Meet the new-gen entrepreneurs taking their family business legacies forward: Top SMB stories this week
This week, SMBStory spoke to new-generation business entrepreneurs who talked about their innovative plans for carrying the business legacy forward.
While the age-old wisdom of older entrepreneurs who have had decades of experience in the market is invaluable to the growth of a business, their successors are bringing a lot to the table as well.
This new generation of entrepreneurs comes with a lot of passion, enthusiasm, and new skills for innovation, transforming and aiding the growth of these legacy businesses, enabling them to compete in a market that is seeing rapid tech advancements, digitisation, and other changes.
This week, SMBStory came across many new generation entrepreneurs from across India who are taking pride in carrying their family legacy forward.
Vidur Kapur - O3+ Skincare
The beauty industry in India has been on the rise for the last two decades with an increase in the number of households upgrading to a higher consumption lifestyle. The period between the late 90s and 2000s saw many beauty brands disrupting the market. This is when O3+ set foot in the then-nascent industry.
Founded by Vineet Kapur, began its journey in 2004 from New Delhi to cater to the salon industry and help beauticians by offering a premium range of skincare products for facials.
Starting as a small scale company, O3+ has today captured a decent market share for its products across India making an annual turnover of Rs 150 crore.
In an interaction with SMBStory, Vidur Kapur, a second-generation entrepreneur, says that O3+ is trusted by more than 50,000 salon that boasts of product ranges right from facial kits to serums, masks, face packs, tonics, bleach, peels, eye care and hair care range and a lot more. The brand has a presence across India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, and is also seeing traction in Dubai and Canada.
As natural beauty products are now in vogue and Indian customers have become more conscious about the products and demand more natural, organic and vegan products. Vidur says that O3+ has also kept up with the times and has recently been PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) certified.
Vidur says that the brand adheres to vegan formulations for its products.
“We also have a different product line where products are blended in the concept of modern Ayurveda to serve our customers.”
He adds that O3+ is also set to bring more premium ranges for its customers and is also looking forward to tying up with premium salons for its product offerings.
Anurag Soni - Sangam India Ltd
In the early 80s, the textile industry was becoming a lucrative space for budding entrepreneurs. The policy reforms materialising in India eradicated entry barriers for many to create various Indian companies, especially in the spinning sector.
Ram Pal Soni, an engineer in PwD, also thought of tapping into this opportunity, and he decided to quit his job. In 1984, with an investment of Rs 20-25 lakh, he launched .
Starting with eight weaving machines, Bhilwara-based Sangam India is now recognised as one of the leading companies in the textile industry, making an annual turnover of Rs 1,363 crore.
In an interaction with SMBStory, Anurag Soni, second-generation entrepreneur and Whole-time Director, Sangam India, talks about the business’ legacy and how it is foraying into B2C space, besides B2B, to tap newer opportunities.
Sangam India operates three verticals — one in making synthetic fabrics to manufacture denim, second in producing synthetic and cotton yarns, and third in the garment business.
Annually, the company produces 30 million metres of PV fabric and 48 million meters of denim fabric from over 2.8 lakh spindles and 3,000 rotors. Its clientele includes Indian defence services, state police services, etc.
Anurag says that in 2015, the company entered the B2C vertical with the launch of C9 Airwear — a casual wear and activewear apparel brand — as it wanted to cater to consumers directly.
At present, the brand is available across 1,000 multi-brand outlets in India and major online retail marketplaces. Its flagship brand — Sangam Suitings — operates through a distribution channel and has a pan-India network of 10,000 retailers.
Other top picks of the week:
1 Hair Stop
Across the world, styling hair with extensions, silk toppers, streaks, volumisers, etc., is a trending fashion choice among many.
Although India is one of the biggest exporters of hair in the world, surprisingly, these products don’t see a high demand within the country.
Hyderabad-based Hritik Exim — started by Lalit Grover in 2008 — is a major exporter of hair extensions to China, Brazil, and other counties.
When Lalit’s daughters — Richa Grover Badruka (30) and Raina Grover (28) — were defining their career paths post their graduation, they found that despite Indian women suffering from hair loss problems, they aren’t forthcoming to try hair extension and solve this problem.
“While I joined my father’s business, Raina pursued a job in the digital marketing agency. As I was handling international sales, I saw a huge global demand for hair extensions made from the hair we were exporting. However, there was almost negligible demand in our India,” Richa tells SMBStory in an interaction.
Today, a large percentage of women face hair loss and hair thinning issues. Most of these issues root from COVID-19, pregnancy, thyroid disorders, anaemia, PCOS, and skin conditions, including psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis. With alternative therapies, treatments, and medicines, the results vary.
Richa saw this untapped opportunity in India and discussed the potential idea of starting a hair extension brand with her sister. By this time, Raina had quit her job and entered the business full-time.
But, the sisters were entering a market where there was no demand!
In October 2019, the sister duo started , which offers easy-to-use luxury hair extensions, toppers, and clip-ons for women who are at different stages of hair thinning and hair loss.
While Richa didn’t disclose the turnover, she claims the company has catered to over one lakh customers across India.
Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta
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