Story one : The story of a brand.
What you do think is the biggest asset to Mankind ?. We think about our emotions and moods along with our ability to express them, but our biggest asset has been storytelling. The knowledge that helps us connect to our rich history and our present life. Some things of longevity eventually have become part of many remarkable stories of our life such as Notre Dame being the part of a rich storyline of the war that shaped our lives, East India Company in the colonial narrative that shaped continents and the Apples’, Microsofts’ of the modern world. A fair share of our billion men of the country has one or way another has his story linked to the stalwarts named Aditya Birla Group. With its reach on industries such as Construction, Telecom, Fashion, etc. one way or another, ABG has etched a story in our life. Let me narrate the incident where ABG has touched my life. My brother’s wedding has always been a dream of mine. As the first child of our generation and being part of a joint family, the excitement levels inside ourselves was immense.
With me donning the hat of a wedding planner for a rather quickly decided ceremony the pressure on me to turn the event pitch perfect was monumental. The most significant part of it is the “Wedding Suit.” Van Heusen has always been our brand of choice, and for many occasions, such as my first job interview to the latest business suit for my MBA college, this brand has dressed me well and sharp. With only four days left, we decided to hit the Van Heusen outlet at our home town Cochin. After many trials, the suit which my brother liked required some adjustments. However, the modifications required a fair bit of time, and it would take another two days do so. With a chorus behind me asking to switch to a different brand, my brother and I knew that this was his wedding suit and we wanted this. The manager who was a native of my place assured me that he would deliver it to my home on the eve of the wedding, we decided to go with it. Was the gamble worth it.? Was the trust worth it.?. I can relieve the tension-filled moments that we had gone through until six o’ clock on the wedding eve, where the manager walked to our home with the Wedding suit, and on the wedding day, it was the perfect Van Heusen for the perfect groom. This is how ABG has etched a story with us. With many products that influence people like us, ABG is indeed the brand that is shaping the generations to be and one of the most prominent storytellers of our time.
Story Two: On my path to build a brand.
As a kid, I have always been fascinated by the way disjoint elements come together to make something grand. Creating products is the passion that I currently imbibe me to stretch an extra mile in life. It lead me to an Entrepreneurship cycle in my life where my undergrad friends and I created a Peer to Peer lending product. With mentor ship from our incubator, we decided for our closed group launch where we handpicked the first hundred borrowers and lenders. Once the product hit the market, we found the lapses in customer expectations and our product prioritization. Within two months we had to refund our customers and shut the shop until we perfected the product. It was clear that we lacked expertise. At the moment, there was a choice to get money from our close relatives and restart the venture or get acquired by our mentor’s firm. It was one of the biggest challenges in my life. Since it was a five-member team and tied at 2-2 for both ideas, after objectively analyzing the situation, I voted for acquisition so that we could bridge the technical and personal skills to run a business. After two years, the five of us are currently split apart to acquire new skills which would help us return in a few years to start a venture of our own. I believe the most significant decision in my life to take a pause, and reiterate has helped all of us acquire new knowledge. By drawing inspiration from the journey of a ABG, one day I hope to see the five of us in a glass-walled meeting room looking at an office full of people working towards a dream envisioned by a group of five ordinary men who came a long way from a small hostel room of an undergrad college.