Insights Success has come up with the special issue “The 10 Most Successful CEO’s to Look at in 2019” to applaud successful CEOs who exhibit their commitment to responsible growth and progress.
1. 2019 / VOL 11 / ISSue 4
Anil Advani
Founder & Managing Partner
Driving the Success of A Revolutionizing Law Firm
The10Most
Successful
CEO’sTo Look At in 2019
2.
3.
4. hen it comes to achieving success in business, leading with empathy can be one part of the success, and not the
Wonly reason for success. There are a lot of things that sum up success in a business; and without a doubt,
empathetic leaders are one of the primary reasons. A leaders’ role revolves around forming values, visions, and
employee motivation. They are the key to shape the company’s culture and repute, within and even beyond the company’s
walls.
Empathy enables the leader to know if the people you’re trying to reach are actually reached. It will allow you to predict the
effect your decisions and actions will have on core audiences and strategize accordingly. Without empathy, you might fail to
build a team or nurture a new generation of leaders.
Essentially empathy makes you understand the human environment within which you are operating in business. Thus it leads
to make better decisions, craft better tactics, inspire loyalty and communicate more clearly.
“It doesn’t matter where you are on the spectrum in terms of your empathy, or whether you’re a perfectionist CEO, we can all
improve.”
Well, in today’s modern age, it is important to get the right leader with great competencies to stay afloat in a competitive
business environment. Insights Success has come up with the special issue “The 10 Most Successful CEO’s to Look at in
2019” to applaud successful CEOs who exhibit their commitment to responsible growth and progress. Here, we have tried to
focus on leaders who are setting examples and working for the betterment of society.
Some of the below mentioned personalities have grabbed our attention the most to be featured as the successful CEOs in this
edition. They have shown what it means to think out of the box, to take the risk, to trust in the process and commit to the
journey no matter how wild the ride is!
The Power of Empathy
5. On the Cover of the magazine, we have featured the story of Anil Advani, the Founder and Managing Partner of Inventus
Law. A passionate business leader, Anil is aiming to see Inventus Law become a global recognition and hopes to operate all
over the globe in the near future. Inventus Law represents high growth start-up companies, founders, angel investors,
incubators, accelerators, and venture capitals. The law firm advises private equity investors based in Silicon Valley, New
York, India, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
We have enrolled a passionate entrepreneurial figure, who has come up with the most unique solutions, Natasha Mudhar,
the Global Chief Executive at Sterling Media & The World We Want as ‘An Assiduous Leader Making a Difference’.
Natasha assures full integrity in every small effort, while her company, Sterling Media & The World We Want is a
communications consultancy, and specializes in generating bespoke client-focused, social and professional campaigns.
Apart from this, we have also listed the following personas who are building the unique path. Mr. Mohar V the Co-founder
and CEO of TECHVED, a leader and trailblazer in the tech industry. Prakash K.V, the Managing Director of Vaskleen
Laundry Services Pvt Ltd(VLSPL) is here to stay as an ideal example who has revolutionized the fabric care industry at a
national level.
Along with this, we have an exclusive ‘Interview with Insights Success’. Here, Bansi Mehta, the CEO and Founder of
Koru UX Design; and Mr. Puneet & Mr. Yatin Jain, Directors of ODHNI; talk about their overall journey and the
influences made by their firm, service offerings, winning honors, current and future perceptions.
So, flip the pages of our magazine and explore interesting insights into the world of business!
Rajkunwar Bhosale
6. Cover Story
ANIL
ADVANI
Driving the Success
of A Revolutionizing
Law Firm
Puneet & Yatin Jain
16
Preserving and
Promoting Indian
Ethnics
INTERVIEW WITH
INSIGHTS SSUCCESS
08
ARTICLE 18
Exclusive
A Leader
Hiring Transformation
7. CONTENTS
Mr. Mohar V Natasha Mudhar Prakash K.V
The Unstoppable
Tech Leader
20 26 34
An Assiduous
Leader Making a
Difference
Breaking the
grounds In The Fabric
Care Industry
BANSI
22
Shaping a
Distinctive Future
through UX Design
INTERVIEW WITH
INSIGHTS SSUCCESS
30
Expert’view
HOW DO COMPANIES
REACH THE TOP – AND
STAY THERE
11. ANIL
ADVANI
Cover Story
Driving the Success
of A Revolutionizing Law Firm
Legal
professionals
at the firm have collectively
represented more than 400
companies on their venture
financings and other outside
rounds of financings
throughout their
careers
he nature of law firms has changed significantly
Tover the last few decades. Under these changing
economic trends that have transformed many other
industries and professions, we have seen lawyers delivering
their services in a transformative manner using technology
as an enabler. This expansion of law firms has offered a
broader array of legal services to their clients in the markets
where they operate. It has built a career path for young
lawyers seeking to work with marquee clients.
Professional legal advice is important in ensuring a fair
outcome regardless of the area of law. However, before
seeking any legal advice, ensuring that you are dealing with
a qualified as well as a reputable attorney is essential. Akin
to various firms, a law firm becomes more capable with the
support of a leader. The intuitiveness of leaders to enrich
themselves with extensive cross-cultural expertise makes
them great leaders. They rise to their positions practicing a
specific set of values and traits. Implementing the same,
Anil Advani, the Founder and Managing Partner of
Inventus Law is standing up for his profession with
integrity and passion following the legacy of his
progenitors.
The10Most
Successful
CEO’sTo Look At in 2019
12.
13. More about the Legal Reformist
Anil is a startup lawyer, angel investor, and mentor to early-
stage startup founders in Silicon Valley and across the
world. Anil takes pride in being a qualified lawyer,
practicing in one of the most prominent cities and states like
New York and California. Anil advises early-stage start-ups
from 2-3 ‘guys in the garage’ to global multinational
corporations from inception through the life-cycle of the
venture. He negotiates with angel and venture financings,
customer and licensing transactions, and mergers and
acquisitions. He is licensed and certified to practice law by
California State Bar and New York State Bar.
Over the last 19 years, Anil has worked with powerhouse
law firms such as Cooley Godward and Orrick Herrington,
and now as the founder of Inventus Law. Anil has
represented over 3,000 startups, angels, founders, and has
been involved in almost 500 financing and M&A
transactions valued at over $3 billion in aggregate. He has
made over 25 Angel investments in companies across the
spectrum, from healthcare, financial services, to software
and SaaS ventures. He has represented U.S. based investors
and Companies in investments, acquisitions, and strategic
expansion with India-based companies. His outreach spans
100s of startups from India, Singapore, Europe, and South
America in setting up operations and closing financing and
M&A transactions in Silicon Valley.
Academic Highlights
Anil pursued LL.B. from Delhi University and started
practicing law in Delhi in 1995. He initiated his career first
at the lower courts in Delhi, followed by a stint at the Delhi
High Court. He has completed Masters in Law from
Georgetown Law and, subsequently, worked at the British
Magic Circle Law Firm, Freshfields. In 1999, Anil moved
to California and joined the technology powerhouse law
firm Cooley Godward. Since then, he has represented, and
advised start-up companies, founders, Angel, and venture
investors.
Interpersonal Skills
Anil is adept in strategic partnership and arbitration. His
curriculum during the educational career included activities
like representing student council, cricket, debates, drama,
and sports. As witnessed from the unprecedented client
testimonials on his LinkedIn account, client appreciation
has made him an impeccable and experienced leader in
providing strategic advice to start-ups. Charismatic leaders
like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Satya Nadella act as an
inspiration for Anil.
A Track Record in Different Markets
The platform that provides a legal solution becomes
imperative to a client, because only a transparent and a
unique firm can provide its best possible solutions. Here is
Inventus Law, a global technology law firm that is
We at Inventus
continue to strive forward in
connecting the dots among
entrepreneurs, investors and
other strategic partners engaged
in the new paradigm of a
highly connected and
interdependent digital
world
14. As
entrepreneurs
the team is highly
sensitive to the needs
of the clients and
avoid “over lawyering”
by applying their
practical and
innovative legal
solutions to help the
clients progress
forward and
succeed
We work closely with founding teams in structuring founder stock
that protects the entity’s interest while minimizing areas of conflict
between the company and its founding teams or outside investors
15. delivering its unique solutions. It is headquartered in Palo
Alto CA, founded in the year 2009.
Inventus Law represents high growth startup companies,
founders, angel investors, incubators, accelerators, and
venture capital. The law firm advises private equity
investors based in Silicon Valley, New York, India, Europe,
Southeast Asia. It also caters East Asia, the Middle East,
Latin America and, increasingly, Africa. It has close
affiliations with legal, tax and business professionals in
multiple financial centers of the world.
Inventus Law is Anil’s entrepreneurial venture. It intends to
provide experienced legal counsel to start-up companies. It
seeks to counsel in a cost-effective, responsive and founder-
friendly manner than any of the “big” law firms out in the
market.
The company works with some of the world’s most
respected accelerators and companies which include Y
Combinator, 500 Startups, Tandem, Fabric, Let’sVenture,
BootUp, Unshackled, Spinta Global Accelerator, Start-Up
Chile, and Startup Mexico.
Imparting Wisdom
Establishing a good clientele was crucial and challenging
for Anil as clients approach only a counsel who has the
right experience and knowledge.
Anil shares: “It is very challenging due to immense
competition from the number of incumbent and emerging
lawyers and entrenched law firms, and technology
advancements. However, law as a profession is very
rewarding for those driven by intellectual challenges over
monetary goals.”
Enlightening the Newcomers
Concerning the budding entrepreneurs willing to make
career in the legal field, he slates: “Understand whether this
is the right profession for you and for the right reason.
Always be willing to work hard, learn new business and
social skills and create a business network. It’s a long
game and every bit of hard work will pay off with larger
dividends in the future”.
In the future, Anil plans to focus on start-up companies and
founders across the globe in order to provide opportunities
for startups in various jurisdictions to replicate and adopt
the silicon valley model of structuring and operating a
startup venture.
They team with
the clients to create
customized billing structures
and milestones, and believe that
they are a partner in their
growth and success
19. PUNEET & YATIN JAINPreserving and Prom ing Indian Ethnics
Agreat number of regional
ethnic wear brands are making
a mark on the country’s
organized retail radar through cautious
but persistent moves to step out of their
home markets, either on their own or
on the back of modern retail. Unlike
most mainstream brands or even
western fashion, regional players bank
on their design width as well as fabric
and print differentiation
In an exclusive interview, Mr. Puneet
& Mr. Yatin Jain, Directors of
ODHNI talks about their journey.
Fiercely passionate, self-inspired and
sharp-thinking duo— the creators of
the women-centric brand are cashing in
on the increasing appeal of traditional
dresses to increase their brand salience
nationally. And for good reason.
Brief us about you and your journey
since the beginning of your career.
Puneet & Yatin: The last 20 years of
Odhni are full of hard work, rigorous
planning, dreams, and the conversion
of dreams into reality. The journey has
always been full of challenges,
achievements, and life-learnings. From
learning how to understand customers’
preferences to how to edge out the
competitors, we have come a long way
from what we were decades back.
Achieving customer satisfaction
loyalty, learning from the challenges
and failures, and reforming our
business approach as per market
trends, the brand ODHNI now
becomes what we are. We carved our
own path through the mist to achieve a
turnover of 80 cr and build three
luxurious stores in Delhi’s posh
markets.
How do you describe yourself in
one/two words? Who has been your
guide, source of inspiration,
support?
Puneet & Yatin: We are very
dedicated and honest towards our
profession. Mr. Neeraj Gupta, a very
renowned personality in the retail
industry, is our source of inspiration.
We admire his principles in life and
business.
State us about your passions,
mission, and goals. What acts as a
motivation tool for you?
Puneet & Yatin: We want to make
shopping a jubilant experience; no
mental stress and zero percent
dissonance. Odhni was started with a
small store of 500 sq ft, and now it’s
expanded to 50,000 sq ft store. Thank
God, our efforts got recognized by the
industry and they have conferred us
with Star of the Industry award.
Kindly describe in brief about your
company and its services/products.
Puneet & Yatin: ODHNI is a one-stop
platform for Ethnic Wear, be it a bridal
lehenga, designer sarees, fusion wear
suits, and gowns. We have all the latest
ranges available in the market.
State us about the most memorable
and remarkable moments of your
life.
Puneet & Yatin: A very renowned
person has recently complemented
ODHNI with his high spirit and
confidence. He empowered us with
skills and attitude quintessential in
keeping customers happy.
What is the role of technology in this
fast-paced changing world? Kindly
highlight your achievements,
awards, and accreditation.
Puneet & Yatin: Technology helped us
in so many ways like inventory
management, replenishment and order
placement. We can track all our records
with the help of technology, otherwise
its impossible to assess the business.
Kindly tell us about the challenges
you took and the risk associated with
it and how did you overcome them?
Puneet & Yatin: The ultimate
challenge was managing three
branches successively, but with an
effective delegation and continuous
support of our team, we are
successfully running all the three
branches. Besides, technology has also
helped us in so many ways to manage
things.
Share your point of view on the
current scenario of the finance
industry and its future.
Puneet & Yatin: Although there is a
slowdown in the economy and
financial institutions are facing some
liquidity issues, things will improve
soon as the market is expected to
perform well in the festival and
wedding season. These are the cyclical
problems and wouldn’t last long.
What would you advise to budding
entrepreneurs who are willing to
make a career in this field?
Puneet & Yatin: Retailing is all about
continuous development in product
placement and customer engagement,
so if one can keep the focus on these
aspects, success is imminent.
Please tell us about your future
business plans.
Puneet & Yatin: We are looking to
achieve a turnover of INR 1000 crore
with thirty new stores in North India
by 2030.
Interview with Insights Success
November 2019| 17
20. AALEADERLEADERHIRING TRANSFORMATION
ou might be seeing varying definitions of leadership for the past century and still ever-changing. Initially, leadership
Ymeant to control and power, but today, a leadership that develops shared goals and effectiveness which influences
people to achieve a common goal became more prominent. Now it meant to accomplish the goals together.
Leadership is at par when groups aim to achieve certain goals both independently as well as in a group. Leadership is not an
act alone, but a process that transforms leaders and people into a team that mutually works in favor of the whole lot to reach
motivational and moral goals. Working through a pain point can turn things around and leaders excel in it.
A Personage Motivating the Team
People have the full potential to learn things but might get spasmodic when someone is instructing. They, however, need
consolation and encouragement with something to look forward to for them to show it in better performance. It's hard to
change old habits, but the faster a leader adapts to a new model of humankind and nabs it, the faster they learn to emphasize
additional performance percentage.
A leader is capable of explaining the importance of a task. Communication is the key to motivation for employees that
inspires them to be more productive and make them understand how it fits into the bigger picture. Leaders try not to blame
employees but still make them aware of their responsibility and accountability for what they do. This makes the employees
more engaged and optimal in their productivity with negligible errors. Furthermore, their tasks and success may become a
motivation factor, which can build their self-esteem and confidence in their work.
Democratic leadership also termed as participative, is one of the styles of leading where the leader includes employees in
decision making even if someone else has the final say. Due to this employees feel appreciated and also understand that if it
is a big organization, decisions cannot be made considering a single person’s opinion.
Putting It All Together
A leader is born with certain qualities that fits them in the role. Leaders adorn themselves with committed and focused
practice which makes them an eminent leader. An emergent leader interacts well with the others gains authority through the
others in the organization who has more acceptance, support, and trust from the employees. Leaders act more dominantly,
intelligently and confidently while executing their responsibilities. Leaders that are especially based on interactions with
people make themselves much prepared in communication skills which calls attention to their acumen.
They highly focus on customer satisfaction since a happy customer will come back and praise the company. Who wants their
company at the top, always keep the employee-first approach.
As a result, the employee may be engaged to do well with both internal and external customers.
A good leader knows how to delegate tasks right, based on not only skills and experience but also in a way that gives
employees space to grow, learn and challenge themselves who may show the ability to outrank certification with innovation.
Successful leaders always remain confident and mentally balanced which helps them to have an optimistic view that allows
them to overcome anger and negative emotions faster. They identify their limits and it's also their meta-emotion which helps
them acknowledging how they feel and deal with it accordingly. A leader has a positive external force hence self-control and
empathy with a strategic leadership become some of their core skills.
November 2019|18
AAAA
21. Abstaining Overconfidence and Challenging Risks
The ethos of a company are set from the top, so senior figures should set the tone for risk management culture. You cannot
control people through policies, procedure and policing but leaders do it through a strong risk management culture and
absolute integrity in all.
Leaders prioritize the foundational level of capability in the most important areas, be aware of development gaps and ensure
the measures in place to compensate for the risks. They try to keep the process simple because working on multiple
development goals while attending a demanding job may lead to a quick loss of focus, motivation and also lead to financial
loss. Experience and relationships are the primary way leaders inculcate to avoid risks.
They try to enlist the support of human resources, managers, mentors or coaches. Appointing an accountability partner
whom they trust and the one who checks in and challenges them on their progress or provides with ongoing, uncensored
feedback becomes an imperative decision. By taking these steps in risk leadership development leaders to enhance their
profile within both company and risk professionals as a whole.
So Are you missing the opportunity in Risk? But the leaders aren’t, following the above secrets.
19November 2019|
Exclusive
22. ith new technological advancements, consumer
Wexpectations are constantly changing with the
way of doing business and reaching out to
customers. Year after year digital transformation continues
to reshape the world and simultaneously unveils plenty of
opportunities. We living in the world of instant gratification
where everything is expected within the snap of a finger.
Thus, to fulfill the expectations it is important to have a
more dynamic and flexible ecosystem in the organization
that quickly learns, adapts and delivers technological
improvements. One should embrace the discomfort, be
agile, and proactive in delivering these technological
advancements. In other words, to endure this, one should be
a multitasker.
With such multitasking capabilities innately built, and the
desire to lead from the front has made Mr. Mohar V, a
leader and trailblazer in the tech industry.
In the following sections, we will have a look at the
important leadership lessons and traits that can be gleaned
Mr. MoharV
The Unstoppable Tech Leader
November 2019|
from the experiences and enormous successes of Mr.
Mohar. We will delve into the choices he made as a
business mogul in order to better understand how his
passion and dedication can be emulated by anyone looking
to enhance their own leadership skills.
A Short Biography
Mr. Mohar is the Co-founder and CEO of TECHVED.
His breakthrough came with his fascination in designs
which he thought could bring a lot of difference to digital
businesses and improve the lives of millions with cutting
edge digital solutions. He has an experience of more than
20 years in digital strategy, UX/UI design, innovation, I.T.
management including SAP ERP implementation, software
development, databases and project management. As a
young entrepreneur, Mr. Mohar discovered that he was
keenly interested in professional acquaintances and
transforming digital product experiences. This interest made
a positive impact and his extremely hard work apparently
20
23. November 2019|
The10Most
Successful
CEO’sTo Look At in 2019
Mr. Mohar V,
CEO & Co-founder
made him a business evangelist, digital transformer, design
thinker, and an inclusive leader.
Those who never stop at anything to make a positive
change in peoples life keep him professionally and
personally inspired. Spiritual masters and great business
leaders like Shri Shri Ravishankar to Jack Welch, and
Michael Dell motivate him to continue the strife. Mr.
Mohar aims to make TECHVED the world’s leading and
most trusted digital transformation consultancy by creating
awesome and delightful experiences for the clients globally.
Motivating the budding entrepreneurs Mr. Mohar
says,“Lead from the heart and soul– go above and beyond
what is expected. Lead with courage and compassion.”
Walking the talk
The journey of TECHVED started in 2007 under Mr.
Mohar’s leadership with a clear focus on UX/UI Services.
Educating and making the clients and employees
understand the benefits of UX/UI or the hype and branding
the specialist services were some of the challenges. Yet his
tireless endeavour made TECHVED accomplish it as a
thought leader in the UX/UI industry.
Mr. Mohar’s consistent diligence has made TECHVED a
globally acclaimed digital strategy and a design
powerhouse. The human-centered designs that keep the
clientele strong and the qualitative services offered by the
firm marks its disticntion in the industry. Completing a
decade and more in operations, TECHVED has served over
500 clients exceeding 11 domains. It has expanded over the
years into different technologies such as AR/VR/IR, IoT,
Chatbots, AI, and Web Accessibility.
His good leadership role has made TECHVED win many
prestigious awards across Indian and Asian Forums. His
company has been nominated for Business Excellence in
Innovative Website Design by Times Research, Top 5
UX/UI companies in India by Silicon India, Digital
Excellence Award by CDO Converge, Super Quality Crown
Award by AIESAC Summit, and many more.
Expert Thinking
Mr. Mohar deems the company’s growth, expansion, and
innovation globally a crucial aspect. He envisions to come
up with services ahead of its time and the industry moving
to an era where it will influence people’s lives even more
significantly. He states,“Instead of interfaces being part of
life, digitalization will become a part and parcel of
everyday routine where TECHVED would continue to play
a leadership role”.
According to him, India’s diversified financial sector is
undergoing a rapid expansion both in terms of strong
growth in existing financial services and new entities
emerging in the market. Many sectors like commercial
banks, insurance companies, non-banking financial
companies, other smaller financial entities, etc have
undergone these changes. Mr. Mohar feels blockchain
technology, upgraded ATMs, mobile and digital banking,
cloud computing, advances in robotics and AI are some
fields in which these sectors must excel to stay at the top.
He believes with technology as the driving force in the
future, the finance industry will be able to redefine business
sector to be more competitive and responsive to market
needs.
21
24. ser Experience design is the most important aspect
Uto keep the user satisfied with your product or
application. Many organizations are not aware that
a good UX design can make a significant difference. Great
designers recognize this significance and understand what
impact a great UX design can have. On a similar note we at
Insights Success have had the privilege to cross paths with
an innately talented, inspirational designer and
entrepreneur.
In an exclusive interview, Bansi Mehta, the CEO and
Founder of Koru UX Design talks about her journey.
Fiercely passionate, self-inspired and sharp-thinking, Bansi
is driven to build a culture that helps people to be their best
selves at work.
Brief us about you and your journey since the beginning
of your career.
Bansi: I was always an ambitious kid and wanted to grow
up to be a strong and independent woman. Every time I had
to seek permission to do something, I felt bad. Such
incidents made me realize how badly I wanted to be
independent and in charge of my life. I hail from a small
town and belong to a well-to-do family where a career for
women is not a common thing. Here women don’t ‘need’ to
work and hardly have any identity other than being
someone’s wife or daughter.
Growing up, I resisted everything that pushed me to be
dependent on someone and lose my identity. After 12th
grade, I chose the field of Computer Science as it seemed to
offer the most promising career. I saw it as my ticket to
becoming independent and live life on my terms. With great
ambitions of making an identity for myself and fulfilling
my dreams, I moved to Pune and thus began my journey.
By the end of graduation, I knew that writing code is not
my thing. But, I knew that if I don’t have a job in hand by
the time my graduation is done, I will have to pack and go
back. So, in the search of my true calling and finding a job,
I started exploring graphic design and animation. I instantly
liked it and, in a few weeks, I had my first job. It was
nothing like what I had dreamt of, but it still kept me in
Pune.
It took me a while but then I understood that I need to be
patient. To live life on my terms and to prove myself, I first
needed to give my 100%. I did this, for 7 years, I learned a
lot, worked with awesome people, especially at 3DPLM,
where I was a part of the UX team at Solidworks. I got the
best exposure one could ask for, I was surrounded by the
people who were stalwarts in their field, passionate and
inspiring. They were humble and compassionate as
mentors. My job was so good that I didn’t want to switch it
for another better-paying one. If I made a move, it had to be
something bigger and challenging. During that time, I was
working with a life coach named Narendra Goidani. He
truly and deeply believed that I could do more with my life.
He always said, “If people think you can’t do it, prove them
wrong and if they think you can do it, prove them right.”
So, I took the plunge and I founded Koru and this was one
of the best things I did in life.
Shaping a Distinctive Future through UX Design
Bansi Mehta
“As you keep learning,
remember that best design
comes not while thinking about
the design itself, but about how it
is going to affect the people”
November 2019|22
26. The initial years were bumpy, very challenging. We wanted
experienced professionals, and the professionals wanted a
stable company, which we didn’t have. They wanted cool
and challenging work, forget challenging, we didn’t have
much work. They wanted a fancy place, well, a spare room
in my husband’s office and a lavatory which at one point
was being shared by 20 people was all that we had.
But we kept doing good work and kept our clients happy. I
constantly thought of creative ways of attracting good talent
and staying afloat. After a long 22 months of struggle with
an insane amount of compromises and hard work, we had a
breakthrough. We got our first enterprise client and that was
a turning point.
How do you describe yourself in one/two words? Who
has been your guide, source of inspiration, support?
Bansi: Forward-looking and never satisfied (or settled), I
am a person who gets excited thinking of ‘what’s next?’ I
don’t enjoy thinking or talking about the past. And this is
also a reason why I am never satisfied. For me, what’s gone
is gone, no matter how glorious or fulfilling; what’s next is
the exciting topic.
Through my journey various people have played a critical
role at various junctures in life. My father supported my
decision to move out of the small town to a big city to
study. It was no lesser than a mini-revolution since no one
in my family or anyone we knew had ever done it. He was a
hardcore businessman and I have seen his composure
through extreme peaks and lows, he has also been the
person who always believed in educating the daughters and
treating them as a strength.
In the earlier days of Koru, my life coach helped me believe
in myself and take a plunge. Now, my mentor for guiding
me getting to the next level.
My husband, Mouneet Mehta for giving up a spare room in
his office, which might seem little at the beginning but not
after we kept growing and claiming one room after another
till the office looked more like Koru’s office than his. Also
having the heart to merge his company into Koru and
giving up on what he had built from the ground up, for
bigger promise Koru had to offer. He has been by my side
through thick and thin, always cheering for me in good
times and putting his resourcefulness to work in the bad
times.
I have always sought inspiration from books. I love reading
and I believe we are in the most fortunate time of the entire
human history, where you can learn from experts on almost
any topic imaginable without much of a struggle. Books are
my Go-to source whether I am feeling short on positivity, or
looking to scale, whether I am finding my way into the
world of B2B sales or looking to get more done out of my
days without burning myself. Some of my favorites are
‘Hard things about hard things’, ‘Enlightenment Now’,
‘Obstacle is the way’ and ‘The Power of Habits’.
Above all, I have always been fortunate to have a team at
Koru that I can count on; it never (ever) lets me down. And
this fact helps me draw a great deal of confidence when I
am in challenging situations, like when there is a tough
deadline or new initiative, or when we are working on a
high stake project. I just know I am not alone in this and I
will have all the support I need.
Tell us about your passions, mission, and goals. What
acts as a motivation tool for you?
Bansi: ‘I don’t want to die without doing something
worthwhile in my life’ this is what I believe and this is what
drives me personally. Initially, this helped me channelize
my energy and gave me direction, now it has become part
of me, a way of living.
Back in 2013, at Koru, we took on our first enterprise
design project, and it was the sheer challenge of
transformation that felt very satisfying. The idea that our
design decisions were to make a positive impact on the
productivity of thousands of enterprise users fueled a
newfound passion for us. From that point, there was no
going back. Today we are driven by a mission of UXifying
Workplaces with the same fire!
Kindly describe in brief about your company and its
services/products.
Bansi: Koru is a specialized Enterprise User Experience
(UX) Design company. We partner with firms to help them
increase the ROI from their products through our expertise
in UX. Our team of passion-driven professionals has
successfully designed and delivered over 350 projects
across industries and geographies.
Our flagship services include UX audit for enterprise
applications, service design, conceptualising brand new
products, and UX & UI design for legacy products. Most of
our clients reach out to us with the motive of leveraging
design thinking for innovation and to infuse design into
their product development process. Through our services,
our clients have been able to increase employee
engagement, improve productivity, address usability issues
like clunky interfaces and workflows, and reduce the cost to
build in-house.
What is the role of technology in this fast-paced
November 2019|24
27. changing world? Kindly highlight your achievements,
awards, and accreditation?
Bansi: It is a known fact that in the present age, we are
quite spoilt by technology. There are aspects of technology
such as online ticketing or GPS navigation, that have
become an integral part of our life and we can’t imagine
living without it. In terms of technology, amongst a few
initiatives, there is a particular offering that we are actively
working on and is close to my heart.
We are working on how we can combine the power of AI,
Robotic Process Automation and User-Centric methodology
to deliver maximum efficiency to businesses with a human
touch. This offering will be focused on leveraging
Intelligence Assistance to help users make better decisions,
presenting just-in-time information based on machine
learning, and eliminating mundane workflows so users can
focus on what’s worth their efforts. It is for our futuristic
approach that we have been recognized as one of the top
UI/UX agencies in India by Clutch, which is a directory
listing of international agencies.
Kindly tell us about the challenges you took and the risk
associated with it and how did you overcome them.
Bansi: Starting a business itself is a high-risk proposition
and while it’s rewarding if things work out, the process is
no less than metamorphosis.
The first big project we won, winning it was one thing but
keeping it was a bigger challenge, we had to scale at a pace
the client and projects were mounting, with no time to
analyze and ensure whether we’re moving up in the right
way. So we took the risk, we progressed and learned how to
stay on the go. We made many costly mistakes by
proceeding in this way, but it helped us keep and grow the
account and gain tremendous domain knowledge in a short
span of time. Very shortly, we could solve problems at
unparalleled speed and no design challenge looked too big.
A few years back, when we did our first big-scale enterprise
UX research. Failing was not an option, we were trusted
and chosen over the best available in the market and we had
to prove ourselves. To top it, we could get the turnkey
project which was a dream project for us if we succeeded at
the initial UX Research phase. I believe, when failing is not
an option, it’s easier in one way. It gives you laser-sharp
focus, and priorities become crystal clear. We absorbed the
losses incurred due to our inability to estimate the efforts
correctly. While the leadership was supportive, we faced
tremendous resistance from middle management during the
research. But we kept our head down and spirits high, we
kept marching. For every adversary we put our creative
thinking to work, to find a solution and in the end, our hard
work and efforts were rewarded.
Share your point of view on the current scenario of the
industry and its future.
Bansi: Engineering-driven products are burdened by years
of technical and design debts. A large clunky software has
been the norm. The value and experience that is delivered
by the B2C products have set the bar and expectations for
the largely millennial workforce today who are mindful of
how their energy and intellect are engaged which in turn
leads them to a sense of satisfaction.
The future incorporates a predictive User Experience. The
application shouldn’t just guide the user towards the next
steps but also knows well where the next steps lead.
Moreover, with technological advancements leading the
way, UX is not just limited to screens but has already
started widening its scope to incorporate smart gadgets,
voice interface, personalization, and automation.
For example, an exciting concept that is rapidly evolving is
Robotic Process Automation (RPA). It is the application of
technology to high-volume, repetitive tasks to simplify the
processes and increase efficiency. A mature UX design
identifies the right tasks to automate, creates a natural way
of automating them, and gives a seamless experience.
Enterprises are now utilizing UX designs for RPA that can
work across multiple digital systems, process transactions,
or the manipulation of data with increased accuracy and
speed.
What would you advise to budding entrepreneurs who
are willing to make a career in this field?
Bansi: Before you get into the field of UX design or any
other kind of design, you should know that it is not just a
profession, but a vocation. Eventually, design becomes a
way of life and you never really stop learning new things.
As you keep learning, remember that the best design comes
not while thinking about the design itself, but about how it
is going to affect the people. It is one of those few
industries where everybody thinks they can do it, so it’s
your job to stand up to the clients and solve the problem for
them in a way they never could have.
Please tell us about your future business plans.
Bansi: The future business plans of our company are based
on a two-fold plan where we constantly refine our offerings
and methodology to help enterprise applications innovate
and realize the business value of design.
Our long term goal is to scale our team and presence to
become the world’s most preferred company that exists to
help businesses with enterprise applications utilize the
power of UX.
November 2019| 25
28. In a candid conversation with
Insights Success, Natasha
Mudhar, the CEO of Sterling
Media gave some insightful answers
highlighting the influences made by
her and the company. Now, its time to
explore the Journey of Natasha through
her own Words.
1. Brief us about you and your
Journey since the beginning of your
Career.
I graduated from City University
London, with a degree in sociology
and media and then began my
professional career with Sterling Media
just over 16 years ago, where I am now
CEO. It has been a truly eventful and
fulfilling journey so far, from
representing countries, consumer
brands, corporates, celebrities and
thought leaders, no two days have ever
been the same; one minute I’m leading
a global campaign for the United
Nations, the next I’m working with
some of the most influential celebrities
of our generation.
Natasha Mudhar
An Assiduous
Leader Making a Difference
Through my work with representing
Small to Medium sized Enterprises,
FTSE 100 companies, governments,
high-profile celebrities and innovators,
I have been able to assist global
players partner their visons and core
business strategies. Last February, I
was appointed to the Advisory Board
of the Commonwealth Enterprise and
Investment Council (CWEIC) as
means of utilising my specialist
international expertise, professional
network and involvement with
spearheading global campaigns.
I have also since been appointed as an
India Advisory Board Member to
supermodel and philanthropist Natalia
Vodianova’s platform ‘Elbi’ as well as
Communications Director of
challenger brand ‘BOLT’, the
revolutionary mobile focused video
content ecosystem
Given my work in the sustainability
sector, I also established WWW – The
World We Want, a global impact
enterprise launched to unlock the
collective strength of people, ideas,
networks and technologies to
Natasha
Mudhar
CEO
accelerate achievement of the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals. The
purpose of WWW is to generate a
social impact which can enact real
change and combat the major issues
our world is currently facing, aligned
to the UN’s Sustainable Development
Goals.
2. How do you describe yourself in
one / two word? Who has been your
guide, source of inspiration,
support?
I would say that I am assiduous, you
have to possess a great deal of
determination in order to be successful,
this industry requires perseverance,
you have to dig deep within yourself to
keep pushing to reach both your own
and your clients’ goals.
But on top of that, you need to really
care about both your role and the client
that you’re working with. You have to
harness that emotional side to really
back yourself and see your work
through to the end because it makes the
job so much more rewarding when you
“Keep pushing yourself until
you fulfill your client’s as
well as self goals”
November 2019|26
29. 02
The10Most
Successful
CEO’sTo Look At in 2019
see all that work come into fruition.
As for inspiration, my mother Teji
Singh has been an integral part of both
my professional and personal life. She
has made me the woman I am today,
and her example has been the driving
force and inspiration behind everything
I do.
3. State us about your passions,
mission, and goals. What acts as a
motivation tool for you?
As I mentioned, my mother’s example
has been a real driving force behind
my work, she has taught me to convert
challenges into opportunities and that
is something I truly live by. On top of
that, what I am really passionate about
is being someone who can make a
difference, I have been involved in a
lot of global campaigns and what I
love about all of them is being
involved every step of the way. There
is something so rewarding about
enacting real change and making a
difference to the people that you reach.
We set up WWW because we want to
do well by doing good. The mission is
to convene multiple sectors to unlock
the potential and achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals. I
firmly believe in converting awareness
into action therefore my goal is to
ultimately look back at my career, look
at the work I have done and be able to
say that I have made a difference in the
world and improved people’s lives.
4. Kindly describe in brief about
your company and its
services/products.
Sterling Global is an international
business and communications
consultancy, we specialise in
generating bespoke client-focused,
social and professional campaigns. Our
clients range from start-ups, major
corporations, innovators and
disruptors, to high-profile celebrities.
As a company we have a core ethos of
combining purpose with profit, our
work is more about the difference we
can make than the money we earn. Our
campaigns cultivate trends, empower
the audiences that see them and shape
societal perceptions in a way which
will spur genuine and positive change
on a global scale.
I co-founded WWW- The World We
Want which is powered by
“Accelerator” ventures aligned to the
Sustainable Development Goals, with a
focus on convening leading
organisations, corporations, public
figures including celebrities,
campaigners and thought leaders
around the world to awaken social
consciousness and drive meaningful
change. Ventures include identifying
and enabling the change makers of the
future through events, indexes,
mentorship and incubation initiatives,
empowering the world’s citizens
through supporting open data policies,
harnessing the power of celebrity and
pop culture to entertain and inspire
audiences and supporting critical
impact projects through an ethical
investment fund.
Being invited to speak at the
prestigious Cannes Lions International
Festival of Creativity earlier this month
was a definite highlight since
launching WWW. I was invited to join
the panel, ‘Call to Action for Public-
Private Partnerships to reach the
Global Goals’ at the Goals House in
Cannes. The panel provided the
perfect platform to raise awareness
around the importance of not only
public-private partnerships, but for a
cross-sector collaborations to convene
governments, corporations, media,
talent, civil society, and not for profits
to leverage ideas, networks and
technologies to bring visions to life and
to create sustainable solutions and
encourage the much needed $1.6
trillion dollar annual fund needed to
achieve the SDGs by 2030.
5. State us about the most
memorable and remarkable
moments of your life.
I am lucky to say that I have several,
but to me the one that stands out most
was the work we did towards
launching the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals in
2015 and being a part of the Multi-
Award-winning film “What I Really
Really Want”, a remix of Spice Girls
Wannabe track. Using the hashtag
#WhatIReallyReallyWant, we helped
to produce a Spice Girls video remake
advocating for female empowerment
and equal treatment for women all over
the world. The video featured powerful
female figures from across the globe,
including Jacqueline Fernandez, Seyi
Shay, Gigi Lamayne, M.O, Larsen
Thompson and Taylor Hatala.
The video received global support and
‘broke the internet’ as it amassed 150
million views in its first few days
online and gaining mass international
media coverage, plus support from
high-profile individuals such as
Victoria Beckham, Melanie C and
Emma Bunton. It went on to play a
vital role alongside the UN’s Project
Everyone campaign and generate
support and actual change to the lives
of women across the globe.
6. What is role of technology in this
fast-paced changing world? Kindly
highlight your achievements, awards
and accreditation.
Technology is an incredible knowledge
tool which has the power to bring
together people from all sectors of the
world. Technology plays such an
integral role in the world now, it’s hard
to imagine one without it. We use it for
so much of our daily lives in regard to
both the way we work and the way we
live outside of a professional capacity.
At Sterling we use the technological
sphere to our advantage as means of
promoting effective, industry-leading
campaigns that are driven by purpose
and a desire to effect change.
This is why I got involved as the
Communications Director of
challenger brand BOLT, the
revolutionary mobile focused video
content ecosystem, I further wish to
take forward BOLT is also the world’s
first open entertainment and
information platform offering the first
real world application of tokens and
blockchain to empower the
underbanked and the underbanked
communities.
November 2019| 27
30. 7. Kindly tell us about the challenges
you took, and the risk associated
with it and how did you overcome
them?
Coming from an ethnic-minority
background can mean I get
pigeonholed, not just as an individual
but also in terms of the campaigns we
have launched in the UK from other
parts of the world such as the Middle
East, Africa or India. There’s often a
perception that such campaigns will
only resonate with a certain segment of
the population. Early on in my career, I
used to hear a lot of people say to me,
“Do you just work on ethnic projects?
Can you promote my brand to the
mainstream as well?” It was rare to see
an Asian woman taking the lead
position in the communications
industry.
With the sector being male-dominated,
it was a case of double discrimination.
Nevertheless, I’ve always aimed to
convert any challenge into an
opportunity and being Indian and
female is something I thrive on. I
would never view this as a hindrance
in any shape or form, and I would
never allow this to limit my potential. I
refuse to stick within any pre-designed
barriers purely on the basis of my
heritage and gender. In my experience,
few clients or competitors envisage
that the world-class campaigns we
spearhead come from a mews in South
Kensington in London. Everyone loves
an underdog story, so be brave, stand
proud and shock them – that has been
the story of my career to date, and will
continue to be the case. The
communications industry is a credible
and competitive profession, so
sometimes people don’t like to see
women running the game, but that
merely acts as motivation to win.
Taking up the mantle at Sterling was a
major challenge for me, my mother
Teji had moved mountains to shape
Sterling into the company that it is
today, as both a woman and one from
an ethnic background, she fought tooth
and nail to make her dreams a reality,
so continuing her legacy was a major
step as well as a challenge that I faced.
I overcame this by digging deep and
working hard, it takes a lot to be good
at your job, but it takes even more to
be the best, something which I have
always strived towards and always
will.
8. Share your point of view on the
current scenario of the finance
industry and its future.
If there is one thing that the finance
industry craves, it’s security. Knowing
that investments are going to be safe
and secure is vital to the growth and
longevity of the industry. We are going
through a somewhat turbulent time in
our global political history which has
certainly presented its fair share of
hurdles but there is always a light at
the end of the tunnel and we have
certainly endured worse before. The
financial sector is also facing severe
under banking as people and
organizations do not have sufficient
access to mainstream financial services
and are often deprived of banking
services such as credit cards or loans.
Finance is an equaliser and it needs to
address these inequalities in the
industry for a better future.
9. What would you advise to the
budding entrepreneurs who are
willing to make carrier in this field?
If you encounter obstacles, you’re
headed in the right direction. Nobody
has ever achieved anything without
having to overcome some form of
adversity - there are always going to be
people who tell you that you can’t,
people who say that you won’t and
those who simply doubt what you are
capable of. The truth is that their
opinions are irrelevant! Many great
and inspirational people have made
something out of nothing, and this will
always be the case, but, the question
you must always ask yourself is “what
can I do to be one of them?”
10. Please tell us about your future
business plans.
Both Sterling and WWW have
ambitious plans and a lot of faith in the
future. We aim to expand and use our
experience thus far to propel us
towards bigger, better and bolder
projects that can generate real,
constructive and positive change
around the world.
Currently my current focus is the
SDGs Impact Summit in India in
November 2019 with our partners
India’s largest media conglomerate,
Times of India Group.
We are all aware that the world cannot
achieve its SDGs targets without
India’s support. As a continuation of
my work with Richard Curtis’s
campaign to popularise the UN’s
SDG’s in India, the Summit will be
supported with a 10 year campaign
Agenda 2030 India, starting in 2020, to
launch a nationwide movement to
popularise the SDGs through a multi-
sector collaborative approach that will
bring together corporates, celebrities,
NGOs, young changemakers,
technologists, media and civil society.
Our vision with the SDGs Impact
Summit is to curate a truly global
platform inviting 500+ global delegates
across government, media, talent, civil
society, NGOs, corporates to spotlight
the Global South and India’s
international rule breakers, problem
solvers, storytellers, thought shapers,
global leaders and renegades with a
cause who are committed to achieving
the SDGs. The plan is to encourage
people everywhere to raise their
voices, help build awareness of the
SDGs, and hold their government
leaders accountable for progress.
The summit will encourage people
everywhere to raise their voices, help
build awareness of the SDGs, and hold
their government leaders accountable
for progress. The Summit supports a
wider ten-year strategy commencing in
2020 to activate activations across
multiple sectors to support India in
achieving its SDGs targets by 2030.
This is where much of my day is
focussed on currently.
November 2019|28
31.
32. rom global retailers like Wal-Mart and behemoths
Flike Microsoft, Apple and Samsung to start-ups like
Swiggy, Pharmeasy and Bookmyshow- we can
learn a lot from how today's market leaders stay relevant.
Top companies are dedicated to quality, innovation and
differentiation; success is incidental- excellence is the real
focus.
The quest for leadership is, perhaps, one of the most
deeply-ingrained human traits. In legal terms, corporates
are entities or ‘individuals’ but more importantly, they are
made up of people – and they work for other people. So,
what is a good indicator of a company having reached ‘the
top’?
Is domestic and even global market share a reliable metric –
or perhaps capitalization, or market value a prudent
indicator? Or is being considered the ‘best place to work’ a
good yardstick? While there is no single benchmark, the
quest for ‘reaching the top’ continues to drive companies
and individuals.
Getting There
The above parameters are important to gauge a company’s
progress on a time scale and in relation to its peers.
However, paraphrasing Aamir Khan’s statement in the
movie ‘3 Idiots’, ‘strive for excellence and success will
follow’. For a company, ‘reaching the top’ is not a goal but
a process and leadership is a by-product of sound focus,
ethics and governance.
Really successful organizations (or individuals) never really
seem to strive to reach the top. For them, success is
incidental- excellence is the real focus.
Staying There
Attaining a leading position is an important
accomplishment on any journey, be it of an individual or a
company. However, ‘reaching the top’ also brings with it
the responsibility to stay there.
The more attention is directed to your success story with the
ease of information flow in today’s connected world, the
more your competitors and new entrants will gear up to
replicate your success story. If a company’s success story is
the result of a certain business model, you can be certain
that others will try to emulate it.
Historically, few companies have consistently maintained
their leadership position over considerable periods. A look
at the Fortune 500 list shows that over 2500 companies
have appeared on the list since 1955, when the list was first
published. Some of the biggest and most celebrated names
today did not exist just a few years ago, and some of the
largest names of the past have succumbed to their
competitors.
The Rise and Fall of Brands
Wal-Mart topped the Fortune 500 list in 2010 but was not
even conceived of when the list was first published. In
India, the mix of companies leading the charts has
transformed significantly from 1990 (pre liberalization) to
now.
While there can be various strategic, tactical, competitive,
regulatory, human and other factors involved in the churn of
‘top companies’, evidence suggests that those that stay on
the top for over two decades have an explicit focus on
HOW DO COMPANIES
REACH THE TOP – AND STAY THERE
November 2019|30
33. quality at all levels. Apple, Samsung and Microsoft come
easily to mind. Such companies do not rest on their laurels
– they innovate, update and upgrade their products
constantly.
In a product company, the focus is obviously on the
product. However, a services-oriented company reaches and
stays on the top because of how it treats its people –
employees and well as customers. This is an inalienable
aspect of quality for a services company, where a product
company can maintain its momentum largely on the quality
of its products.
However, even a product-oriented company cannot avoid
the backlash of public opinion if it treats its own people
badly. No matter how much is swept under the carpet,
stories of sweatshops in China, the Philippines and
Bangladesh – or a sweatshop approach to delivery and
transport services closer home- will unerringly percolate
into public awareness. In this enlightened and super-
informed age, the fallout of such a negative narrative can
and will eventually topple even the hardiest giants.
Essentially, staying ahead in the race to top translates into
building a high-quality organization. Quality affects the
organization in various ways – from improved productivity
to higher profitability, and from better customer satisfaction
to a positive public perception. Not only does this help the
organization to grow and succeed, it also leads to employee
growth and empowerment.
Getting To- And Staying On- The Top
While there cannot be any magic recipe to create such an
organization, there are some steps that can be taken towards
achieving it:
Leadership through Innovation
Corporate world today is challenged by innovations
originating from across the world, both from within and at
times outside the industry. Further, with a conducive
entrepreneurship ecosystem, even small-sized companies
are challenging their larger contemporaries and even
changing industry dynamics through their innovative
business models. Today, home-grown innovations have
changed the way industries operate now- regardless of how
they operated earlier- by bringing convenience and
transparency to customers.
Aggregators across industries such as Swiggy, Pharmeasy,
Bookmyshow and many others have created niches for
themselves. If we examine the latest list of start-ups
recognized by The Economic Times, a company providing a
full-stack logistics platform called Delhivery covers over
17,000 pin codes. Women are also distinguishing
themselves. Klay Schools is making a difference by
working at the intersection of pre-school education and
enabling women to return to work after having a child.
These unique models indeed validate and prove that
innovation is not just about developing new products and
services but, more fundamentally, about discovering new
ways to create value.
It is imperative for companies to continuously innovate and
move from current to future strengths by propagating
innovation. Innovation, while necessitating both a top-down
Sukhdeep Aurora, is the Group Chief People O cer,
ANAROCK Property Consultants. His expertise comprise
Performance Management, Training & Development,
Reward System, Retention Strategy, Competency
Mapping, Employee Counseling, HRIS, Policy Formulation
& Implementation, Recruitment & Selection,
Compensation Benchmarking.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sukhdeep Aurora
Group Chief People O cer
Expert’view
02November 2019| 31
34. and bottoms-up system, needs the highest level of
sponsorship and grassroots-level adoption. In innovation
driven organizations, the CEO must literally become the
chief innovation officer.
Differentiate or Die
Most companies spend considerable time and effort
replicating the business models or approach of leading
companies. It is imperative for business leaders to
differentiate their firm from the competitors, or they will
lose the enterprising edge they command. The
differentiators need to be built around the unmet needs of
customers, add tangible incremental value- and be difficult
to replicate without a consummate investment in overall
quality.
Netflix is an interesting example. Of the many aspects that
it used to provide differentiated solutions to the unmet
needs of its customers, a key factor was its use of what was
called the ‘automated movie recommendation program’
which helped a user to discover customized content tailored
to individual preferences. In 1990s, this helped Netflix to
compete against physical stores which made it very effort-
intensive for movie lovers to find their preferred titles.
Today, this ‘recommendation engine’ seems to have become
a much stronger differentiator among competitors like
Hotstar and Amazon Prime. This, clubbed with investing in
high-quality original content, gives Netflix the much-
needed firepower to continue to win the video streaming
industry sweepstakes- especially countries like India where
the viewers’ tastes are very broad.
Make Prudent Investments
A company must constantly invest and stay ahead of the
curve. Equally important is directing these investments into
the company’s focus area/s. This will range from tech
investments through robotics and AI- for example, Pizza
Hut is deploying robotic waiters in its restaurants in Asia,
and Unilever is trying to use blockchain to improve its
advertisement buying- to skill development via
learning/training programs that help meet ‘Future of Work’
challenges, and even investing in physical infrastructure to
create attractive, green and productive workplaces.
Nurture and Retain Talent
Human capital is the single-most important asset that an
organization has on its journey to becoming – and
remaining- a world-class organization. It is critical to
constantly invest in, mentor and retain this talent. With the
intensity of the war for talent increasing constantly,
technological advancements change the very nature of work
and workplaces and more and more organizations are
opting for business process automation.
Concurrently, new opportunities and challenges
continuously emerge. Organizations need to keep up with
evolving trends so that they can attract newer generations of
workforce, and to continually invest in upskilling its
existing talent. Today, an organization’s responsibility to
draw the best from the increasing diversity of workforce
has never been higher.
Take Corporate Governance Seriously
Regardless of whether we’re talking about a company, a
professional or an entrepreneur, capital creation depends on
certain conditions being maintained. This also entails the
considerable responsibility of creating capital legally and
ethically. Corporate governance is not just a compliance
issue or an agenda point for discussion in board meetings.
The foundation of excellence in any aspect of an
organization is the measure of faith and trust that the
institution commands among all its stakeholders. Earning,
retaining and growing institutional faith and trust is the
result of the cumulative efforts and contributions of every
member of the organization via their individual interactions
with customers and stakeholders.
An organization must stay true to its stakeholders in every
way possible and conduct business with a much broader
view than mere profitability – the business must also benefit
employees and customers in equal measure.
These, broadly, are the success ingredients that can boost a
company into the rarefied stratosphere of market leadership.
It’s not about capitalization, profitability and awards – it’s
about being the best that it can possibly be, on every
possible front.
With such an approach, becoming a top-level company is an
almost inevitable by-product. Leadership is not purchased
or bestowed – it is earned the hard way.
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35.
36. Every industry needs to evolve and struggle to
meet the market demands and stay in the
mainstream. Innovation drives industries further
and commercial laundry is no exception. Enhancing
smart laundry technology through efficiency and
optimising the resources is the biggest trend
revolutionising in the commercial laundry services. We
always look upto the annual turnover of a company to
decide its success ratio. But we miss acknowledging the
contribution of the leaders!
Here is an abstract that showcase a journey of one such
professional who has been on the edge of various
paradigms executing the responsibilities with diligence
and persistence. The Managing Director of Vaskleen
laundry Services Pvt Ltd(VLSPL), Prakash K.V is
here to stay as an ideal example who has revolutionized
the fabric care industry at a national level. Being a multi-
linguistic proficient, Prakash K.V is an Alumnus of
Prakash K.V
Breaking the grounds In The
Fabric Care Industry
Prakash K.V
Managing
Director
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, with
specialization in Aquaculture and Fisheries. Initiating his
career as a trainee in corporate culture, he became a
successful serial entrepreneur of the first generation.
Through wax and wane, he culminated a successful
career organizing the Aquaculture industry in India and
overseas. His contribution and endeavour has listed
VLSPL among the top 5 service providers, the only Gold
Certified service provider under all segments, and the
“It’s time to
minimize the
duplication and
prevent financial
wastage at
national schemes”
November 2019|34
37. 02
The10Most
Successful
CEO’sTo Look At in 2019
“best MSME” awardee. VLSPL is soon to get an ISO
certification. Appreciation of the quality by the clients
and timely rewards has made him a strong competitor.
Being a visionary personality he has set a strong
foundation so that no element of the business or
department can derail or destabilize the pillars and
platform of the organization.
Vashkleen Laundry Services: A commercial
appearance
First of its kind in India, Vashkleen Laundry Services
offers mechanized and premium laundry services
employing scientific washing methods, to institutions in
the hospitality, households, and, healthcare. The clientele
comprises premium hospitals, hotels and, airlines.
Equipped with world class infrastructure and machinery,
VLSPL facilitates the life of garments processed by it.
Employing 230 people, the commercial laundry operates
all the 365 days. Energy efficiency, use of biodegradable
chemicals and optimization in resource utilization with
its technologies to conserve water through recycling and
reuse have laid the cornerstones of Vaskleen Laundry
Services.
How crucial is technology for Vashkleen laundry
Services
Mr. Prakash elaborates that exploring IOT system
adoption to have better system control and technology
implementation in recycling the grey water has been of a
great boost to the quality service in all segments.
Technological advancement like IOT, customized
washing machines, usage of biodegradable chemicals is
paving way in the laundry industry. Blending digital
infrastructure for smart tagging to optimize wash cycles
has benefited the commercial laundry services. He says,
though technology up-gradation has happened in all the
departments of the laundry sector, customization of such
technologies is necessary to suit Indian markets. As a
result, new challenges emerge much more frequently
than expected, but since he’s passionate about exploring
challenges, he loves to tap new models.
Challenges: Never to respite
For Mr.Prakash, every aspect was a risk considering the
domain challenges in Indian context. Constant top line
growth without getting into negative bottom line was the
key to overcome first mover drawback. Yet, financial and
market instability is always a hurdle for every person
aiming to form a strong business foundation. Selling
family properties for developing VLSPL was challenging
but sacrificing shorter gains for bigger dreams and taking
risks as opportunity kept on making the foundation
stronger and better.
His advice to the budding entrepreneurs
He feels that opportunities are plenty as India is a
beginning market for the fabric care industry. Mr.
Prakash explains that present scenario of the finance
segment is ideal to take logical risks and expand the
business without any geographical limitations. But
avoiding duplication and repetition on research and
surveys should always be taken into consideration as
many have spent or wasted resources in the past for the
same. For him laundry business needs visionary and
proven platform to scale at national and international
levels.
On a concluding note, he shares the vision and mission
Ÿ To be the most sought after brand in the respective
service segments
Ÿ Organize the current unorganized arena through
technical advancement
Our conviction in offering
the best laundry services
emerges from our
competence in scientific
washing methods, with
advanced technology
”
”
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