On National Siblings Day, meet 5 successful sibling entrepreneurs who have made a mark
National Siblings Day is celebrated on April 10 to honour and celebrate the bond between brothers and sisters. On this occasion, SMBStory curates a list of siblings who have successfully walked down the entrepreneurial path together.
A partnership with the right person can have an incredible impact on your business. And, if needed, who can be the best other than a sibling who shares a common interest and future goal?
SMBStory unearths stories from across the world to regularly share a dose of inspiration with you. As National Siblings Day is round the corner, we thought of listing down businesses that have been started by siblings and are running on a growth trajectory.
Here are their stories:
Richa and Raina Grover
Across the world, styling hair with extensions, silk toppers, streaks, volumisers, and more, is an always on-trend fashion choice.
Although India is one of the biggest exporters of hair in the world, these products surprisingly don’t see a high demand within the country.
Hyderabad-based Hritik Exim — started by Lalit Grover in 2008 — is a major exporter of hair extensions to the US, Brazil, and other countries.
When Lalit’s daughters — Richa Grover Badruka (30) and Raina Grover (28) — were defining their career paths after their graduation, they found that despite Indian women suffering from hair loss problems, they were not forthcoming to try hair extensions and solve this problem.
“While I joined my father’s business, Raina pursued a job in the digital marketing agency. As I was handling international sales, I saw a huge global demand for hair extensions made from the hair we were exporting. However, there was almost negligible demand in India,” Richa tells SMBStory in an interaction.
Today, a large percentage of women face hair loss and hair thinning issues. Most of these issues root from COVID-19, pregnancy, thyroid disorders, anaemia, PCOS, and skin conditions, including psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis. With alternative therapies, treatments, and medicines, the results vary.
Richa saw this untapped opportunity in India and discussed the potential idea of starting a hair extension brand with her sister. By this time, Raina had quit her job and entered the business full time.
But, the sisters were entering a market where there was no demand!
In October 2019, the sister duo started , which offers easy-to-use luxury hair extensions, toppers, and clip-ons for women who are at different stages of hair thinning and hair loss.
Carving a niche for itself in the Indian market for three years, Richa didn’t disclose the turnover but claims to have catered to over one lakh customers across India.
Stuti and Agnim Gupta
Founded in 2006, is an ayurvedic health and personal care brand that was running into losses until 2016. Its founder, Ashok Gupta, who was working as a distributor for various pharma companies, was finding it hard to keep the business afloat until his children Agnim Gupta and Stuti Gupta decided to step in.
What restarted in August 2017 by getting one order a month has now grown to 4,000 orders per month, with a revenue of more than Rs 2 crore. The company also claims to have witnessed a 250 percent jump in revenue in FY21.
Agnim and Stuti revamped Amrutam and rebranded its products. From supplying herbal medicines to medical stores and doctors, Amrutam started selling premium personal as well as healthcare OTC products online, through their website, and directly to consumers (D2C). They also repackaged the products and labelled them differently.
The brand has around 1,000 SKUs, and Stuti claims it differentiates from its competitors in the healthcare category by offering ayurvedic malts.
Parag and Vishal Kaushik
For millennia, Ayurveda has been practised by many as a holistic approach to health. This traditional practice, that goes back centuries, has therapies that many believe can boost immunity and shield the body from various diseases.
While there has always been a debate between modern medicine vs Ayurveda, in recent years, this age-old medicinal industry has seen a boom with many young entrepreneurs bringing its benefits to the fore.
Vishal Kaushik, a marketing professional, saw great potential in this market and thought of giving a contemporary spin to the traditional wisdom of Ayurveda. He then decided to found Upakarma Ayurveda with his younger brother, Parag Kaushik.
In an interaction with SMBStory, 36-year-old Vishal says, “We grew up seeing ayurvedic products in our home. Though Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medical science, it started appearing on market shelves only recently. There are many old and trusted brands that we respect a lot. With Upakarma, we aim to capture space between old and new brands in the segment.”
Upakarma Ayurveda was founded in 2017 in Delhi, and in a span of five years, the brand has seen over 100 percent year-on-year rise in its turnover and has recently been valued at Rs 150 crore.
Pashmi and Jash Shah
Indians’ love for sweets is very known. `
According to a report by Smart Research Insights, the yearly consumption of ice cream in India is 400 millilitres per capita. For years, players like Amul, Mother Dairy, and Vadilal have been dominating the market, which is projected to reach Rs 18,786 crore by 2022 according to another report by Eurometer.
However, within the ice cream industry, smaller players are emerging, catering to niche markets.
Get-A-Whey is a premium brand that focuses on manufacturing and selling protein ice creams. It is co-owned by siblings Jash and Pashmi Shah. Currently, it is present in Mumbai and Pune, and the siblings – both MBAs - plan to make inroads in other cities as well.
Pashmi tells SMBStory that Jash, who is extremely fond of proteins, would buy different kinds of proteins whenever they went abroad. “He wanted to collect the best proteins from different countries.”
So when Jash and Pashmi demanded from their mother—Jimmy Shah—a healthy way of satiating their cravings, their mother mixed some whey protein in ice cream. And that is how the idea of Get-A-Whey ice creams was born.
Soon, this home recipe became a business opportunity that saw many takers. With a basic logo, an initial investment of Rs 10 lakh from family members, and a team size of three, the brand was launched in 2018 in Mumbai.
Shaan, Rahul, and Aakash Sareen
The Sarin brothers — born into a family of businessmen — wanted to start a restaurant business that targeted children, young adults, and families. But they knew a restaurant for kids cannot serve alcohol, and a lounge-cum-bar for young adults wouldn’t attract families.
To overcome this, Shaan (34), Rahul (32), and Aakash (29) in 2019 took up a three-storey building in Punjabi Bagh, Delhi, and launched three restaurants — one on each floor.
The three restaurants, which share a kitchen, are named TEO Lounge and Bar, The Dineroom, and Cartoony Planet.
According to the brothers, TEO Lounge and Bar is a Rs 5 crore turnover business, The Dineroom records Rs 3 crore turnover, and Cartoony Planet makes Rs 2 crore in annual revenue.
Edited by Teja Lele
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