Leader Spotlight: Naman Shah

We are back with another edition of our Leader Spotlight Series

This time, we had the privilege of speaking with Naman Shah , Founder & CEO of NowPurchase .

Naman talks to Kolkata Calling about how and why he built NowPurchase to transform the procurement landscape in the Metal Manufacturing industry, the kind of culture he has built (and building) there and what he looks for when hiring talent.

He also speaks candidly about Kolkata, what's holding us back and what we can do to become an employment generation powerhouse.

Do read, share, and comment with your feedback!

About Naman Shah

What are your goals for NowPurchase? What impact do you see it making in the industrial procurement landscape?

NowPurchase is transforming the $140 billion Metal Manufacturing industry. Our goal is to be the preferred procurement partner for over 3k metal manufacturers across the country by 2027.?

Strong believer that technology could create efficiencies & empower businesses & individuals. Last decade has seen huge amount of innovation on the consumer side with companies like Swiggy, Flipkart, MakeMyTrip & so on. Businesses still do not have the right tools & access which could make them more efficient & successful.

NowPurchase provides a convenient, industry-specific procurement platform that streamlines the purchasing process for businesses. Prior to this, industrial procurement was often cumbersome and involved going to multiple suppliers to source raw materials. NowPurchase has addressed this issue by onboarding multiple stakeholders from both the buyer and seller sides, focusing on building demand first, and then slowly opening up the supply side to meet demand.?

NowPurchase has generated demand by providing:?

• Real-time price availability through WhatsApp bot in a volatile and non-transparent market.?
• A strong service layer which understands metallurgy to give you quality and delivery assurance.?
• And lastly is a proprietary software MetalCloud to help manufacturers make use of the raw materials in the most effective manner.?

Additionally, we have leveraged technology to provide price and stock discovery for greater transparency in the purchasing process, particularly in unstructured and unorganized categories like metal scrap. By building a platform that meets the unique challenges and opportunities of each industry, NowPurchase is changing the industry’s procurement landscape for the better.

With the funding announcements from last year from InfoEdge and Orios Ventures, what are the growth plans for NowPurchase??

NowPurchase's overarching goal is to make procurement for metal manufacturing industries autonomous and efficient.?

We aim to achieve this by expanding our foundry business and increasing the number of foundries on our platform to more than 500 in the next 12 to 18 months.

Currently, we have approximately 150 foundries on our platform.?

We operate in two clusters, West Bengal and Kolhapur, and plan to expand to two to three other clusters by the end of this year.?

We aim to expand our platform and operations to increase our efficiency and make the procurement process more autonomous for metal production industries.?

What is your leadership style??What is the culture like at NowPurchase??

As a leader, I lead with a goal to build an enduring & endearing company where people enjoy great amount of autonomy, work-life balance & growth.?

My leadership style is pretty much hands on. I like to get my hands dirty and show by example. Post that once people are onboarded - I like to get out of their way so they can achieve what they set out to do. (Something I am still working on and can improve :P)?

At NowPurchase, we firmly believe that an organisation's success is largely dependent on its work ethics and culture.

Our culture embodies the following principles:?

• Relaxed Atmosphere: We encourage a pleasant and enjoyable work environment to cultivate creativity, productivity, and innovative thinking.
• Adaptability: We understand that change is inevitable, and we embrace it. We are open to new ideas and approaches, as we recognize that flexibility is vital to growth. A bunch of folks have gone through role changes in our company.?
• Transparent Communication: We value open and honest communication. Our philosophy is to over-communicate, and we encourage our team to express their thoughts and opinions, rational or irrational, without fear of judgment. We believe that feedback is a powerful opportunity for development.?

I'd also like to share our four pillars, which comprise our company's core values:?

• Empathy ~ We experience one another's point of view, rather than just our own.
• Integrity ~ We have an uncompromising adherence to moral and ethical principles
• One Team ~ We have a meaningful, compelling purpose—a shared aspiration that captures the hearts, minds, and energy of every person on the team that lets us work in unity?
• Ownership ~ We possess the freedom to take decisions and chart out our own growth path?

What are the top skills and attitudes you look for when hiring??

1. Can do attitude: Things arent ever ideal or perfect in a growing startup so need folks who embrace that & thrive in it.????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2. If point 1 is met: relevant educational background (not the hunt for premium colleges but specific knowledge like metallurgy for example).?
3. We aren't hell bent on experience but for some roles we do want folks with adequate experience.?
4. We always try to understand the ambitions and motivations of the candidate to see if we could provide them a relevant platform at NowPurchase.

Why should one join NowPurchase??

We are a compelling, creative, and mission-driven organization that believes in having fun while building something bigger than itself. If you are excited about reimagining the future of metal manufacturing and procurement in our country, then we would love to have you join us in our journey.?

At NowPurchase, we believe that each person has their unique individuality that contributes to the team's fabric with their distinct skills and working style.?

We encourage our team members to be themselves and bring their best selves to work. We strongly believe that great teamwork is the key to success, and therefore, we have mini teams and pods within departments that work cohesively to achieve high performance.?

Or if you are looking to just build something amazing out of Kolkata - then also contact us!

Your vision for Kolkata:

To be among the top 6 cities in terms of development, employment & opportunities. Be the leader of the East and be a place where people from Eastern states come to new opportunities!?

What are the challenges facing the Kolkata start-up ecosystem? How can we overcome those?

The Kolkata startup ecosystem has been growing steadily over the past few years, but there are challenges that need to be addressed in order to support and sustain its growth.?

Primarily 2 of them:?

1. PERCEPTION?

Since the events in Singur, the perception of Kolkata is not the most business-friendly. Even though things have progressed in large steel companies as well as in other houses like ITC Calcutta, there still is a huge perception issue. We need to work towards building the right perception that Calcutta too is a business friendly location.?

2. BRAIN DRAIN?

This has happened with huge communities of Calcuttans in Bangalore, NCR & Delhi. I am sure each one of them would be happy to be back if there were great opportunities available.?

How can we make Kolkata an employment generating powerhouse?

While infrastructure and investment is a must, Kolkata can’t become a powerhouse without its own local home grown business powerhouses. While we have had the history of some great businesses like Shree Cement, Emami, CenturyPly to name a few - there is a need for resurgence & emergence of newer ones across sectors.?

This would not only create employment opportunities but also inspire more large businesses to come out of Kolkata.?

What is your advice for young Kolkata entrepreneurs??

• Kolkata entrepreneurs are usually ones who stick to the basics but often forget the bigger picture in the quest for sales & profits. Important to have the bigger picture in mind.
• ?Don't be misled by the fast-paced world of startup funding shown in the media. It is a long game of perseverance and grit.?
• Go outside Kolkata, see what is happening & bring the best practices back.

Team?Kolkata Calling?thanks Naman Shah , Velivel Susheela Banerjee and NowPurchase .

P.S. If you would like to be featured in subsequent editions of Leader Spotlight series - kindly drop us a line at [email protected] and we will be in touch with you.