CEO's of the Year 2021

Spotlight

ASTHA VERMA Co-Founder & CEO

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Top executives paving the way to a better tomorrow...

Visionary is the word that I found most relatable to be mentioned in this editorial note after going through the stories featured in this exclusive issue. Driven by business dexterity, perseverant attitude and zealous attempts, the exemplary CEOs highlighted in this brandnew edition could be claimed to be the epitome of out-of-the-box mindset for sure. Our squad of dedicated individuals co-created this extraordinary issue in an attempt to be an influential narrator of the entrepreneurial buzz and recognize the leading figures with a steadfast determination to make a difference to the world. The intriguing sagas of different prospering leaders featured here have a motivational capsule to offer you all. And in a strenuous effort to facilitate an impressive cerebral engagement to our global readers, we have strained every nerve to come up with a compelling read.

I must say that while flipping through the pages of this- CEOs of the year 2021- edition, you will come across a variety of enlightening articles about the achievements of some phenomenal leaders as there is so much to explore and so much to ponder over! Relevance and excellence as their foremost success mantra, the tycoons promoted here are wellacknowledged for their impassioned- fervour. Concurrently, our cover story spotlighting Sathish Nair, the MD of EssEmm Corporation has been narrating his archetypal values that are committed to transforming the way we look at our kitchens. Needless to say, Sathish has been steering his tech-based kitchen equipment business towards a radiant future. His secret sauce to progress is - success and failure need to be equally looked at, which I firmly believe is quite insightful as well as commendable. Do read out his full story to dive into the pool of profound knowledge and unique perspectives and let us know how you feel about this read.

Moreover, a mix of some enticing success stories where the triumphs of each corporation created excitingly to establish better interaction between the publication and the readers has been our core focal area for this edition, and we hope our efforts have made sheer justice in this direction.

At last, I take off with a sense of gratitude for all the admiration and cognizance showered upon us by our global audience. We will be back with an exhilarating read soon, till then, keep us in the ‘know’ how we are doing via your precious feedbacks and be extra cautious for your physical as well as mental health for comprehensive growth in any pursuit. Also, as we all propel towards the festive season, strictly follow the covid-19 prevention protocol to avoid the third surge of the fatal disease.

Kajal Dobhal kajal@businessconnectindia.in

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Vol - 4|Issue - 4| November 2021 Publisher & Editor : Abhishek Kumar Dubey Editorial Team Indranil Roy | Kajal Dobhal | Sugandh Bahl | Smita Kumar | Gulshan Parveen Dr. Amit Mishra | Avishek Singh | Kriti Anand

Business Head ASHISH KUMAR

Corporate Team Satyam Singh | Sunny Pathak | Asha Dudeja | Pradeep Pandey | Reetu Chauhan Karan Sharma | Komal Verma | Sudha Gupta | Javed Khan Vikash Kumar | Kazim Barati | Kuldeep Gautam | Sanjeev Kumar Co-ordinator (Business Connect-Clients) Anita Kumari | Priyanka Gupta Data Research & Analysis Satyam Tiwari | Amit Kumar Anita | Ravinder Singh | Gunjan Kumari | Damini Tyagi | Rahul Kumar Hritik kishore | Akash | Sonu Yadav | Prince | Virat Tiwari Finance Team Monika Aggarwal | Gaurav Singhal | Reshmi Circulation Team Vivek Ramola

Creative Director ASHUTOSH OJHA

Creative Team Chandan Sharma | Rajat Pathak Sakshi Negi | Tarun Sharma | Sapna Soni Legal Affairs Mukesh Kumar Human Resources Nivedita Basu Digital Marketing Manager Kartikeyan Gururani | Neha

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COVER STORY SATHISH NAIR Managing Director

ESSEMM

Transforming Traditional into Commercial Kitchens

18 SUCCESS STORY

Craig Federighi A key driving force behind Apple’s whopping growth www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

20 WRITTENLYHUB

From a moonlight entrepreneur to a full-time CEO, Astha’s remarkable journey with WrittenlyHub 6

24 BLUEBENZ DIGITIZATION PVT. LTD.

Turn Your Idea Into Reality

26 BOO BOO

Arti Singh A Sublime Fashion Designer With A More Ethical Approach

28 HEALTH

Correlation Between Health & Economy How Investment In Health Reflects On Economy

34 INCOGNITO WORLDWIDE

40 Setting New Trends Across The Medical Device Fraternity

Promissing Growth Through Innovative Branding Solutions

Nitin Jain: The Visionary Behind India’s First Comprehensive Pr Distribution Solution

42 INNOVATION

46 MEHTA WEALTH LTD

Mushroom Cultivation A Sustainable Agribusiness In India

48 THYNKK

38 INDIA PR DISTRIBUTION

7 Top Tips To Boost Your Startup Business

MAVEN PROFCON SERVICES LLP

HUMANALPHA STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS

Innovative Tech Driven Strategic HR Advisory Firm built on People & Culture Centricity

36 GROWTH

BRUCE T DUGAN: A Daredevil Technopreneur

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Krunal Mehta- A Maverick Revamping The Wealth Management Industry

50 VALKAN ENGINEERING PVT LTD

The COO, providing a comprehensive range of solar solutions at Valkan Engineering 7

52 LIFESTYLE

Pottery A Timeless And Diverse Craft Across India www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

EssEmm Transforming Traditional into Commercial Kitchens Kajal Dobhal | Business Connect

“Success and Failure Need to Be Equally Looked At” Whether one believes that the kitchen is the heart of the home or not, the fact could not be denied that it is a hub of activities. A kitchen is a place where not only food is cooked but also wonderful memories are created. These are the memories that later become nostalgia.

Yo Gotti has rightly said, “The kitchen is where you put all the ingredients together. No matter what you do in life, you have to have a plan and put it together.”

Undoubtedly, such an important area requires quite a good deal of attention and time so that it could be made more and more attractive and the requisites like the equipment and all could be made available.

EssEmm Corporation is the one that believes in making your kitchen equipped with such machines and transforming its traditional form. Under the leadership of Founder cum Managing Director Sathish Kumar Nair, the company is fulfilling the motive and also earning a name in the international markets.

Let us learn more from Sathish-

Cover Story www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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Sathish Nair

Managing Director

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INSPIRATION

The ambitious says, “Witnessing my father and grandfather as self-made individuals and their commitment to the business with great passion and ethics, I was always inspired from a very young age. Amalgamating innovation and technology to deliver useful products and solutions has been my wish to get empowered and become an important part of society. EssEmm was founded in 1991 as a business entity. I was in school then but later realized that academics were not my cup of tea, as a result of which post engineering and MBA in 1997, EssEmm Corporation was started by me with the focus mainly on Commercial & Industrial Food and Catering Automation.”

Sathish hardly had any money with him to start the business. Moreover, the aim to be independent and self-made did not allow him to borrow money from his family. He began the journey with whatever little he had at that time. The journey was initially challenging. Trading small appliances for home use was started on 100-sq ft premises.

CHALLENGES

goals just on a financial basis instead, aim at achieving quality customers who will help us grow better.”

“There are several challenges. To name a few, a succession, that is handing over and mentoring the next in line is a real challenge. The shortage of technical expertise and globalization are the other ones. We as an organization are system-driven.

The problems rather challenges can be addressed operationally but again leading an entrepreneur-driven or family-driven organization needs real attention and shall be solved.”

The confident entrepreneur talks about studying the situations.

He adds, “We will find a solution in near future. Adopting Corporate Management will be beneficial.”

SOMETHING ABOUT ESSEMM

EssEmm Group has its wings spread out in the field of Industrial Catering Automation, Food Processing, Software Engineering & Support Services. Its network and technical support span across major cities in the country. As far as its Cosmos products are concerned, those are exported worldwide including the USA, Europe, Africa, Singapore, Australia, and the Middle East.

FORECASTING

Also, the company is a part of CII.

“Yes, forecasting is important in any business”, says Sathish.

Sathish believes the goals should be decided, though those vary from organization to organization. He states, “As far as we are concerned, we are more of a value and customerdriven company. We are a bit different since we do not set our www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

TRANSFORMING COMMERCIAL KITCHENS

Sathish explains how they are transforming commercial kitchens, “We wanted to differentiate our business from the regular Kitchen Equipment business. So, we are more of a 12

Technology/Automation company believing in empowering the users with good machines. Food is to be cooked hygienically especially considering today’s global hygiene scenario. We have stood by our vision since our inception and have launched such equipment that could help kitchen operators automate their processes and cook food hygienically.”

ABOUT COSMOS

The visionary describes, “Cosmos is a brand created in the year 1995 with the able guidance and blessings of my father. Initially, the brand was planned for a domestic appliance. But as and when I established EssEmm Corporation, Cosmos found its way into Industrial Food Processing Machines.

Cosmos is a registered trademark in India and also in some International markets. We have also a few brands in Cosmos which are unique in Style, like Cook Wok. This was created by us and it’s now a household name as a product reference. Cosmos Cook Wok which is one of our best-selling products has paved the way both in India and internationally. Cosmos is a universally resonating brand.

THE PRODUCTS (MULTI-UTILITY GRINDERS, COSMOS CMGFLAGSHIP PRODUCT) The achiever boasts, “Most machines of ours are ideally designed for Central and Large Industrial Kitchens. Also, I will mention here that many among them find space for themselves in small restaurants and hotel kitchens too.”

Multi Utility Grinders, Cosmos CMG, has been our flagship product. It is one

of the earliest brands in India to have come up with the Tilting Commercial Multi-Utility Grinders in the year 1997. These machines have become a household name for making Idly & Dosa Batter, Chocolate Processing, and other food grinding applications Vegetable Processing is very important.

Automation in vegetable processing has been there over the years. The best come from Europe but are always too expensive for the general market. We have developed indigenous machines with affordable price points. We have Vegetable Washers, Spin Dryers (to remove excess water), Multi-Functional Vegetable Cutting Machines, Dicing Machines, Slicers, Multi-Functional Vegetable Peelers. Our brands are Cosmos Zeta A6, Cosmos Zeta A8, Cosmos Veg Wash, Cosmos Turbo Dicer, Cosmos MFP.

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Cooking Machine- We are one of the first companies in India to launch a cooking machine. Cosmos Cook Wok was earlier launched in 2005 with our Taiwan partners. There on, these machines are sold to large institutions. In 2015, we relaunched the product under our brand with their manufacturing partnership. We redesigned the product more suitable for our Indian markets both in terms of sturdiness and application. Now, Cosmos Cook Wok is a globally accepted product. This product has all certifications, CE, ETL, NSF. Cosmos Cook Wok is used for preparing Base Masalas, Curry Pastes, Pickles, Sauces, Gravies, Sweets, Biryanis, etc.

Apart from these, we have launched Chapati Machines, Dosa Machines, Cutter Mixers during various stages of our journey.

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RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT According to Sathish, “Research & Development has a very important role to play in an organization. We do have an in-house setup but we work more with our partner companies which develop various products for us, under our Brand.”

AS AN ORGANIZATION, BECAME A PART OF THE PANDEMIC

According to SathishUncertainties as the word sounds are unpredictable. As businesses, we have to manage situations accordingly. There is no doubt that the pandemic has taken a big hit worldwide across all lines. It has taken a toll on businesses, increase costs, damaged livelihoods, we have been compelled to learn too many lessons. Industries like pharma have got affected to a great extent.

He explains, “Being an organization, we played an important role in trying to help society during the pandemic.

First of all, we didn’t cut down on employment and ensured that all the employees

are paid on time. Since we are in the food industry, we thought of making efforts that would help others in need.

Not only did we serve food to a lot of institutions but also were into cooking and everything in our capacity.

The pandemic had resulted in the shortage of manpower and small gatherings of people at a place, therefore, we donated various equipment to large institutions. The equipment included a machine which cuts vegetables for 5000 people.

During Covid-19, lots of laborers who were into the construction of roads on a contractual basis kept looking for food. Shops were closed and they did not even have dal and rice to eat. It was then that the NGOs began working and we too.”

Sathish adds, “In our efforts to support the cause, directly and indirectly, we donated 600 Oxygen Concentrators along with our Taiwan partner. Among these, 400 and 200 were given to Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments respectively. As per our information, with Rs. 3 crore as the value, we were one amongst the major donors.

We started vaccination drives and also, educated the families of our employees to get vaccinated. In 2021, they witnessed good increments.”

EssEmm took the pandemic as an opportunity too and equipped the entire company faster and found out for better opportunities and ways.

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SUCCESS COMES FROM FAILURE The successful entrepreneur believes that success comes from failure. He explains, “You do things, not everything will witness success and there will be chances of failure. It’s you who have to maintain a balance between the two.

Once you fail, you know what and how to do One learns from failures and success is much better and sweeter when it happens after a failure. Both are important.”

Sathish adds what you should remember is that you should be ready for both on the same plate. One should neither get let down after a failure, nor be taken high by success. One should be grounded and take both with a positive outlook. The person should handle things with more sensibility. www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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MOTIVATION FOR THE TEAM

As far as the team is concerned, the members are given extremely good freedom and flexibility to work. The working environment is never pressurized and this is considered a big motivation.

Sathish says, “The only thing we expect from the team is work and the results should be on time.

We pay the salaries on time. With this as the 25th year, I am entering this business, I remember giving salaries on the 2nd or the 3rd of the month. Getting incentives etc, the team members know their performances exactly. These are petty things but mean a lot. Bonus and increment come under other things for motivation.”

CLIENTELE

For EssEmm, anyone serving an enterprise for food is the client. They do not believe in bifurcating them by the size of the organisation.

This is what the opinion of Sathish is!

He further expresses, “Anyone in food automation is our client. The only thing is that the machine (budget) should fit in their pockets. Our services will always be qualitybased. Our clients comprise of large industrial catering facilities like Akshyapathra, MRF, Hyundai, Tata Foods, Titan, ISRO, TVS, Adobe, Halidrams, A2B, etc.”

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS

The proud entrepreneur speaks, “We were a pioneer in launching world-class machines and are known for that. Prices are technically affordable- Neither cheap nor very expensive. At many times, people wait for us to launch some new product so that they can copy, though we are not bothered about that.”

Another biggest achievement is, that they have been able to empower the industry.

Explaining this, Sathish says, “We do not work on a selfish mindset that only I should grow. If the industry grows, I also grow. This is one of the big reasons we keep innovating and contribute something new to the industry by our products.”

On a personal level, retaining a customer for decades is another biggest achievement for EssEmm.

AWARDS

Some of the awards received by EssEmm and Sathish Kumar Nair are Luminaries Award 2017 – presented by Kumaraguru College of Technology, Alumni Entrepreneurship Excellence Award – at KCT Global Alumni Meet 2019, Innovator Food Service Equipment – at Hall of Fame Award 2020, Indian Food Service, and Innovative Entrepreneur of The Year – at ET Excellence Award 2021.

PARTNERSHIPS

The-about-to-turn 48 says, “We had exclusive international partnerships earlier, still hold a few. Partnerships with international brands help us in exchanging cultures and also understand good products systems. We also have joint system manufacturing. We are a global company from India.”

A MARKET LEADER IN FIVE YEARS

The far-sighted says with confidence, “The road ahead is quite clear and very bright and we will be a market leader in the next five years. The pandemic has made people more aware of wanting systems ensuring good hygiene and cleanliness. This, in turn, will help us in helping them and grow our technology business.”

According to Sathish, his brand would be an Indian company with a global brand.

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MUSIC COMPOSER AND TENNIS PLAYER TOO...

It would not be wrong to call Sathish multi-talented, since he is also a music composer and tennis player. He proudly mentions, “Since the age of about 8, I have been very fascinated towards music.

Having a music channel on YouTube, I have more than 16,000 subscribers. There are five albums altogether done by me.

Musicians also perform on a freelance basis.”

In a way, the industry is getting assisted by the entrepreneur.

When it comes to tennis, Sathish is the secretary of the Coimbatore District Tennis Association. A foodie and a proud Rotarian, Sathish is a worldwide traveler having visited 36 countries to date.

SUCCESS, FAILURE & ETHICS

Sathish reminds, “Always look at success and failure in an equal manner. It’s the failure that helps you to succeed and it’s the success that reminds you not to fail.

Instead of thinking for today, think about what has to be achieved tomorrow. Take care of your financials and the cash flow well. Do not forget to take care of your people/employees and their well-being.”

Ethics is another one that plays a remarkable role in Sathish’s life.

He asserts, “Stick to honest and regular practices. One should pay taxes on time and go according to the system. One is bigger not just by turnover, people look at you with a larger perspective. Make a balance between success, failure, and ethics and everything will fall in place.” www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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Success Story

Craig Federighi Engineer

Craig Federighi

A key driving force behind Apple’s whopping growth

Craig Federighi, also known as “Mr. Hair Force One himself”, oversees all major development, such as Mac, IOS, and IPadOS. He is positioned as Apple’s senior VP of software engineering. Craig carries an enthusiastic and funny nature, as we have seen his popular presentations at WWDC and other Apple Events. He has more stage time than others, including Tim Cook. In 2016, he reported, owning over 500,000 shares of Apple stock worth about US$180 million in 2020.

Away from the public functions, he is reportedly a great communicator in private. In 2013, the wall street journal said that Apple employees must consider him a responsive executive, someone who replies and reacts to internal emails. His profile has an impressive “rising star” reporting that he tries to build consensus within teams all across the company.

EARLY LIFE Craig was born in 1969 in San Leandro, California. After holding an undergraduate degree from Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California, Craig attended the University, Of California, Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor’s degree from the electrical engineering and computer science branch. Also, he did his master in science stream from the same university. Craig got married in 2014. Now he has 4 children.

CAREER Craig Federighi was working with Steve Jobs at NeXT, where he led the development of the Enterprise Objects Framework (EOF) – it

www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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was a software tool for large companies by letting their regular computers connect to the enterprise database.

In 1996, Craig started working with Apple when it acquired NeXT. Omni Group Co-founder Will Shipley was working with Steve Jobs at NeXT at the time, and later he wrote that he had not anticipated to like Craig Federighi. in 2011, Will Shipley mentioned in the blog, “In-comes Federighi -the new guy- and he is like seven feet tall and gameshow-host handsome and he’s smiling like a used car salesman,” further, Shipley added, “I will admit it; I was prepared not to like him.”

“You naturally expect a tall, handsome guy to be, well, kind of a jerk,” He said “Like his ideas are more important than yours.

But what struck me so hard in that first meeting, so much so that it’s still in my head 17 years later, is that he was there to listen. And not just to passively listen – he wanted to make sure he understood what we were saying, yes, but also to get to the heart of it.”

In 1999, Craig quit Apple for corporate software company Ariba, where he was appointed as CTO (Chief Technology Offer).

By the time in 2009, he left Ariba and returned to Apple to work on macOS. His first physical appearance was at the WWDC event to give, what Craig called a sneak peek of MacOS X Snow Leopard.

In 2011, Craig Federighi succeeded Bertrand Serlet (Previous Vice President) as VP of Mac Software Engineering. In 2012, he was promoted as VP Of Mac software engineering at Apple.

As Craig’s responsibility increased within Apple, his stage time at events improved more quickly. He now looks more confident, enthusiastic, and calm while being on stage.

However, not all presentations went well. In 2017, when Craig was introducing Apple’s new face ID feature, it embarrassingly failed to work on the first attempt. Before the event, several people had used the new iPhone. This is why during the demonstration, the face ID asked for a passcode because of several failed attempts, later Craig explained. It’s really embarrassing even it was not a failure. However, Craig headed straight onto a backup phone without being worried.

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CRAIG FEDERIGHI ONCE MENTIONED,

We are showing the way to the industry, to the customers, that they can demand more – they should expect more- about the protection of their privacy, and that we can move the industry into building things that better protect privacy.

Craig Federighi is one the very few famous faces of Apple, who has been delivering such great products along with his teams. Apple has really great products, and when Craig introduces upcoming Apple products with his cheerful nature and explanation skill, it becomes more interesting to see.

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CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

From a moonlight entrepreneur to a full-time CEO, Astha’s remarkable journey with WrittenlyHub

“

We’ve never really settled for a particular milestone of success. We are simply fueled by it.

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BECOMING A LEADER As soon as college ended, writing content became more than just a side hustle. Astha started her job in an MNC and created a team of writers to sustain their growth. Balancing a corporate job and a thriving business idea was not a cakewalk for sure. But the responsibility of learning everything about running a business in such a short span proved to be even more complicated.

ASTHA VERMA

Co-Founder & CEO

O

ur magazine reviewed thousands of profiles from the business fraternity across India to select Astha Verma as one of the prolific CEOs featuring in this edition. She’s currently spearheading WrittenlyHub, an earlystage startup in the content marketing domain. This exclusive read is based on a freewheeling conversation with her via Google Meet where she has shared some phenomenal business insights to be conveyed to our global audience.

At just 23 years of age, Astha leads a team of 50 individuals—most of them in their early twenties. Three years ago, she would never have visualized herself becoming the phenomenal leader that she is today. Her story from there to here is just as extraordinarily remarkable.

Recalling the humble beginnings of her venture, she travels back to her

www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

SHREELEKHA SINGH Chief Operating Officer

engineering days in college. Surrounded by students stuck to the monotony of the curriculum, Astha possessed an untaught desire to never play by the rules. In her relentless effort to distance herself from the mainstream, she laid the foundation of what is today a flourishing content marketing venture.

Working alongside her partner, Saksham Gogia, she started writing content for clients in India and beyond. Back in college, the idea was perhaps just that— creating content.

But as times changed and content became the best thing since sliced bread in digital marketing, Astha dreamt of building her small team of writers into something bigger. She might not have known that this ‘something’ would one day blow up to this extent, but well, she says, 20

While one all-nighter followed another, as she attempted to navigate her way through this tender balance of responsibilities, she also sought answers to so many questions posed before her—what qualities she wants to gauge and imbibe in her team, what kind of clients she wants to be associated with, and what brand image she aspires to showcase the world. In pondering over these questions and finding the best solution, she gradually transformed herself into an inspiring leader.

But the ‘part’ that Astha particularly enjoyed amid all these challenges was the endearing excitement of building the groundwork of their company. Spurred by the enthusiasm of her dreams (and a few four-packs of Red Bull), she didn’t mind working over 16 hours every day.

After all, her hard work translated into her greatest ambition—her own venture.

SETTING THE FOUNDATIONS Even in the backdrop of the pandemic, Astha’s team scaled higher. The growth curve became steeper with every passing month. To the credit of this growth, she could envision a bigger picture for her small team—a promise of exponential progress in the future. Her foresightedness steered her to put this bigger picture together.

She settled the venture’s goal to give younger professionals like herself a chance to explore multiple domains and hone their skill-sets. Driven by this idea, she decided to create a culture imbued in dynamism and empathy that resonates with the young minds.

Together with constructing her team’s identity, she worked on their ultimate objective for her clientele—helping businesses leverage the online world. Alongside her partner, she worked with multiple clients to understand how the industry functions and to prove their mettle. With a strong portfolio under their name, Astha prepared herself to launch her venture.

In the entire journey of setting the foundations of this venture, Astha experienced the surreal feeling of giving tens of individuals the opportunity to launch or scale their careers.

Brimming with emotions and pride, she says,

“

What began in college as something to sustain ourselves and do something different from the crowd eventually turned into an avenue to help others fulfill their dream.

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HUSTLING HER WAY TO SUCCESS In her journey as a moonlight entrepreneur turned CEO, Astha has broken as many stereotypes as they come. But one way in which she continues to defy the norms is through her hustle. In her stance against those who want to stick to a 9-to-5 routine, Astha is committed to her work through and through. She believes in the idea of ‘hustling’—doing what you love without any compromises!

It is perhaps Astha’s hustle, supported by her entire team, that has brought WrittenlyHub to where it is today.

One year since its registration, WrittenlyHub has now blossomed into a team of 50 associates, 4 departments, and a complete spectrum of services. They are a team of young professionals and therein lies the team’s strong suits. Driven by the creativity and finesse of their talented members, the company has positioned itself as a one-stop destination for content marketing needs.

In just a year since it became a private limited enterprise, the WrittenlyHub team has managed to knock tens of milestones off the park! From expanding its clientele across multiple demographics and services to building a robust community of writers and marketers, the company is among India’s leading content marketing start-ups today.

The company’s COO, Shreelekha Singh, highlights their biggest strength,

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No company values its team members just as much or even more than its clientele and that’s the most defining value with which WrittenlyHub sets itself apart from the crowd of companies out there.

“

When asked about the future endeavors of WrittenlyHub from here, Astha shared that she looks at the company’s progress from the symbol of an infinity ladder. There is no ultimate destination or a final milestone that she wants to reach; there is only an upward trajectory of growth that never ends.

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FOR THE ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS While she looks back at the three years of her life with a feeling of accomplishment, Astha is also filled with a sense of gratitude to the people around her.

She believes she could tap into her entrepreneurial spirit and lead the team only because she enjoyed the unlimited support of her peers.

So, she wants to extend her support to the would-be entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The number one lesson in her journey was to find the balance between patience and hunger. While you certainly have to be hungry for success and carry within you this eagerness to progress, you have to also understand and accept your failures. Patience, she says, plays the most pivotal role on the path to excellence.

Another key piece of advice she conveys for the budding entrepreneurs is to build a team of individuals who supplement each other’s weaknesses. In all her modesty, she credits her team for the success she could achieve. She believes she couldn’t have scaled these heights of success without the support of her talented team. Seeking inspiration from her experiences, she stresses the importance of creating the right team with complementary strengths and weaknesses to pursue your dreams, concluded Astha while signing off. www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 3 |4 Issue www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. | Issue54December November2020 2021 INDIA INDIA

CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

BLUEBENZ DIGITIZATION PVT. LTD. TURN YOUR IDEA INTO REALITY Kajal Dobhal | Business Connect Software Engineering is the systematic application of engineering approaches to the development of software.

Engineering techniques are used to inform the software development process which involves the definition, implementation, assessment, measurement, management, change and improvement of the software life cycle.

TANVEER PATEL Founder & CEO

“Software is a combination between artistry and engineering”

Bill Gates

Beginning in the 1960s, software engineering was seen as a struggle. It was difficult to keep up with the hardware which caused many problems for software engineers.

Today we are having with us a leader of utmost importance Mr. Tanveer Patel, Founder and CEO, BLUEBENZ DIGITIZATIONS PVT. LTD. His inclusive leadership style lends credence to treating all employees with equivalent empathy. His positive approach towards every different opinion, pushes them to see the same thing from a different shade of glass, is wonderful and concluded in the formation of this elegant read.

COMPANY PROFILE The Journey for BlueBenz started in 2016. It has its headquarter in Pune, Maharashtra. The inspiration for it rose from allotting and combining domain knowledge with technical know-how, including diverse digital breakthroughs. At BlueBenz, they believe in giving an insight - from concept to design, which breaks the shackles of traditional Product Engineering. It is the seamlessness to welcome new ideas and exploit them in all advances of end-to-end product development.

They are a team of talented and passionate individuals crafting software solutions for the new-age digital world.

Since their inception, they have delighted their customers across the globe by providing world-class quality through their digital products and services.

PHILOSOPHY Their philosophy is centred around three key features: • Technology - They have a deep-rooted technical understanding of modern, cutting-edge technologies and various digital advances to deliver a wide range of solutions and software products.

• Expertise - Their domain knowledge and diverse technical expertise help in delivering cutting-edge solutions by combining deep business process knowledge.

• Innovation - They invite new ideas and leverage innovations in all aspects of end-to-end product development outsourcing for their customers and business partners.

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They have a team of experienced, innovative and collaborative people having 20+ years of expertise in building enterprise solutions. Their technical team consist of passionate and diligent technical experts and engineers who are experienced in research, design, technology and engineering. A brief account of their portfolio: • • • • • • • •

Product Conceptualization and Prototyping.

User Experience Engineering.

Product Design and Development.

Product Modernisation.

Product Re-Engineering.

Data Engineering.

Analytics and Reporting.

Enterprise Mobility.

VISION AND VALUES “When we craft solutions for our customers, we cannot forget our employees as they reflect our core brand value. “It is of utmost importance that we ensure everyone is on the same page. Ensuring two-way communication is eminent when we want everyone to be on the same page,” stresses Tanveer.

WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT? Bluebenz genuinely asserts themselves as the leaders in their trade.

They enable customers to see their problems churn into solutions via the proprietary method and use the same methodology to ideate solutions. This modus operandi makes them distinct and makes a strong impact on customer satisfaction.

BUSINESS MODEL Talking about the business model, they follow something called Ideative Product Engineering. They start with consulting and finish it with building solutions, thereby ensuring that they cover the end-toend needs of their consumers through tailor-made solutions.

Based on time-honoured principles of enhanced sustainability, reusability, cost-reduction, scalability and efficiency of enterprises, they have customized offerings to handle the product engineering ops of businesses. They have created quite a good number of blueprints of various ideas in building products and solutions for their clients merely by getting inside the skin of the idea. They nurtured product ideation by conditioning it and transforming it into a reality by measuring feasibility and identifying business opportunities that proved beneficial for its partner. Tanveer asserts, “We have a 360 degrees validation approach which has helped us emerge with the best product concept at an early age of product life cycle”.

ROLE OF R&D IN GROWTH “When a company takes the time to invest in R&D, they get a huge influx of knowledge. This is what makes Intel so amazingly successful: Their R&D all boils down to useful knowledge that the company can use - to further develop its main product lines. R&D exists to gain knowledge, not as an entity in itself” Tanveer Patel WORK CULTURE At BLUEBENZ, they believe in upskilling themselves all the time and never losing the curiosity to learn new things. Therefore, they ensure that everyone who works at Bluebenz has skill-based training that they can choose from every financial year.

Employees get involved from product ideating to the development stage to grasp the entire product life cycle. They try to inculcate the decision-making spirit and the spirit of entrepreneurship within

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their employees. There is no concept of hierarchy or any glass cabins to keep them apart. “I have noticed that this kind of culture inculcates a sense of responsibility within the employees, and they want to work because of the trust you show in them, and not for anything else,” opines Tanveer.

CHANGING SCENARIO “Technology is fast-moving and is either adapting or disrupting industries. So, if you are not on board, then you have already started sinking.

Nowadays, everyone has to ensure that they are not only updated with times but sometimes ahead of it as well. It is also equally important to keep yourself updated with the trends,” shares Tanveer.

ACHIEVEMENTS They started in 2016 with only two employees and small office space. Today, they have more than 40 employees with offices spanning across India and the US. They have come a long way in crafting inspiring experiences that engage their clientele and building a solid base of customers at the same time.

MESSAGE TO ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS “Stay on the ground and up-to date in your areas of work, always strive to deliver value to your customers. Aim to build longlasting business relationship than short sited engagements”. www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

CEOs

Arti Singh

OF THE YEAR 2021

A SUBLIME FASHION DESIGNER WITH A MORE ETHICAL APPROACH Indranil Roy | Business Connect

Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm, it’s about doing more good Arti Singh Designer

Fashion Designing is the art of combining innovativeness, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. Fashion designers are responsible for creating looks for individual garments, involving shape, colour, fabric, trimming and more.

Fashion Designers are well acquainted with what a person would like to wear for what occasion, which they reflect in the attire. They use a wide range of materials, colours, patterns and styles to ensure the apparel is functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Their talent and efforts have a positive influence on how people present themselves.

Fashion designing has undergone significant transformations over time. Charles Frederick Worth, the legendary fashion designer, began stitching his labels onto the garments he created in the 19th century, paving the way for a widely credited transformation. From there on, both the national and global market has witnessed the advent of trailblazing fashion designers setting benchmarks in both couture and haute couture. Today, we are having with us a designer of such International repute Ms. Arti Singh the person behind the brand BooBoo. Her business acumen and out-of-the-box thinking in the world of Fashion Designing are the prominent highlights in this elegant read.

SPROUTING HER PASSION Arti built her forte as a designer working for renowned fashion brands. “I nurtured my fashion instincts with them and learned to design from the heart for myself and my users,” she says. In the following years, she designed apparel for celebrities and got to travel around the world. This helped in expanding her horizons and discover her passion for an eminent brand for premium clothes and accessories. This is how BooBoo came into being. Incorporated in 2018, the brand offers a good collection of B2C premium leather products under its propriety platform ‘BooBoo’. Her main goal was to create a comprehensive fashion brand based on sustainability, ethical design, repurposing existing components, handcrafting designs, and custom-sized clothing. Arti shares a few lines on this e-Brand, “BooBoo believes in the philosophy of the “Yin and Yang”, the concept of dualism and interconnectivity. The black and white. Our planet depends on us to do the right, and BooBoo is connected to you to help us achieve it,” www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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and she always uses elements from the existing wardrobe while ensuring her designed products are the centre of the ensemble. A look so unique and distinct that it can neither be replicated nor duplicated. She creates designs that are stylish, fashionable in colour and have the perfect fit.

ROLE OF R&D IN GROWTH The Fashion Industry relies heavily on R&D. It aids in understanding potential markets, customer perceptions of brands, fashion expenditure insights, and how marketing campaigns influence customer behaviour. Nonetheless, Arti takes inspiration from what she sees and translate them into a design and handcraft it to bring it to life. However, this is not easy as it seems in theory. Her toughest challenge has been to use materials, which are either 100% or at least 80% recycled. For example, the lining fabrics she uses are all weaved from yarn derived from recycled plastic bottles.

“The metal items I use are all recycled alloys. I do not wish to levy more dump on the planet and thus use by-products only,” she adjoins.

Parallelly, R&D on the fashion trends helps in innovating her business on many grounds. The digital world has been a boom for her brand. With everything online, she is able to reach consumers across 13 countries and further open paths to new geographical locations. Her analytical capabilities also help her learn from failure and challenges. She believes failure is more important than success. To enlighten further on this, she says, “Unless a person fails, the happiness of success cannot be enjoyed. In addition, failure teaches a person to learn and get up again. Thomas Elva Edison failed 1000 times before successfully inventing the Filament Bulb.”

DIFFERENTIATED ON MANY GROUNDS While BooBoo has a strong presence across multiple nations, it has a small but highly dynamic team. “We are a league of motivated people,” affirms the Designer. And everyone plays an equal role in keeping the overall team engaged and enthusiastic. Even if one of her consumers appreciates what she and her team do, it is an achievement for the entire brand. The brand serves fashion-conscious men and women who love dressing without taking a mortgage for their wardrobe and home items and are conscious and care about the planet.

With her innovative brand, she is not here to compete – neither in sales nor profit. her goal is to showcase how to handcraft a fashionable product and how to do it sustainably.

“I wish to see everyone wear my designs and acknowledge me for my craftsmanship,” says Arti enthusiastically.

BooBoo’s offerings are 100% Natural, Sustainable, EcoFriendly, manufactured with ethically sourced fair-trade leather, practices and recycled components.

WHAT FUELS HER EXCELLENCE? Arti has always considered herself a product developer and brand creator. Her entire focus is on developing viable products, emphasizing quality and taking a global initiative of sustainability. She does not mass produce, nor does she carries too much inventory. She preserves all her precious sourced raw material and only handcraft on order. She makes more than enough sales to cover all her expenses and make a slight profit for herself.

GROWING WITH AN ETHICAL APPROACH Arti’s ethical methods in fashion designing have established a strong presence for her brand in a short time. Her greatest achievement, she claims, is her moral principle in sourcing raw materials for inputs. Every raw material comes from ethical sources across the globe. “It was challenging at first, but once we started walking the road, avenues opened, and answers came from themselves,” says Arti. She also intends to expand the business, serve as many customers as possible, manufacture fashionable products, and, in the end, do the right thing. She aspires to attain a celebrated position with her work in the next five years since someone had to take the initiative of complete sustainability, which she has done.

In her field, forecasting and following fashion trends are very important. She prefers the non-mannequin look of wearing a branded uniform. She takes up the challenge of generating a unique distinct look. No one has the perfect wardrobe,

A MESSAGE FOR THE LARGER COMMUNITY

“Do the right thing! Save the Planet! Only buy when it’s required or broken. “Unlike other brands which implore the consumer to “Buy more & Use less so that, they can keep on manufacturing and choking the environment, we appeal to do the opposite “Only buy when it’s required or broken”.

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

Health

CORRELATION BETWEEN HEALTH & ECONOMY

How Investment in Health Reflects on Economy There is a well-understood relationship that when you are healthy, automatically the country’s economy improves as well, your health performance is fully reflected in both the economy and health systems.

As a healthy population, one can make an important contribution towards economic progress because the population that is healthy, lives more and are considered more productive. Investment in health is not only a desirable priority for most communities but also an important one, as it reflects on the economy. However, our health systems also face challenges that are daunting as well as complex, arising in part from new stresses such as ageing populations, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and the intensive use of costly but critical health technologies.

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A HEALTHIER INDIVIDUAL AFFECTS THE ECONOMY IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS: •

At work, a healthier individual can be more productive and earn higher incomes.

•

A healthy person may spend more time in the labour force as compared to a less healthy individual who often takes sick leave or retires early.

•

They will invest more in the process of learning new things in order to improve their efficiency.

•

In anticipation of a longer life, a healthy individual may save more by raising the funds available to invest in the economy.

In order to briefly explain the relationship between health and economic development, the concept of health needs to be understood in a broad sense. When we speak about health, it is not just the absence of diseases, but also people’s capacity to grow during their lives to their potential. In combination with that welfare, an asset possessed by individuals has a significant source of well-being as well as instrumental importance. In terms of health, economic development is affected by health in a variety of ways. For example, it decreases production losses due to sickness of a worker, often increases adult productivity as a result of improved nutrition and lower absenteeism rates, and improves school children’s learning.

Health also agrees with the use of natural resources that may usually be intended for ill health care.

Health has its consequences directly through worker productivity and the economic burden of diseases on economic development. Health also indirectly influences economic development as factors such as child health influence people’s potential incomes through the effect that health has on education.

If we take up a household example that is observed on a family basis, this sort of indirect effect is much easier to understand. When a family is safe, the father and mother will both have a job and earn money that helps them to eat, protect, and send their children to school. Children would do well in school if they are safe and well-nourished and this will have a positive effect on their future income.

The lack of health often affects the poor to a great degree, as their body is often the only commodity they have.

The correlation between Health and Economy goes hand in hand as the importance of investment in health refers to the betterment of economic development because a healthier individual can help to increase both the number of hours worked as well as the probability that they will be employed.

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

HUMANALPHA STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS:

Innovative Tech Driven Strategic HR Advisory Firm built on People & Culture Centricity Gulshan Parveen | Business Connect of HumanAlphaStrategic Solutions, got the inspiration to ‘make a difference to people and brands’. She was keenly inspired to provide employment opportunities to women and young professionals, and with this aspiration, in February 2019, she met Mr. Mahesh Sheshadri through LinkedIn. Both of them resonated with common intent, values, and work ethics which led them to build HumanAlpha, a People & Brands focusedStrategic HR Advisory Organization. After an exciting journey of 2.5 Years, Today HumanAlpha feels proud to introduce itself as a human and culturecentric, Strategic HR Advisory &Consulting firm.

As a strategic thinker and implementation specialist with experience in Business HR and leadership of more than 140 years, HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions offers the services at the convergence of people, process, culture, and technology to create and execute winning strategies. The company offers the services primarily in Strategic HR Advisory & Implementation Consulting, Leadership Development, Coaching&Mentoring, Business HR Certifications, and Executive search.

DIFFERENTIATING FACTOR

VIJAYASHREE VENKAT

Founder and Managing Director Human resource is one of the important resources present around us, especially in the business arena and its management and optimization is a skillful task. Rob Silzer once quoted, “Financial resources may be the lifeblood of a company, but human resources are the brain.”

Every business is in the need of an HR Strategist and Specialist.

And to ensure an efficient and productive team in its organization.

Many HR specialists are utilizing this demand gap of HR management by providing their services in the market, but HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions Pvt. Ltd.has evolved as a niche Value Adding Differentiator Organization in this arena.

After more than two decades in Corporate Business HR Leadership roles, Ms. Vijayashree Venkat, the Founder and Managing Director www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions ensures to stand up for its values and ethos in the most appropriate manner by constantly updating its milestones and innovation through Positive Word of Mouth Marketing, Content & Influencer Marketing on LinkedIn, YouTube& FB, Interviews on Magazine & Radio, Email marketing and In-person meetings. Right from the time of inception, the company has maintained a strong presence on social media platforms and other channels and constantly communicated on the Website, LinkedIn, FB, and online magazines. Every Solution from HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions has been designed to enable growth, positive change, and long-term impact leading to People & Culture Developmentand the business Growth of its clients.

Today’s Business Leaders are equipped with Intellectual Talent and have enough People to advice or sources of information to refer. However, What Leaders need are People who can roll their sleeves up and partner together to execute the strategies both internally and in consulting ecosystem - this is where HumanAlpha comes into the picture. The company has focused on the implementation of consulting right from the beginning, where it has collaborated and worked with business leaders in the organizations and partners in their Business, People & CulturalTransformation. The company is delighted to have made a difference to over 30 brands to date and counting.

The “Strategic HR Advisory Business Partner” Model of HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions has been a great value proposition for its clients. HumanAlpha has been inspiring Growth in Brands by Building & Mentoring PeopleOps Teams, a paradigm shift to traditional HR thinking and has been Advising & Coaching Business Leaders & Functional Leaders for High Performance.

Additionally, The long-term leadership development programs (built by 70:20:10 Model, a Combination of Coaching, Blended Experiential Learning and On the Job Projects) of HumanAlpha have been a significant success to many of the esteemed clients.

Primarily, these programs were designed to derive high ROI by the development of core competencies for a strong leadership pool.

SYNCHRONIZING WITH THE TECHNOLOGY

Steve Jobs once said, “The best way to create value in the 21st century is to connect creativity with technology.” Technology has been the game-changer for almost all the successful businesses in the market.

The work culture at HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions is driven by its Core Values, such as Execution Excellence, Ingenuity & Passion, Integrity & Accountability, Respect & Trust, and Inclusivity &Communication.

Data, technology, and analytics have been at the heart of all the strategic solutions at HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions. All the solutions by the company are executed by leveraging tools and applications that span project management, HR automation & analytics, and collaboration tools. This has helped the company not only to adapt to the new virtual working mode but also to bring in the right amalgamation of people, processes & culture with technology and data analytics.

HumanAlpha is driven by its ultimate Vision: Making a Difference to the world each day by inspiring greatness in every person we meet and every brand associated with HumanAlpha.

ACCOLADES AND FUTURE PLANS

HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions considers its achievements as the best speaker of itsprogress. The Company is climbing the ladder of success at a brisk pace, which is proved by its multiple recognitions like:

Technological innovation is an inseparable part of the value system of the organization. It has grown in terms of its solution portfolio, which is a combination of products and a processoriented approach. And as a result of significant research on organizations, business trends, people & cultural changes,the company always stays ready to make a solution obsolete in the process of designing the best and relevant one.

•

10 Most Promising Human Capital Management Consultants of 2020, by Consultants Review

•

Most Admired Brand of 2020 by White Page International

•

10 Best Bangalore Women Startups of 2021 by Silicon Startup City

“Leadership style is all about the context,”affirms Ms. Vijayashree. The company adopts accurate leadership styles based on the situation and the people it works with. It has the principle to work with people who are ready to raise their bar constantly with their unique talent and potentials. It usually avoids working with clients of the same capabilities since diversity is the key to collaborative and long-term success.

The company keeps transiting between Directive, Coaching, Supportive and Delegating leadership styles that work best for both the team management and result derivation .

HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions fosters leadership at all levels of the company with the implementation of Empowerment, Responsibility, and Empathy. And it has been grooming people as leaders with these simple principles for decades. “I love to work with People who take accountability by owning up and grabbing responsibilities that come their way,” Says Ms. Vijayashree.

•

30 Women Entrepreneurs to watch in 2021 by The CEO Magazine.

Being a strategic HR Advisory & Consulting Firm, HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions has chosen to remain lean as it helps it to deliver quality outcomes for the chosen clients. Professional development at the company is a combination of Coaching and Mentoring to develop people into great personalities along with continuous on the job learning.

“Have a clear vision & intent. Invest in people & culture development. Know what culture you wish to have in your organization. It will align & build a strong emotional connect with you and your team as you maneuver through your ups and downs of a spectacular journey called Entrepreneurship.”

She has advised all the Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders.

EXCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP AND WORK CULTURE

AND HAS MANY MORE TO ADD IN THE LIST At present, HumanAlpha Strategic Solutions is looking to work with more Startups and MSMEs as they truly need the kind of long-term value-adding interventions, which the company provides. The company is looking to optimize its global reach and build a larger PAN India presence as it is growing as a team.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Ms. Vijayashree Venkat appeals to the entrepreneurs to be adaptive with a habit, to embrace change and constant learning.

Be prepared to improve your products, services, solutions every year and relook at the processes and systems.

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

BRUCE T DUGAN: A Daredevil Technopreneur

Bruce T. Dugan CEO, Incognito Worldwide

Indranil Roy | Business Connect

Digitization and its explosive opportunities have inspired entrepreneurs and business leaders to step beyond the fence. They have actuated digital interaction with business and people, automation, and much more; in short, our way of life. Based on these innovative inputs, it’s safe to say that they’re continually demonstrating their ingenuity. Being innovative is the need of this era. We are living at the edge of transformations, and it is important for leaders to adapt to grow. Bruce T. Dugan, the founder of Incognito Worldwide and several other tech-enabled enterprises, is a native New Yorker with imaginative and experienced leadership. It’s unusual for an entrepreneur to go to a country on a short-term project, then meet a few locals and form a business around them. He did, and the result was Incognito Worldwide. Let’s dive into this dignitary’s entrepreneurial journey to know more about him and him and his company.

An Unbridled Passion For Entrepreneurship

AN UNORTHODOX INCEPTION In 2012, Bruce visited Bangalore to hire a friend’s firm to complete a project he was involved in. His sole intent was to stay for a month to design the project, then fly to Thailand while that team completed coding, before returning to Bangalore for the final phase of the project.

But fate had something else in store for him. He found a group of young people and decided to launch an offshore digital service company built around them. Two years later it was selected ‘Startup of the Year’ and quickly went from 3 people to 20.

Incognito Worldwide has evolved from a web development company to a full-fledged digital services firm, offering branding & design, website development, online marketing, and automated platform solutions.

Another Inicia subsidiary, I2MEDIALAB, provides high-level custom software, and platform development, while the parent company, Inicia Incorporated, manages operations of these and other brands. while also offering additional services to startups, SBEs, and large corporations alike, including accounting, investment materials development. and specific industry consulting.

The group of companies forms an end-to-end provider with a single point of contact. www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

Bruce is a serial entrepreneur who has conceived, launched, and operated several innovative startups over the years, beginning with Worldway Freight Systems in 1982. He was a thought-leader in that industry with innovative accounting and bookkeeping systems, and a service leader of point-to-point LTL long haul delivery. He exec-produced and secured distribution for two films, and launched two nationally distributed record labels. before finding his way into technology and media in 2005. But it was during his logistics years working closely with Fortune-100 manufacturers and branded consumer product companies that he gained eclectic insights -across a broad range of industry sectors -- from his client’s operations that he would later use in his career to recognize operational pain points and choke points, and then develop strategies to increase productivity and/or reducing redundancy.

While Bruce learned how the big corporations were structured and operated, as an SME he had to be able to adapt to changing conditions much faster and combine the two, or in his words “be nimble enough to dance between the elephant’s legs.”

Recognizing the need to share and channel values, visions, plans, and strategies with his team and team leaders, his operating philosophy had been to identify the company and team goals, and then allow the team leaders the freedom to (A) pursue their own strategies, (B) learn from those successes, and (C) rinse and repeat.

With the overall company and subsidiaries integrated but sprawled out over three continents, the company has been a remote-based operation long before anyone knew the word COVID-19.

Bruce and the executives invested extensive time and energy into building the company processes and infrastructure on technology that could transcend time and distance barriers. They hold regular virtual meetings, oversee and manage projects, layout long/shortterm goals, and action plans, utilizing that technology with each department communicating in real-time to fulfill client needs.

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As an American, Bruce, also focused on teaching his India-based team how to adapt to a U.S. client mindset, during his 6-year residency in India. Those efforts have seen stellar client reviews, affording them the luxury to pick and choose which customers they work with, with nearly 100% client satisfaction. To date. most new customers are acquired via referrals.

He had his share of failures but used each to learn and adapt. His team endured setbacks and challenges but emerged stronger and more resilient from each, Today they operate several brands, including i2Medialab, Incognito, I2Webservices, First Drum Films, Intech Creative LLC, Dinevite, and several online magazines and resource directories.

UNABASHED BY TECHNOLOGY IMPEDIMENTS Incognito Worldwide avoids tech-speak and maintains clear communications with clients to meet expectations. Whether it’s as simple as making an appealing logo, developing websites, web or mobile apps and/or marketing them, or helping clients streamline their operations. the team’s track-record has been impressive.

AN ADRENALINE PUNCHED PERSONA While Bruce had deep knowledge and experience in startups. logistics, production, marketing, and distribution, he approaches projects with an abstract vision combined with a linear process and excels at industry trend recognition, strategic and planning & development. The result is his ability in deep market research and to convert client’s vision into practical reality. In 2020 he and his co-founder & CTO, Mario Delfino, along with the Incognito directors. Kiran K, Nihanth K, and creative directors Shalini V and Ruby Gonsalez, , successfully designed, built, and published Dinevite.me, both now available in the Apple and Google app stores, and oversee the marketing roll-out.

According to Mr. Dugan, “the goal of the company isn’t making money; that is merely the result of a job well done, and my co-founding partner Mario and Incognito directors have contributed to make that a reality: I could not have achieved it without their passionate commitment and efforts. We’ve been blessed to have been able to help so many SMEs achieve their own success, to developing complex custom projects for the city of Buenos Aires, banks, and industry leading brands.”

JOURNEY OF AN ACHIEVER Bruce’s efforts in business and leadership is quite significant and has attracted major attention. Some of the recent accolades include: • 25 most valuable CEO’s in India ( profiled Bruce T. Dugan ) • Entrepreneurs to Watch, 2018 ( profiled Kiran Kumar R ) • Technology 50 Emerging Company, 2020 ( profiled Mario Delfino )

Bruce has been a maverick throughout his career, often proving naysayers wrong to foresee coming trends, but also embodies the concept of being a digital nomad and adventurer. At the age of 60, along with Nihanth, they took motorcycles and set out on a 30-day motorcycle adventure from Bangalore to Kardung La (https:// rideofyourlife.in/), the highest road in the world located in the Indian Himalayas. He and team would often spend weeks each year in huts on the beach of South Goa where they’d decompress, working a few hours each day. He is well-traveled and lived in Buenos Aires, Cannes France, and San Pedro, Mexico. currently running the company from Cancun, Mexico.

However, Bruce says his greatest achievements have been the ability to work with creative people and interesting projects of choice. amassing a multi-dimensional multi-cultural client base, and robust team of friends. who have become more like family.

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

Growth

7 TOP TIPS TO BOOST YOUR STARTUP BUSINESS Here are 7 valuable tips to give your fledgling company a boost: CASH FLOW FORECASTING

As Sir Richard Branson says “The cash flow of a company is the life and blood of a business, so never take your eyes off it.” Budgets that are long-term must provide reasonable estimates of potential revenue and expenditures. Start-up costs vary, but when they do, entrepreneurs should be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Since anything can happen over a business’s lifecycle, it’s best to build longterm budgets and financial estimates. Forecasting aids company owners in putting aside money for potential expenditures. These expenses can be both personal and business-related.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED

Plan to continue reinforcing your brand and strengthening your image by focusing on customer service and satisfaction. The brand of a business is simply how it is viewed. A happy customer is more than a recommendation; it’s a powerful branding statement.

ENHANCE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES

The advent of social media has altered how companies operate and how the general public interacts with them. While it used to be much more difficult for a customer to share their questions or experiences after a brand encounter, it is now easier than ever for the two to communicate and share details. The best websites are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, AngelList, and Pinterest accounts.

If you want to reach a larger audience, being more engaged with social media will help. It’s important to remember that social media is a two-way platform that allows people to communicate and share information. Rather than simply posting ads on your platform, try to engage with your potential and current customers by answering questions and providing opportunities for them to communicate with you further. Your customers will appreciate the effort, and you will appreciate the outcome.

PROVIDE THE AUDIENCE WITH USEFUL KNOWLEDGE

Many people, on the other hand, make the popular mistake of believing that marketing consists solely of commercials and promotional material. In reality, it’s a way of better communicating with your audience by getting a better understanding of their desires and needs, as well as demonstrating your importance to them.

Sharing valuable and insightful content with your audience is a perfect way to do this. This will demonstrate to them that your goods or services are important to their needs and that you have the expertise and knowledge necessary to provide accurate information. An e-book or guide, case studies, infographics, blog posts can be a powerful tool for disseminating material, it’s worth taking the time to learn how to write one.

TAKE EXPERT ASSISTANCE WHEN REQUIRED, DON’T HESITATE TO CONTACT It’s tempting for new business owners to try to do everything themselves because it’s a good way to save money. However, this can sometimes stifle a company’s growth, and in some cases, relying on the experts is more effective. Take new ideas from experts to improve your business.

Paying an expert will also save you time and allow you to concentrate more on the tasks you are better able to do if you are attempting something you are unfamiliar with, particularly if you are taking on a task that needs a highly specific skill set.

MAKE GOOD FRIENDS

Make an effort to form new friendships. Meet new people, strike up a conversation, and build meaningful relationships that will enhance your life and well-being.

BUILD AN ADVISORY BOARD

Business advisory boards can be extremely beneficial to a company’s growth. People with connections to top professionals with a variety of skills may be brought in as low-cost advisors to help the company expand.

Marketing is one of the best means of successful business promotion, and it can be a powerful way to expose the company to a wider audience.

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Running a company necessitates a high level of organization and adherence to a strategic plan. It’s important to strike a balance between all of your focus areas, as this will help you better manage your resources and coordinate your finances. The best part for Indian businesses is that the country has been declared the world’s third-largest tech start-up hub.

Furthermore, India’s Ease of Doing Business index has risen significantly from 130 in 2016 to 63 in 2020. According to the most recent reports in India, start-ups come from 54 different sectors, with IT services and Healthcare & Lifesciences registering the most start-ups, followed by education. Thousands of young entrepreneurs have taken the plunge into starting their own businesses in the last few years as a way to gain leverage over their professional careers or raise their profits.

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Entrepreneurship can be described as recognizing change, seeking opportunity, accepting risk and obligation, innovating, bettering resource use, generating new value that is meaningful to customers, and repeating the process. Budget 2021 has recognized the importance of start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) in India’s future, which includes growth in technology-driven and manufacturing businesses, which will help India achieve its goal of a $5 trillion economy.

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

NITIN JAIN:

THE VISIONARY BEHIND INDIA’S FIRST COMPREHENSIVE PR DISTRIBUTION SOLUTION Avishek Singh | Business Connect

“I started my career dreaming that I would work for big companies. Today many of these companies are my clients. So, never stop believing in yourself!”- Nitin Jain Incorporated in 2017, India PR Distribution, India’s first PR portal that has both organic press release distribution and guaranteed publication feature, is successfully offering top-notch Press Release distribution services to businesses and professionals from India and Abroad under the hegemony of Nitin Jain, CEO, India PR Distribution.

The visionary leader crafted this comprehensive PR portfolio-equipped interactive media solutions that spread out a press release to English, Hindi, a regional newspaper, news channels, industry magazines, and other major Indian media outlets. His innovative approach of combining online and offline PR Distribution made the firm a pioneer in the field of online press release coverage as well as premium coverage through organic press release distribution.

Alumni of the prestigious Apeejay School Of Management, Nitin Jain holds an MBA degree in marketing and he also did a Bachelor of Business Administration from the same institution. In his 15 years of work experience in public relations and digital marketing, Nitin has worked on numerous projects from India and abroad, starting from end-to-end corporate communication strategy implementation, to digital marketing services. Today Nitin is renowned in the industry as the go-to man for tips on achieving great heights in the online arena.

www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

NITIN JAIN C.E.O

CREATING A UNIQUE MARK

The India PR Distribution was founded with the aim of providing quality Press Release Distribution services to clients in India and abroad.Before the launch of India PR Distribution, sending press releases to industry-related reporters was not available with any PR agency online. India PR Distribution bought this unique concept for the first time in the Indian market.

It was the First Indian PR agency to launch organic Press Release packages at such an economical cost.This innovative approach of combining online and offline PR Distribution made it a pioneer in the field of the online PR industry, and they could achieve impressive results for the clients.

Further, Nitin apprised, “Today many new agencies are looking to adopt a similar model and Many agencies have signed up with us for regular work. I feel India PR Distribution has helped open up Public relations avenues and Opportunities for a wide variety of audiences and organizations due to our Economical and effective packages.”

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PIONEER IN DIGITAL & ORGANIC PR

Since its inception, IPD has been a pioneer in digital press release Distribution and organic PR distribution. Within a short time, India PR Distribution became the best choice for press Release services in India due to its quality service and deliverables for a PR campaign.

They have different options and packages of press release campaigns. In those packages, they have a “Most Popular and Affordable” Organic Package, in which they will distribute the Press Release to major Indian newspapers, magazines, portals.

But placements are not guaranteed in those premium portals. It depends on their editorial policies.

They also have a guaranteed premium publications plan wherein they provide fully Guaranteed publication in some of the top portals, newspapers, and TV channels. It is essential to mention here that all top publications have their editorial Policies, therefore only newsworthy press releases qualify for premium Publications.

THE EXCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE

“For me, leadership is all about how you guide, monitor, and motivate your Team. A successful leader leads by example and sets the environment for a positive and contributing work environment. I have been lucky to be trained by one of the best mentors, Mr. Joseph Casper. He always taught me to hold ethics as my highest priority and I try to communicate the same to my team” shared Nitin when asked about his leadership style.

It is essential to understand that each PR campaign is different and it needs individual attention. The team at IPD ensures that they give effectual attention to each of their clients and provide custom PR solutions based on their needs.

“I prefer an open communication channel with all my team members, and I like to spend my time with each of them rather than sitting in a closed-door cabin. I strongly feel that to achieve success, your team needs to be focused on common goals and objectives. It has always been my aim to align everyone in my team to these objectives to function as one cohesive unit”, he further added.

THE INNOVATIVE TEAM & WORK CULTURE

The IPD team comprises a well-defined Organization structure.

They have Team Leads that report to Project Managers and Directors. Teams are divided into Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, and Media Outreach.

For any team to feel like a closed-knit unit, they need to be inspired and guided by common goals and principles. More importantly, each team member’s goals should align with the overall mission and vision of the Company. The management team at IPD aims at offering the best PR services while following ethical practices in business and customer service. As a leader, Nitin communicates this to all his team members through regular meetings and feedback initiatives.

ACHIEVEMENTS & FUTURE ENDEAVOURS

India PR Distribution has the distinct achievement of being awarded Top 25 Trusted PR Agency by a leading magazine last year. They have been featured in many top publications, both Indian and International. Earlier in his career, Nitin has also won some prestigious awards, including the WQC Star of quality.

Nitin believes in training and promoting internal talent. Managers undertake regular training sessions across all hierarchies of the organization so that everyone in the IPD team is conversant with the latest trends going on in their specific industry or fields

India PR Distribution has made commendable progress in its client base. However, this is just the start of the journey, and Nitin and his team have some exciting plans for the future. These include adding more publications as our PR partners and introducing new service models for existing and new clients.

Being in a creative field, the leading man believes that it is crucial to have a relaxed, semi-formal environment in the workplace. The firm has an open-door policy, and they conduct frequent meetings to explore creative ideas that team members share. This helps in creating a unifying relationship between the team.

They are also planning to hire new talent from the industrythey look forward to receiving their inputs and learning from their individual experiences to come up with more innovative Press release services.

MESSAGE TO THE ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS

SYNCHRONIZING THE LATEST TECH ADVANCEMENTS

Aspiring entrepreneurs see the success that others achieve but sometimes fail to see the struggle that goes behind this success.

You need to be passionate, disciplined, and focused on your dreams if you want to make it big. Don’t be afraid to adapt and do course correction frequently. Stay away from the ‘shiny-object syndrome.

Being in the tech field for more than 20 years, Nitin has always been a fan of using the latest technology in business operations.

He has implemented many systems in not only IPD but also the startups that he manages. He believes good systems can go a long way in ensuring success and profitability for any start-up or established business.

Key Official Ayesha Rifat - PR Manager

Since the PR industry is constantly evolving, the whole team keeps a close watch on the new and existing tools that we can use. However, they take care not to ‘automate’ Things too much so that their customers speak to an actual human in every interaction.

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

MAVEN PROFCON SERVICES LLP

SETTING NEW TRENDS ACROSS THE MEDICAL DEVICE FRATERNITY Kajal Dobhal | Business Connect MToday, medical device regulatory consultants have been playing a pivotal role in the areas of med-device development and compliance. They advise manufacturers on diverse topics on how effortlessly and sophistically, one can introduce a device to the market. This heavily regulated market needs a reliable partnership that smoothens a long, typical and complicated process that the med-device development pipeline poses. Hence, considering the right team of experts can make a huge difference to your project and this is where Maven Profcon Services pitches in to prove its prowess. For featuring this organisation in our latest edition, we arranged a virtual meet with its Founder- Director— Mr. Yogesh Dad. In our this freewheeling conversation, he discussed various aspects of his business while also sharing some food for thought with our team. We avidly believe this exclusive read will prove to be an enjoyable and fascinating one for our global readership!

THE BUSINESS PORTFOLIO

As a leading consultancy that has attained prominence across Medical Device Fraternity,Maven Profcon Services LLP oaths to become your expert guide for manufacturing regulated considering medical devices. Medical device manufacturers are in constant need of proper consulting to formulate the best- in-class solutions, where Maven offers excellence with its exemplary consulting services. Swiftly, the company has scaled greater heights owing to the dedicated efforts of its compassionate and professional team members. Serving the clients with their technical expertise and fluency in regulatory requirements and amelioration methodologies, the organisation contributes to boosting the client’s performance alongside ensuring protection to their regulatory compliance for their respective medical devices.

YOGESH DAD Director

Maven Profcon has become a preferred partner for more than 200 of its national as well as international clients, since its incorporation in 2016. For Indian manufacturers, it intends to help the clients meet and resonate with the global service standards whereas, for the foreign clients, Mavenguides them with its industry acumen to comply with medical device regulations of variouscountries.The company is well- acclaimed for its 100% client satisfaction rate where the customers are empowered by its regulatory acumen and implementation skills. From SMEs with a small workforce to well- established MNCs with thousands of employees, the company has a clientele that encompasses both domestic as well as international clients. Irrespective of the size of the enterprises, Maven Profconpays intense heed to every client’s complex requirements and is agile, responsive and proactive to resolve their regulatory grievances. The amount of flexibility ensured by them while catering to end-clients as per global timelines is absolutely commendable, which is one the major causes behind it high client contentment percent.

WHAT ARE THEIR CORE OBJECTIVES?

Bringing innovative proficiency while guiding the way for regulatory conscious businesses across the medical device fraternity is what Maven Profcon strives for.Alongside this, it is also converged on ensuring unique customer experiences in the regulatory consultancy space that can offer a leading-edge to their clientele. Their exclusive mission is driven by the idea of unveiling a local business niche while allowing easy access to international practices and while serving the unaddressed requirements of all medical device manufacturers across the globe. www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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Moreover, the vision with which the company is forging ahead is to be a pioneering, interactive, consumer-driven, and zealously referred, leading medical device consultancy with a dynamically evolving scope of regulatory services.

With this, they aspire to deliver relevant solutions to their end customers while earning the customer loyalty of a huge portion ofthe population across the globe.

The team at the company is fixated on incessantly exploring global trends in regulatory services while leading by example. All of the efforts put forth by the employees are to justify MAVEN’s motto of‘being the connoisseurs of medical device regulatory field.’

SERVICE VERTICALS

Maven Profcon is dedicatedly involved in assisting manufacturers (Medical devices, In-Vitro Diagnostic devices, Implantable devices, active devices, SaMD, Drug coated MDs, disposables & etc.)as per their requirements with a set of customized services globally.

But, their speciality lies in the following verticals where they have been splendidly proving their prowess•

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CE Certification- Here, Maven helps the manufacturers pass the conformity assessment with guided documentation, procedures and mock audits, to sell their respective devices across European markets.

Maven provides end-to-end service from selection of notifying body, appointment of European Authorized Representative, document preparation & assessment and support during the CE Audits to Certification.

Compliance with Indian Medical Devices Rules- To help manufacturers introduce the medical devices across Indian Markets, Maven is adept in ensuring end- toend services where it establishes and implements a better- quality management system, acquiring test license, manufacturing license, submitting the report on Sugam portal, facilitating audit support, and swift response to queries as per the Indian MDR. Assisting in UKCA marking- To allow the medical devices to enter the UK markets, UKCA marking is required alongwith CE marking.

Maven aids the manufacturers to transit and sync as per their evolving requirements which means helping them establish a robust UKCA conformity assessment to eradicate duplication

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activities.

Guiding through US FDA tagging- In US markets, getting an FDA- approved tag is a must to introduce a medical device to comply with USFDA regulations.

Here, Maven guides you effortlessly in this direction as a US agent to get your IVD devices done with submissions/registrations/listings.

A GLANCE OVER TEAM MAVEN

Within a short period, Team MAVEN has attained a repute obeing an assemblage of medical device regulatory experts and the elemental factor behind the thumping success of Maven Profcon Services LLP. The company has employed individuals with high proficiency in the industry giving it a leading edge. Each teammate strives to foster ground-breaking services that could prove to be significant in the customer’s success. Addressing his team’s exemplary dedication to make the company a huge success today, Yogesh asserts, “Our ingeniously passionate and result-driven professionals make MAVEN what it is today; granting new age strategies and remarkable services to the global clientele. Our fairly performant team members possess vast expertise in regulatory consulting, auditing, medical device engineering, quality assurance, virtual and commercial business intelligence, and many with medical device industry experience in technical fields, that speak volume in our favour.”

THE CULTURAL PRINCIPLES The founding head of Maven Profcon has always acknowledged the instrumental role of an adept and 41

motivated workforce in the exponential growth of a company. Hence, he has established some insightful cultural principles at the work station that aid in developing and empowering the staff members to prosper to their fullest potential. Under Yogesh’ sinsightful guidance, the management has created a healthy as well as a competitive environment for its employees that can cultivate higher productivity, robust and scalable solutions and assured outcomes in favour of the clients. Additionally, they also encourage their employees to maintain a healthy work- life balance for holistic growth. The administration is committed to creating processes and selections that are focused on bestowing the auditors, trainers, and consultants’ appropriate resources while facilitating them with a means to deliver superior services to the targeted audience.

“We offer an open-door policy to our employees where ideas and innovations are fostered into intangible assets and delivered to the clients,” quotes Yogesh.

ABOUT THE MAVEN POLICY

“We are a client relief organization, who happen to offer regulatory expertise,” claims chuckles Yogesh Dad in reference to revealing the company’s core policy dogma. The firm always prioritizes catering the finest in time medical device consultancy services that are formulated after hours of discussions and brainstorming by the Team MAVEN. The core values that inspire them to keep moving in the direction of client benefits as— Customer commitment, Integrity, Optimum quality, Confidentiality and Zest. And all their futuristic efforts will revolve around these values to scale the heights of great success. www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

Innovation

MUSHROOM CULTIVATION A Sustainable Agribusiness In India “One of the major agricultural industries on the earth is mushroom processing.”

Agriculture is vital to the Indian economy. According to the Economic Survey 2021, the share of agriculture in India’s GDP has increased to almost 20 percent in 2021. Farming in the traditional way is no longer a guarantee of profit.

Through innovations in farming, farmers can increase their income if they wish.

Recently, the Indian Government’s industrial policy and innovative creativity have encouraged research and entrepreneurship in mushroom cultivation. It has a lot of potential as a money maker. It is light-independent, feeds on organic matter, and does not require fertile soil to grow.

India’s unemployment rate has risen to 6.8 % and the youth is no longer confident of jobs. In such a situation, the interest of the educated youth has shifted more towards sustainable agribusiness.

Farmers are making good profits in small areas by doing mushroom cultivation in a modern way. The Mushroom Cultivation Market is projected to be worth USD 16.7 billion in 2021, rising at a CAGR of 4% from 2021 to 2026, to hit a value of USD 20.4 billion.

Rajkumari Binita Devi, a mushroom cultivator from Manipur, is a great example of someone who was influenced by experience and was able to make a fortune and receive awards despite being an unskilled mushroom cultivator.

WHAT IS A MUSHROOM?

A mushroom (Kukurmutta in Hindi) is a fungus’ umbrella-shaped fruit. It is a tasty food that is enjoyed by both children and elders all over the world. It’s also known as “the future vegetable,” as it’s a guarantee against food shortages, hunger, and medicinal value.

With the increasing population across the globe, Mushroom demand has risen recently, because mushrooms meet the needs of health-conscious consumers and are a desirable alternative food, especially for vegetarians.

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Final Thoughts Mushroom cultivation is now India’s most active and profitable sector. It is rapidly gaining popularity in India because it turns farmers’ hard work into benefits in a short period. Agri-entrepreneurship programs especially in mushroom cultivation that involve capacity building and access to funds for youth should flourish to solve India’s brain drain issue.

What today’s youth lack is the inspiration and entrepreneurship to see agriculture’s promise and prospects?. Youths are a source of creativity and a strong source of inspiration for others.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF MUSHROOMS

Mushrooms have a low-fat content and are high in simple carbohydrates. They’re also rich in digestible protein, high molecular weight polysaccharides, and a decent source of fibre, among other nutrients. Mushrooms also contain unsatu rated fatty acids, which account for more than 70% of total fatty acid content, as well as essential fatty acids, are low in calories, and high in vegetable proteins, minerals, and vitamins.

They also contain a lot of secondary metabolites, which may be useful in nutraceuticals, pharmacology, and medicine. Some mushrooms have anti-inflammatory properties that can help prevent diseases like hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, and cancer.

HISTORY

About 600 A.D., the first mushroom, “Auricularia auricula”, was cultivated. “Flammulina velutipes” is later cultivated in China around 800-900 A. D. Commercial mushroom farming has only recently begun in India, with Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka leading the way.

Andhra Pradesh is a big producer of mushrooms.

Training of Mushroom cultivation in India Various government and

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non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in India provide mushroom cultivation instruction. Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar and National Research Centre for Mushroom (NRCM), Solan, Himachal Pradesh are pioneer educational institutes.

A “Mushroom Cultivation Technology” online training program is also available. Farmers, as well as entrepreneurs, would benefit from training programs.

It is possible to have mushroom production three times a year because the length of 45 to 60 days is adequate for mushroom production. Diabetes flour, pickles, cookies, papad, and protein diet powder are made from mushrooms.

TYPES OF MUSHROOM

Button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and paddy straw mushrooms are the three primary varieties of mushroom harvest.

These mushrooms are important in their own right, and they develop in different ways using different techniques and methods. To grow mushrooms, a special bed known as a compost bed is prepared.

Cost of Mushroom Cultivation in India In India, the total cost of mushroom cultivation is around INR 1,50,00 0. Scrap Wooden Shelves (Rs. 20,000), Room Construction Costs (INR 1,25,000), and other Miscellaneous Costs are included (Rs. 5000).

www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

MADE IN INDIA

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

KRUNAL MEHTA- A MAVERICK REVAMPING THE WEALTH MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY Kajal Dobhal | Business Connect

M

r Krunal Mehta, MD & CEO, Mehta Wealth, outlaws the ideal definition of an entrepreneur. Refusing to follow the traditional process, he is the man of his own destiny and words of course! Innovative, young, enthusiastic growth-oriented, and expert professional with over 16 years of varied experience across multiple business verticals along with a strong prowess for Financial Advisory.

A seasoned CEO, Krunal brings proven leadership knowledge and experience to the business challenges facing participants. He has pioneered in organizing Gujarat’s Largest HNI Investors Conference, has become synonymous with execution and high-value results in the Wealth Management Industry.

9 years back, he had joined Mehta Wealth Ltd as a Managing Director and an ambitious force that infused dynamism in the group. In addition to his responsibilities at Mehta Wealth, he is a curator past President of Rotary Club (Surat West) and a member of FIFA (Federation of Independent Financial Advisors). He worked at Venus Jewel as part of their management team. Terming ‘courage’ is well-recognized as one of the most important ingredients to becoming a leader. He is an active participant at CII. He is also a member of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Mehta has accomplished professional endeavors by educating himself with an MBA from CSM Institute, IGS of Canada. He obtained his bachelors of commerce from a well-recognized institute. Besides, he is an authentic speaker and teacher. He inspires the next generation of leaders enrolled in the Center for Higher Ambition Leadership in a way that inspires everybody.

THE INSPIRATION

Krunal started his career by working in a Diamond Company. He worked there for five years. Slowly and gradually, he realized that he has a skill where he wants things to be automated and streamlined and he does not want to keep his knowledge only to himself. That’s why he decided to enter into the other two departments. In the five years of his journey in the corporate world, Krunal was the only person in his company who was handling five departments altogether.

And, he was the youngest as well.

His father and brothers were already in the finance business. When he realized www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

his potential and decided to join his father’s business. And there is the decision to become an entrepreneur.

KRUNAL’S LEADERSHIP, VISION & MISSION

Initially, the company was into the retail business, but when Krunal joined the company he and his brother both realized that trading is not the right way to earn for an investor. It is not the right way of investment.

So, they transferred their existing retail business in the organized and professional ways of investments and entered the market of the mutual funds.

Krunal Mehta has always been a hardcore reader, and while reading in 2017, he realized that there should be uniqueness in whatever you do.

And this was when he conceptualized the idea of the Global Investor Conference. As per this concept, this conference would be only for the investors and will be free of cost.

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Mehta Wealth brings speakers, finance investors to the conference. These experts will share their knowledge, experience, insight from the industry, market, and how Indian finance works and this will help investors to understand the market in a better way.

Simultaneously, another ethic stood up in front of Krunal that he should not only focus on earning money for himself but also help people earn money. And the same year, he switched the business from the retail wealth plan to the premium wealth management plan.

Mehta Wealth’s mission is to provide every investor with a professional route of investment and wealth manager.

And the vision is to be the most trusted wealth manager.

SIGNIFICANCE OF KNOWLEDGE & LEARNING AT MEHTA WEALTH

Krunal and his team have always focused on knowledge and learning.

They have a lot of learning and interacting sessions and webinars. Mr Mehta also decided to get over the traditional way of 9 to 5 working. They work 40 hours a week, no matter if it is night or day. And specific 4-5 hours of those 40 hours are allotted to learning.

Krunal Mehta MD & CEO

GROWING WITH THE TECH SOLUTIONS

At the time, when the Digital India Mission was announced, the team started following to accomplish that mission and they made everything digitized. They do not use pen and paper except for certain customer papers. They are a completely cloudbased company, they work on CRM, no excel, word. They even do not keep any cash. They have also developed a basic chatbot for clients and a mobile app.

LEADERSHIP STYLE & CHALLENGES

Mr Mehta is a great leader- he is a person who does not just tell others but does himself. He believes in setting examples. Secondly, he holds great convincing skill, he is fearless and is not biased in nature.

His work style is very perfect.

Sometimes, other team members and colleagues find it difficult to work with him because he is very particular about things. He is a kind of a perfectionist.

However, this is not a challenge for Krunal but people take it as a challenge.

ACHIEVEMENTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS Mehta Wealth is featured in renowned business magazines including Silicon India, The CEO Story, and The Business Fame to name a few. Their honesty, integrity, and persistence have earned them the “101 Top Most Influential BFSI Leaders” award at the ET NOW World BFSI Congress & Awards, Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai. The recent initiative by Krunal Mehta, Global Investor Conference is another major achievement of Mehta’s that helped them to get associated with renowned personalities from an energy minister to fund managers to railways minister KEY OFFICIALS

Keyur Mehta is designated as Chairman & CIO and holds over 24 years of work experience in the field of financial services. With his unwavering dedication, the visionary traversed from a miniscule infrastructure of 150 square feet to a sprawling 3600 47

square feet of corporate and IT driven wealth management space with 15 professionals. His amassed leadership skills way back since his primary education and now to having established himself as the chairman and CIO of Mehta Wealth formerly known as Mehta Wealth Ltd, a company that has pioneered in Portfolio Management Services (PMS) for High Net Investors in South Gujarat.

KINJAL MEHTA

Director & COO of Mehta Wealth, Kinjal Mehta is an amazing leading lady, working in the primary interface between the business and its operations at Mehta Wealth to provide advice on people matters. She is a firm leader who is responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of the firm’s engagement agenda. With countless milestones behind the success of Mehta Fincon, Mrs Kinjal Mehta is at the forefront of leadership prowess in the company. Her forte lies in escalating the efficiency of the business. Along with which she holds an unwavering position in the company and strategies the operational realms.

www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

CEOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

Promissing Growth Through Innovative Branding Solutions

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Indranil Roy | Business Connect n the last few years, digitalization has made seismic transformations in the business community. Digital breakthroughs have enabled businesses to be more automated, creative with access to better opportunities. Business areas like marketing & advertising, branding are technologized; and solutions like Web Development, e-commerce, application development are constantly revamped. To grow and build, businesses require a holistic digital partner to assist in dealing with digital challenges and establishing a forward path. THYNKK is a cool choice for such concerns. Its sole edict is to help businesses grow and flourish in the digital era.

Recently, our editorial board got an opportunity to connect with THYNKK’s founder Mr A. Ithayathulla. As the conversation progressed, the duo highlighted the innovativeness THYNKK brings in Digital Marketing, Website Development (UI/UX), Mobile App Development, Software Development, RPA, Web and Cyber security. The elegant read is the transcribed version of the conversation.

A. Ithayathulla Founder

Q. HOW HAS THE MARKETING & ADVERTISING DOMAIN SHIFTED WITH TIME? HOW IS THYNKK ENSURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN THESE CHANGING ERA?

What is the first thing that comes up when we think of advertising? Maybe a TV advertisement or one of those large billboards on the side of the road. These methods may be old but are still beneficial in many ways. They do, however, have some significant disadvantages. Because of the high upfront expenditures, many firms simply cannot afford them. If we talk about commercials, you don’t have control over who sees them.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that everyone will be interested in your offerings. Also, wordof-mouth alone will not suffice. This is where the concept of digital marketing finds its precedence.

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Q. HOW DOES YOUR WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS HELP YOU CREATE A NICHE IN THE MARKET?

It helps companies sustain progress, expand and retain clients, increase brand recognition and presence in new locations.

Our website designing & development solutions focus on giving an individual or a business an appealing online look. We can redesign their profile, blogs, catalogues, portfolio or anything else. What makes us preferred is that we provide an interactive experience to our clients. Every stage, from understanding the requirement to planning, Ideation, architecture, and a fluid workflow, receives equal emphasis. We use User Interface (UI), User Experience Design (UX), page templates, animations, prototypes, and other features to make it more unique. We also use CMS Implementation, API Integration, and every offering passes through stipulated parameters before reaching the client.

THYNKK is a single parasol for all your marketing needs. Our services help companies in areas of digital marketing, web design and development, e-commerce, mobile app, branding, and more. In short, we’re a digital solutions powerhouse situated in Chennai.

We began our journey with a focus on the highest quality at reasonable prices in marketing. Today we have a diverse portfolio and are invited to work with industrial magnates in India and abroad. We acknowledge that maintaining a consistent brand presence across several channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and even YouTube, takes skill. We assist your brand hit the jackpot by creating tailored campaigns and implementing efficient social media tactics. Our clientele is spread across 7 eminent countries across the globe.

Q. THROW SOME LIGHT ON YOUR LATEST INCLUSION - CYBER SECURITY SOLUTIONS.

While digitization bore rich fruits, it has brought a wave of cyberattacks on the business community.

Recognizing the need, we have ventured into customized cyber security solutions. Our risk and security management systems will help you upgrade from reactive static protection to intelligent, adaptable models, keeping threats at bay while empowering technological ambitions. Over the years, we’ve educated a plethora of firms in minimizing the loss from cyberattacks. As a consequence, we’ve established distinct networks that are continually expanding. We can quickly identify potential cyber threats and take the required precautions to deal with them. Our timely actions have saved companies from financial losses.

We can also guide you on steps during cyberattacks or what actions MSMEs should take after an event.

Q. SEEING FROM YOUR WEBSITE, YOU HAVE A DIVERSE SOLUTIONS PORTFOLIO. HOW ABOUT YOU LET US SOME INSIGHTS ON YOUR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES?

We provide tailored software solutions at a very low cost. Our skilled developers are edified on multiple aspects of a company. The team rents out application capabilities from a single data centre to a number of organisations through the private or public Internet.

We have hosted applications for Enterprise resource planning, e-Commerce, productivity (collaboration, workflow management, and project management), customer relationship management (Sales Automation, Customer Service, Front office, etc.). Our cost-effective portfolio makes us preferred amongst international and domestic companies, including large corporations and independent businesses. Our expertise and experience further ensure that all operations are executed on schedule.

Q. IN ANY PROJECT, HOW DO YOU ENSURE TO LEAVE NO STONES UNTURNED?

Our journey began in 2016, when I, Ithayathulla, and a mutual friend, Richard Uene, decided to pool our bilingual skills to offer creative design services.

We merged a 20K investment and started with three laptops. While it wasn’t easy, our hard work paid off, and within a short period, we carved a niche in the market. Thanks to a firm foundation, We’ve built a team that can create precise designs, deliver results-driven branding, and give related solutions while working under pressure. Our clients range in multiple sizes and shapes, and we have also developed partnerships with leading suppliers who are famed for their services and helps us in expanding our expertise.

Q. WHAT IS THE INNOVATIVE FACTOR IN YOUR MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT?

According to a recent study, smartphone users spend more time on mobile apps than websites. It’s no wonder that mobile applications are at the heart of the development drive as we usher towards a mobilecentric culture. Creating a mobile app may help drive your business into the hands of new clients and lead to future commercial success. Hence, it’s no surprise that our indigenous firm found broad success in a variety of sectors for their focused app development.

Our clientele includes many globally recognized companies.

Q. HOW WILL DIGITIZATION DRIVE NEW PROSPECTS FOR BUSINESSES? SHARE YOUR VIEWS.

We have created apps for multiple industrial genres that not only establish us as experienced but specialists too. Our diverse expertise helps us assist in the best possible manner and devise befitting apps.

In one case, we assisted a multinational company in modernizing their digital app so that they could stand out in a crowded market and reach out to more customers than ever before.

Today, failing to have an online presence and failing to embrace new technologies is a bad deal for businesses.

A business can miss out on a lot of opportunities in the online world.

Understanding this will assist you in appreciating the value of Digital Marketing in a business strategy.

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

CXOs

OF THE YEAR 2021

Kriti Anand | Business Connect

V

alkan Engineering an AadhMin Alliance Private Limited is an innovative, growing, and professionally managed solar company headquartered in Tamilnadu with roots in solar plant engineering, Root Cause Analysis, EPCM, and development of projects. It provides key add-on engineering needs of a solar EPCM / developer, such as Detailed Site Survey (DSS), Pre-Feasibility Engineering (PFE), Detailed Project Engineering (DPE), Plant Commissioning Testing (PCT), Root Cause performance Analysis of existing plants (RCA) and Solar plant Asset Management (PAM).

Valkan Engineering prides itself on its optimum quality, excellence, and innovation. The company was formed onto the Solar scene in 2017 and is spreading its rays far and wide and is now a name to reckon with. It is technologically advanced and uses the best materials and processes in the industry which results in a satisfying customer experience.

Parthasaarathy Venkatachalam –Chief Operations Officer, Valkan Engineering Pvt Ltd is adding new pages to the achievements of the brand along with the founding team, Senthil Kumar and Nivas Vallavan. He is an experienced Business Development Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the renewables and environment industry.

Parthasaarathy Venkatachalam The COO, providing a comprehensive range of solar solutions at Valkan Engineering

Parthasaarathy’s journey started with Valkan in the year 2018 as a Business Development Associate, and in just 2 years, he became a significant part of the team. Despite the Pandemic, Valkan bagged orders of around 2.5MW in EPC and 50MW of Design Projects, Revenues from which tripled the revenue of the Previous financial year.

Parthasaarathy played a pivotal role in successful empanelment under three Government Energy Departments and bagged 5+ MW of Projects.

Further, Parthasaarathy apprised, “Having an engineering background and starting off as BD was quite challenging. During the initial phase, I tried to inculcate the skills essential to be successful at my job. I was responsible for expanding the business of Valkan and was subjected to meeting clients across the country. The learnings while conversing with my counterparts and my leadership team at Valkan immensely helped me to be successful at my job. Over the years, I have involved myself in all aspects of the projects we do, helping me acquire new skills which are essential to become a leader.” www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

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VALKAN ENGINEERING, AN EMERGING NAME IN SOLAR

PROGRESSING IN A DYNAMIC INDUSTRY WITH R&D

Valkan was started in the year 2017 and has a very young and dynamic team, the culture of the team is to be vibrant round the clock. Here, employees play a crucial role in every aspect of decision-making in the company and that’s a key factor for the scale of projects they have executed so far despite having limited members in the team. They cover almost all verticals involved in the Solar Industry ranging from Design, EPC to Testing services, and they deliver the services to most of the Tier-1 clients in India. Valkan was started with the main motto of building a brand name for Design Consultancy which was a niche sector back in 2017. They have worked for almost all Tier 1 EPC Companies and they were also designing for mediocre players in the market. After having built a brand name, in the year 2018, they added EPC and Testing into their forte. Their Existing Design clients supported us by subcontracting the EPC to us and they also partnered with many O&M Companies to offer their Solar Plant Testing services.

So far, they have designed close to 1GW of Projects, executed 5+ MW of EPC Projects, and have conducted 1.5GW of Solar Plant Testing services.

The team at Valkan Engineering tested their various new processes in designing, business development, which became their flagship “Retainership model consultancy” back in 2017.

During I&C of several plants, they have undertaken various R&D activities at the site level to improve the efficiency of the plant. Now they have ventured into solar robot cleaning as well.

STANDING STRONG AGAINST UNCERTAINTIES IN 2020

“Being a Young Start-up and our experience in the market till 2020, we had set ambitious targets for the year 2020. However, the surge of COVID conditions made us press the brake pedal.

WE had to redefine achievable strategies instead of ambitious ones and we were bracing ourselves for nightmares ahead.

We held multiple meetings with each employee to understand their ideas and strategies that might help us in achieving the set target. Before others stood, we were up and running in the market, which is clearly evident from the volume of projects we completed last year”, shared the leader while talking about the company’s situation during the pandemic.

With more than 50 MW of DSS, 150 MW+ PFE, 50 MW+ DPE, 200 MW+ of PCT, and 10 MW+ RCA, Valkan is becoming a common name in the Solar Industry. Their plan is to keep innovating, venture into new spaces of solar, and keep moving forward positively and aim to be a leader in the industry within the next couple of years.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES AND EMERGING AS A FRONTRUNNER

Currently, the main challenge faced by C-suite is to Maintain a Healthy Environment among employees. Every employee is important to the company, hence looking after an employee is a very crucial factor. Amidst this tough Covid situation, people are bound to work from remote locations, disrupting the culture of the company. In addition to Revival of Business, maintaining a healthy company culture despite remote working is the challenge for C-suites across industries.

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www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 4 | Issue 4 November 2021 INDIA

LifeStyle

Pottery A Timeless And Diverse Craft Across India Pottery is an ancient, prominent craft in India; its origins here can be traced back to the earliest times of civilisation. It survived for aeons and is a massive source of employment in both rural and urban areas. As a mass of clay is turned into a pot, those lively eyes look at vigilant hands working relentlessly in unison on the wheel. One who sees it happen sings praise for the mesmerising abilities that these boys, who are considered to be potters, possess.

In India, one such left out community is that of potters. Pottery is the art of carefully moulding clay to make different objects.

The sheer hard work they put on and the abilities they develop these very pots through are magnificent. But since most factories are shut down, and most artisans are either idle or paying too little, their destiny appears to be sailing in choppy seas.

India’s Regional Pottery Craft Tradition •

Revisiting Pottery

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Jaipur Blue Pottery, Rajasthan

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Khawda Pottery, Gujrat

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Khurja Pottery, Uttarpradesh

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Longpi Pottery, Manipur

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Black Pottery and Terracotta, Madhya Pradesh

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Andretta Pottery, Himachal Pradesh

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Revisiting Pottery One of India’s most timeless living craft traditions is pottery. Pottery is practised across the length and breadth of the nation, from flower pots, terracotta chimes to the thirst-quenching ‘Surahi’ and ‘Matki’. A visit to the rural and “potter villages” speaks volumes about the economic significance of this craft. People use traditional manual potter’s wheels and kilns to engage in pottery along with subsistence farming, making earthenware an integral part of haat, bazaars and urban market spaces, particularly during the festive season.

Jaipur Blue Pottery, Rajasthan Jaipur Blue Pottery has a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. This is a glazed form of pottery that uses a blue glaze and is typical of intricate designs in blue and white. Pottery’s most distinguishing quality is that it is a commodity that is not clay. Mixing ground glass, quartz powder, Earths Fuller’s, borax, gum, soda bicarbonate, and water makes the dough for the pottery instead of clay.

Khawda Pottery, Gujrat A traditional art form originated in the village of Khavda, Rann of Kutch, using ‘Rann ki Mitti’. With painted symmetrical black and white patterns, the lovely ochre/group shades give this art form an earthy feel. Allegedly, the special mud with which it is made is acquired from near a lake.

Khurja Pottery, Uttar Pradesh Khurja is a popular tourist destination in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, thanks to the colourful pottery it makes. The Khurja Pottery, also known as the ‘ceramic city,’ which has a range of tea sets, crockery, and ceramic tile works, is the GI name. The method requires some labour-intensive activities, such as clay churning, moulding, colouring, followed by glazing, among the most common glazed pottery types.

Longpi Pottery, Manipur Longpi pottery has achieved international popularity due to its rugged design, originating in the Longpi villages of Manipur’s Ukhrul district. The classic black exterior with bamboo/cane woven around handles gives the clay-wares a unique identity, made from black serpentine stone and a form of clay that is found only in this region. Longpi pottery is also microwave-friendly and can be used for baking.

Black Pottery And Terracotta, Madhya Pradesh The age-old craft of clay and terracotta art is practised even today in its traditional way and with passion. Tribals of Madhya Pradesh region make traditional clay temples called ‘dhabas’ which has a small door where the deity is placed along with the fire lamp (Diya). During Diwali time they make clay idols of the goddess Mahalakshmi, elephants and horses with riders and the local form of Goddess Parvati.

Andretta Pottery, Himachal Pradesh Andretta pottery from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh has received fame in a small village nestled in the lap of nature. Glazed with fresh shades of blue and green, the Andretta Pottery and Crafts Society has made it famous. The colours used are reflective of nature, evergreen woods, and the mountains. The community conducts regular workshops as well.

More eco-friendly use should be encouraged to improve livelihoods and maintain pottery as an art and craft medium, under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) goals for sustainable production and use. Similarly, trends such as #PottersKiDiwali, large-scale purchases made by the government and corporate departments, and tax exemptions granted to potters such as the one made on the occasion of Diwali, districts are nurturing pottery as an industry.

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