Hey,
The first month of 2022 is over and we’re already in February. Phew, let that sink in. Time is moving so fast, it’s unbelievable.
Over the last 6 weeks or so, we have realized that India has suddenly woken up to Entrepreneurship and Start-ups. Indians and Entrepreneurship go a long way back but start-ups, fundraising, etc. have become dinner table conversations in so many households. This seems unreal though is very encouraging.
This change in conversations has been brought about by Shark Tank India, the Indian version of the famous US-based reality show “Shark Tank” that has inspired so many people across the globe.
We have been ardent viewers of Shark Tank India and have watched almost all the episodes at 9 pm, on all weekdays. It’s been very motivating to see that people from so many diverse backgrounds with such interesting & innovative ideas have been working to build something large & impactful.
As a young brand and first-time entrepreneur, it feels so so good that we are playing a very small part in taking India forward and to some extent, inspiring folks in building enterprises.
This week, as the very first season of Shark Tank India, came to an end, we started reflecting on our journey and all the people & brands that have inspired us over the last few years.
Today, I want to talk a bit about the people and brands that we have looked up to across the globe. Some of these brands were started a while ago and some of them a couple of years ago.
Method: Started by Eric Ryan & Adam Lowry, Method was one of the earliest brands in the US that started with a mission to create sustainable and toxin-free home care products. The journey of building a category-creating brand is always inspiring and we continue to learn from Eric & Adam on how they disrupted this large category. If you like to tune in and learn about their journey, hear this podcast. Also, we are big admirers of other brands that Eric went on to build - OLLY Nutrition & Welly.
Atoms: This brand literally has our heart. Their story is so so inspiring that whenever I’m feeling a little lost and want to feel motivated, I read how Sidra & Qasim went on to create an amazing brand. Not only they are the pioneers and creators of the most comfortable shoes, ever but their journey from a small town in Pakistan to Silicon Valley and being a part of Y Combinator is all about preservance and having faith in their idea. If you would like to read about their story, click here.
Greater Than: We absolutely admire people who are extremely passionate about a certain thing and then go about working on their passion and make a life out of it. I met, Anand, who co-founded Nao Spirits, the parent company of Greater Than Gin brand, in early 2019 and was smitten by his passion and knowledge in the alco-beverage industry. Greater Than was the very first homegrown Gin brand that launched in 2017 and started bringing spotlight to this not so famous drink and made it the talk of the town. Today, if you meet any millennial or Gen Z and ask them their go to drink, ⅖ people will say it’s G&T (Gin & Tonic). This is a real change in habits and perception which has been primarily driven by Greater Than and so many other Gin brands that have followed the suit. If you would like to read more about their journey, here is a quick read.
The Whole Truth Foods (TWT): Shashank, the man behind re-building world’s trust in food, is a genius. Even before we interacted with him for the first time, we were consumers of his brand and philosophy. In a product category, where there are hundreds of new age brands already present, one has to have a different vision altogether to build a clutter breaking brand. We love the brand, products, content and pretty much everything though we truly admire him for relentless execution. You can tune in here to know a little more about Shashank & TWT.
The above mentioned brands & founders are only some of our favorities and the actual list is fairly long.
At Perfora, we are trying to learn from so many people as we go about building an interesting and iconic brand. Some of these conversations, we are able to have directly with the founders/operators whereas others we learn through case studies & podcasts.
BTW, considering this is February, the month of love (Valentine’s day is around the corner), quite a few of you would be planning to gift something thoughtful and different to your respective partners. Well, this year, we suggest you to gift better oral health to your partner.
Our products are a delight for the consumer and we have an interesting range from vibrant color electric toothbrushes (spicy coral anyone?) to unique variants in Toothpaste (lavender rose for the love birds). Not to forget the refreshing probiotic mouthwash and a few other interesting products.
If you would like to gift something from Perfora, we will personalise it for you with a note or a gift wrap or anything that we can do to make it special. Believe me, we want to ensure your loved ones feel special.
If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to reply to this email.
Love,
Jatan