At BrilliantRead Media, it is our constant endeavour to identify and share some of the unique and compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. As part of this, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Mukul Gugle for an interview with BrilliantRead Media. Mukul is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Consultant, and Mentor. He is the Founder and CEO of Alaric Design Pvt. Ltd. Let’s learn more about his background, his inspiring journey so far and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Mukul:
Weareawareofyourcontributiontotheecosystem,talkusthroughyourbackgroundand your journey as an entrepreneur,please;
I come from a family with three generations of men and women in business. When I was 21, I started my own dine-in restaurant here in Pune. Initially, it was not doing very well and it was my first hands-on lesson in building a successful business from scratch. To improve the conditions and transform the restaurant into a profitable venture I started by building trusted connections in the hospitality business.
Learning from such partners, I implemented some changes in its way of functioning. Now it is churning out good profits each quarter. We successfully captured the imagination of the people located around the place by thoughtfully designing the whole experience through definite decor and quality service.”
My father fell sick with some heart problems around this time and everybody was concerned for his life. I had to own up to responsibilities for different family ventures because the stress of it was taking a toll on my father’s body. But maintaining growth for businesses that are already doing decently well, to achieve definite predefined targets was not something that was challenging enough for me.
I wanted to do something on my own. I wanted to venture into a space that nobody in my family had done before. A couple of years back, when covid slowed down life for everyone – I used to meet up regularly with my childhood friend over chai.”
We used to discuss all things that people can possibly discuss around the world over chai. The idea of setting up Alaric together with my friend Mayur presented an exciting challenge for me and drives me every day to wake up dreaming of changing the world in my own little way.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporatecareer?
As you might guess, joining a corporation was never on cards for me. I never wanted that life from the start. I feel like the best training in life you get is from the people you surround yourself with. When you are young you do not have much say in the surroundings you are in but gradually as you go out in the world you choose your people.
Fortunately for me, while growing up I had people around me who always engaged me in interesting conversations and encouraged me to experiment and grow as a person.
I wanted to get into design because I was inclined towards the applied arts. I have a bachelor’s degree in industrial design, post which I also did business administration.”
I wanted to make an impact where my thoughts are valued and bear results for people, so I chose to be an entrepreneur. I used to keep reading up on success stories and how different people around the world have structured their entrepreneurial ventures.
Alaric is my love child in that respect, that it presents me with an opportunity to explore the confluence between design and technology.
‘Alaric Design Pvt. Ltd.’issuchauniquename;talkusthroughmoreaboutit,please.Ouraudience would also love to know what kind of problem you aresolving?
“Alaric” is a germanic name where ‘ala’ roughly translates to ‘everyone’s’ and ‘ric’ means ‘ruler’.
Alaric I (“ruler of all” c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combined force of Goths and Alans after the Battle of Adrianople. (Alaric I-Wikipedia)
Founded in late 2020, Alaric Design Pvt. Ltd. is an innovative product design company based out of India. We want to reimagine global standards on how computer games are experienced and consumed, by coming up with smart product solutions that can shape the industry landscape for the future.
What does your company specialisein?
Currently, we are into making smart gaming workstations for people who need to use multiple high-performance PC/laptop setups daily, to suit their work or leisure activities.
This is our line of flagship products, a complete companion for every desk user’s needs, all structured into one sophisticated capsule. We are calling it the One Wire series.
The market-ready prototypes are under development and testing. We are trying to build the brand Alaric for a successful launch event sometime in the next financial year. Some of the salient features of the product are described below.
Product USP
Clutter-free wire management
Smart: Powered with voice assistant
Multi-device syncing capability
Customizable User Experience
Convertible. Space Saving. Organized.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drivesyou?
I felt like I grew up a decade more than my actual age during the troubling period of my father’s heart problems. Thankfully that is in the past now and he is happy and healthy. At that timeIgottoknowhowbigthedifferentbusinesseswere,theoneshewasmanaging.
The first timeI worked with the different lawyers we had, got to know the workflow of accounting to maintain detailed records for money management, learnt how important it is to make powerful connections who might help you grow or stay afloat during toughtimes.
ThattimeonlyIstartedbelievingindestinyandstartedvaluingmineandotherpeople’stime.I became very aware of the mortality of all life forms and started planning things out on a macro scale, realizing where I want to see myself in the next five years.”
I am not very religious like many others in my family but faith is something that I believe is important. Believing in some power that is bigger than mortals helps us to be grounded andfocused.
The single biggest driving factor for me at the moment would be my passion to generate more opportunities and employment for the country. The landscape here is changing fast, and a huge production of skilled human resources serves as means to achieve fast-paced growth with able leadership.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your dailylife?
Apart from some of my relatives whose achievements on a personal level serve as inspiration for me, Ratan Tata is my idol.
Also, I would not shy away from stating that motivational thoughts as presented in different books by Sadguru have held me strong even in tough times.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as aperson?
There are a lot of fortunate people who have been born into wealth. Most of them stay happy with the dividend they earn as a static income from their businesses and have no passion to experiment.
I feel like till an age one should take the stress from work. If your life is free of any tension then there is no good reason that makes you wake up in the morning and build and stick to a routine.”
Tension may not be the right word. It is a negative word. I believe in routines that I need to stick to and try to achieve my targets for each day.
Today only after the gym I had a meeting with my lawyer which went on for so long – but now I have clarity for the month ahead and prioritized my schedule accordingly.
I have this vision that after the morning rituals I am taking my bag to a place that is not home – that is my workplace where I stay focused to achieve my goals, then I return back to the comfort of my home to prepare for the next day.
In your opinion what are the keys tosuccess?
If your business is profitable or has a good growth rate – then it always feels good. But money, profits and projections cannot be trusted – numbers are unpredictable sometimes.
No company shells out 100% profit every day achieving projections and surpassing year on year. Even Amazon goes through losses sometimes.
What is important is that you can look at yourself in the mirror and know that you are trying your best honestly to achieve growth. If your colleagues are happy then you are a success..
To keep improving daily step by step is what keeps me rolling. To improve myself as a person and improve the products that I am selling each day. If a business becomes a hit overnight it won’t last. Good things come after a lot of struggle.
If you’re doing a startup or something of your own which is distinct from what you have been accustomed to, through the exposure you got from the people around you – then you need to seek out systems to find peace of mind within yourself.
Home is a comfort zone. For, sometimes one needs to set sails for shores that are not comfortable. The journey makes you learn a lot about life so that you can come back to build a better home for your family.
Try to seek people out and stay connected with them if you think they are smarter than you.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
