Karsan bhai patel

Entrepreneurship Development
Dr. Karsan Bhai Patel

1. Entrepreneurship Development Presenters: Pulkit Gupta Gaurav Wadhwa Rohit Lamba BBA, Section - B

2. Introduction Karsanbhai Khodidas Patel was born in 1945, into a farmer family from north Gujarat. Finished his B.Sc. in Chemistry at age 21 and worked as a lab technician, first in the New Cotton Mills, Ahmadabad, of the Lalbhai group. Then he worked at the Geology and Mining Department of the state Government Dr. Karsanbhai Patel

3. Nirma Karsanbhai set up Nirma selling detergent powder In 1980. This was an after-office business . The one-man company would bicycle through the neighborhoods selling handmade detergent packets door to door. Karsanbhai Patel used to make detergent powder in 10x12ft room of his house in Ahmedabad and then carry out door to door selling. At a price of Rs. 3 per kg, (one third the price of leading detergents), it was an instant success. He gave a money back guarantee with every pack that was sold

4. He was able to successfully target the middle and lower middle income segment. Set up shop at small workshop in an Ahmadabad suburb. The Nirma brand quickly established itself in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The high quality and low price of the detergent made for great value. Fuelled by housewife-friendly advertisement jingles, Nirma revolutionized the detergent market, creating an entirely new segment in the economy for detergent powder.

5. The company that started as a one-man-army, today employs more than 15000 people, has a turnover of more than $ 500 million, sales as high as 800000 tones and the man’s net worth in 2005 was $ 640 million.

6. THE JOURNEY CONTINUES After establishing its footprints in the economy-priced detergents, Nirma entered the premium segment, launching toilet soaps: Nirma bath & beauty soaps and a premium detergent, Super Nirma . The company also ventured into shampoo and toothpaste, but were not as successful. On the other hand, the edible salt Shudh is doing well. Nirma beauty soap is one of the leading toilet soaps, behind Lifebuoy and Lux. Overall Nirma has a 20% market share in soap cakes and about 35% in detergents. Today, Nirma has entered the neighboring countries’ markets as well. The company also acquired US based Searles Valley Minerals to become one of the top producers of soda ash in the world.

7. Corporate Social Responsibility Along with being a noted businessman, Karsanbhai is a philanthropist as well. He has established one of the premier institutions of higher learning in Gujarat, the Nirma University of Science & Technology in 2003. Nirma Education & Research Foundation (NERF) that came up in 1994, runs these various educational institutes. Nirma has also set up Nirma labs in 2004, which prepares aspiring entrepreneurs to face different business challenges effectively. Nirma also runs Nirma Memorial Trust, Nirma Foundation and Chanasma Ruppur Gram Vikas Trust as a part of their efforts of a socially responsible corporate citizen.

8. Management Lessons You need to have a clear vision about the product which you are going to launch. You need to market or promote your product in a way that the potential customers are aware of it. You need to take few risks so as to understand and learn the market behavior. You have to be innovative as to how your product will strike the customers. “Grab The Opportunity” “Know Your Skill Set”

9. ACCOLADES On this path to success, Karsanbhai has won himself many accolades, along with people’s acceptance and love. Padma Shri Award for the year 2010. 2001 : Awarded an honorary doctorate by Florida Atlantic University 1990 : Awarded the ‘ Udyog Ratna ’ by The Federation of Association of Small Scale Industries of India (FASII), New Delhi The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce has felicitated him as an ‘Outstanding Industrialist of the Eighties’. He has served twice as Chairman of the Development Council for Oils, Soaps and Detergents.

10. Skill : Knowledge of Chemicals Opportunities : Expensive Washing Powders Skills + Opportunities = Success