At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the entrepreneurship world. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur – Ankur Kumra for an exclusive interview with us. He is an Investor and Founder of Kumra Enterprises. Let’s learn more about his inspiring journey, his background and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Ankur:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
I did my schooling from Vivek high School and further pursued masters from Icfai Mumbai. I was a passionate individual from the beginning and always aspired to be one of the top achievers in the things I have been putting my time & effort on.
Always having the desire to be self-dependent. I got my first job in Mumbai at a startup Energia Well which I left in the first month because I wanted to try for TV commercials & shows. So I joined another company Indiabulls at half the pay I was getting but the timings weren’t suitable to manage to give auditions.
For survival in this city, I had to manage both things. Doing this & working out at midnight was a little difficult though. But I thought maybe if we are struggling we are progressing sooner or later in few months I quit my job when I started getting TV commercial & series.”
I knew that working under someone was not meant for me, maybe that’s why my last Salary was put on hold for many months. With the little money I had, I wanted to start my own company.
I returned to my hometown Chandigarh & started to explore. Inclination towards real estate: I worked with a builder for a few months & the markets were crashing in 2015. Side by side I started selling electronics through eCommerce channels.
The industry started to boom and so did our sales. As competition was growing we started entering into more categories of gadgets & appliances. I was always a believer in doing multiple works as every business has its good & bad days. So I started investing in real estate with my first money invested in Dubai & then in Chandigarh. Dubai happened just by a sudden realization on a vacation that this city has the best ROI in the world.”
In a few months came the big lockdown which made me think I should do something which is Covid proof. So I started to invest in stocks & cryptocurrencies. The inclination became so high that I managed almost similar returns as I was getting from my business.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I chose entrepreneurship because I always wanted to make an impact. I have always been intrigued by entrepreneurship and read the success stories of all the successful entrepreneurs. You see – It’s fascinating how Americans had the foresight to build technologies to dominate the world.
It takes a lot of courage, planning, perseverance, hard work, teamwork, combined with good strategy & execution skills.
Some of the stories I read have always inspired me to invest in life as early as possible keep exploring side hustles to earn from
Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving with the help of your startup.
As consumers in our country have become tech-savvy. We are trying to avail as many products as possible especially in the smart devices category & deliver to the customers with just a click through the e-commerce channel.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
As e-commerce is the need of the hour during covid, each measure is taken to ensure that the model aligns with the challenges of the pandemic.
~ Our business model consists of a lean team which is not at all resource-heavy and has minimal overheads.
~ The freelancer model ensures each and every work can be handled remotely, where we don’t need to do physical meetings
~ Every aspect of the business is online and tech-enabled to ensure automation as much as possible.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I always try to make sure that I empower the right people for the right work. This way I do not feel overburdened with work that leads to stress.
I keep myself occupied with e-reading & always try to learn something new As there is always a scope for better in whatever we do.
In my free time, I try to travel, spend time with my family, and try to maintain my work-life balance as much as possible. Travelling helps me clear my mind and focus on issues that need my attention.
In your opinion, what is more necessary: An idea or a good team for a successful startup?
Well, first & foremost it starts with an idea but we cannot scale up without a good team. It is never a one-man show.
In my opinion, it should be a mix of both. You just cannot go ahead with an idea jotted down on a piece of paper without like-minded people working on it.
I have seen companies with very innovative ideas with niche market segments fail just because they lacked proper team spirit in them.”
To be successful, you should team up with co-founders who share your vision behind the idea and you also need to hire the right people for the right position so that it gets implemented in a proper way.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I do what I am passionate about. I never feel burdened. One should always have a delusion that we can make it big because that sets a benchmark that we got to work towards what we have thought else there won’t be a difference in what we call doers & thinkers
I enjoy the challenge of taking risk of doing things at the start, not when things have matured. In 2015 I knew that eCommerce will boom over the years. People are currently reluctant to enter into Cryptocurrencies but NFT & Defi is going to change the world
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and see them as an opportunity to learn. Whatever idea we have, just write it down & set small targets of working hard towards it. Also, do as much reading as possible. Even the biggest investors like Warren Buffet claim their success to this one habit one shouldn’t skip.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
