BUSINESS
The Grit and Innovation That Transformed Atomberg into a Leading Home Appliances Brand
In 2015, Atomberg, a relatively small fan startup, found itself teetering on the brink of financial disaster. To fulfill an order for 1,000 fans, they urgently needed an advance payment of Rs10 lakh. However, a tense negotiation session resulted in them securing only Rs7 lakh. This left Atomberg in a dire situation, with nearly 80% of their initial funding of Rs1 crore from Aarti Industries’ promoter family already exhausted. To complicate matters further, mass manufacturing was largely uncharted territory for the two founders, Sibabrata Das and Arindam Paul.
Their moment of salvation came in 2016 when IDFC Parampara invested Rs7.5 crore in Atomberg. This financial injection allowed the startup to escalate daily fan production from a mere 30 fans in April 2016 to a commendable 100 fans by the following year. By April 2018, the company had successfully transitioned into a direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand. Atomberg’s growth trajectory had been redefined, shifting from a struggling B2B supplier to a thriving D2C enterprise.
In 2019, the founders made the strategic decision to seek additional funding to further accelerate their growth. However, their ‘David versus Goliath’ narrative, lack of an offline distribution network, unproven manufacturing capabilities, and limited brand recognition presented significant hurdles. Just as their hopes began to wane, a potential strategic investor showed interest, raising the prospect of salvation. Yet, this glimmer of hope faded as the funding deal fell through, leaving Atomberg with no viable options. Salaries were overdue, vendors remained unpaid, and existing investors were reluctant to inject more capital. With just over a month’s operational runway left, the once-promising company faced the grim possibility of closure.
It was at this critical juncture that the founders adopted a ‘why not’ attitude, leading them to A91 Partners, a consumer brand-focused fund established by former Sequoia executives Gautam Mago, VT Bharadwaj, and Abhay Pandey. Although the fund’s ticket size exceeded Atomberg’s requirements, they seized the opportunity and secured around Rs75 crore ($10 million) in Series-A funding from A91 Partners.
The impact of this funding was immediately visible. Atomberg’s operating revenue surged from Rs69 crore in FY20 to an impressive Rs360 crore, based on unaudited numbers for FY23. Daily fan production witnessed a remarkable jump, increasing from a modest 1,000 in April 2019 to an impressive 10,000 in April 2022. Alongside this growth, Ebitda margins improved substantially. Atomberg, once perceived as a ‘David,’ had convincingly transformed into a formidable player in the industry.
Atomberg continued to innovate, expand its product range, and explore new growth opportunities. With a mission to become a Rs5,000-crore business within five years, the founders remain resolute in their pursuit to redefine the consumer electronics sector and emerge as a leading small appliances company.
VT Bharadwaj, General Partner at A91 Partners, extolled Atomberg’s distinctive approach in challenging market leaders with superior products. The founders’ unwavering determination and spirit during years of adversity convinced A91 Partners to invest in them. Atomberg’s journey serves as a testament to the power of resilience, innovation, and unwavering determination.
In 2011, Manoj Meena embarked on his entrepreneurial journey by founding Atomberg. Despite holding a promising job at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), he chose the path of entrepreneurship, driven by a passionate desire to create something significant. His entrepreneurial journey began with a small lie to his family, as he deferred his secure job to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams. Meena was resolute in his determination to leave a lasting mark in the world of startups.
By 2013, Meena’s entrepreneurial exploits led him to co-found Atomberg with Sibabrata Das. Their journey was anything but smooth, marked by a series of ventures that faced challenges and setbacks. Over several years, they experimented with various ideas and businesses that failed to gain traction. By 2015, they faced a critical turning point with dwindling funds and an unmet significant institutional order.
This juncture served as the catalyst for Atomberg’s founders to discover their inspiration to disrupt the fan industry. They recognized an opportunity to develop energy-efficient fans that could outperform traditional models while delivering substantial cost savings to consumers. Leveraging Brushless Direct Current Motor (BLDC) technology, they created fans that significantly reduced energy consumption and introduced remote control functionality.
Their innovation was groundbreaking, allowing them to challenge established fan manufacturers with a superior product. They expanded their product portfolio to encompass ceiling fans, pedestal fans, wall fans, exhaust fans, and even mixer grinders. Atomberg’s commitment to both online and offline sales channels was pivotal to their success. By 2019, they had made remarkable strides in fan production and were well on their way to establishing themselves as a prominent D2C brand.
This audacious journey and their innovative thinking attracted investment from A91 Partners, thereby transforming Atomberg into a dominant player in the consumer electrical space. The co-founders, once labeled as failures, have now assumed leadership positions in the industry. They are working towards realizing their vision of becoming a dominant force in the market, thereby building an aspirational product company.
Atomberg’s journey, from the position of ‘Davids’ challenging market leaders to that of a formidable ‘Goliath,’ stands as a testament to their unwavering determination, their innovation, and their entrepreneurial spirit. Their story embodies the indomitable spirit of entrepreneurs who dare to disrupt the norm and emerge as leaders in their industry.
Entrepreneurs
The Power Couple of Instagram: Sara’s Journey to 5.5M Followers
Sara’s growing online fame is marked by her creativity, reliability, and deep engagement with her audience. From comedic sketches featuring her husband Ghaith to aspirational lifestyle imagery, Sara has effectively demonstrated her capability as an artist in keeping her followers interested in her content. With adept use of humour, honesty, and aesthetic sensibility, Sara stands out as one of the dearest influencers in the UAE.
Versatility is one characteristic that best describes Sara. She posts more on Beauty and Cosmetics, Apparel, and Accessories, but often crosses over into areas like Fitness, Healthcare, and Healthy Living. She offers a great deal of value to her audience through beautifying tips, exercises, and product recommendations among other content forms. This variety keeps audiences interested and puts her in the lead position as a go-to partner for brands who wish to create a more memorable impression.
Characterized as luxurious and a dynamic way of life, no destination aligns more with Sara’s fulfilment than Dubai. Through the travels she takes through the Maldives, Seychelles, and Turkey, Sara embodies luxury exploration spirits that epitomize Dubai as the ultimate and highly sought-after destination around the world for glamorous and adventurous characters. The tales are not just inspiring ones for her listeners but also speak to the part Dubai played in unlocking access to the extraordinary destinations around the world.
Collaborations underpin all of Sara’s accomplishments. For example, in a recently collaborated project with Garnier, one of her social media reels had nearly 4 million views with 130,000 interactions. Similarly, in another collaboration with Temu, such an engagement was conducted in an informative and entertaining manner, thus it gained an impressive 7.7 million views and about 500,000 engagements. These above collaborations represented the potential of marrying creativity with brand messages and finally producing something authentic and relatable. The synergy of relating to her husband, Ghaith, has that effect for Sara. A build-up in her persona comes about through the collaboration bestowed upon her with some quality that makes not only aesthetically pleasing but also emotionally meaningful. While comedy up to poignant moments, the dynamic between Sara and her husband, Ghaith, is something that essentially encompasses Sara’s brand. Their connection to her talents allows her to build a followership that enjoys an impressive 80% credibility score—a notable achievement, undoubtedly, within the realms of influencers.
Amazingly, the engagement metrics attached to Sara’s account average 9.6 million views and 1.1 million engagements per post. For a long time, such performance left in its wake most of her colleagues from the blogging community. Furthermore, she has averaged engagement rates between 4 and 5 percent, which is all proof that she indeed is extremely trusted and interesting for her audience.
Effects of Sara touch the lives of individuals. Her GRWM videos are revealing and inspiring, along with beauty tips and Q&A sessions that make them feel valued and included. This is genuine, and she welcomes each other with her excitement about cementing herself as one of the authentic social media icons in the UAE.
Sara represents a vibrant and dynamic culture about Dubai, full of energy, diversity, and aspirations, but she also keeps her feet on the ground, inspiring her followers through this story to pursue their passions and be true to themselves, but concurrently enjoy all of life’s pleasures.
When the digital world may dismiss trends, Sara’s story continues—logical, funny, hopeful, and full of energy. She has been an inspiration among young aspiring influencers, and a very revered personality among her subscribers, thanks to her capacity to capitalize on entertainment that also harbours heavy content. Through her consistent creation of content that deeply connects with her audience, Sara represents how true enthusiasm and authenticity contribute to a long-term record of success in an area that, from day to day, seems to be constantly changing with each shift in social media trends.
Entrepreneurs
How Varsity Tutors Connects the World through Personalized Learning
Varsity Tutors seems to be one trendsetter in the world of education, doing an edge in leveraging the technological front towards tailoring and making learning accessible. Conceptualized on the idea that every child is as special as his needs, Varsity Tutors connects learners of all age groups with experts in multiple subjects for fulfilling academic tutoring needs, professional skills training, and much more towards assuring that every individual’s unique educational needs are met.
What makes Varsity Tutors distinct is its dual platform approach. While for them, a learner has the option between in-person sessions or online and mobile platforms-most of which take place remotely-award-winning digital tools allow learners to get high-quality instructions from anywhere in the world. Where the finishing school kind of excellence in education is one aspect of the culture of Dubai, the parents and the students here have come to trust Varsity Tutors. Its flexibility coupled with highly advanced methods would dovetail easily into the forward-thinking approach towards education in Dubai.
The academic tutoring isn’t where it ends. Varsity Tutors also deals with professionals who want to up skill or achieve certifications for boosting their careers. Live, interactive learning makes some rather complicated subjects quite digestible, thus making this an engaging and very immersive experience. Online learning is ultimately isolating because with Varsity Tutors, one gets human contact and real-time feedback so that learning is effective but also fun.
Varsity Tutors boasts an impressive record: three million hours of live instruction delivered to date. Its strong showing does, in fact reflect the capacity to be flexible and grow within a highly dynamic educational landscape. The platform offers many different subjects through its extensive network of experts, giving any learner the chance to find an appropriate match for their goals. The reach of the program worldwide resonates with diverse communities everywhere-from students and professionals in multicultural Dubai, all of whom are seeking top-notch learning solutions to thrive in a competitive environment.
Innovation is one of the leading factors for Varsity Tutors’ success. For instance, learning in its mobile app is at the fingertips of the user: a user can schedule sessions, view resources, and interact with his instructor quite easily. This convenience has been a game-changer for many busy professionals and tight-scheduled students. Dubai’s bustling educational and professional scene has found synergy with Varsity Tutors’ vision. The platform aligns with the city’s goal of fostering a knowledge-based economy, equipping its residents with the tools needed to succeed in a globalized world. With its emphasis on personalized learning, Varsity Tutors supports Dubai’s mission to nurture talent and encourage lifelong learning.
The impact of Varsity Tutors goes beyond individual learners. Students will be empowered to reach great academic and professional heights, contributing to the building of a brighter future in communities around the globe. Quality, accessibility, and innovation ensure the firm does not only serve but lead an evolving education sector globally.
Varsity Tutors is a legacy of transformation and change in the face of education through technology potential. The platform combined personalized instruction with avant-garde digital tools that changed the face of learning. From young students to professionals undergoing training, there have been many from New York to Dubai and everywhere in between who have found a haven in Varsity Tutors.
Entrepreneurs
Nomadic Capital’s Visionary Founder: Ziad Ghosn’s Journey of Success
Ziad Ghosn, however, goes beyond being an entrepreneur; instead, he is a visionary who moulds industries in the GCC. Having been around over 15 years and immersed in the intricacies of the UAE market, Ghosn has converted Nomadic Capital into a thriving hub of innovation, incubating game-changing ventures in fields such as technology, food and beverage, and healthcare. Ghosn, along with his co-founder wife, Stephanie Khouri, is on the forefront of debunking traditional business models to herald smarter and more efficient solutions. He is the epitome of innovation and resilience.
Education and corporate experiences formed the base for Ziad Ghosn’s entry into the entrepreneurial world. He graduated with honours from the American University of Dubai, and a Master’s Degree in International Business from London, further helping him polish his skills in the bigger organizations of Wunderman, Y&R, Emirates Lebanon Bank, and Pragma Group. This experience gave him the much-needed knowledge and market insights to create his own ventures.
Ghosn, alongside his wife Stephanie Khouri, has partnered with Nomadic Capital Limited since 2017. Founded on a vision to introduce innovation in the GCC region, this start-up aims to tap into untapped markets by offering services either incu-bating potential ideas or undertaking their own ground-breaking initiatives. Collaboration is what made Nomadic Capital a leader in fostering innovation and tackling modern business challenges. Pushdot was the mobile application which Nomadic Capital produced and which earned the company a place among the top 50 start-ups to watch in the UAE. The app has been acclaimed within the region and has further received international accolades such as the Appy Awards in New York. This recognition has, therefore, underlined the app’s capability to update business needs through innovative digital tools.
Ghosn’s initiatives cover much more than mobile technology. Operating Nomadic Capital, he has done much to create opportunities in the food and drink sector, as, with his team, he was granted the International Business Excellence Award for Innovation in F&B. Among the concepts of the firm, of great significance is the Automat, a fast-food restaurant model whereby hot meals and beverages are dispensed via vending machines. Such a concept not only offers convenience but also addresses efficiency and operational issues in the industry.
Recognizing the potential of technological integration with healthcare, Ghosn has turned his attention to this booming industry recently. The focus of his last efforts has been on providing better patient care and streamlining business operations through advanced digital features. Through these gaps in traditional models for healthcare, Ghosn manages to deliver smarter solutions that are more accessible and promise to redefine the industry in the GCC and beyond.
The entrepreneurial pursuits of Ziad Ghosn reflect the kind of relentless drive for innovation and adaptation to modern business needs. His ability to turn from retail automation towards health care reveals the visionary of an entrepreneur who stands out in today’s competitive landscape. Through leveraging cutting-edge technology and deep market insights, Ghosn continues making opportunities that challenge conventional norms and redefine possibilities.
Through his firm Nomadic Capital, Ghosn gives more than just ideas to life; he creates a culture of innovation that resonates across industries. His entrepreneurial success is a blueprint for would-be business leaders, outlining how strategic vision and adaptability lead to transformative outcomes.
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