As part of our relentless efforts to identify and share some of the meaningful stories from India and around the world, this week we invited Sanchit Thukral for an interview with us. Sanchit is a Passionate Entrepreneur, Marketing Expert (FMCG), and Consultant. Let’s read more about his background, his inspiring journey so far and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Sanchit:
Talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
So I did my schooling from Modern Public School in 2015 and pursued Graduation in 2018 from GGSIPU in Bachelors of Journalism and Mass Communication. I have been a very active and high performing individual right from my school days. I always enjoyed participating in extra-curricular activities with equal passion and interest.
I also worked in many corporate giants and MNCs like Barclays, American Express during my graduation to gain some exposure. I liked making my own money rather than asking from parents.
To add to my skills and learning, I went to Australia in 2019 to Deakin University and did a Graduate Certificate in Communication. As soon as I returned, I Joined TNW- The Natural Wash as a General Manager in 2019 worked there for 2 years. It gave me much needed insight into the FMCG world and E-commerce.
After all the learning and hard work, it was in Nov 2021, I started with Indalo to build India’s innovative hair-care product company. The response so far has been overwhelming.”
I love what I am doing. You see – it’s always great to work on something you are passionate about. We are now expanding our product line and venturing into new markets. So, It’s going to be exciting ahead!
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 success stories of all successful entrepreneurs. Like I said, I was always a go-getter who wanted to do something creative.
Also, it’s fascinating how you build something from scratch, something you can call your own and build an empire around it. Not everyone can do it. It takes a lot of courage, planning, perseverance, hard work, teamwork, combined with good strategy & execution skills.
TNW was a startup and I joined them in their first couple of months so I knew how it feels to be a part of the startup wave that is around and loved the adrenaline rush it gave me.
I never had the courage or even any thoughts of doing something of my own back then but with time I realized that this is something I am made for, I wanted to do this and I did it.”
‘Indalo’ 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?
We were all just brainstorming together for so many days to finalize a brand name for us and we wanted something that relates to our product range and represents who we are and we tumbled upon the name Indalo.
Some say it means ‘Messenger of Gods’, some believe the word to be a good totem so we decided to go with it as the Brand Indalo has emerged from the earthly ingredients and God’s own nature.
There are a lot of brands in the market nowadays especially since e-commerce boomed, every week a new brand emerges in this segment but the majority of them are traders who are getting products manufactured through a third party and selling under their name.
Now the problem with this is, they do not know what they are selling under the name of Natural, the products are not what they are claimed to be so I decided that we’ll manufacture our own products so that we know in and out what’s there in the product we are selling and if claim it to be natural, it should be natural.
So our USP is our quality.
What does your company specialise in?
So Indalo is a brand of Kirpal Export Overseas which is in the market from 1996 as a hair colour manufacturer and under the guidance of Japanese professionals, they have built products which are now being exported to more than 70 countries across the world.
We take pride that we are a part of such a legacy. Our specialization has always been hair care but only through hair colours but as now we expand our verticals, we want to become the sole solution for natural hair care for everyone.’
Not to brag about the vision but we have entered the market to disrupt it with our quality and replace multinational brands. What MamaEarth is to Johnson’s and Johnson, we aspire to be to brands like Loreal, Garnier etc.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Everyone is working for money, whoever claims that they are not are just fooling around and marketing themselves to boost traction for their brand.
For me the driving force is first of course money but not on the cost of my customers, I believe doing a business and being in politics is the same, if you are able to keep your market happy they will keep you in the market and will make you lead but the day you become selfish and start thinking of your own good rather than the customer who made you, they will pull you down.”
My driving force is just that I want to work hard and keep my customers happy, if I can achieve that then money/fame automatically will come my way.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
Biggest source of motivation of course is my family, who always wanted to uplift their lifestyle as they have killed their happiness for us.
The other partner in the company, he is 53, very well settled and established and doesn’t need to work anymore if he wants but still the fire he has of making more money at this age surely boosted my morale and forced me to take initiative and work in the direction where I have always wanted to go.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned building your startup?
(a) It’s not you who builds your startup, but your team and you together.
(b) Do not overestimate results as if they are not what you expected, the morale goes down of everyone in the company.
(c) Do not make noise, unless you achieve something.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Just follow what your heart says. Age is just a number, do not think that you do not have an option once you chose what subject you are graduating in or what first job/ industry you are choosing.
Life will always give you options, it is you who needs to decide what you want to accomplish. Since the start of my professional career, I have switched industries, fields of work, jobs a lot many times before finally starting something of my own and I am still aware that maybe 10-15 years down the line I might get bored and do something else.
Don’t be afraid of getting bored, you get bored of something either make it interesting or stop doing it. The day you accept that being bored at your work, not loving what you do in life then I think you are done, doesn’t matter at that time you are 25 or 55.
There is so much to be shared, but this conversation limits how much I can communicate on this platform. Students and young professionals regularly reach out to me on LinkedIn with their specific queries.
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.
