Raj Shamani on Building a 200 Crore Business & Going Viral on Social Media
Hi everyone. I am Ishan Sharma and in this video. I got the chance to talk with Raj Shamani about how he started his own business how we grow on social media as well as how he met Gary vaynerchuk and got to have dinner with him I think this was a super interesting conversation. If you're into business, if you are into social media, you will have a lot of fun looking at this complete conversation.
So make sure that you watch this completely make sure that you are the like button and here is a video Raj welcome to the channel. Welcome to this video. How are you doing there? I don't know how to respond to how are you doing today? Or how are you doing? Genuinely I'm doing fine. If that's the answer apart from that. I just woke like I just woke up and it hard to believe that I woke up at 5 p.m. Today yesterday was my relax day I don't know how to describe how am I feeling right now Amazing bro.
your reels are really motivational I really find lots of value in them and the way that you contextualize is it for the platform it's just Amazing. the whole Objective behind reels I tell you, it's basic right. Like I don't talk about anything which is rocket science I talk about something with very basic simple prospective because I make reels for myself And I feel that Raj you know what to do, but you want someone to remind you daily. And I know that there are a lot of people like Raj like we all know what to do with our life, but we just need someone who can reminders daily. So I am your daily reminder. I am your daily reminder for everyone who want to do something.
who want to get motivated but is feeling little unmotivated A little wheather to do or not some perspective. Sometimes you feel like quitting. Sometimes you feel I think the short-term gains, sometimes you feel like maybe I can get angry or I need freedom or need to create wealth. Whatever it is ,daily basis reminder. That is what Raj is going to be for you.
So with reels this just like that I am your daily reminder tell me about your entrepreneurship journey how did it all start how did you build Shamani industries. And what made you do all of this. yeah, it just started man, I just got lucky at the right time at the right place to be honest because I was born in a family which is of business people. though we were not that fortunate with income to money but my father my grandfather my uncle everybody was fortunate to see ups and downs of the entrepreneurship journey so we were rich in Experience At the time when I started entrepreneurship journey we were not that rich monetarily but experience wise their really really up because my father saw three cycles of a business by the time I got into it, so three cycle as in, when he started at the age of 18 and 17, he was homeless. He was selling coconut on the street as a vegetable vendor now you can imagine like from where do my father comes like extreme poverty selling coconuts on the street as a vegetable vendor, then he started selling soaps then from there and he built a factory then he built a factory Our entire family was doing good. Everything was going great. We built our own house the house that was I think one of the best houses of seen in my life and then my life my father's factory got fire it caught fire then again the downfall Side coming then he face like a huge loss in vendor session was their Great Depression time around 2008-2009 Global Markets went Fuked So till 2010, 2011, 2012.
My dad business went horrible down. I think I remember he was in 2011. He was loss for 25000 per month or something like that. I don't remember exactly but it was some like after the fire.
This is what happened. So he saw all of this and he tried his luck as a trader as a manufacturer as a brand maker and all those things became really really like a backbone for me. So when I started my only objective is that I had two objectives number one. I need to prove everyone who's making fun of me because I was a not good at anything. I was not born with a silver spoon that I was in silver spoon what I mean and not in terms of family in terms of how is not blessed with good academic I was not good at studies have not blessed with athletic body so I was not good at sports as well. And I was not in my entire family.
There is no one who was speaking in English So I couldn't speak in English either till 12 I was not good at English So I wanted to prove everyone that I have it in me in me regardless of whether I am useless Kid or I'm not I have faith in me. I am gone make it big that was one and number two I want to get rich because I thought the only way to prove people wrong is to become rich and then I was having this conversation with my father that I want to become rich. What should I do? And then the business start like we should do job.
We should do business and slowly slowly brainstorming happened and then I got into business and then we started. It became very very natural for me to choose dish wash gel business because my father was already in the chemical trading and detergent manufacturing business since he was manufactured detergent ready. He helped me build dish wash gel and then I started playing in that particular segment and help my father grow his business and expanded my business at the same time, then in 2015-16 me and dad we decided that why not we do this one thing because we both are going good. So let's do one thing I'll my father that I'll take care of the production part. You take care of the marketing part because I see that you are good story teller So I took over the entire marketing my father took over the entire production and then we expanded and we expanded we came to a level where we had today So it went on pretty well Great, the first time when I saw your Instagram account, I was just like Ok this might be some person doing some startup typical internet type company and then I saw your story in which you are building your own IKEA furniture you were showing and then you were showing that this is what we actually sell now.
Ok. This is this is interesting that is new and thats how I was curious and why FMCG why not take a typical internet startup and all FMCG it was very evident I didn't have a tech background in and I didn't know the meaning of startup till the time. I reach 19 or 20 by the time we were already doing million dollars in sales. I didn't know what startup is So How old you right now? 24 So by 19 I didn't understand all of this neither my father knew about this Startup means for me was Flipkart that's it you built startup by yourself as well I have no clue about all of these and I knew the business and business needs to be done in one way.
You need to borrow money from your parents or bank or your relatives a somebody like in the beginning bootstrap it or your own pocket money put like starting 10000-20000 50000 in it and then start making from that 50000 start making more money so that you can get 60000 and then expand then you can get 70000 this is all I new. I didn't know what is the venture capitalism. I didn't know what these investments are. I didn't know ki Aise koi race Karke external funds. So you can grow crazy, no clue I only knew that I got 10 Rupees I want to make it 11 and then 12 and so on simple Maths. typical business.
This what I did this is what my father explain this is what me and my father together started doing it and my father had experience in FMCG business. So It became evident it became very natural for me to get into the same business now apart from that there are two things which are genuinely believe just because I come from a background which is which is in FMCG since the beginning of only read about it , today You tell me you ask me a question like the most difficult question about the history of the largest FMCG companies in the world I will be able to tell you, you talk about what companies across the world are doing in FMCG even though I am not talking about like now expanded my my reach and my intrest into couple of different aspects as well. but even if you today ask me what people are doing what people do in future, what are the working today? And what they have done in FMCG world. I tell you, since the beginning I have been only interested in this the first time Google came and the first time I had to make a project in my school I research about Big Bazaar My natural interest was in FMCG and I didn't realise this I only did all of this because I understood only one thing, is in my house we talking about this.
My only game was how can I help my father build this business or get this thing bigger. How can I help Make this thing bigger and my father didn't know that the detergent Business you called it FMCG my father didn't know this my father say how do detergent business Dad we are in FMCG, Dad like what FMCG? So you can imagine right so. I only knew this and I was reading about all of this when I was reading about it knowingly or unknowingly.
I started getting to know a lot about what's going on in the ecosystem of FMCG I started learning for the strategies which have worked for people with hand work for people and I do all these thing only in my 12th standard because I used to love all of these I use to read forbes in 12th standard. And I used to just open pages where there were about talking about Godrej, merico or Unilever or PNG I just read about all the stuff? I would read about all the talks. at that time chairman was Harish Manwani of Unilever I used to listen all the talk with Harish Advani was giving So I was interested in all of this and just because I was intrested in all of these it became natural for me to get into it very natural and then I was simple rule when you come to business because that was my father taught me. every time you doing business.
You need to ask yourself. What is your strength? There's a way to do business. There are three ways before you start any business you need to ask yourself 3 question number 1, what is the industry obsessed about knowingly or unknowingly? Where do you spend your time the most ? So I was Spending My Time in FMCG so I was obsessed about it I wanted to know everything was going on and off in the entire industry FMCG then what is your strength? What is your strength as a person my strength was story telling just because I was reading all of this was watching lot of movies I started and ok so my father doesn't understand English he can't talk in English and understand the language as well.
So I was reading all of this I was explaining that in Hindi to my father. Because if this my storytelling skills became better because my father would give me like 5 minute " dimag mat kha zayda jaldi bata". Right. What is your strength? My friend story telling I can speak. Well, I can read stories. And then now you talk about your what is your strength and what is industry you obsessed with how can you use your strength to fill a gap in a industry where you like in a category with which you are obsessed? How can you do that? That's the question you need to ask yourself. So I was like there's no brand in the city which is built on a fundamental of personal brand there is no FMCG brand which is giving a good story for telling a good story, right. there is nothing.
So I was Wow! this is my strength of this is a problem in industry that what we did we started narrating our story our brand journey and my personal brand we started mixing that in FMCG industry so that the industry which is a product led industry we started making a brand led industry and then we blew up. this is how you build a business talking about personal brand how did it starts on social media what need you think about ok, I can start creating content on social as well as your meeting with Gary Vee how did that happens these are two big questions number 1 what happened is, I tell you, just because start telling I started narrating stories I got into I got really fascinated by the concept of Building like I got concept of telling stories in public as a public speaker So I started doing that offline. I started to telling my story that started telling everybody about my journey. entrepreneurship bombard my thoughts.
In the offline world, I was already doing this. While I was doing all this I realise This is what we need to do. If we need to expand, we need to find out a way to make this bigger.
How can we do that social media and when I open social media Because I knew that the internet is something which makes people popular but one thing which I knew, great! I'll open internet I open social media website and then I saw this man shouting ranking every day of the week that Gary wow! I love what is saying and I love how naturally he is, I love and I can totally relate to my style. I could totally relate like the only reason why I got little success in the world of speaking because I was completely informal every time I would go and speak at colleges or events and conferences. There will be 10 sneakers nine of them would talk like good morning everybody. This is a professional come up with a PPT I would go there rap and shout in dance. So People say "kya ho raha hai" and I could relate that style with Gary then I start reading about the man and start reading his books and then I read his book called crush it. Ohh! "internet Ye kar sakta hai".
Internet has that much of power internet can do this I need to do this. I started building my particular brand on the on the on the platform when I started doing it. I started doing the same way. natural, organic.
Even if we see today my reels it is like I'm talking to someone and I'm talking to you right now. I'm talking to you right now from this weekend to take out like three or four years and reels and put it on instagram this is how we create content. because gary taught me this and this is the best way. All this happened and then I became I got really interested in the guy then I was expanding my brand I became big in the in the ecosystem As a young person one day I got an invitation from one of the organizers who was organising an event in Singapore and they said we need you are the filler speaker.
What is a filler speaker and a main speaker So main speaker means in whose name tickets are sold so the person came whose slot is booked and at a particular time this particular speaker speak so you go there. and what filler speaker is In case if the star speaker doesn't come at that particular time so from 09 to 09:15 who will speak so at this time filler speaker comes We can't keep your audience waiting. Right? So we need someone to fill it Singapore Mein jakar, speech Dene Ka mauka mil raha hai.
Something I'll meet new people meets big speakers is very good some common speaker to bada yoga kar mujhe FIR Bula Rahe Tu I just accepted the opportunity one month before the event. I get to know the main speaker. What was the immediate reaction after that I started packing 1 mahine Pahle Se bro. I know that my fellow speaking Smart Kid Abacus prepare nahin karna hota hai track Karke Masti karna.
I start preparing from that day. If 15 minute 30 minute milk if I had different different combinations I had 7th which is prepared bro sab ghar ke Jaane Kyunki Jhooth Nahin bolna, aur Aisa bolkar property Kelkar kya there got their God in the same event now no speaker or main speaker your speaker you get a batch which is VIP speaker. Duke 200 hangout in the speakers sound speakers launch you get to meet Gary Gary is in the speaker loud. He is having dinner you are having dinner is eating lunch you are eating lunch.
Everybody is chill having fun together. So after the lunch after his speech. I just went crack few jokes do some time pass, and after that was a session the session was networking session in the networking session only like top 20 30 people like millionaires multi-millionaire all these people were there good speakers, the understanding the always sipping wine they were having wine conversation because of course Gary is there.
So I stood next to Gary and told him I don't drink wine Vikram tea toddler. I don't drink alcohol. I don't taste I never tasted I don't eat chicken So I don't even know what to grab your because it singapour people eating non veg and non vegetarian recipes salad, like and I don't even have a question to ask you for making this conversation interesting. So I don't even waste your time I generally don't have anything but I love who you are do you mind if I just stand right next to you and listen to you? Why you're having a conversation with other people.
Do you mind that? He said No, I kept standing for 2 hours and listening to him 2 hours later He says you really persistent man let go have some dinner. Let go eat something Sure and then I realise that on that particular place there was no one Just me and Garry like he took me on a dinner because I was persistent with him alone, like it was kind of a date like this that the best date of the world and then the real conversation happened and then he he told me about making like starting my own podcast then starting my own podcast ke sath mein aur kya kya kar sakta hun. How can I make my brand and make it a bigger brand? How can I do more things to even take it to another level.
Those were the conversations we had that one day not changed everything because then I asked him why don't you come on the podcast? Any he said I wont be the first guest I will be the 15 guest. I was like I am recording here right here right now. you are on record that you will be my 15th guest if I record 14, I'll call you will hunt you down. I'll fly down to your office if I have to but you can't deny he said done.
Coincidently one year later, I recorded 16 episodes and after recording 16 episodes. I was invited to speak at babson college in America this world number one entrepreneurship college. They call me to give a tedx talk now, they told me there Boston you can't go directly you have to go via, New York Bro I am in New York garry is here 16 episodes are done wrote this guy and then he was coming to an event alava nightclub night club, I think right near by office in Manhattan only I went there he came there. We both were in night club we were partying together we having event together then while having party in all that.
I told you remember. This is what happened is right for you remember and he remembers me from Singapore because he tells me he tells in front of everyone this Singapore guy looked at her persistent and then I told him let do podcast we did a podcast toghether And then I shared this story. I shared the story on my particular channel. He uploaded this story on his Snapchat then I'd share that on my Linkedin he reshared on his LinkedIn then I share on my Twitter then he share on his twitter Am like what happened do he doesn't know me or like this is just pure fluke something like this, but whatever happens it just happens in my favour Right. Amazing! What builts you this confedence that you have when you are speaking that free flow nature that you have ok you will just speak properly without having that as you're saying that everyone become professional and you just like free flow in the conversation to how does that happen people become conscious I think that why we become conscious I have one thing in mind if I were the audience then what would I like I just think about this I can talk about symbol.
If you ask about business, how to do business I can talk about innovation pav on your own path hain? You need to choose a risky path all that crap. I can talk from the books. Right. But I didn't enjoy it. If I didn't enjoy it then I think my audience also not able to understand and nor enjoy If he is listening to me that means he is listening to raj I just think about this one thing bro Raj if you were listening to this conversation. If you were listen to this speech, would you clap or would you sleep? If you would sleep there's no point of giving a speech at all. I don't give it if this is one particular feed back which have I been getting everywhere people tell me Raj you put so much effort in a free speech which have to give in college.
and people say raj you put so much effort like we have call 10 speakers and nobody come this nobody has prepared as you are you come fuckin prepared like, you know, what to speak at a particular moment Why do you do all this while putting so much effort because there's no point of giving a speech if I'm not putting in it attention to detail is important Are people enjoying? see when you we're going on live, right. You are not going to talk about s omething new you are not talking something new Steve Jobs is not talking something new Bill Gates not talking something new. Nobody is talking something the who is rajamani bill gates and jeff bezos both say the same everybody Talks the same shit which has been there or which has been said already You tell me one person who say this guy tell something new this all bullshit this type of talk is new for you because you never heard before but this does't mean that he talks something new everybody Talks the same shit which has been there or which has been said already. There's nothing new everything which needs to be said has been said already everything which need to be done has been done already.
The only difference is you do it in your style that what is unique to people that why people like you when you say this that why the twitter threat that naval release saying that how to get rich slow that went up like viral, everyone was looking at that even before it was already talked about that before as well. But when they release everyone like ok this is really interesting the way he wrote that it had everyone in a different level what naval did he casually puts out things. he doesn't complicate shit what Robert Kiyosaki has done assets liabilities which we study in 11th class he just explained in the most simple way that's why Rich Dad Poor Dad is it the best seller even today what are people doing they are bringing their own style in the most easiest way possible that what I try to do with my speaking style giving a speech. I only think about will Raj as an audience. Enjoy this, will Raj an audience enjoy a speaker was overly prepared and conscious about how to say the next word or will raj Enjoy this one person who is like "Apna bhai Aaya hai".
"Chalo Aaj to chill Karenge, enjoy karunga". Whatever I enjoy I speech on it. and I talked in that same manner make reels in the same ways give podcast Simple, So everyone who wants to do who wants to give a speech who wants to have a confidence number 1 prepare Number 2 think about will you enjoy or not you don't have to impress other people improve yourself because there are a lot of the people who like you will automatically get impressive if you can impressive yourself. wow! that makes a good twitt "hey bro can somebody write it" do you think that external motivation really works because I remember when I was preparing for my IIT Jee Exam and so I used to watch her out of Doors videos like Les Brown other people saying that I love Les Brown just wanted you can do this definitely definitely I do too. But then the thing is that right now what I am doing.
I have not watched a single motivation video in like a year right now, I am just doing everything every single day I am putting out videos on my channel or on Instagram and all that and I am just thinking about that. external motivation. Does it really help? So what you think about that? there is nothing like internal motivation. Nothing nothing like internal motivation at all. Everything is an external motivation.
Nobody comes out of the Mother's women knowing that they really motivated wanna make it big in the world. you get influenced by other people and bad position which you admire motivates you What are the these motivational speakers and external motivation content? what do they do? They show your dreams they show your dreams so that you can make that dream your dream and then you can get inspired to take action on daily basis. Now that you have a dream you don't need someone else to help you realise that you know that You have to reach 1M subscriber on youtube just an example then you don't need a rush to come and tell you ki bro do this do that. Now you have a dream you need to work for that But that particular dream is also an external way external motivation which is not there you as it now. Now instead of a person opposition is in inspiring you and that position is external initially external motivation starts off and then you can just figure things out Only externally motivation Andar Se Kiska man hota hai, tell me one person kis ka man hota hai, ander se uthane ka ki bhai aaj aaj Thandi mein mein blanket. Hata Ke Uth Ke Aaj kam karne jata, hun.
they have nothing passion or like this You get up and run because you won't that good body because a frustrated with bad Life style you get up and they do work because you want a comfortable life. You get up and create think because you get high you get that High of creating you get up and you do videos because may be one want to read somewhere. You love doing things you love talking to people you love creating things you get that high and that High is external if you feel it after creating it is not internal Kisi Ka man Hota uthane Ka Din Mein Se batao Mujhe Ek Insan Nahin yaar. Sona Nahin Hai Main ko bilkul life mein tum best Ghar De Do do aur uske bad uthte Mujhe Uske bad bhi ekadam uncomfortable Jina life mein maybe even feel extremely comfortable even get up and creating because that creation give you high.
But at the end the creation is also an external thing. Yeh true. I feel that when I was consuming these books like how to influence friends are all, all these books are good one But then I felt that the metric of my progress was how many books I am reading and not how am I progressing in whatever I'm doing becoming a software developer or growing on social media to that was sort of an imbalance for me, so enough of these works. Now you to execute on that I think that's the missing point between people they look at all of this content and then everything about executing even if they do never percieve for the long-term, bro that it's execution is a king that's all. this podcast we can talk about ten hundred thousand things right now.
But if I and you doesn't implement on ourself then no one is going to listen this podcast. if I have not been doing things in my life already. I wouldn't be here. Right so that the whole game is execution.
You wouldn't be anywhere without execution even if I read lots of book You wouldn't be anywhere without execution even if I read lots of book Even if Become knowledgeable but no one wants to hear me until I become successful by applying the mentioned principles that's the whole game that's the imbalance which people need to think about. that whatever their reading first they need to apply that. at least try to apply that and then figure out whether that's working for them or not if it working and keep doing that until they get stuck on another problem and if it's not working then tried to find out some other think ok if this doesn't work may some other think work The whole game is of doing without doing there is that. Nothing at all.
It's an old saying right like you can't you can't swim by learning about swimming you can either read a book on swimming or just like go out there You can learn everything about swiming but until you try by yourself you can't find the reality. you can learn everything about money growth or making Business Entrepreneurship or creating content or or becoming content creator, But you won't understand until you do Amazing bro. Thank you so much for joining me here.
What is your one last message that you like to convey to the audience mostly they will be in like college. So what would you say to them? I say this one thing to everyone and all of giving this particular piece of advice Stop looking for Advisors Stop asking people. What is your one message? You won't give to the world. What is one thing which can help me change my life. What is the one big advice? Would you give to people stop asking these kind of stop seeking advice and stop asking the questions people ask them your problem statements. That's How You Know win.
So instead of asking Raj give me one advisor in my life. We should be like Raj have been creating content in last 3 month. I've been doing this one particular thing YouTube per Itna growth vah Mera Instagram par itna growth Hua and because of this growth now after getting this growth. I'm stuck up kya main isliye Stockholm because I am not able to change my am not able to target more audience I up to the point that I'm not making good contact Am I a stuck because people don't like me or accept me What should I do at this particular stage when I got stuck I try all these methods in three months Now what to do? This is the question because raj has been through this journey where he got in stuck times in a social media journey. so Raj can help you maybe get unstuck in this particular situation Now that is piece of advice or a solution or an answer which will help you want advise what will Raj Say "Ja beta kam kar" Everyone in the world give only this advice do your work and never quit the motivation the reality is you get up and keep doing and you keep doing until you get results. That's the end of everything that achieve results, right? If anybody ask advice from Raj then Raj says " Just keep working and never quit" if you want genuine answer then try to find out the solution of the problem So every college student who is listening to this start looking for good solutions of your problem statements rather than Advices.
stop seeking advice. Sure, thank bro for joining me here. It was great talking to you Same here buddy, thanks a lot that is it for this video.
I hope you got to learn something from this make sure that you hit the like button and subscribe to this channel and because you are still watching this just comment by saying happy birthday Ashwini because 29 of July is his birthday. And yeah, that's pretty much that I will see you in the next video. You can follow me on Instagram unfollow on Instagram and I see you again
2021-08-02 05:30
