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 a passionate entrepreneur – Rishabh Jalan for an exclusive interview with us. Rishabh is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Visionary and Mentor. He is the CEO and C0-Founder of Last Journey. His startup is a one-stop solution for death care and funeral services. Let’s learn more about his inspiring journey, his background and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Rishabh:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
Post my graduation in Business Management from St. Joseph’s College Commerce, Banglore I joined FNP Weddings as Digital Marketing and Sales Head. Therein, I worked to establish a structured sales funnel that was channelized through online marketing tools; this was rather a new approach since the wedding industry was predominantly revolving around word-of-mouth marketing. This resulted in rapid & sustained growth fueling sales up to 4 times. I was later promoted and was made the youngest ever CMO of the vertical.
After around three years, once my family and I were attending a funeral prayer meeting of a relative; watching the hassle they had to go through in order to make all necessary arrangements; made me realize that there is a huge gap within the deathcare industry.”
After doing extensive research, I launched Last Journey with my uncle and a team of 5 people. We started as a small venture to serve mourning families by organizing funeral services for them; today we are enhancing deathcare infrastructure and leading the space with the largest market share.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
To start with, I really do not see one less than the other in any capacity. Both require an individual to be the absolute best in their respective fields in order to succeed. With that said, looking at the stark gap in the industry and the need in the market, I was determined to take things into my own hands and work towards making a change in the deathcare space. I have always been a firm believer in the philosophy that, “ why wait for others to bring a change, when the change can start with you.”
‘Last Journey’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving.
The name “Last Journey” was chosen to signify the importance of last-rites and Our primary contribution has been giving the Indian deathcare industry a digital reboot by taking things online, which has increased awareness about death literacy and the availability of such services so that people can make informed decisions at the time of need.
We have set up a standardized mechanism to assimilate the elements of this industry, which for the longest time were controlled by unorganized entities.
What does your company specialise in?
We are a one-stop solution for deathcare and funeral services; from a mortuary ambulance to the repatriation of the mortal remains, cremations, and prayer meeting organizing, we take care of everything.
People find it challenging to overcome the loss of a loved one, so we provide dedicated counselling services through certified mental health experts.”
At Last Journey, we understand that our beloved pets are also our family, and hence for them, we have Pet Cremations.
We differentiate ourselves from other players in the market across various aspects; in addition to cremations, we do funeral ceremonies, prayer meeting arrangements, and funeral decor, among a host of other services. Since it is a compassionate business, we have established a robust and standardized vendor management network, resulting in smooth operations.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
During the pandemic, the whole world was brought to an unprecedented standstill. We all witnessed the collapse of healthcare as well as deathcare facilities.
It was indeed a challenging time for us but we were quick to construct a robust SOP that ensured our quick response covid team to cater for any and every cry for help.”
The cremation of a covid-infected body was another challenge we faced; to counter that we provided PP Kit, Sanitisation and vaccines to our field workers. Our 24×7 back-end team were given all necessary support to be able to function efficiently; working in quick rotational shifts reduced the load per resource as well. We developed a strong framework of slot allocation to minimise the waiting time for families at crematoriums.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
The highs and lows are a routine of everyone’s life; when I embarked on this journey I was well aware of the challenges and I knew many unforeseen issues would come; but despite the challenges, I not for once thought of giving up.
It is because I firmly believed in Last Journey’s purpose and the problems we solve. When families give us their love and blessings, and when I see the whole team being so invested in their work, it fuels my drive, day in & day out.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
I have learnt that being persistent in the face of obstacles to achieve a defined goal is important to attain success in anything one does in life.
And corresponding to this notion is my second very important life lesson, which is to enjoy the journey as much as you aspire to reach the destination; then only one can truly remain persistent.
Another very important thing I learned along my entrepreneurial journey is that in any organization, regardless of the structural hierarchy there must be a decentralized way of decision-making to allow inclusion and assimilation of new ideas.”
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My biggest source of motivation has always been my family and for two main reasons. I have seen them weather many ups and down in life and still have a very positive outlook towards life. The second reason is that they have been the strongest pillar in my life, when everyone around me doubted my vision and ability; they pushed me and acted as a guiding force.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
Never be afraid to take the road less travelled; back when I started this venture, many close friends and family with the best interest for me in their hearts told me to not get into this industry. I was adamant and clear with my vision and my purpose. This brings me to my second point, that is – there is always going to be a solution to a problem, we just have to find it.
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far.
One must be the biggest subscriber of his/her own idea to make others believe in the revolution one is trying to bring. Given the fact that deathcare in itself was a rather unconventional venture to start and at the nascent stage, I got many conflicting views but because I firmly believed in the change I wanted to bring within the system, that feeling become contagious, first among my team and then onto others.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
Change is the only constant in life and we all at any given point of time have but limited relative knowledge than others; hence it is vital that one is open to change, rigidity will lead to downfall. It leads one to be a more dynamic individual with a broader sense of things.
In order to be a leader, one must shed the sense of hierarchy and be inclusive, it opens the door for new possibilities.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
The only strategy in life is not to be rigidly stuck to one strategy.; because when we do so, the possibility of new breakthroughs is shut down. I learnt this from a friend of mine who always, no matter how bad the situation was or how bad his supposed plan failed about something, he wouldn’t waste a second’s time over it, and I will always carry his favourite line, “I am going to figure it out”.
This has helped me to become a much more open person in life and to be a quick learner than a sore loser.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
I would not like to impose that I am someone with the wisdom of a monk or sage but from the journey till now, being consistent with the right cause and being adaptive with the right time are the two key factors that can help you succeed in any venture of life.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
So, as the old saying goes, “one size doesn’t fit all” I believe that in life as well, but for any young chap, no matter what profession or line of work he/she chooses for him/herself; it is paramount that they have a clarity of what they want in life both personally and professionally. Having a clear vision helps one to make better judgments and learn better from failed attempts.
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.
