In our relentless pursuit to identify and share with our community some of the unique and compelling startup stories from the ecosystem, this week we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Varun Sharmato understand more about his entrepreneurial journey, his vision and the way forward. He is a proven business leader, seasoned entrepreneur, consultant, speaker and Founder & Chief Manager of Boston Directors. In his 20 years of corporate expertise, he has held senior leadership roles across varied sectors and business verticals. Let’s learn more about his inspiring journey!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Varun Sharma:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
I have more than 20 + years of corporate profile prior to being an entrepreneur, working in brand management, global distribution & international marketing & sales. I have always been in consumer products primarily, in Beauty & footwear.
My career has been in general management & have seen the transition from buying & merchandising towards retail operations to brand management & has helped me to understand major tenants of business & entrepreneurship.”
My academics in engineering, footwear business, export management, leadership & entrepreneurship helped me to understand various business aspects & have been instrumental to understand underlying complexities in different fields.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I have always liked to be positive & have always backed myself even in adverse conditions because of the early corporate training, I was provided by my mentors.
My family is a source of inspiration & comfort for me, wherein we back each other, whenever in dire need. Further, I have always considered adversity as a stepping stone to opportunity for something big, coming my way! Quitting is not an option & I am fine with struggle & fight to survive or emerge!
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I have always considered value addition & impact as two major ingredients in any work what I do. Working for someone or for myself, I have always looked to make an impact for betterment for broader audience, industry or consumer.
Entrepreneurship gives me strength & authority to make that impact with a huge responsibility to face the consequences of my actions.”
‘Boston Directors’ 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 with the help of your startup?
Boston Directors is a team of corporate executives with over 50 years of cumulative experience in launching and managing beauty brands globally.
Boston Directors are helping impressionable beauty brands in global distribution, marketing, compliance, advisory and brand management. In the era of strained resources, we help midlevel & top global brands to expand in emerging & established economies.”
I am based at Boston & we direct-advise & work extremely closely with our principals to realize their global aspirations, hence-Boston directors.
What are the key ingredients of your startup?
Boston Directors believes in a spirit of collaboration, I have my associates in Germany & South Asia who work with exceptional commitment to bring & gain the trust of principals.
Major ingredients of our start-up are as follows:
1 – Global brands have a global perspective but Boston Directors have a regional perspective, understand various nuances & have strong relationships with retailers & distributors regionally. Our intent is, to construct an understanding between the brand & retailer & play an active role in creating a sustainable business for global brands in the region.
2 – We act as a productive advisor & tool to both Global brands & retailers to realize their respective global aspirations. The facet of being extremely productive especially in the midst of pandemic is a very important part of our set up.
3 – We also act as representative to South Asian brands in established economies of North America & Europe so that to create new avenues for them.
We understand & believe, Global established & emerging brands & retailers are constantly searching newer markets & avenues & we need to be a transparent & intelligent interface for both principals.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
Covid has brought an incredible responsibility for our & clients business. Our prospective clients have realized, what we always knew that global brand development is extremely laborious exercise & has to be an outsourced activity, otherwise, it may result to be an enormous strain on resources.
We on our own, have become more sharp, productive & have put in measures to see that we are able to realize the opportunity in shortest lead time with limited resources. We understand a responsibility at this time & also consider it as an opportunity to improve upon efficacy & efficiency in all facets.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Challenges & constant innovation are part of any start-up venture. We welcome challenges & consider an opportunity to improve regularly. I get driven by my family, the brands we work with & our associates & partners, they all have a passionate desire to regularly improve.
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
Our company is still in the novice stage & so far, what has worked is the trust of our principals & clients. I always say we are here to earn trust & friends, revenue is just a bio-product in an effort to guide /advise our principals. We will keep on doing exceptional work & efforts to reach the next stage.
In your opinion – what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful startup?
I have always believed in the power of human beings. Companies are made by Men & women with inspirational thinking & a zeal to achieve, something substantial. If your team is good, they can innovate further to improve an ordinary idea to an impactful creation.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
I would say-believe in your abilities, have faith in your model, be your critic, improve every day & have-never say die, attitude!
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.
