MILLION DOLLAR SEAMSTRESS

RUBY ASHRAF(PGP ‘ 83)PRECIOUS FORMALS

BRIEF OF THE CASE• Ruby grew up in Delhi• Was exposed to business, meetings , clients at an early age• Quit medical school and got a bachelor’s & master’s in science

from Delhi University• She then studied and got into IIMA , which completely

changed her life• She always knew that she would work for 5 years and then set

up her own company• Got married in 1987 and moved to America• An old and enduring love for clothes showed her the path• She travelled across America and understood fashion trends• She focused on evening wear which was very strong then and

started getting orders

• With growing demand, Ruby realized she had to set up a factory

• Came to India to learn pattern making• Her husband Javed quit his job and joined the company and

converted his own hobby, photography into a major asset for the company.

• They are the only company that checks every garment before shipping, the US

• The prom foray happened in 1996 and today Precious Formals is one of the major players in that market at the upper end.

• Over the years , the manufacturing was shifted from India to China and Precious Formals is a $10 million plus company and still growing.

• Ruby and Javed now want to make Precious Formals a billion $ company and leave a legacy behind.

KEY LEARNINGS• Ability to make tough decisions is a very important for an

entrepreneur• Things have to be done in the grass root level• Being a small company one cant afford to blow up lot of money• First thing in business is to sell oneself• To succeed in fashion one should be able to predict what will

sell• Passion is the main driving force • One has to have a strategy , but at the same time it has to be

changed and revised many times along the way as markets change, buyers change and one has to change with it

• Her philosophy- “Karmanyewadhika raste maa phaleshu kadachana”

LOOK MA, NO HANDS

Raghu KhannaCashurdrive

“Give me any car, anywhere in India, and I can wrap your ad on it”

….. Raghu Khanna

• Started selling pots for diwali at age of 5 yrs

• Bought ipod by group buying• Worked on ‘drowsy driver detection

system’ and won prize• Got idea while going to Guwahati• Started ‘Brand on wheels’ on 23rd August

2008

• Idea Generation: While travelling

• Assessment: ‘Brand on wheels’ a community on orkut,

40 people agreed• Mobility of resources:

o Created websiteo Press Releases

• Risk of management: Balancing registrations with ads• Motivational system: Focus on business even though VC not

showing interest• Intuition based success: Making calls to brand managers by

searching in ‘Google’• Growth orientation: Concentrate on big brands rather than on

local brands

Advice to young Entrepreneurs “Today entrepreneurs run after funding at a

nascent stage where VC’s would give you half a million dollars but you will earn that much within short time.

By using internet anyone can connect to anyone but important thing is you have to be noticed by others through your talent.

People say it’s better to have work experience but that’s not really true.

When your idea is new, no one knows any more than you about how to make it happen. So the earlier you start, the better!”

Parameters used for paymentContract duration is 3months- 1 yr, Customers

will get 1200-5000/- per month depending on:

• How many kilometers you travelled• Ad space• Which places customer will go• How much public can attract