Hey friends, in this blog post, I welcome you all into an insightful conversation between two dynamic entrepreneurs, Shantanu Deshpande and Aman Gupta. The podcast episode of “Life as a shark, building 10,000 Cr+ boAt & investor rejections” is a recent inclusion to my portfolio. I had the privilege to tune into the YouTube channel called “The Barber Shop with Shantanu” where Shantanu, the founder of Bombay Shaving Company had a captivating conversation with Aman, the founder of boAt Lifestyle. Let me introduce the host of the podcast, Shantanu Deshpande, who worked with McKinsey & Co. for 5 years and decided to leave his job to take the entrepreneurial plunge to follow his dream. In the year 2016, along with his friends and colleagues kicked off the Bombay Shaving Company to disrupt the men’s grooming space which was a highly unorganized industry until that point in time. The company’s mission is to help men feel confident and look better, they believe grooming is just not a routine but an experience too.

Here comes the guest of the podcast, the master brain of Indian electronic brand boAt lifestyles, none other than Aman Gupta who appeared as a judge on the show “Shark Tank India” from the year 2021. Started his career as an assistant manager at Citi Bank, founded a company called Advanced Telemedia Pvt Ltd with his father, joined KPMG as a senior management consultant and then started working as a director in sales at Harman International. He left his job in 2016 to start boAt along with Sameer Mehta. In this podcast, Aman describes his journey through failures and rejections, simple upbringing from an Indian middle-class family, starting late in his career (at a point where he was depending on his wife’s salary) and non-purposeful life before starting boAt.

This amazing podcast between the founders of two great companies is a deep dive into the world of entrepreneurship, business, and their journey. I love the informal way of presentation which makes the podcast even more genuine and interesting. Loved the whole conversation with genuine laughs from both the host and the guest. I truly recommend you all to watch this amazing podcast.

Introduction

With a soft articulation, Shantanu opened the thesis of the podcast topic which addresses a pressing issue. India must create a good number of jobs in the next 20 years, the current requirements for jobs are 1 million (10 lakhs) per month, making 2 lakhs of jobs every month as of now creates a deficit of 8 lakhs employment per month. Tapping the potential of young India, it is not likely that everyone has to build the next boAt, but in simple terms, entrepreneurship should be broken down into simple terms and should be more related to a 23-year-old probably going to make another boAt in some other industry. The essence of entrepreneurship unfolds in this dynamic conversation between Shantanu and Aman, from the inception of boAt to its meteoric rise, Aman shares challenges and insights in building a consumer electronics empire worth over Rs. 10,500 Cr. It’s time to dive into the podcast.

Trust is blind, skill is complementary

In this segment of the podcast, Shantanu probes into the unique partnership between the co-founders Aman and Sameer. Residing in two different geographies, despite their differences, this segment reflects their journey from being strangers to building a thriving business together. Aman sheds light on their unconventional journey, comparing their partnership to an arranged marriage. You may hear Aman saying “we first met and on the second day we started, it’s more of an arranged marriage”. This emphasizes mutual respect, trust, clear demarcation of roles and a shared vision for success in their business.

Circular relationships

Shantanu asks Aman about the organizational structure and the intricate balance of leadership within boAt where Aman elaborates on their unique management structure. Sameer knows distribution and the back end very well; Aman knows the front end very well and the cofounders mutually report their line of functions to one another in a CEO-like capacity. Aman views it as “circular relationships at play”.

Hustle and growth

Shantanu delves into Aman’s hustle approach asking whether his hustle is calculated or not. Aman says “some people do calculated hustle; some people just do hustle. I am more interested in just doing hustle”. Aman reflects on how their approach to hustling has transformed from being agile in the early days to adopting a more methodological growth strategy as the company has grown. He points out that “there is a madness in the way we were operating, but now there is a method to the madness of being operated”. He emphasizes the need for specialists and not generalists for a specific role as the company grows. He also emphasizes the importance of adapting to change as time changes and learning from mistakes during the growth process.

Profit driven company

Shantanu probes into boAt’s profit as the margin profile in electronics is very thin. Aman highlights that the company has been ROI (return on investment) driven since day 1; “we don’t like to burn money, but we like to earn money”. He recalls the early days when boAt struggled and was not so lucky enough to secure funding, and his team had to prove themselves a lot as the industry was not that attractive in the eyes of the investors. Furthermore, he adds how his life changed personally and professionally after winning primary and secondary funding.

Startup to Shark Tank

Shantanu probes into Aman’s opinion on the Shark Tank coming to India and his joining the show where Aman cheerfully says “I was happy that Shark Tank was coming to India. I learned more when I joined Shark Tank than what I learned from business school”. In this segment, Aman shares his motivation for joining the show, highlighting his desire to demystify business concepts and inspire aspiring entrepreneurs across the country. He emphasized the importance of giving back to the community through mentorship to foster a healthy startup ecosystem. He also mentioned “I am a people guy, I invest in that person in front of me trying to build a business and if I get a glimpse of me in that person, I will invest in him/her”.

Relationship with money

Aman reveals that he had a very humble relationship with money. He reflects on his modest background, not privileged enough, having a normal lifestyle and school, which greatly influenced his career trajectory. Aman articulates that “money is not happiness for me, money is just a byproduct and never dreamed of having so much money, I am still happy in the same house”. He also emphasizes the importance of spending time with family, maintaining good health, and striving for holistic well-being beyond financial success.

Conclusion

Well, that was an insightful conversation between two dynamic entrepreneurs Shantanu Deshpande and Aman Gupta. In the wake of this conversation, it is visible that Aman’s hustle journey portrays resilience, innovation and excellence. As the boAt navigates through the waves of success in the electronics industry, Aman’s leadership, commitment and the quality of staying true to boAt’s DNA can serve as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs who are seeking to write their own stories in business. Regardless of the freedom that wealth may bring, it's important to remain humble and have a mindset of giving back to the community.

Endnote

Through this blog, I intend to inspire readers through the lens of two eminent entrepreneurs. Those insights could be a guiding light for those embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship. The podcast episode “Life as a shark, building 10,000 Cr+ boAt & investor rejections” is from the YouTube channel “The Barber Shop with Shantanu”. Each video on this YouTube channel is a treasure trove of knowledge, deep diving into the mindsets of visionaries and trailblazers across various industries. You can find the link to the video below. 

                                                                                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EXdVDEpWIs