Raj Shamani is an Indian entrepreneur, content creator and speaker known for his Shamani industry. He is the youngest Indian to represent India in the United Nations Young Leaders Youth Delegate Programme. He has also been a four-time TedX speaker.
Wiki/Biography
Raj Shamani was born on Tuesday, July 29, 1997, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh (age 26; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Leo. He attended National Public School, Indore. From 2013 to 2016, he pursued Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Prestige Institute of Management & Research, Indore. From 2019 to 2021, he also studied for a Master of Business Administration (MBA). In school, he was not a bright student and was always called a “useless kid”. He was afraid of speaking in public as a child but loved telling stories. He revealed in an interview that when he was young he wanted to be a rapper rather than a businessman because he liked the songs of the time. In the 1980s, Raj and his family came to Indore in search of work. His family relied entirely on his father’s income from selling coconuts on the street. He said in an interview that this was a difficult time for his family. After some time, his grandfather and uncle joined a soap factory, while his father sold soap in the market. After working in a factory for a while, his father began making soap at home. In the 1990s, as his father’s business grew, he founded a chemicals trading company to supply the country’s soap manufacturers. In 2008, their business was affected by the recession. In 2013, my father suffered from diabetes, and the family was once again in trouble. After that, the responsibility fell on his shoulders and he decided to start his own business. To start his business, he borrowed Rs. I bought raw materials from my father for 10,000 yuan.
Rajshamani as a child
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Raj’s father, Naresh Shamani, is a businessman. He has a younger brother, Rahul Shamani.
Raj Samani and his family
wife
He is unmarried.
Profession
merchant
Raj started his business when he was 16 years old. He also helps his father run Shamani Industries. Within 5 years, their FMCG business revenue increased 20 times. In 2013, he launched his own product, Jadugar Drop. After starting his business, he focused only on local shop owners, not profit margins. He also aims to increase product profit margins to 12% to 15%. He used to produce the product and approach various local homes and grocery stores to showcase the product itself. His products are sold at Rs. 45 rupees as compared to 45 rupees for Vim and Pril. 110.
Products manufactured by Raj Shamani
He produced about 250 bottles of dish soap between March and July 2013, and while he was in college, he sold 100 bottles to grocery stores and distributed another 100 bottles to friends. He used to sell the product in 500 ml bottles instead of offering free samples in sachets. In an interview, he discussed the reasons for selling the product in bottles, saying,
When you give away a pouch, there’s a good chance people will throw it away or stop using it. But when you have a 500ml bottle, even if you don’t use it immediately, you won’t throw it away and may even use it. “
In college, after selling his product to friends, he asked them to get feedback from their mothers. His interaction with his mother allowed him to build a clientele. He used to offer them 25% discount on 5 liters of product. In an interview, he stated that this strategy worked very well for him as many houses started consuming his products. After some time, he started a multi-level marketing business and reached out to housewives who wanted to become financially independent. He used the program in 17 societies and was recognized by a local newspaper, which published an article about how he was empowering women economically. His products are on the shelves of many local stores. In 2016, the company’s product portfolio grew to 16 products, including dishwashing liquids, soaps, laundry detergents, toilet cleaners, floor cleaners and disinfectants. After completing his studies, he did not get any internship opportunities. In an interview, he talked about how he gained his business knowledge and said:
kirana store is the best place for us to get knowledge about it. I spent the next few weeks standing outside the kiranas observing. “
In 2016, he owned two small consumer goods companies and merged his father’s company Shamani Industries with his own and scaled the business with an annual turnover of Rs 90 lakh to Rs 9 crore within 24 months.
speaker
He has been passionate about storytelling since he was a child, but he was less confident when he was younger. After becoming a successful businessman, he started giving lectures at different universities. He used to record speeches and post them on Instagram. He has delivered over 200 presentations on business, branding, growth and mental health in over 26 countries with organizations including Jaguar Land Rover, TCS, Reliance and Forbes.
Raj Shamani addresses the audience in his speech
content creator
He creates and posts content to various media platforms, including YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. His YouTube channel has over one hundred thousand subscribers. His video “What Do You Want to Choose Most” exceeded 30 million views within 15 days after its release. He also runs a podcast, “Figure It Out,” aimed at helping young entrepreneurs and startups. He has over 1 million followers on Instagram. He has eight different income streams from content creation. He is the founder of Figure It Out Academy, an educational technology platform that teaches how to build and scale startups.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Top 10 young entrepreneurs in India by age in Asia
- Top 5 Young Influencers in India by YourStory
- Itunes Top 10 Business Podcasts in India
Facts/Trivia
- His hobbies include traveling and fitness.
- He serves as an angel investor and growth advisor in several Sequoia Capital-backed companies such as Classplus, Growth School, Zionverse, Wint Wealth, Deciml, Mainstreet, Avalon Scenes, etc.
- He said in an interview that he did not receive any professional training and did not have a mentor when learning the business. He learned about business distribution and product development through Google and YouTube. He received training from BASF’s product development department.
- According to him, the biggest challenge he faced when starting a business was the entry of companies established in other industries into the FMCG market. In an interview, he spoke further about this, saying:
Brands arrive at similar seasons within a year or two and try to flood the market with great deals because they have deep pockets. Most MNCs see FMCG as the way forward post the COVID-19 induced lockdown as home care products have been included in the list of essential items. But I don’t think that’s the way forward for everyone. “
- His company has more than 400 employees, and he had to lay them off at one point during the Covid-19 pandemic, but he contacted his team to brainstorm ways to make a profit. His company launched new products such as sanitizers and sanitizers, which were in high demand, bringing in huge profits and keeping workers from losing their jobs.
- In 2022, he wrote the book “Build Don’t Talk.”
Books written by Raj Shamani
- In April 2023, he posted on Twitter that he likes to work hard and can work more than 24 hours. After posting on Twitter, he received criticism from some fans because they felt he was promoting a toxic work culture that left them with no time to do other things.
- In 2023, he appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine.
Raj Shamani (left) in Forbes magazine
- In April 2023, he announced the launch of another technology platform “House of X” designed to help content creators create brands in 7 days. He became the first content creator in India to launch such a technology platform.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education