Parsh Kothari

1️⃣ The 80cr in 7 years Mithun Sacheti was a different man. He studied Gemology in California, US, and came back to run their family jewellery store. But? Within 7 years, he made 80 Cr in Revenue and 10 Cr in profit. His family was impressed. But he wasn't.

2️⃣ "There's no scale" Sacheti, the 'best performer in the family', was unhappy. "There was no pace. There was no scale. I wanted to expand,” recalls Sacheti. And "online" seemed to be the best place for it. That's why he left the business. After taking 74 Lakhs from his father, he started Caratlane, an online jewellery shop in 2008 with Srinivasa Gopalan.

4️⃣ LAUGHING Cow. His business DOOMED. “It’s a terrible idea. Band kar do [shut it down],” was how a top businessman in Chennai reacted. “Hanste they sab mere upar, kaun khareedega online,” he recounts. Still, he persisted.

5️⃣ The First Scam? For YEARS they tried to get funding. but couldn't. Finally, Lee Fixel, partner at Tiger Global messaged HIM first-hand! He got ₹27 Cr in the bank account. Now they had FUNDING! They opened a store but guess what? As the story goes on, a woman enters the store and leaves aghast. She wanted to "feel" the jewellery, but the showroom was totally ONLINE!

6️⃣ CaratLane - A TATA Product Things changed in 2015 when Titan bought Tiger's 62% stake and became their biggest shareholder. CaratLane, was now a Tata product. TATA! The gold standard of TRUST! The thing they needed the most! But the growth Sacheti expected was nowhere to be seen. At this point, he wanted to GIVE UP cause they were still making losses.

7️⃣ The Big Bull Once, he met with Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. While explaining to him his 'woes', RJ fell ASLEEP! There was a cigarette lying, and he asked RJ, "Do you smoke". So RJ lit up a cigarette. This time, RJ listened attentively till the end. When he asked: "You didn't lit your cigarette?" Sacheti replied, "No sir I don't smoke". A diamond cut a diamond. And instant bonding ensued.

8️⃣ Profitability Vow. After the meeting, he vowed not to take another penny before he made CaratLane profitable. So he focused on • Data-Driven Inventory Management. • High focus on vertically expanding their business. • Focus on "everyday" wear, something you don't put in a locker or give your daughter. • A sense of 'educating' the customer, rather than 'selling' to them! And not to mention, the 'online app' which got him so many curses, became a boon because by use of AI, they allowed Women to TRY OUT Jewellery before buying!

The biggest lesson I learned from Sacheti is: • Sometimes, you need to act 'cunning' and not 'smart'. (like he did with RJ!) So what's the best thing you learn from him?

That's all for today! Follow @parsh_kothari for more such insightful stories about Businesses and Founders! Also, please like the first tweet, it motivates me to produce more such informational content :)