to do list of the day , so I begin with that and of course there are many this that need to be managed beyond the list that come during the day , so management and planning , and of course taking care of operations wherever necessary.

 

I believe that there is always going to be scope of improvement in every aspect of the organization and this constant effort of improving ourselves is extremely important. There are many plans to improve  be it increasing efficiency,  structuring , improving systems and procedures , planning ,etc.

We are in process of a lot of changes and improvements and this will be visible soon once the results start coming as planned .

There is immense exposure today and so many ways to improve , there’s a lot planned and a lot in implementation. Any and every business has risks along with it , no business is risk free , being an entrepreneur one has to take risk , it can be a calculated and well though risk or can be a leap of faith- gut feel risk , depending on the situation and the field of decision making risk is taken accordingly.

Risk can be of any nature , launching a new product or category , introducing new systems , hiring new people, implementing  a new marketing strategy , etc etc. these risks have different implications  like eg-  financial implications, opportunity cost, brand equity/ reputation.

Being over six decades old , there’s a lot of heritage and value system our organization has , so modernization of the organization as the present and future requires, but carrying the same value system and making sure the values are not lost in the transition is the biggest challenge.

Any organization is nothing or everything because of it’s employees, I like to call employees my team, so I’m as strong as the weakest person on my team , so I very strongly believe good employees are the major contributor to the success , the best of systems or machines if not used properly by the people  are of no use , but an average working machine or a decent system if worked on with efficiency can give better.

Not only restricted to working on a system or a machine good employees create a good and positive attitude in the organization which is very important as well , this helps in good coordination among the team and results in  success.

My mentor is my father,he’s the guiding force behind me,making me learn and understand and sharing his immense experience of over 25 years with me has been great for me.

Mr.Rakesh Grover,he’s brought the organization from a small level and made it global today,his vision and values have been the driving force of organization,today Groversons group has an in house production capacity of 1.5-2million pcs a month,in state of the art manufacturing facilities,with a strong distribution network and retail presence.Having a good setup and making it a great setup has been a wonderful journey of the organization under his supervision.

The family business has a heritage of 63 years,being the 3rdgeneration in the family business it’s my duty to take this forward and to great heights.”

 Nikhil Kotak

Nikhl T Kotak – CEO, Kotak Overseas Private Limited

I haven’t been a first bencher neither a last bencher.Having a balanced practical knowledge, I have pursued my MBA in Marketing & Finance.Continuous learning & driven by passion for innovation is the primary reason for success.Being a keen observer of products,its processes since a very nascent age had added to my knowledge of manufacturing and  product development. First half is basically at office overlooking finance,noon is having interaction with clients personally or over the phone,afternoon is at alternate factories monitoring workflow,order status,new product development and night is some time for fitness followed by dinner.

We are in a process to invest in human asset which was overlooked in recent years where we were continuously investing on machines, which was not enough. Known in the industry for constant innovation and offering products to our customers, we are eyeing to setup a foam manufacturing unit to cater our domestic foam cup manufacturers and for self consumption.

“Young colts make the best horses”, we are young and the only thing steering us is the passion and confidence within us is to do something new and better. An entrepreneurs role is very challenging as you may now know when you might have to play an essential roles during a critical time.

My father who is backbone of our company and who believes in sharing his knowledge and has mentored continuously. Since a very young age catering to lingerie industry and fuelled by passion to offer something new is the only reason for me to look upon him as a mentor.

As answered in the previous question, since a nascent age I was curious as to how the product was made and as our company has a strong engineering edge too, so from selection of the hardest metal used in production of the softest bra cup we have all processes in house. so, from seeing the accessories being imported in India to finally being produced at our facility had been quite interesting. Clarity in vision and action is very important. Understanding the product from a manufacturing tangent to its final application is very important.

 Grishma Patel - 2

 Grishma Patel, Director, Candour London Pvt Ltd,

“I always knew that I would someday be regarded as the businesswoman, as the entrepreneur who altered a few straight lines to make my hold stronger in the industry.

My first stint with the fashion industry and its hardcore nitty gritties happened during my Business school years in London. Parading through the fashion addresses of London and being able to sway through a close friend’s fashion and apparel business in London, made me quite keen on the fabrics and their make. I wanted to come back to India and take up apparel and garmenting as a full time business. I was motivated enough to make it big in this sector. But the lightning bolt struck, when she realised that the segment was already saturated with enough brands and making her way through the deep saturation will not be something she would prefer to do.

Why not try the niche. Making my way to almost every Asian garment and apparel exhibition and taking time to personally visit the apparel and garment stores and factories made me quite clear in the head. And I understood there was a big need gap in the market pertaining to lingerie. Why not feed the gap with interesting pieces?

Convincing my father was the biggest hurdle just after I got convinced myself, that I will be a part of the lingerie business. Many would think am joking. But as I would have had to otherwise convince the investors to put in money in for my business idea, my dad actually wanted the same. Yes! He sat with me on the other side of the table and I had walk him through my presentation, convincing him from slide to slide and explaining my business idea.

Streamlining the production process was certainly not an easy task, Grishma’s business prowess was definitely a saving grace but the absence of hand’s on exposure and experience towards the lingerie industry made my face the blank slate. I geared up to do my own research, took help from all the required avenues. walked from one node to another learning about the industry, knowing about lingerie business and began trying other brands, looking at their history to grasp the maximum.

I travelled the length and breadth of India and China to discover factories. To set up my own little manufacturing nook – The Candour factory. ” Trips to China were the most promising as well as challenging tours that I have ever taken in my life. I had to first overcome the language barrier, then came accommodating to the food and lifestyle habits of the country. Which I certainly had to adjust with, as I was staying for long durations to crack through the manufacturing with ease. But I only met with failures initially. She did not lose the battle, I was not ready to succumb to the pressures that came my way. It was sometimes quantity and it was sometimes quality that I was not being able to control when it came to setting it up rightly for Candour.

I was beginning my own brand, it was my time to curve my niche. Why would the rest of the world understand that. And am glad that it did not come easy to me. The troubles of yesterday gave way to my win today. I can happily say that I have set up manufacturing units for Candour in China and Srilanka.

Grishma  was a sports fanatic, back in school and college. I represented my School and college in many athletic meets. But I had to let go of my athletic dream and passion to shape up my dream to become an entrepreneur. A typical day for me begins with work. Even though I complain that my dad is a workaholic and has been a  thorough professional to me during my initial days at his office. I am closely following on his shadow. And the more I understand that, it really gets exciting for us. As we know, a brand is born that will surely rule the lingerie industry map with grace in the time to come.

My dad always told me if you want to do something in life, try to be a ‘builder’. Candour has been rightly appreciated and 70 retailers have opened up there orders to welcome Candour to their stores right at the first month of the launch. Not to forget the online presence for the brand will also be a significant space, marking the brand’s entry to the consumer segment.

Candour is now available with leading retailers and online portals all across India. ”

Monal Vora Red Rose Textiles pvt ltd

 

 

MONAL VORA,   Head- Online Marketing,  Red Rose Textiles Industries Pvt. Ltd

” From the beginning, I was always interested in joining the family business because the challenges that came with it always fascinated me. Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, the thought process was always to work for myself rather than others. I completed my bachelors degree in commerce & then went on to get a Post Graduate diploma in Business Design from Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai.  Its still early to talk about success as I have a distant vision but I can safely say that I am moving ahead steadily on the professional front. Having a stable business setup always helps as you have that strong base which can be taken higher. I have always looked up to my father as a role model of how a successful entrepreneur should be. I have been in the business for 2 years now.

I reach our factory at around 9-30 am after which I am there upto 6 pm when the factory closes for the day. As we have offices in multiple locations, I often have to go from one place to another for work. I make sure that I carry my laptop everywhere so that I have all the data I need at my disposal.

Of course when you enter the organization, you have a lot of ideas running in your head about how to improve various aspects of the company. But after joining you realize which of the changes are feasible & also the priority levels of each of them. Though our company is run at a very professional level, I still think there are small areas where we can improve so that in some time it is as good as a major corporate level organization. I am lucky that we have an environment where new ideas are encouraged by the senior members of the family and an open hand is given to implement changes which are necessary for the transformation.

The most obvious risk is the monetary risk involved. Though I can say that I have not had to face much of that as its an established business. The challenges are implementing newer ideas & changes as the previous systems are so deeply imbibed in the organizational structure at all levels that change needs to happen carefully and keeping the interests of all stakeholders in mind.

There have been many good and experienced employees from whom I have learnt a lot and they have always been there to guide me whenever needed. Success is a very relative term as such difficult to measure in concrete terms. However, I have a habit of formulating short term goals which are very much measurable. So for me, success is achieving these goals efficiently which will ultimately lead to long term success.

I can say I have two mentors. One is my father to whom I have always looked up for inspiration. The other is Mr. Kaustubh Dhargalkar, who was our professor during my Diploma course. He really made me look at business from a very different perspective and his teachings have been invaluable to me today in my business.

Fashion always interested me and while working on various projects in college, I realized that the Indian Lingerie market is still lagging in terms of product design and innovation.

Passion, Discipline & Efficient resource management. Though I think that if you have the first quality, everything else falls into place.”

 

Urja Padwal

URJA PADWAL CEO At Little Lacy Pvt Ltd

” I consider myself very lucky that way. Academically, I have done my MBA from NMIMS and honored to be a part of the Dean’s List. Getting into my father’s business came very naturally to me, maybe the passion just ran in my genes. Small working experience of 5 years, many to go! An average day begins with making breakfast for my family followed by a 7-8 hour work schedule. The best part about working for one’s own company is that it gives each day the possibility of being different. You are not bound by creative limitations, time frames or scope of work. I believe success is not a destination, which once you achieve, you stop striving for it. It’s a continuous journey of hard work, eagerness and drive to improve and achieve more. So far it has been a very fruitful journey and I’m really grateful to people who have guided me through it.

We are set to redefine our product offerings in a brand new avatar. Of course not moving away from our core competency of fancy lingerie, but the market is definitely going to see never before products from our stable. We are inching towards our silver anniversary and it is just going to get better Design and new development is her forte and at Little lacy they give prime impetus to the design, quality and fit of the products. The products are marketed through a robust distribution channel pan India and online portals.

I believe entrepreneurship is synonym with passion. I wanted to work for my dream-not somebody else’s & entrepreneurship truly places you at the control centre to give reality to your dreams.

. I may not have started my business but have plenty of examples where the glass ceiling effect exists and women have to do  much more than their male counterparts to prove themselves, do away with peoples apprehensions and to be taken seriously.

Nonetheless, I also know of a lot of men who are encouraging their daughters/sisters/wives to work or start something of their own.

My father, Mr Rajiv Padwal has been the guiding light of my life. He’s a self-made man in the intimate industry and there is so much to learn each day from him. Im lucky to have inherited his passion for this profession. He comes from a very modern school of thought and encourages and values my decisions/opinions. I’m truly grateful to God, for being his daughter.

I can only say that this runs in the blood. I have grown up watching this and comes naturally to me. It is an evolving industry, growing by leaps and bounds each year and this certainly is a good time to be here.

 

Little lacy was the pioneer in introducing fashion lingerie in India. We were the first to introduce coloured lacy lingerie in market filled with the mundane white, black and skin.

Ever since, they have scaled higher in terms of an out and out fancy lingerie platter. You will find only Little lacy using some extremely intricate embroidered fabrics and top of the line laces. Also their colour palette consists of more than 105 shades in fashion lingerie. High quality raw material combined with precise workmanship and consistent fit result in longevity of the product which their loyalists often end up saying. We have wide offerings ranging from teenagers to the plus sized women. So our products are ideal for women encompassing varying demographics.

Our  products have a very different and plush styling which adds to the appeal. Over time, fashion lingerie has become an impulse buying, so when your products have all the ingredients of enticing the customer, it is natural for the retailers to stock your products.

Our approach towards their target market is very clear. We do not compromise on quality just in order to fit in a particular price band. We want customers who are willing to pay for quality as there is absolutely no compromise on that from their end. The loyalty that the brand enjoys over years reiterates this fact.

The market is going to witness Little lacy in a completely new avatar. We are infusing renewed freshness and vigor, aiming to achieve greater heights. We are on the onset of completing 25 years in the industry as a brand and We believe they aren’t 25 years old but 25 years strong!”

Richa Pania omtex Pvt Ltd

Ms.Richa S. Pania, Sales & Marketing Director, Omtex Pvt Ltd

“My Family is the reason behind my success. Their support and trust over me made me achieve the height I am at currently. My day starts with my routine house work , but once in office my role as the leader starts and coordinating with my team and planning new things and taking decisions takes the full day of my work.

Omtex is a family run business started by my grandfather. We have always worked in a very simple friendly way. But now to compete with the changing trends of the market, I am trying to take a professional approach towards our goal setting execution.

My father, Mr Rajiv Padwal has been the guiding light of my life. He’s a self-made man in the intimate industry and there is so much to learn each day from him. Im lucky to have inherited his passion for this profession. He comes from a very modern school of thought and encourages and values my decisions/opinions. I’m truly grateful to God, for being his daughter.

I can only say that this runs in the blood. I have grown up watching this and comes naturally to me. It is an evolving industry, growing by leaps and bounds each year and this certainly is a good time to be here.

 

 

 

 

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