Growing up in a household with five generations living under one roof can really expose you to varied values, perspectives and experiences. Learning and growing with such experiences is what has moulded me and who I am today.
Here unfolds the timeline of my journey
1991-1999
In 1991, it was the start of my career, joining my family-run business in the electronics and technology industry, later moving on to becoming an entrepreneur. My very first venture involved importing the latest gadgets from around the world and retailing it from a showroom called Techzone.
1999 - 2014
I moved into mobile technology, technology platform development, aggregation and distribution of entertainment content via mobile platforms in India, in 1999. A venture, I like to believe was ahead of its time, grew with the determination to provide world-class seamless technology service and experience and be synonymous to excellence in customer satisfaction. It wasn’t a miracle that a three-member team became a family of 225+ members, operating in 14 countries.
In my 12-year journey with Techzone, we worked with the best content providers from the industry, including brands like Saregama, Universal Music, Times Music, Tips Music, Venus, Aditya Music and more. We were among the first to streamline royalty payouts to the content industry, way back in 2003.
Along the journey, we saw content licensing partners on the lookout for mergers with platform partners. Eros International, one of the then content giants wanted its own technology distribution platform, and in 2014 acquired Techzone.
2015 - Present
With rich experiences and networking during this venture, I continued to grow in the field of entertainment launching two music labels - which acquires IP, namely - Muzik247 and Amara Muzik. The music labels are headquartered in Chennai and own a plethora of content in Malayalam, Tamil, Odia, Bengali, Chhattisgarhi and Gujarati. The label has been associated with widely appreciated content like Oru Aadar Love(Malayalam), Lakshmi (Tamil), Premam (Malayalam), Baby (Odia), Kabula Barabula Searching Laila (Odia), Praktan (Bengali), Bastushap (Bengali), Maya 2(Chhattisgarhi) among others.
A strong believer in ensuring customer satisfaction, it reflects in the result - its ensured that each piece of content is well placed, promoted and made accessible - thus, satisfying the artists and the listeners. From maintaining an engaging and active social presence, the music labels reach out to their audience through platforms like Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, Wynk, JioSaavn, Gaana and more such digital platforms.
In 2016, I decided to venture into the packaged food and beverage manufacturing industry with the help of my aunt, Gulab Bhandari and headway by my brother-in-law Nitin Chordia. We started Gulabs - specialising in manufacturing syrups, khakhras, pickles, ready to cook products and masalas in as much natural way as possible. Today, the brand has a presence in over 1000+ retail and e-commerce stores PAN India and are well-known for its true to roots taste, premium quality and classic packaging.
With experience in content promotion across social media platforms from earlier ventures, TAPMOBI was born (a digital and social media agency) Tapmobi in 2015 that focuses on promoting small and medium businesses across digital platforms.
The journey doesn’t end here, as there is always a hunger for growth and learning. I like to work with youngsters who are always bubbling with ideas, have clear thoughts and are focused. This is reflected in the average age of my team. I believe in giving the team an environment to learn, aspire, and grow with a free hand to experiment with what they want.
What I value is hard work, honesty, focus and a yearning to achieve something. At the end of the day, every family member should be happy, and that is what makes me happy.