Name: Dr. Mohit Bhatia

 

• Born: 26 November 1983
• Marital Status: Married
• Spouse: Dr. Harsimran Kaur Bhatia
• Parents: Father’s name is Ashok Bhatia. Mother’s name is Veena Bhatia
• Height: 5’7″
• Citizenship: Indian
• Languages Known: English, Hindi, and Punjabi
• Location: Office in Delhi and Reside in Noida Extension

• Awards / Achievements: In personal I have won several awards. In my career as well as an entrepreneur. During my tenure as a medical advisor, I won the MCC award in 2014. I and Paras jointly won the Franchise India retail award for the fastest-growing brand in the retail category in Asia. Other than that I have won the entrepreneur award which was held in Bhubaneswar.

 

Childhood

OI: Where did you grow up? 
Dr. MB: I have had my growing up in Punjab and Delhi. I was born in Punjab and till my 1st standard education, I did it in Punjab till 1990. From 2nd to 12th all my education has been done in Delhi.

OI:  What were your best / worst subjects in school?
Dr. MB: The best subjects were Science and Maths. The worst subject was social studies and in 12th I had a bit of a challenge in chemistry but I scored well.

OI:  What was your favorite game?
Dr. MB: Cricket

OI:  What were you like as a kid?
Dr. MB: I have an extrovert personality. I had lots of friends.

OI:  What was your favorite toy?
Dr. MB: I was very fond of cricket so it was my favorite game. I have played for Delhi under 15. I have also represented my school and college.

General

OI: How do your day and week look like?
Dr. MB: On a regular basis, my day starts around 6-6:30 in the morning assisting my spouse in parenting for kids. From 6:30 to 8:00 am assisting her and her daily course. From 8:00 onwards I get ready myself and get the kids ready for school. They are 2.5 years old so they go to playschool. And then from 9:30 to 9:45 I drop them off at playschool and reach my office by 11:00 and that’s around 3 days a week. The other 3 days I sit at my home and start working by 10. And then from there, it’s 6-7 routine office work, interacting with the team, having meetings, and traveling somewhere for a meeting. By 7-7:30 I’m back home. 7:30-10:30 time with kids and family, playing with the kids, interacting with my spouse talking about the routine. By 10:30-11 we go back to bed.

 

OI: What advice would you give your younger self?
Dr. MB: To my younger self it would be to be more decisive and something has to be done not to wait for things to become conducive and start working on those lines.

OI: Do you actually feel any pressure to look presentable always?
Dr. MB: Not any pressure in any sense but it’s more of those business meetings I do have certain attire. There is no pressure overall. It was the usual attire I would do.

OI: What is your go-to outfit?
Dr. MB: A white shirt and blue jeans.

OI: When you go out, do people recognize you?
Dr. MB: In my industry yes a lot of them. Not only in my industry, but I have also seen in Delhi NCR I have seen even within the startup circle I have started getting some recognition. Not too much but still there are some people who recognize me.

OI: What have you learned about yourself since you became an entrepreneur?
Dr. MB: I learned that I have a lot of marketing skills that I was not aware of. Apart from that, I’m much more confident now in my approach to these things than I was in my school or college. I have learned the ability to say no to certain things as well. Other than that being determinant on the initiative, a bit more risk-taking ability has increased as entrepreneurship has come in. 

OI: If you weren’t an entrepreneur, what would you be up to right now?
Dr. MB: I would have been heading the medical affairs of one or another pharmaceutical company by now. 

OI: How would someone get your special attention?
Dr. MB: By reaching out to me and being true and honest about what their objective is.

What’s Your Favourite

OI:  What is your favorite movie?
Dr. MB: Avengers series.

OI:  What sports do you enjoy watching?
Dr. MB: Cricket and lawn tennis.

OI:  What sports do you enjoy playing?
Dr. MB: Cricket

OI:  What is your favorite song?
Dr. MB: Pehla Nasha.

OI:  What is your favorite place to eat?
Dr. MB: Pizza Hut.

OI:  What are your favorite clothes?
Dr. MB: White shirt and Blue jeans.

OI:  The gift you hate/love most?
Dr. MB: I love to have a cold drink. I don’t hate gifts.

OI:  What is your favorite color?
Dr. MB: Orange.

OI:  What is your favorite time pass?
Dr. MB: Chatting as in conversations with people.

OI: What’s your favorite quote?
Dr. MB: Har kisi ko mukammal jaha nhi milta, kisi ko zameen to kisi ko asmaan nhi milta.

OI: What’s your favorite vacation spot?
Dr. MB: Seychelles

 

Funny

OI:  What would you change your name to?
Dr. MB: I haven’t thought about it.

OI:  Who is the messiest person you know?
Dr. MB: My younger brother paras.

OI:  What would be your superpower?
Dr. MB: Ability to talk.

OI:  Do you love pets? What pet do you love to have?
Dr. MB: I don’t have pets. I don’t hate animals as such. I do have a lot of cats and dogs around my house but I don’t keep them.

OI:  One thing you are obsessed about?
Dr. MB: My business.

 

Your Perception of life

OI:  If you get a chance to meet god and ask one question that you want to know the answer to, what would you ask?
Dr. MB: Why has been so much discrimination in terms of resource allocations to different peoples across the globe?

OI:  What things in your life would you give up instantly if it got you to an even better place than you are now?
Dr. MB: All the excess of anything.

OI:  On what do you spend the most: clothes, accessories, perfumes, innerwear, or anything else?
Dr. MB: Technology gadgets.

OI:  What do you do when not working?
Dr. MB: I would be playing with my kids. 

OI:  Do you believe in love at first sight?
Dr. MB: Yes, I do.

OI:  Which life would you prefer for your children: Stardom / simple one?
Dr. MB: Businessperson.

OI:  How would you describe yourself in 5 words?
Dr. MB: Happy go, lucky person.

 

General Professional

OI: For the people who don’t know about you, can you tell us a little about yourself and your company?
Dr. MB: My business has 2 divisions. One division is into the manufacturing and marketing of medical instruments under the brand name Vkare. This was started in July 2012. The second business is the brand Fuschia where we have natural handmade skincare products. Basically, all these products are free from harmful chemicals. We started this, my wife and paras three of us co-founded this in October 2013 with the main focus of bringing in the age-old therapy of grandma’s Ayurvedic principals.

OI:  Who has been your inspiration? 
Dr. MB: My inspiration has been my father’s support in terms of entrepreneurship, what he likes. 

OI:  Looking back what was the one moment that led you to start your own company?
Dr. MB: That moment was when my father was pushed out of his established business by his brothers and sisters. 

OI:  Which were the biggest challenges that you had to overcome when you started off?
Dr. MB: The Non-clarity of regulations by the government. Secondly, people’s acceptance of a new brand.

OI:  What projects are you currently working on?
Dr. MB: We are developing a new range of hair oils in Fuschia which will be released this year.

OI:  Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your plans for the same?
Dr. MB: We are expecting to be a 3 crore+ business by 2025. Hopefully, by then we will have a few rounds of investors coming by.

OI:  How do you promote your business? What promotional techniques work best for you and why?
Dr. MB: We have some major aspects of digital promotions. We go out on social media to interact. Along with that, we have blogs being written. We have our own methods. We also collaborate with beauty pageants and fashion shows.

OI: What do you think about the social media presence of a company? How important it is to be present on social media is and which platform works best for you and why?
Dr. MB: Yes indeed.

OI:  What do you think about influencer marketing and bloggers /YouTubers’ collaboration regarding your business?
Dr. MB: Influencers and bloggers are very good ways to reach a new customer base, to spread the message, and to make brand awareness. 

OI:  How do you approach clients?
Dr. MB: We approach some bloggers who we think are right for the brand and content. For us, it’s always the content part. Actually it’s not the likes and followers. If somebody has 500 followers with good content we approach them.

OI:  How many team members do you have?
Dr. MB: We currently have a team of 9.

OI:  Current Team size, Are you hiring?
Dr. MB: We have 9 members in our team. 

OI:   What is the recruitment process in your company/ firm?
Dr. MB: One through references. And the second from the digital process.

OI:  One thing you are proud of related to your work?
Dr. MB: Our product quality and our product variety. 

OI:  What are your plans to attract people who are not yet your clients/ audience?
Dr. MB: We had several attempts. We tie up with the review website. Apart from that, we keep the kind of giving addon references. 

OI:  What will be your tips for entrepreneurs who are striving for a startup?
Dr. MB: One is persistent there will be ups and downs just keep working hard. Second, if you fail, fail fast. Fail and go on to the next idea you have.

OI:  What was your mission at the outset?
Dr. MB: Our mission is to have our own exclusive stores.

OI:  One instance/experience that made it all worthwhile?
Dr. MB: For us, it’s been when a customer comes back to us with positive feedback and people who have been having medical problems and have been treated with our products.

OI:  How do you plan to take it to the next level?
Dr. MB: Yes we recently July onwards set up our model of franchising and distribution. Possibly by January next year, we will have our first store.

OI:  Are you manufacturing the products?
Dr. MB: No we are not manufacturing the products ourselves. We are getting it manufactured by the ECO-certified site in Delhi. 

OI:  Have you ever done the job anywhere? Why and when you left?
Dr. MB: I have worked with 3 segments. I worked initially as an assistant medical superintendent at Sunderlal Hospital in Delhi. After that, I worked with AstraZeneca Pharma in India as a region advisor.

 

Entrepreneur

OI: What is your Business Model?
Dr. MB: We are an E-retail first brand. So our major focus is to sell through our own website and other stores like Flipkart, Amazon, and Myntra. That the focus has been to establish a brand with new millions or the new generation as an upcoming brand.

OI: When did you “charter” the business?
Dr. MB: For us, the first success was when we won the first award in 2016 as one of the fastest-growing brands in Asia. 

OI: What do you look for in an employee?
Dr. MB: There are 3 top priority things we look at one is the passion and self-drive that the person has. Apart from that is work ethics. And the third thing is honesty and integrity.

OI: What is unique about your business?
Dr. MB: Our entire products of them are free of harmful chemicals. This is the widest range available with these claims. We have around 50 soap variants and all of them are chemical-free. 

OI: What made you choose this type of business?
Dr. MB: This was more of a personal need as my wife has certain conditions in which she can’t use chemical products. So we used to get her natural products from across the globe for her. Then we met 2 people and found out we can do the same in India at a better price and quality. And then we came to India that “agar hum bahar se leke aate hai lets better do it in India.”  So we started in 2013.

OI: Does your company help the community where it is located?
Dr. MB: We keep taking part in several initiatives like the planting of trees, and avoiding single-use plastics, we have moved on paper-based seals.

OI: Have you ever turned down a client?
Dr. MB: Actually we have turned down some bulk clients. Where in their requirements not matching in terms of quality?

OI: How would you measure success in your role?
Dr. MB: For us, we have short-term success and targets. We go for small – small happy moments are the one that keeps dragging us. On a longer perspective, it course in terms of turnovers, the timelines. 

OI: What was the last thing you learned?
Dr. MB: The latest thing I have learned in this business is we ourselves would think that we have a lot of innovative products but at the same time there are multiple people thinking the same thing as us.

OI: What’s Non-Negotiable for You?
Dr. MB: In terms of business it is quality. In terms of staffing its integrity. In terms of my own factor, it’s overall focus on business. 

OI: What Were Your Greatest Failures and What Did They Teach You?
Dr. MB: My greatest failure has been sometimes moving too fast and not taking the team along. And learning from that to slow down and make sure to take the whole bunch along. 

OI: What Was the Most Important Part of Your Whole Business Journey?
Dr. MB: The most important part has been the failures that come along. They have thought us a lot. They have shaken us and given us important lessons to learn and modify us to approach accordingly.

OI: What Drives You to Keep Going When It’s Really Tough?
Dr. MB: It’s the feeling inside that I know what I’m doing is going to be huge in the coming times.

OI: What are your strengths?
Dr. MB: My persuasion, my prescription, and my passion for the business.

OI: What are your weaknesses?
Dr. MB: It’s the same my passion which gives me a blind view that you are not focussing on other things simultaneously. Another weakness is that I’m a bit emotional for a typical CEO and business. 

OI: How do you handle the pressure?
Dr. MB: I would say it is the support of my family. I’m doing everything alone. My brother, my wife, and my father their continued support keep me going.

OI: What’s your productivity secret?
Dr. MB: The productivity secret is actually participating, what is going to be the next change in the market in the next 2-3 years, and doing it right now.

 

Final Question

 

OI: If you get a chance to start your life all over again, what would you do, and Why?
Dr. MB: If I would get a chance to start life over again I would mind a lot of harsh words which I have said to a few people just because times were tougher. May behave a bit calm and composed life around me.

 

Check out the exclusive range of Fuschia Fuschia skincare products that are handmade and made with only natural products on www.myfuschia.com

 

Story Covered By: Saloni