Global IndianstoryMeet Vani Kola, founder of Kalaari Capital and the wind beneath a unicorn’s wings

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Meet Vani Kola, founder of Kalaari Capital and the wind beneath a unicorn’s wings

Written by: Global Indian

(September 22, 2021) She has always believed in breaking the glass ceiling: from being one among six women in a batch of 400 engineering students to becoming a serial entrepreneur and eventually founding Kalaari Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Bengaluru. Vani Kola has always believed in doing things differently. Today, many of her investments have become successful — Cure.fit, Myntra, Snapdeal, Dream11, Urban Ladder and YourStory. As a technology focused investor, Kola has a penchant for picking the best young minds and mentoring them to build successful enterprises.

The 57-year-old has invested in over 90 firms and has behind her 22 successful years as an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Ranked as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business, Kola focuses on working with entrepreneurs to build high-value enterprises. What sets her apart is the fact that she continues to remain accessible to her founders and her investment philosophy includes recognizing and mentoring ambitious first-time entrepreneurs.

Practicing meditation regularly has enabled the journey of self-discovery for myself. It helps me destress and find inner tranquility. On this International Day Of Peace, let's spread positivity and serenity by dedicating a few minutes to simple meditation practices. pic.twitter.com/2kDAFI7UeW

— Vani Kola (@VaniKola) September 21, 2021

From India to the world

Born in 1964 in Hyderabad, Kola believed in doing things differently. A student of electrical engineering at Osmania University, she was one of six girls in a batch of 400. She then moved to the US to pursue her Master’s from Arizona State University in 1985; this was at a time when few women were pursuing the stream. She subsequently moved to California where she founded her first startup RightWorks in 1996. The company helped firms manage global procurement and she eventually sold RightWorks for $567 million and went on to found Certus Software in 2001.

However, her journey wasn’t an easy one. Riddled with gender bias, this Global Indian was often subjected to pointed questions from male colleagues. According to an article in the Vogue, a male acquaintance once asked her if she didn’t feel guilty for leaving her less than a year old daughter at home as they embarked on a business trip. “It occurred to me ‘oh wait, didn’t his wife just have a child and wasn’t that child only 6 weeks old’? Yet he was here at the airport also leaving to go somewhere. It just doesn’t occur to men! You just have to develop tools to cope,” Vani told the magazine.

The turning point

Vani Kola

It was Kola’s grit and determination that helped her sail through her entrepreneurial years and forced Fortune 500 CEOs to sit up and take notice of her work. When she sold Certus in 2005, Kola found that she had plenty of free time and it was now time for the then 40-year-old to evaluate life. The entrepreneur who’d never once been on a solo trip, decided to go to Hawaii where she took a step back to think about what it was that she wanted in life. This trip proved to be a turning point for the entrepreneur, who decided that it was time for her to move back to India where she could see the changes brought about by economic liberalization. “I know this sounds dramatic but I was reminded of Jawaharlal Nehru’s midnight speech. I felt an economic awakening in the country. There was unbridled aspiration!” she said.

Back to home base

By 2006, Vani was ready to move back to India, having seen how much the country had changed. She set up IndoUS Venture Partners with serial entrepreneur Vinod Dham and former head of Intel India Kumar Shiralgi. By 2011, the company was rebranded as Kalaari Capital and began focusing on early-stage investments.

Kola had always had a knack for gauging where the opportunity lay in the startup space and encouraged entrepreneurs to see where the tail winds were before drilling into a sector. At one of her talks with Deep Kalra of MakeMyTrip in a virtual event, she said that at Kalaari they had anticipated 4G to come earlier and had thus supported businesses that were building for that tailwind. However, it is also important for entrepreneurs to do their research to be able to effectively tap into the trends.

The power of #personalization is often not leveraged enough.

When you make the time to reach out to your audience with an authentic message and genuine value, the dividends accrue. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/RcmP9tP6yv

— Vani Kola (@VaniKola) September 21, 2021

Today, Kalaari works to empower visionary entrepreneurs to build unique solutions that reshape the way Indians live, work, consume and transact. On their website Kola writes, “What inspires me the most is creating impact, and making a difference, through innovation and entrepreneurship. I am proud of the values that Kalaari stands for and our commitment to entrepreneurs. It is a privilege to be part of rethinking the future, alongside our entrepreneurs.”

Kalaari began operations as a $150 million fund and over the years has made investments across e-commerce, gaming, digital content, and healthcare sectors. Kola believes that India’s digital opportunity is still at a nascent stage and there is tremendous scope for the country’s venture capital industry to support aspiring entrepreneurs.

The pandemic and its effect on India

In an interview with Business Line, Kola said that the pandemic has accelerated the country’s digital signature and companies dependent on the digital economy have benefited significantly. “In the first few months of this year (2021) itself, we have seen about $6.5 billion of growth investments come into these firms. The digital acceleration favors the startup community because they are the ‘disruption economy’… The crisis is also sometimes an opportunity, as the startup ecosystem has been vibrant in the first quarter, with close to 300 companies getting funds. There is definitely sunshine on this industry.”

However, on the heels of every successful startup is also a failure, a part of the game. Kola equates startups to extreme sports and says that one should expect significant failures in the game. “Idea-to-execution, and founder-to-leader are journeys, and the fascination is because it is a great story – a David and Goliath story. It is about human triumph and human vulnerability. At least 50 per cent of the companies will not even get any funding, and of the remaining that get funding, maybe 25 per cent will reach a meaningful scale, of which only 10 per cent will hit home-runs.”

Giving women entrepreneurs an impetus

Kola who has several honors to her credit such as the Forbes Most Powerful Women in Indian Business, Midas Touch award for the best investor, LinkedIn Top Voices, and Fortune India’s ‘Most Powerful Women in Business, is also actively involved in organizations focused on women entrepreneurs and leaders. When asked why there are so few women venture capitalists, Kola said that it was not because there weren’t enough women in the C-suite or executive level, but because it’s a problem with the fundamentals. “You have to fix the fundamentals. It’s like asking why a child is bad at trigonometry or calculus before they have learned arithmetic,” she told Vogue. “We do not have enough women in STEM leadership. You need women in those positions in order to be tech venture capitalists. There is so much unconscious bias. We always celebrate people who overcome high odds and overcome systemic bias and then we think why doesn’t every woman do that? That isn’t fair. Capital is not easily accessible and community—like the old boys network—is not as easily accessible to women. Women are at a disadvantage.”

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Published on 22, Sep 2021

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Darwinbox: Pioneering the next chapter in Indian HR tech evolution

(Aug 18, 2023) When Darwinbox was first conceptualised, the other players on the field were two Goliaths, SAP Labs and Oracle. The idea was so daring, it was audacious, more so in the hands of three first-gen entrepreneurs, Chaitanya Peddi, Jayant Paleti and Rohit Chennameni. This was in 2015. In less than a decade, Darwinbox went on to achieve unicorn status, stands proudly alongside industry titans and has put India on the global HR-tech map. Darwinbox boasts clientele like Domino's, Domino’s, Starbucks, Kotak, and Swiggy, helping them manage their HR processes, including hiring, attendance, and resignations, through a tech-enabled, user-friendly, end-to-end experience. In the end, it was about identifying a gap in the market, and the courage to take a risk, which all three founders possessed in spadefuls. [caption id="attachment_43786" align="aligncenter" width="665"] Entrepreneurs Chaitanya Peddi, Jayant Paleti, and Rohit Chennameni.[/caption] The story and journey of Darwinbox is unique in many ways than one. “We were one of the rare SaaS (Software as a service) companies that set out to build a product from Asia for the world, while most SaaS companies focused on the West. Our fundamental premise was that it is difficult to build systems that cater to the different

Starting out

The career paths of all three co-founders had one thing in common - they advised large enterprises on business transformation, digitalisation, and M&A. They found, across the board, that their clientele struggled to streamline HR processes, and organisations struggled to furnish critical information about human capital. The gap was most evident in a large-scale merger conversation in the life sciences sector led by Jayant in November 2014, where to his surprise, neither of the stakeholders was aware of the percentage of their talent attrition.

As the trio went a step deeper to solve the problem, they realised the real trouble was with multiple systems (every organisation had an average of 3 HR systems) across the employee lifecycle which made it difficult to sync and analyse data. And in cases where there were integrated options, the solutions were rigid and clunky for the HR and employees alike resulting in poor adoption. To deal with these challenges and to make HR technology more intuitive, integrated, and insightful, Darwinbox was conceived and started in 2015.

Within a short span, Darwinbox became one of Asia’s fastest-growing HR technology platforms that helped enterprises cater to HR needs across the entire employee lifecycle. It became a success story and the founders, were poster boys of the Indian start-up scene.

Meeting an unmet need

The trio challenged the status quo and entered the playground of global legacy players. Initially, they put in their life savings before the venture capital funds discovered the start-up in 2017. They were aware of the challenges they faced and knew that they had to create a holistic solution that would stand the test of time. The initial offerings from Darwinbox were attendance and payroll which was the need for every firm but slowly they started to build up the platform by adding aspects like automation, simplifying regular processes (like leave and appraisal), and digital education.

In eight years, all their gambles paid off and Darwinbox has emerged as a leading player in South Asia (3rd largest), Southeast Asia, and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) by displacing some of the heavy hitters like SAP, Oracle, Workday, and others that boasted decades of legacy. Today more than 800+ enterprises, and two million employees from across 90+ countries love the Darwinbox experience, and the company is backed by reputed global investors like Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), Salesforce, Sequoia, Lightspeed, 3one4 Capital, and Endiya Partners.

[caption id="attachment_43789" align="aligncenter" width="463"] Global Indian | Darwin Box Rohit Chennameni., co founder of Darwinbox.[/caption]

What contributed to their success was thinking ahead of the curve. When they started, most companies were focussed on the US, the entry barriers were tough and nobody considered Asia to be a viable and attractive market. Rohit recalls, “The competition was deeply entrenched and difficult to shake – SAP and Oracle. While these were some of the perceived challenges that we have overcome or are in the process of overcoming, we are on our way to becoming the top Human Capital Management player in Asia.”

Breaching barriers

As the start-up is valued as a Unicorn, Chaitanya adds, “We are very grateful to have the valuation we have now, but it is a milestone and part of our journey and not the destination. Innovating on the product is an ongoing process and the Unicorn valuation only reinforces our commitment to our customers. We are obsessed with customer success, and we will keep a steady focus on that every day.”

Rohit says that it has been an immensely satisfying journey. He adds, “It feels like yesterday when we had this idea to start Darwinbox Today we are one of the top three HCM players in Asia and have taken on the giants on their battlefield. We have grown to 750 plus employees and a Unicorn valuation in eight years. We service 650 plus enterprise clients and are present in over a hundred countries.”

[caption id="attachment_43790" align="aligncenter" width="596"] Global Indian | Darwin Box Chaitanya Peddi, co-founder of Darwinbox.[/caption]

The start-up has over the years increased its range of offerings. Today, it also provides a social network that enables better employee connectivity and is quick to integrate AI as part of the services, be it leveraging the technology for leaving applications or meetings that can be scheduled at a voice command. As they scale the summit of success, they remain motivated and enthused about the product they created. Jayant explains, “It’s a balance between growth and profitability that we are focusing on. There is a lot of opportunity globally for this space and we are bringing in a lot of innovations as well. As we take on the global giants, the balancing act is critical.”

The trio are gunning for global dominance. They aim to continue to grow in Asia to become the no.1 HR tech player in Asia ahead of SAP and Oracle apart from looking at expanding to new markets like US, UK, China, and Australia. “We want to be #1 in all the markets we are present. In the next 2-3 years, the aim is to get to $100 million in revenues. Given our experience in displacing global competition here, we are set to launch in the US market later this year. And are now ready to compete head-on in the largest enterprise technology markets in the world.” they sign off.

Sanjeev Bikhchandani: The entrepreneur-turned-mentor with an eye for great startups

(August 20, 2021) Back in 2010 when Deepinder Goyal was looking to set up Zomato there was one man who believed in him and his vision. That man was Info Edge's Sanjeev Bikhchandani who wrote Zomato’s first cheque for ₹4.7 crore; he was the company’s sole investor in the first four funding rounds. Zomato’s recent public listing catapulted the value of Bikhchandani’s stake to ₹15,000 crore: testimony of his belief and vision in India’s startup ecosystem. He has mentored and backed several businesses such as PolicyBazaar, Bijnis, DotPe, and MedCords among others apart from running several successful enterprises himself like Naukri.com and Ashoka University. [embed]https://twitter.com/sbikh/status/1422882003632881668?s=20[/embed] In an interview with Money Control after Zomato’s IPO, Bikhchandani said, “It is the ultimate validation and public proof of what we knew and believed all along – invest smartly in startups and over a decade or so you will strike gold. These startups will go on to become giants and will create new industries, categories and business models. They will create jobs and deliver growth. They will power the industries they serve in.” Humble beginnings Born in Delhi to a government doctor father and a homemaker mother, Bikhchandani studied at St Columba’s School and passed

span data-contrast="auto">“It is the ultimate validation and public proof of what we knew and believed all along – invest smartly in startups and over a decade or so you will strike gold. These startups will go on to become giants and will create new industries, categories and business models. They will create jobs and deliver growth. They will power the industries they serve in.”

Humble beginnings

Born in Delhi to a government doctor father and a homemaker mother, Bikhchandani studied at St Columba’s School and passed out in 1981. He then graduated from St Stephen’s College in 1984 with a degree in Economics before working with Lintas as an account executive. Three years later, he quit to do his MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad in 1989.

[caption id="attachment_7777" align="aligncenter" width="573"] Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge, has a keen eye for spotting India's most promising internet startups. Sanjeev Bikchandani in his early days as an entrepreneur[/caption]

Following this, Bikhchandani got a job with Hindustan Milkfood Manufacturers (now known as GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare India) as a product executive. However, his heart was not in it. Bikhchandani knew that it was entrepreneurship that was his true calling and 18 months into the job he quit and moved into the servant quarters above the garage in his father’s house to branch out by himself. At age 27, he began doing salary surveys and in 1991 as the winds of economic liberalization swept the country, Bikhchandani and his partner Kapil Varma set up two companies: Indmark (selling searches on a trademark database to pharma companies) and Info Edge (salary surveys and consulting). Since the two barely made enough money to cover costs, they didn’t take a salary. In order to pay his father a rent of ₹800, Bikhchandani began to teach weekend classes at management schools where he’d earn about ₹2,500 per month.

Entrepreneurial journey

In 1993, the two parted ways and Bikhchandani formally incorporated Info Edge India Pvt Ltd in 1995. In an interview with Forbes, the 58-year-old said,

“Successful businesses are built on deep customer insights.”

It was this insight that led him to his next venture Naukri.com in 1997. According to reports, when he was working at HMM he found most of his colleagues reading the back pages of Business India, instead of the articles. Reason: the back pages had job advertisements, a high interest area for professionals. Sensing the potential that lay here, he set up Naukri.com, now a hugely successful job discovery and employment platform. By 2005, it had grown to become India’s largest web-based employment site. Soon sites like 99acres.com, Jeevansathi.com and Shiksha.com followed.

Incidentally, in the 1990s getting internet was an expensive affair and setting up a website tougher still. Back then, there were only 14,000 internet accounts in India. Bikhchandani rented a server in the US for $25 a month for Naukri. A gamble that paid off and how.

From entrepreneur to investor

[caption id="attachment_7778" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge, has a keen eye for spotting India's most promising internet startups. Sanjeev Bikchandani[/caption]

In 2006, Info Edge became one of the first internet ventures to be listed on the BSE and NSE. By 2008, Bikhchandani invested in his first startup, PolicyBazaar, through Info Edge. His struggles to find funding as an entrepreneur himself, probably influenced his investment decisions. With an eye for spotting great startups, Bikchandani became a messiah for India’s internet startups.

An astute investor, Bikhchandani has to his credit successful unicorns like PolicybBazaar and Zomato. Some of the others he’s invested in are Slurrp Farm, DotPe, Bijnis, MedCords, Gramophone, and Shipsy. According to an interview in Forbes, he doesn’t believe in chasing internal rate of returns or looking at short term goals. He believes in backing good people and doesn’t mind waiting a decade to see returns: like he did with Zomato.

In 2008, he received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2019, he debuted on the Forbes’ Worlds’ Billionaires List with a net worth of $1 billion. As of August this year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $3.1 billion.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLA3R4NE35M[/embed]

Giving Back

Bikhchandani has also been actively giving back to society over the years. In 2014, he co-founded Ashoka University, a non-profit educational institution in Haryana that focuses on liberal arts. He is also on the board of Chintan, an NGO that works on urban waste management and is the founding donor of The 1947 Partition Archive, which captures the stories of Partition survivors. In the past year and a half, Bikhchandani has also been actively contributing towards and working in the Covid-19 relief space.

His journey from a struggling entrepreneur who didn’t take home a salary to turning investor and mentor to fledgling Indian startups and now giving back to society shows that life does come a full circle. And Bikchandani is a man you want on your side if you have the conviction to take your startup dreams to new heights.

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The Ironman: Methodical entrepreneur Nikhil Kapur’s journey is all about ‘Atmantan’

(June 19, 2023) When Nikhil Kapur first heard about the Ironman challenges during a casual conversation with a friend, he was confident he could nail it with a mere three-four months of training. However, when he got in touch with a few coaches to discuss the plan, they advised him to give it at least 12-18 months. The Ironman challenge is one of the most challenging in the world, and involves completing a long-distance triathlon consisting of a 3.86 km-swim, a 180.25-km bike ride, and a full marathon, which is a 42.20-km run. Participants must complete all three disciplines consecutively and within a certain time limit to be considered an Ironman finisher. Nikhil was determined and began training with a US-based coach. The training in each discipline — cycling, running and swimming — was gruelling. Over the years, his determination and sheer hard work led him to complete not one but five Ironman events (a series of long distance triathlon races) across the globe, successfully. “The preparation for each race and the race itself has transformed me into the person I am today – both personally and professionally,” smiles Nikhil Kapur, Ironman Tri-athlete and wellness hotelier, speaking to Global Indian.

aking to Global Indian. Nikhil and his wife, Sharmilee Agarwal Kapur are the founders of Atmantan, a premium integrated-wellness resort in Mulshi, Pune, where Nikhil serves as Founder, Director and Sports Nutritionist. Nikhil, who also enjoys organic farming in his free time, was named in GQ’s list of ‘50 most influential Indians’ (under 40).

[caption id="attachment_40208" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Global Indian | Nikhil Kapur Nikhil Kapur[/caption]

Taking on the Ironman challenge

It was in January 2014 that Nikhil signed for his first half Ironman event in Auckland. Thereafter, in July the same year, he did his first full Ironman challenge in Zurich. He went on to complete the Ironman competition in Kalmar, Sweden in August 2016, and another in Copenhagen in 2017. His fifth Ironman challenge was at Hamburg in July 2018.

“Hamburg was the most painful race of them all. I completed the race alright but in this race, my physical body gave up. However, my mind remained strong and kept pushing me to the finish line,” recalls Nikhil. In all other races, he says, it was the other way round. “The body was well-conditioned and the mind used to play games like why go so fast, go easy, why are you doing this and so on,” says Nikhil.

He feels Ironman races, like life itself, are very tough. “But if you have a plan and you start taking one step at a time, you come out a winner,” says Kapur.

Years of training not only made him physically fit but stronger mentally. “My mind is focussed and holds attention to the job at hand without getting distracted. It knows that if there is a low point, I can still bounce back from there,” says the five-time Ironman triathlete.

[caption id="attachment_40214" align="aligncenter" width="604"] Nikhil during the Ironman Challenge[/caption]

Early life

Born in New Delhi in January 1977, Nikhil travelled to new cities every two or three years as his father was in the Army. Most of his middle school and High school was in The Army Public School (TAPS, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi).

“My father was a professional sportsman. He played Badminton (Junior) for Punjab and then was in the National Squash Team (1964-70) when he was 2nd Lt in the Army. Both my sister and I got his sporty genes,” smiles Nikhil. The Kapur siblings were both very outgoing and loved to play sports. “We were jacks of all sports, actually,” he says.

A series of extraordinary events

Nikhil says there are so many ordinary and extraordinary things that have shaped him into the individual that he is today. “From having meals together as a family, to making sure that the driver eats when we eat on a long journey, to keeping yourself fit and active, to making sure that the job needs to be done at any cost — all incidences while growing up have helped build a strong value system in me. Since I come from a humble background, it keeps me grounded too.”

[caption id="attachment_40209" align="aligncenter" width="457"] Global Indian | Nikhil Kapur Nikhil Kapur[/caption]

With his father getting posted to Pune, Nikhil too moved with him and did his BA(Eco) and MBA from Fergusson College & Symbiosis Institute Business Management. “I got my first job in Wipro Infotech from campus and then I worked in Reuters India. These six years provided me an insight into what goes into running an organisation, why systems and processes are important,” he informs.

When it came to academics, Nikhil was an average student right up to his college. While he was not into professional sports, he played a lot of Golf during college days and took up running too.

“All the running during the college days laid the foundation of my long distance running that I started after a few years. And this is life, what we do today lays the foundation of what we do next. This is applicable to our thoughts and actions,” he feels.

Lessons from Ironman

Ask him what he learnt by participating in Ironman challenges, Nikhil says it has taught him that ‘Impossible is nothing.’“I have followed my training drills to the T and each week I could make out that I was getting more and more efficient in each discipline. And that’s the idea, be more efficient as you race long distances,” says Nikhil, who loves cycling the most among the three sports (running and swimming being the other two).

During his Ironman events, Nikhil would have long conversations with other participants from across the world who had their stories to tell about how and why they took up the challenge. “All that I can say is that Ironman race is very much possible. Just assess your health properly and get yourself a coach who can train you the right way,” is his piece of advice.

At Atmantan

[caption id="attachment_40210" align="aligncenter" width="459"] Global Indian | Nikhil Kapur Nikhil Kapur with his wife.[/caption]

Nikhil and Sharmilee had been closely monitoring the Wellness tourism space ever since the idea struck his wife during her college days. “Since the idea was appealing to us, we closely observed various factors including the economy, the wealth creation, the titration of lifestyle and the need for consumers for destinations that could transform the health,” says Nikhil, who also features in the Luxebook Top 100: Indian Luxury’s Most Influential People -2020! and was named among the “Fit & Fabulous - 2018” by Asia Spa.

Together, they scouted and selected a 42-acre parcel of land in Mulshi, Pune. Thereafter, the couple did much running around — for bank loans to finding architects who could understand the needs of a wellness centre, labour, permissions, doctors, trainers, chefs and masseuse and so on — Atmantan was launched in 2016.

“India has the traditional and proven knowledge systems of Vedanta, Ayurveda, naturopathy, yoga, herbal medicine and energy healing. Where else in this world is this available?” wonders Nikhil, explaining all that is available at Atmantan. The first 12 to 18 months was a challenging phase. “Since the concept was unique, it was challenging to establish ourselves as a brand that understands health, body, physiology, mind, energy really well and cares about people’s deteriorating health,” he says.

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Knotting it right: Haresh Adnani is crafting bespoke carpets with artistic legacy

(May 29, 2024) Over the years, Haresh Adnani has skillfully woven his entrepreneurial spirit into Nodana (from the Latin word Nodus meaning knot), a bespoke carpet venture that elevates his family's three-decade legacy in home textiles by creating the most exquisite carpets. The entrepreneur has turned his carpet brand into his signature achievement while steadfastly supporting artisans in preserving their craftsmanship. To him, rug-weaving is an art form that demands precision, technique, and creative talent. The Spirit of Entrepreneurship Born in 1973, Haresh was raised in Mumbai, where he completed his schooling from Greenlawns and did his B.com from the popular HR College of Commerce. While studying, he began to intern at a garment export firm. “I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, with a business in a different line, away from the family run company, so I started with manufacturing and exporting of garments in 1996. Bulk of my products were sold across Europe that included importers, retail chains and mail order companies,” Haresh tells Global Indian. Marketing his garments meant he had to travel extensively across Europe which he truly enjoyed as it meant getting work done and exploring, meeting, and seeing people and countries with its

il chains and mail order companies,” Haresh tells Global Indian.

Marketing his garments meant he had to travel extensively across Europe which he truly enjoyed as it meant getting work done and exploring, meeting, and seeing people and countries with its various cultures and food. “Travelling has always fascinated me and to add to this, beautiful landscapes, natural beauty, and the richness of history across Europe made it even more worthwhile and exciting. With the family business growing quite swiftly, in the year 2002, I moved into the home textile division of the company which was also concentrated in exports,” he says.

Haresh Adnani | Global Indian

Business Mantra

Nodana is a part of Adnani Exports Ltd. which is a family owned and run company for over 35 years of manufacturing and exporting home textiles across Europe. “We have always wanted to foray into the Indian market with something special. I was always fascinated by the intricate designs and textures of carpets that I would encounter during my research trips. This felt like the right moment to materialize my wish with the concept of customised carpets. Backed with the experience and expertise of home textiles we marched right ahead in this new venture. India felt like a huge carpet ahead of me to be walked on,” he recollects.

Artisan Cues

The artisans play a crucial role in the creation of their intricate and beautiful pieces of art with many carpet weaving techniques being passed down through generations within artisan families and communities. They often draw on this rich tradition of knowledge and craftsmanship, preserving and honouring ancient techniques while also adapting to modern innovations.

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Carpet weaving is a highly skilled craft that requires years of training and experience to master. Artisans develop a deep understanding of weaving techniques, knotting methods, and design principles through apprenticeship and hands-on practice.

"Nodana has its manufacturing base in a small town called Bhadohi, located in Uttar Pradesh, known as the Carpet City of India. A lot of the artisans are normally contract staff and are given daily wages but at Nodana, our aim is not just based on commercial interest but also a social and emotional responsibility towards this invaluable art that's why all our weavers are on permanent payroll of the company. This helps in creating a family and oneness with the karigars which then eventually transpires in our work and designing,” he says, adding, “We recognise the legacy of this beautiful art and truly believe in it and want to take it forward and hence encourage the newer generation to be a part of this tradition. Our karigars take pride in their workmanship and strive for perfection in every aspect of the weaving process.”

Haresh Adnani | Global Indian

Making the Journey Count

Being very passionate about his work is what makes him start each day with renewed energy and hope."This is why even if I have failed, I have still picked myself up and started from scratch. Results have never defined my direction. I believe in perseverance and hard work, and then sooner or later results will fall in place. Willingness to learn each day, no matter how many years spent in this industry is what keeps me going," says Adnani. His advices potential entrepreneurs to be patient, hardworking and persistent. "Rome wasn’t built in a day and so goes with every business. Nothing comes easy. There are no shortcuts to success. So, it is important to dream and put yourself out there no matter how hard it is," he adds.

Beating Challenges

Like every business, they too have faced challenges at different times. For most, it would be financial and mental challenges but for Adnani it is emotional as well. "Being calm, collected and determined to resolve the issue at hand helps in having a clarity of thought. Sometimes, I have noticed that we try too hard to find a solution, and if we just disconnect and view the problem from a distance, it becomes easier to find the solution," says Haresh, who believes in the concept of community and working together. "You can never overcome a challenge completely on your own. Personally, I belong to the old school of thought, and I treat and respect every person working with me as family, where they also feel they are an integral part of the company and contribute to the process of resolving problems that arise."

Looking Ahead

For someone who has been fond of sports and athletics, he admits that it has stayed with him through the years and he enjoys a good game of cricket and tennis. “Travelling is also something I am very fond of, especially quiet countryside places, close to nature. All this really helps me to unwind and relax. I also love going to the theatre and catching up with friends,” says Adnani.

For his brand, he hopes to take his business to great heights but more important than that is the invaluable smile of the customer on receiving their product and giving space in their home. “I truly believe in the saying that the customer is the king. With every small step, we hope to take this legacy forward for years to come,” he signs off.

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Sanjay Nekkanti: Leading India’s satellite revolution through Dhruva Space

(August 8, 2023) Sanjay Nekkanti built his first satellite when he was 19-years-old and knew then that it was what he wanted to do. In 2012, he co-founded Dhruva Space, which, ten years on, remains a forerunner in end-to-end space technology solutions, for customers who want to launch and own space assets. In 2022, the company made history as the first privately-owned Indian company in the country to build a satellite by itself. Its two nanosatellites, Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2, were launched by ISRO. Today, the Indian space-tech industry is booming; valued at around US $8 billion in 2023, it is projected to be worth over ten times that by 2040. Dhruva Space is one of the handful of space-tech startups on the scene today, even rarer still, one of the few companies worldwide who provide end-to-end solutions, from space system engineering and satellite launches to ground support, serving both civilian and defense customers globally. In May 2023, Hyderabad's Dhruva Space successfully conducted its third space mission in less than a year, launching two types of Satellite Orbital Deployers and a Radio Frequency module aboard ISRO's PSLV-C55. The mission, which included testing the DSOD-3U and DSOD-6U units for larger CubeSats and delayed

er CubeSats and delayed satellite deployment, marked a significant step towards Dhruva Space's goal to have payloads on every ISRO-PSLV mission.

[caption id="attachment_43344" align="aligncenter" width="586"] Sanjay Nekkanti | Global Indian Sanjay Nekkanti is a co-founder of Dhruva Space[/caption]

“Typically having a space mission in orbit entails working with multiple suppliers. This has a huge impact on cost, reliability and turnaround times. A little context: the timing of the vitalisation of India’s Private Space Sector has been integral, considering there are many small satellite requirements globally. The projections are estimated to be in the tens of thousands in number; so, in order to meet any of those demands, the global supply chain needs to be robust and strong,” says Dhruva Aerospace CEO Sanjay Nekkanti, in conversation with Global Indian.

Dhruva Space works actively in the ecosystem with 400-odd companies that have been building small yet important components for the Indian Space Programme for many decades now. By working with these vendors, Dhruva Space delivers missions faster and economically without impacting reliability. This is the need of the hour in the age where customers are not looking at sending just one or two satellites to Space but rather considering sending dozens of satellites to Space, to improve satellites-enabled services.

[caption id="attachment_43346" align="aligncenter" width="685"] Dhruva Space | Global Indian Dhruva Space's 3U and 6U Satellite Orbital Deployers and Orbital Link onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C55[/caption]

Starting out amid challenges

In 2012, during the early days of Dhruva Space, the Indian market was not very receptive to space entrepreneurs, who had very little access to capital. The private space sector was seen as a high-risk domain with little to no guarantee of a reward. However, Nekkanti himself had been part of fledgling efforts, as part of the SRM University Team that built SRMSAT, a student-made satellite which was launched in 2011 on board the PSLV-C18. He went on to pursue a dual-degree Master's programme in Space Engineering in Europe, and was already incubating his desire to turn India into a satellite capital of the world. To this end, he founded Dhruva Space in 2012. Six years later, he was joined by long-time friends, Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy, Abhay Egoor and Krishna Teja Penamakuru, as co-founders. Also in 2012, the market was segmented only into academia – which was academic institutions building small satellites – and Government which is Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

[caption id="attachment_43347" align="aligncenter" width="722"] Dhruva Space | Global Indian Dhruva Space team at the launch of their Orbital Link and Satellite Orbital Deployers aboard ISRO's PSLV-C55[/caption]

Nekkanti recalls, “Access to capital in 2012 was very difficult, but as the dialogue around satellite and space technologies have evolved over the years, Dhruva Space has raised USD 9 million to date; and we are supported by institutional and angel funds.”

Milestones and lessons

Since June 2022, Dhruva Space has completed three Space missions - in its endeavours to make Space accessible frequently and cost-effectively on a reliable basis. They have Space-qualified three classes of their Satellite Orbital Deployers; these mechanisms are integrated onto the launch vehicle and dispense satellites into orbit; they have also launched Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2 cubesats, each weighing around 800 grams.

“These satellites have completed more than 7,000 orbits. The local vendor ecosystem has been a big part of these successes; in Hyderabad, there are around 150 small businesses, vetted by the Indian Space Program, that make crucial Space-grade components for various spacecraft and also offer testing facilities that are important to our R&D processes. We actively work with them for all our missions and projects till date.” Nekkanti shares.

Dhruva Space | Global Indian

Over the years, the founders have had their share of challenges. Abhay Egoor, CTO says, “As a co-founder, I have learned that team is the biggest and most important factor in overcoming most challenges. They’re the ones who will be with you through the whole execution phase of an idea; ideation is one part but to realise it is a different ball game!”

This is amply illustrated in the fact that all the four co-founders possess different skill-sets and come from different backgrounds. Over the years, they have learnt invaluable learnings through hands-on experience.

Nekkanti reminiscences about the time in 2019 when they worked on a satellite design for 18 months. “What we had come up with was perfection except for one major flaw; there was no design repeatability, meaning making this again would have been near impossible. This took a lot away from the company’s USP in that we would eventually launch constellations of satellites. So we had to go back to the drawing board to ensure the product and company’s long-term and future value. We learned that sometimes, product innovation sometimes sees multiple steps forward and just as many steps back – but this is a part of the journey.”

Firing Ahead

Due to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), there is a thriving aerospace ecosystem in Hyderabad.

The State of Telangana also hosts a treasure trove of reputed educational and research institutions (including the IIT-Hyderabad and BITS Pilani Hyderabad among others) and the start-up partnered with the institutes for Industry-Academia collaborative-framework to not just help empower faculty in space engineering fields, but to also encourage more students to foray into these fields with more confidence and the right support structures.

Dhruva Space | Global Indian

Krishna Teja Penamakuru, COO, shares, “There is a thriving vendor network supplying integral parts but there is no company building products and IP using it. We are looking to contribute to this ecosystem by building indigenous products and to create infrastructure and/or facilities where we see gaps.”

Over the next two quarters, Dhruva Space’s primary focus is to undertake technology demonstrations for as many of their subsystems and satellites as possible. Egoor states, “From a business perspective, we shall also be enabling our customers to launch their payloads on our deployers. This is in addition to expanding our global customer base for our flagship products such as the space-grade solar panels and satellite platforms.”

Also, over the next 18-24 months, Dhruva Space shall be observing the expansion of its capabilities and infrastructure with the setup of a world-class manufacturing facility for small satellites. They have partnered with French satellite service provider Kinéis for an upcoming mission; the partnership has been recognised by the French Space Agency CNES. the joint Space project will extend deployment of solutions worldwide, and notably in India, for such crucial applications as smart agriculture and fishing, wildfire prevention, humanitarian convoy and wildlife tracking, monitoring of energy networks and infrastructures, transport tracking and logistics – proving how important satellite technologies are to everyday life.

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