Bootstrapped success in a funding-driven world
"Noise" was founded by cousin brothers Amit Khatri and Gaurav Khatri in 2014 in Gurugram.
This is their story
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?? The beginning
Amit, a NIFT graduate, spent a few years at an export house that made apparel for Zara and H&M.
Then he set up a design product house in Hong Kong. Ran the business profitably till 2014, but the 33-YO wanted to get out of the backend part of the business.
In 2012, Kingfisher Airlines shut operations, there was uncertainty in the market, and Gaurav, a commercial pilot, 23-YO lost his appetite to fly.
The cousins came together, rolled out Noise, and started selling mobile accessories and covers.
Neither cousin came from a business family.
They first sold mobile covers and accessories.
But by the end of 2017, they were at a crossroads.
Noise was doing well as a business, but they had realized that they didn’t have a brand.
During the same time, they also witnessed a sudden shift in the mobile accessories market, where the average selling price of mobile covers and accessories was dropping at an alarming pace.
The unorganized market saw several local and small players and the product category was tagged as a commodity rather than a lifestyle need.
By the end of 2017, they made the ultimate pivot that would revolutionize Noise.
Being in the mobile accessories business made them aware that wireless audible products, smartwatches, and products associated with the smartphone-connected ecosystem were selling like hotcakes.
There was a lot of interest in the Indian market, but the quality offerings were global and required deep pockets.
But rather than going the funding way, they decided to take their our-money-our-profit way.
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??Revenue
In the mobile accessories avatar back in 2017, Noise clocked about Rs 24 crores in sales.
Post their pivot to smartwatches; they grew at a rapid pace.
That too in a market dominated by deeply-funded players like boAt, smartphone biggies such as Samsung, Xiaomi and Vivo, and a clutch of aggressive homegrown players like Fire-Boltt.
Noise leads the wearables segment in India with a market share of 27%, led by their smartwatches, according to a Feb'22 report by the IDC.
Meanwhile, according to Counterpoint Research, Noise ranks among the top 9 smartwatch brands globally and stands third in the APAC in terms of shipment.
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?? Make In India
On sourcing components for their smartwatches, Noise has faced challenges due to the availability of chipsets and SOCs.
They have built several strategic partnerships, including a team in Germany, and are dealing with factories and manufacturing units in Vietnam.
They assemble in India and are working towards increasing production here.
To enable this, Noise is looking for more manufacturing (OEM) partners in the country.
Starting from Jan'23, Noise made a significant stride towards its goal by localizing more than 90% of its smartwatches.
To put it in perspective, Noise had manufactured over 1 million smartwatches in India in May'23.
??boAt - one of their biggest competitors - has grown on the back of contract manufacturers, mostly based out of China and Taiwan
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?? Why NO funding?
They have been approached by credible investors.
However, as of today, they have never felt the need for external support but are also not averse to the idea.
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?? Challenges
Remaining bootstrapped might also be a baggage.
The competition has risen by multiple notches.
boAt, from a paltry 2.8% share in 2020, has raced to a staggering 25.1% in 2021.
Fire-Boltt's market share has increased from 0.3% to 11.5% during the same period.
In contrast, Noise has only inched from 24.6% to 27%.
The point here is that it is hard to continue with a bootstrapped journey beyond a point in the consumer business.
While it helps during the initial phase of the journey in terms of inculcating fiscal discipline, it has its limit.
You need marketing dollars to grow aggressively.
In consumer businesses, brand-building plays a critical role in ensuring long-term growth.
Noise scores poorly when it comes to visibility.
Even Apple and Samsung, the two biggest smartphone brands in the world, have to aggressively advertise to reach out to consumers.?
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M.B.A-Finance with over 19 Years’s experience in Accounts, Audit, Taxation & MIS
4 个月Noise Team very sad to mention I have bought One Ear Buds VS102 PRO but its got deffecteive and deposited with your Karnal Service center on 29 May 2024 vide Job sheet no. KAR2405295973179. Two months have been passed no body is responding. When I talked with your customer care team they are totally failed to solve or update me what is the status of replacement. Your Company's process it totally pathetic. Can I expect any resolution??
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11 个月I believe the partnership with Bose is strategic and will not affect the premium market segment of Bose. Noise would continue to be a value offering from Bose and that's the way bose would like to keep it. Where, the premium segment will be for Bose products and Mass segment will be for Noise
Building my D2C business. Author (20+ Fiction Novels and counting)
1 年?? Have you used Noise's products?
Building my D2C business. Author (20+ Fiction Novels and counting)
1 年Sharing is caring ?? Press the button "Repost". Cheers.