Founder of boAt: Aman Gupta's Journey, Career, Net Worth

Some brands manage to change the face of a market, and in many ways, boAt did that. ‘Aman Gupta Shark Tank’ has become a household phrase since the founder of boAt appeared as a judge on the show.

But his company has been doing wonders for a long time now. A lot of this credit goes to the boAt owner himself. Aman Gupta and his friend Sameer Mehta co-founded the audio and electronics company boAt.

Because they were unable to afford larger offices, they collaborated and worked together in the co-working space at Hauz Khas Social. In this article, we will focus on the journey of Aman Gupta, boAt founder and his revolutionary company.

Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta are the founder of boAt company.

Aman Gupta Education, Early Life and Career

Aman Gupta, boAt company owner, was born in 1982 and went to Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram. Aman Gupta education includes graduation from the University of Delhi with a bachelor’s degree in commerce. Aman’s father suggested that he become a Chartered Accountant when he was graduating, and in 1999, he became the youngest person to pass CA when he did.

The founder of boAt began his career at Citi Group as an assistant manager. Before he founded boAt in 2016 with Sameer Mehta, he worked there for two years and ventured into various organizations in various roles thereafter. The founder of boAt later started the business with approximately 30 lakh rupees.

Now when we think of the founder of boAt, we also often wonder about how Aman Gupta started boAt and turned it into a success story. The history of boAt Lifestyle is not particularly well-known. The business describes itself as a lifestyle brand that sells trendy consumer electronics. 

boAt is an India-based consumer hardware brand founded in 2016 that sells headphones, earphones, travel chargers, and premium rough links. Imagine Marketing Services Private Limited, which carries out the business as boAt, was integrated by co-founders Sameer Ashok Mehta and Aman Gupta.

The sole purpose of founder of boAt was to provide millennials with affordable, long-lasting, and fashionable audio accessories and products with their company. It began as a seller and manufacturer of cables and has since expanded its product line.

The founder of boAt, Aman Gupta, applied to work at JBL because he was fascinated by gadgets and electronics. He worked for the company for two years. Aman was in charge of the start-up’s offline distribution through Croma and Reliance Digital, among other things.

He also entered product management a little later. His responsibility was to select products suitable for the Indian market. His learnings while working for JBL proved to be useful during item advancements at boAt.

Birth	4 March 1982
Aman Gupta Age	40 years old
Aman Gupta Education	Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram Delhi University, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Indian School of Business, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, USA
Aman Gupta Qualification	MBA in finance and strategy from the Indian School of Business
Family	Neeraj Gupta (Father), Jyoti Kochar Gupta (Mother), and Priya Dagar (wife)
Occupation	Angel Investor, Co-founder, and CMO boAt
Aman Gupta’s Net Worth	Rs. 720 crores

Challenges Faced by Aman Gupta, founder of boAt

The founder of boAt had once shared that he had begun and shut down five organizations before work started on boAt and said that since he was young, he was eager to start up. After boAt came into the picture, it saw just as many ups and downs, and the growth wasn’t all smooth.

The parent company of boAt, Imagine Marketing, noted this in the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). As boAt designs in India but manufacturers in China, for instance, geopolitical tensions with China weigh heavily.

Additionally, it relies too heavily on Amazon and Flipkart, which account for more than three-quarters of its revenue over the past four years. But it made it out of these challenges and emerged stronger than ever.

1. Production During COVID-19

According to founder of boAt, Aman Gupta, the startup’s availability and production of new and existing products were critical during the pandemic. The founder of boAt had also mentioned that boAt was planning a sale but had to cancel it to hold on to its inventory for the next month.

The boat founder, Aman Gupta mentioned in an interview that almost 99 percent of the headphones that are sold in India, including those that cost more than INR 500, are made outside the country.

One of the most important markets for the production of boAt headphones in China. So it was said that there will be a delay in product development and production if the coronavirus outbreak continues for a longer period.

2. Economic and Supply Chain challenges

boAt is an excellent illustration of a bootstrapped startup because it began with Rs. 30 lakhs, which the company’s founders themselves raised.

By developing a wide range of wireless speakers, airdrops, headphones, and earphones, boAt was able to attract a customer base of approximately 2 million people and sell approximately 15,000 products per day.

The one viewpoint that keeps boAt in front of its opposition is that it gives top-notch items, at a moderately lower cost, which makes it more receptive to its ideal interest group.

3. Innovation Based on Customer Patterns

The company focuses on a problem-solving approach, so they always need to be on their toes to create something new. boAt has an agile business model and poses a constant focus on consumer needs, desires, and behavior patterns.

It is also able to listen to customers and change in real time to give them what they want. Most importantly, the company constantly improves and diversifies its product offering to provide technology solutions that are in line with the shifting preferences and consumption patterns of customers.

For instance, At first, they noticed a problem with the iPhone’s charging cable as it used to break due to the low quality, so they began selling strong charging cables for iPhones.

4. Public Relations & Brand Reputations

When boAt entered the market, there were already several similar brands. So it was a task to stand out and make people see the difference. From the absolute beginning, boat owner vision was centered around showcasing his products through advanced promoting and virtual entertainment.

It required a large number of social media influencers to promote both the brand and the products. A group of famous people who supported boAt included cricketers Rishab Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer.

boAt has also promoted its products in partnership with Lakme Fashion Week in 2019 and established itself as a lifestyle brand rather than an electronic brand. It has truly transformed itself into one by producing wearable gadgets like smartwatches, portable speakers, and others.

5. Expansion and Scaling

The leading D2C electronics and wearables start-up has announced a $60 million investment from Malabar Investments and Warburg Pincus. According to the official statement, this most recent round of funding “reflects continued conviction and confidence from investors in the boAt story.”

As a consequence of this, boAt has now set its sights on expanding its presence across channels and geographies, emphasizing establishing boAt globally and strengthening its position as the market leader in audio.

A timely boost will also be given to R&D, design, and boAt’s support of the local Make in India manufacturing ecosystem.

Importance of Aman Gupta to the Indian Startup Ecosystem

Aman Gupta, founder of boAt and CMO, has a sizable net worth of ₹720 crore. In the initial season of Shark Tank India, he came out as the highest investor. When Aman Gupta launched his premium tech brand in 2015, he became one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs.

After receiving $60 million, or 500 crores, in Series C funding, boAt company’s net worth is at $1.4 billion. It has received funding totaling $116.3 million from a variety of sources, including Qualcomm Ventures, Innovation Capital, Warburg Pincus, and Fireside Ventures.

It’s interesting to note that boAt is one of the few recent new-age tech startups that are still profitable. In the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21), the Delhi-based startup boAt reported a profit after tax of INR 78.6 million, a 61% increase from its FY20 profit of INR 48.85 million.

Aman started a brand and made it a household name in the country. He is an experienced entrepreneur and an excellent advocate for young entrepreneurs. In the startup sector, he is a man of ideas, execution, and marketing

Over his long stretches of business, he has put resources into numerous new companies in different fields. The founder of boAt said that to encourage more startups to use ESOPs, boAt’s philosophy is that HR staff should promote the startup’s internal heroes who are making money from ESOPs.

Aman Gupta has successfully monopolized the market with his business strategies, and boAt today has achieved enormous success. Headphones, headsets, brilliant watches, air pods, Bluetooth speakers, and other products are the items through which boAt has touched the buyer’s heart.

Aman Gupta, boat founder, spends a lot of his time coming up with new strategies for success. He constantly comes up with novel concepts that will aid in the expansion of his business. In the context of the start-up culture, his approach, business story, and redefining of himself serve as examples for other individuals aspiring to success.

People have always been inspired by how Aman Gupta started boAt. Given that the boAt company owner is a household name, he is evidence that success stories can come from anywhere.

Also Read: Rising to the Top: Successful Entrepreneurs in India and their Net worth

From Vision to Achievement

Aman Gupta is the co-founder and chief marketing officer of boAt, an Indian consumer electronics brand that specializes in audio technology headwear. The boat founder, Aman was the director of sales at Harman International, where he worked on consumer electronics brands including JBL, Harman Kardon, and AKG.

The founder of boAt worked for Harman International out of the company’s New Delhi office. He was also a senior management consultant at KPMG. And all of this was before his stint at boAt.

As the founder of boAt, Aman Gupta has always shared his insights into the startup world in Shark Tank and other forums. His journey is truly an inspiration for all aspiring entrepreneurs.

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