02 | Entrepreneurship Journeys with Two Edbrand Students
Anand Virmani | Co-Founder, NAO Spirits
Anand Virmani graduated from Babson in 2009 with a B.S. in Economics and Marketing. Having initially gone in to study Finance, Anand paved an inspiring path, following through with whatever he was interested in (hint: it wasn’t Finance). For the past several years, he’s been dedicated to providing people with unique experiences in the spirits industry. After setting up the successful Perch Wine & Coffee Bar, he ventured out to co-found NAO Spirits, a company that focuses on producing and distributing artisanal gin.
Mallika Kapur | Founder, Onism
Mallika Kapur graduated from Denison in 2018 with a B.A. in Communication & Mass Media. Mallika’s experience at Denison gave her the room to exercise her remarkable ability to do outreach and create community wherever she went. As she moved away from college, she was struck by the fact that people are increasingly seeking experiences over material objects. This is why she founded Onism, a company that curates unique collective experiences, where people can get together to experience something meaningful together.
Episode Takeaways
Anand Virmani
Babson Experience
Anand applied ED to Babson under Arjun's guidance because of their Investment Banking Program. During his first year he learnt a lot from the group work experience which was completely new compared to CBSE. His best class in the first year was Rhetoric - a non business class on public speaking which has helped him throughout his career so far. During his first year he took a class where he had to pitch a business, start it and sell it - he handled the finance for the business. It was a great learning experience but he realized that finance is NOT what he wants to do for the rest of his life. In his 2nd year he did a case study on the Wine Industry and spent time with his Professor during office hours trying to figure out how to experience this in real life. He was guided to spend a semester in New Zealand at a vineyard. He graduated in 2009, at the height of the recession, but still managed to get a job in consulting that he did not enjoy. Soon after, he got a job in the Spirits Industry, which is where his professional journey began. Three years ago he was able to launch his own business - a wine bar. He never thought going into Babson that he was going to be an entrepreneur.
His Business
Anand makes an Artisanal Gin called NAO. When he first began, he did not think there was a market for Gin as most people preferred Whiskey or Wine. When he started a wine bar in 2015, he received a lot of feedback from customers, primarily millennials. Realising that there was a demand for Gin in the market, he created a product catered towards millenials. His customers helped through word of mouth marketing. They got involved with the brand and advocated it as they engaged with the owners. He feels regular customers want to talk about the gin they are having with their friends to justify their choice. Customers are passionate about the product and the way it is made - He feels millennials are drinking less but better.
How he built a community that is invested in his product
It's impossible to deliberately build a community. He feels you should be true to what you believe and this will inspire people to believe in it as well. He wanted to create an authentic experience without any shortcuts. He allows people to come visit his distillery. It's a journey they like to share and talk about. However he feels he is not yet doing justice to his social media marketing. Inherently he likes living under a rock but he can’t do the same for his brand and so he is making an effort to get out there and talk about it. For example he is hosting Zoom sessions on what people can do with their bottles of Gin during the lockdown, such as making cocktails with whatever they have lying at home. He believes that before building a community you have to be a part of it. He tended the bar thrice a week to understand the pain points and opportunities of the business and to feel legitimate and he thinks experiencing the service yourself helps his connection with bartenders, as they won’t take you seriously until you understand all aspects of the work.
His Entrepreneurial Journey
Anand’s entrepreneurial journey started at Babson, even though entrepreneurship was the one thing he didn’t try. Luck brought him to the spirits industry. He took a lot of brand building classes and majored in marketing and made sure that he followed through with whatever he was interested in. He always tried to look for opportunities in the wine world and this brought him to the whisky business. He had done his masters in the wine business in France but came back to Delhi for a marketing job with a champagne brand. The company suddenly pulled out of India after a year so he was without a job. That gave him the push to start his own wine bar "Perch" and from that came the idea to launch his own Gin.
His Three Strengths
Anand is supportive, passionate, thinks outside the box and has a good liver!
Advice to students just graduating college or going into college
Be resilient. Put blinders on. Don't worry about what others are doing, their lifestyle or salaries; Even if you are not sure just follow your path - sometimes you can't plan everything - there is a lot of chance involved in your journey; Just keep doing what you think is right.
Mallika Kapur
Denison Education & Experience
Mallika knew exactly what she wanted to study before she went to Denison: Communication & International Studies Double Major. She felt welcomed on campus from day one, where she connected with a large variety of students through her majors and her clubs (international & religious). Denison not only educated her academically but completed her in many other ways.
Her Business
She has just launched a website called Onism - meaning to take ownership. She has always been outgoing. In college she would host a lot of parties and bring people together through curated cultural events and networking with alumni. When she graduated she wanted to do the same thing in real life. Onism aims to build bridges, interview change makers and influencers through an interactive platform that is packaged well. She feels millennials want to invest in experiences over commodities. Kolkata offers a lot of experiences around history and culture. She wants to curate experiences such as art and dining for large groups and help people build meaningful connections and enjoy authentic experiences.
How to effectively reach out to your market
Her target audience, millennials, is curious but finicky so she needs to curate to what they want. They don't just want to drink and dine but have an experience. For example, she would have two chefs in Italy share their grandma’s recipe with a group of friends meeting over Zoom to socialize during COVID. Millennials want authentic experiences and Mallika wants to bring the world to them.
How she built her Entrepreneurial Mindset
She did this through her first job at Openhouse, an educational startup. She saw it grow from 4 to 100 as their Brand Manager. She learnt to build their brand on social media and learnt how to pitch a product. She believes that millennials will have a need for Onism. She thinks it's important to build a digital presence now, especially during COVID as millennials seek a mindful existence whether now while they are at home with COVID or once they step out after the pandemic.
Her Three Strengths
She is a Conversationalist, Creative and Compassionate
Advice to students just graduating college or going into college
Follow your heart and gut; Failures will be your own so take the plunge; Make the most of your situation; Invest in human connections and community, not just in grades.