Drawing parallels: Manan Gandhi, founder of Bombay Perfumery was inspired by Marico's Harsh Mariwala

What’s common between Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico, and Manan Gandhi, founder of boutique perfume company Bombay Perfumery? On the face of it, perhaps nothing much. But Gandhi believes that they share a similar beginning in their entrepreneurial journey. In fact, Gandhi counts Mariwala among those who inspired him to start his venture.

“It’s very hard when you come from a family that is running a business [in the same industry] for 40 years and say ‘No, I want to do something which is consumer focused now’ [Gandhi’s family business supplies ingredients to international perfume brands]. I think he [Mariwala] had a similar story. His family was trading in vegetable oil when he decided that they should have their own brand in the market. He was convinced about it and went ahead and did it,” said Gandhi.

The fact that Mariwala built Marico from scratch and is now competing with big MNCs is inspirational, he added. And has Gandhi met his inspiration? “Not yet. Hopefully, soon,” he said.