Company of the Year

This specially ‘configured’ issue honors the sheer innovative zeal driven by ethics and values. Businesses that integrate these while aligning with people’s needs and technologies, witness humongous success for sure. And this publication asserts the fact in the most sophisticated way. The organizations featured here are known for building futuristic solutions that could undoubtedly shape a better future for mankind. Indeed, Business Connect is thrilled to unfold this Novemberspecial edition to its global audience. Let’s take a superficial look at its composition-

Now, as mentioned above, what drives ethical behavior in any organization? Well, it is the values we choose to work by. The values ingrained in any organization’s culture help it to leave a glorious legacy behind. Owing to this strategy, many businesses have made ceaseless strikes to transform the lives of common people. Hence, we bring a repertoire of some outperforming companies that believe in raising the bars with each offering to their targeted customer base. The focus of this special edition is on a few exclusive traits that ensure successful leadership in the currently everevolving business landscape. The ‘read’ has come with some insights into the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of a few business leaders of some companies. A booster to your leadership skills accompanied by some extraordinary business management acumen- how we would like to address this publication.

This time, Marvelution B.V has become our cover star for this edition as couldn’t find any profile more fitting to be highlighted on the cover page. The institution is adeptly carving a way to the top of the project management space with its one of a kind Jira add-on. From small development shops to industry giants around the world are turning to it for simplifying Jenkins Integrations. Under the leadership of the founder of the organization, Mark Rekveld, the company has scaled the heights of incredible success. To get to know more about Marvelution B.V and its respective aspects, dive into this exclusively created narrative and share your views on it.

Also, we are sure that the inclusion of some informative articles will keep you glued to this issue for long hours. Business Connect believes that it is doing justice to its vision to seek and publish triumph tales of discerning leaders, energetic doers, pioneers, etc, while providing motivational insights on a variety of subjects. Let us know how we are doing with your precious feedback!

Kajal Dobhal Kajal@businessconnectindia.in

Dive into the pool of fathomable success stories…

Vol - 5|Special Edition|November 2022

Publisher & Editor : Abhishek Kumar Dubey

Editorial Team

Indranil Roy | Kajal Dobhal | Sugandh Bahl | Gulshan Parveen | Dr. Amit Mishra Avishek Singh | Kriti Anand | Sanjay Maurya

Business Head ASHISH KUMAR

Senior Marketing Manager Sonia Tiwari

Senior Relationship Manager Reshmi Mishra

Corporate Team

Satyam Singh | Sunny Pathak | Asha Dudeja | Pradeep Pandey | Reetu Chauhan | Komal Verma Sudha Gupta | Javed Khan | Vikash Kumar | Archna Pawar | Kazim Barati Co-ordinator (Business Connect-Clients)

Anita Kumari | Priyanka Gupta Data Research & Analysis

Satyam Tiwari | Amit Kumar | Anita | Rahul Kumar | Sweta | Shweta Kumari Prince | Gunjan | Rekha | Simran | Khusboo | Hitesh | Raja | Khushi | Nupur

Finance Team Monika Aggarwal | Gaurav Singhal

Creative Director ASHUTOSH OJHA

Creative Team

Rajat Pathak | Sakshi Negi | Vishant Saroj | Pawan Yadav Legal Affairs Mukesh Kumar Human Resources Nivedita Basu

Digital Marketing Manager Anurag Tiwari

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Mark Rekveld

Software Engineer and Owner

The Future of Software Backed By Outperforming Technology Just Got Better

Business Connect is renowned for its remarkable monthly editions centric on some outperforming ventures in the business world. And here again, we are back with our exclusive edition of the month, which is a collection of the growth trajectory of remarkable organizations. For the exclusive cover, our team chose to share the impeccable tale of Marvelution B.V., the company which is setting some high standards in the Software Development arena.

Our editorial team had an interesting and joyful session with the leadership panel of the company where the Founder of the company, Mr. Mark Rekveld shared some lesser-known facts about the venture and also spilled the beans on his entrepreneurial journey so far. We truly hope and desire that this fascinating read will add some extra value to the lives of our global readership panel and will encourage them to chase their dreams.

COMPANY PREFACE

“The solution Marvelution provides to integrate Jira with Jenkins is built on the premise that Jira is the holder of the configuration on how to integrate the build results in Jenkins into the views of issues in Jira. Others tend to opt to configure the integration and behavior within the build configuration of each job in Jenkins. This results in having to configure numerous jobs to share results with Jira and how this sharing should be done. This also includes the credentials needed to push build results to Jira.”

Giving a detailed introduction of his company, the Founder quips, “Marvelution started out as an umbrella open source project in 2008, to host the different open source projects. I was developing to hone my development skills. Over time Marvelution has hosted multiple open source projects, but the one that stood the test of time was the Jira Hudson Integration project. This project implements a different take on integrating Hudson, now Jenkins, with Jira and has been completely rewritten a couple of times to overcome different scaling issues. Now it is available as the Jenkins Integration for Jira app. The consistent success of the Jenkins Integration for Jira app allowed me to formally establish Marvelution in 2015, to continue the development of the app and also up the game on customer support and support of Jira Cloud.”

Mark Rekveld

Gulshan Parveen | Business Connect

He says, “The single source of truth solution of the Jenkins Integration for Jira app allows administrators to configure the integration once, and after that Jenkins pushes data to Jira and Jira will in turn handle processing the results to make sure the necessary actions are taken.”

WHY MARVELUTION?

• PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH

“There are two ‘struggles’ in the day to operation of Marvelution. One is that customers are less forgiving now than 10 years ago. Nowadays solutions provided need to work straight out of the box even in the most specific cases of customers. Back in the day customers were willing to work with you to make sure the solution worked in their case as best as it could. This now is the exception where only some customers are willing to work with you, or even give valuable feedback when they try out your product but end up not using it. The other is the ever growing demand for cloud services. When the Jenkins Integration for Jira cloud app was launched in 2018 it was designed and built to scale, but now the next step needs to be taken. The app is under ever growing demand which

is likely going to see its current limits reached by the end of this year. So Marvelution is in full swing to make sure the app can scale to meet its demand.”

• BOND WITH R&D

“Marvelution doesn’t use traditional analytics or R&D. It tries to listen to customers that use the products and services and together with them define the roadmap on future features. From time to time there are bigger things on the wishlist of customers, like supporting automation rules, which will take a trial-and-error approach combined with a public beta period before going mainstream.”

THE LEADERSHIP APPROACH

How does your leadership create a compelling work culture? That was the question drooling in our minds to which Mark affirms, “Having fun so that work is no longer seen as work. It all started as a hobby to hone development skills but has since grown to be a place to have fun while working to the extent that since its formal inception Mark has not worked a day, but has still seen the company grow.

Marvelution is a bit of an oddball. It is still a one-man operation for the day-to-day operations. Only in some cases does it reach out to others

A TECH-ENABLED ORGANIZATION

“It is by no means a new trend, but the move to cloud computing is ever-growing. When Marvelution started all customers were using server or data center deployments to operate their business. Nowadays more and more customers are either moving to the cloud because they see it as a benefit, or are “forced” to move to the cloud because their software suppliers are moving in that direction.

With this trend of moving to the cloud, Mark also sees that features are mostly cloud-first, sometimes even cloud-only. Here is where Marvelution tries to differentiate so that features may be released to the cloud first because of a faster release cycle but will always follow up with a release that customers can use on their server and data center deployments. The Jenkins Jira Integration product is the oldest product Marvelution has. This one started in 2008 as a hobby project to integrate Hudson, the successor of Jenkins, with Jira. Over its lifespan, the product has seen 3-4 complete rewrites to overcome using the product at ever larger scales. This 13 years of development experience with Jenkins and Jira have made the product a robust solution that may not do it all, but what it does it does very well in even the largest scaled customers.”

outside the company to get specific tasks done. In those cases, it always looks for other people or companies that are like-minded. This has already led to having connections with people with specific testing skills or design experience. In those cases, it never seems that leadership was needed. Everyone in the focus group knew what needed to be done and got it done. The phrase “it just works” comes to mind, without having spent the time to figure out why this is.”

THE BALANCED EFFICIENCY

“Note that Marvelution is a one-man operation, so this is not that widely tested, but Mark feels that looking at your day-to-day to get your work-life balance in balance is a sure thing to get out of balance and into a burnout. The nature of balancing means that if you move out of the center you are out-of-balance. So when you work you are out of balance, and this is also the case when you live. There is no means to get to a point where you are in balance and just enjoy life unless you love to move from one out-of-balance to the next.

Mark looks at life as a blend of work and nonwork life. You wake up in the morning and go to bed in the evening and in between you live your day. During the day you may work or do other things that make you happy. The important thing is that by the time you go to bed you can ask yourself the question “Am I happy?” or “Did I do what needed to be done?” In the beginning, you may realize you didn’t work enough or didn’t live enough that day. But over time you will find that it becomes easier to get a blend of work and lifetime during the day that will result in you going to bed with a smile on your face. This will be a major thing to also allow the first real employee to experience and experiment with. Because a happy employee will do more at a higher quality than a non-happy one could ever do.”-Mark Rekveld.

PARTING WORDS

Before signing off, the visionary shared some words of wisdom with the budding leaders out there by saying, “Be honest, open, listen, and don’t be afraid to fail. People tend to be more understanding if you are open and honest, and will in turn also be more forgiving when you fail from time to time. Failure is just a means to measure success, but hiding failures from others will negatively impact how you measure success.”

Youngest Prime Minister of Britain

Rishi Sunak

On the day of Diwali, the biggest festival of Hindus, the world got the news that Rishi Sunak, a Hindu, is going to be the next prime minister of Britain.

Rishi Sunak was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on October 25, 2022. He is the Conservative Party’s Leader and the United Kingdom’s first British Asian and Hindu Prime Minister. The 42-year old, youngest prime minister in two centuries, Sunak has the support of 193 MPs in the UK parliament.

Sunak was the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022, as well as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020. Since 2015, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (York).

Quick Facts

Name: Rishi Sunak Nationality: British Net Worth: USD 823 million (Almost double than that of king Charles)

Education: Schooling from Winchester College, B.A. (majored in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)) at Lincoln College in Oxford, MBA from Stanford University. Occupation: Politician Designation: P.M of United Kingdom Date of Birth: May 12, 1980 Age: 42

Place of Birth: Southampton, Briton Marital Status: Married Spouse’s Name: Akshata Murty Children: 2 daughters- Krishna Sunak, Anoushka Sunak Spoken Languages: English, Hindi & Punjabi Hobbies: Watching movies, Cricket & tennis, and Horse Riding

Early Life

Sunak was born on May 12, 1980, in Southampton, Hampshire, to Yashvir and Usha Sunak, Hindus of Indian Punjabi heritage who were born in Africa. Usha Sunak was born in Tanganyika (which later became part of Tanzania), and Yashvir Sunak was born and raised in the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya (current-day Kenya). Yashvir Sunak is a general practitioner (GP) in the National Health Service (NHS), and Usha Sunak currently serves as the director and pharmacist at the Sunak Pharmacy in Southampton and holds a degree from Aston University.

CareerSunak served as a financial institution Goldman Sachs analyst from 2001 until 2004. He then went to work at the Children’s Investment Fund Management, a hedge fund management firm, where he was made a partner in September 2006. He left his position in November 2009 to work with former coworkers at Theleme Partners, a brand-new hedge fund firm that started operations in October 2010 and has $700 million under management. His boss at both hedge funds was Patrick Degorce. He worked as a director for the investing firm Catamaran’s Ventures, owned by Indian tycoon N. R. Narayana Murthy, between 2013 and 2015.

In October 2014, Sunak won the Conservative primary over Wendy Morton to become their nominee for Richmond (Yorks). William Hague, a former party leader, first secretary of state, and foreign secretary, previously held the position.

In the general election of 2015, he won the seat as the constituency’s MP with a majority of 19,550 (36.2%) votes. Between 2015 and 2017, he was a member of the Select Committee on Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.

In the general election of 2017, Sunak won reelection with an increased margin of 23,108 (40.5%) votes. He served as the parliamentary under-secretary of state for local government from January 2018 to July 2019.

On July 24, 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson named Sunak as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, reporting to Chancellor Sajid Javid. The next day, he became a member of the Privy Council.

Sunak was elected with an improved majority of 27,210 (47.2%) in the 2019 general election again. Throughout the election season, Sunak participated in the seven-way election debates hosted by the BBC and ITV on behalf of the Conservatives.

As part of a cabinet reshuffle, Sunak was promoted to chancellor on February 13, 2020. After Liz Truss announced her resignation on October 20, 2022, Sunak was considered a potential candidate for the shortened

leadership election, along with Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson, who had stepped down as prime minister before Liz Truss’s appointment.

Sunak confirmed his intention to run for office on October 23. After Johnson declared himself out of the running and Mordaunt withdrew, Sunak was chosen as the new Conservative Party leader and later was elected as the country’s prime minister.

On October 25, 2022, King Charles III appointed Sunak Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, making him the country’s first British Asian prime minister. Sunak, a Hindu, chose the Bhagavad Gita as the basis for his oath of office in the Commons.

PERSONAL LIFE

He wed Akshata Murty in August 2009, the daughter of Infosys’s founder and billionaire Indian, N. R. Narayana Murthy. One of the wealthiest women in Britain, Murty owns a 0.91% interest in Infosys, which will be worth over $900 million (£746 million) in April 2022.

Having two daughters, Sunak and Murty met while both were students at Stanford University. Sunak is teetotaller. He has been a former East London Science School governor. Cricket, tennis, and horse racing are all things Sunak enjoys. He also has a Labrador named Nova.

Rishi Sunak is the oldest of the three siblings. His sister Raakhi (Williams) works in New York as the chief of strategy and planning at the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies, while his brother Sanjay is a psychotherapist.

Sunak attended the prep school Stroud School in Romsey and the boys’ independent boarding school Winchester College, where he served as head boy. During his summer break, he worked as a waiter in a Southampton curry house. He majored in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Lincoln College in Oxford, where he received a first-class degree in 2001. He worked at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters as an intern while he was a student. He earned his MBA in 2006 from Stanford University.

Sahdeo Sundi

Founder & Director

Puja Bhardwaj | Business Connect

a quality-conscious apparel sourcing & manufacturing brand, was built and nurtured by Sahdeo Sundi With a clear vision and an uncompromising commitment to quality and delivery Since its inception in 2017, ALMA has been growing as a dedicated supply chain partner for outsourcing readymade garments, home textiles, and workwear/ uniforms for premier brands across the USA, Europe, and the middle east.

ALMA,

ALMA has carved a niche by taking complete responsibility right from product innovation to product execution and delivering to the customer at the right time with the required quality parameters. The visionary entrepreneur has led a significant transformation with his endeavour and is adding new pages to the company’s achievements and his team.

Under the dynamic leadership of Sahdeo Sundi, ALMA is constantly growing. It serves a diverse clientele, including international importers, luxury clothing companies, and multi-brand wholesalers like WALMART, DOLLAR GENERAL, FAMILY DOLLAR, MESSY BARLINGTON TJ X, etc.

From the Director’s Desk

I graduated from the KOLKATA centre of the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1999. Then, I moved to Tirupur (also known as the knitwear capital of India) and worked as an industrial engineer there for three years. I was incredibly motivated after working in a factory and recognising the possibilities for providing unemployed adolescents and women in society with employment opportunities. My ex-boss helped me start my factory in 2003 because I wanted to be the first generation of entrepreneurs in my little village.

My father often told me, — “Grow as a fruitful tree for society, and it should be meaningful. Don’t live alone as a burden for society. Create a lively hood for other needy people!”

With this motto, I have never abandoned my responsibility. Despite numerous business ups and downs, I maintained my spirit and operated my factory till 2014. With some harsh lessons learned from our partnership, we wound down our factory operation and started our own business

as a sole proprietorship before converting into a Pvt limited sourcing business with my well-wisher Mr Amit Jaiswal, who settled in the USA and achieved a 25 million USD turnover in just five years of sourcing.

Standing Strong during the COVID-19 Crisis

Since we are in one of the essential commodities among ROTI , KAPDA, and MAKKAN the apparel industry and their core area in essential product is underwear category which sold out to higher % age during the COVID, it becomes a better opportunity for the entire team. We shipped the most elevated containers during the Covid.

“We have consistently taken care of the employees and workers and educated them about our equipment to ensure steady growth throughout this challenging time. We have not lost any colleagues throughout the pandemic, by God’s grace,” Mr Sundi quoted.

ALMA’s Insights on Inclusion of Tech Advancements

As a sourcing cum manufacturer, we always believe in new technology and ideas to give everyone transparency and visibility in our business cycle. In our business operation, we work on trust and by providing clarity on business processes, and we must adopt a digital platform to access the information & activity. During Covid, digital technology played a vital role and simplified all our approval processes for overseas customers in a short time.

Progressing in a Dynamic Industry with R&D

In the fashion industry, R&D and innovation come first and foremost initiation! “Without disruptive innovation, we cannot be competitive. We are in this stage within a brief period only because of our R&D and innovation”, Mr Sundi mentioned. Alma runs its operation on disruptive innovation, becoming a self-driven business, not a customer-driven one, because of R&D.

Making the Brand’s Voice Reach the Audience Over Time

The team at ALMA work on disruptive ideas in order to position the product among their customers and competitors at competitive pricing with improved quality without sacrificing

the product’s attractive appearance and comfortable feel. Without receiving complaints, they worked within the deadline to provide the client with superior service.

The ALMA Team and its Key to Motivation

As an entrepreneur, Sahdeo Sundi believes in creating an M 3 policy (Man, Machine and Method) and started working on aligning together all 3 M. And he knows creating a workforce asset is like mining gold. Achieving your objective without an M in a healthy company is impossible. He places a high value on retaining people by motivating them, recognising their achievements in promotions, awarding them on special occasions, and providing them with the freedom to improve the workplace. And from time to time, he thinks of fantastic opportunities for workers to learn something new, investigate possibilities, and advance themselves.

Here, every individual is taken care of everything as a family member. And given the very comfortable working culture. Apart from incentives and bonuses, the employee will work automatically if they give them job security and growth prospects. They conduct some get-togethers with the family at weekends and yearly once to national or international holidays for performers and senior employees of the organization as a package.

ALMA – Future & Advice for New Entrepreneurs

ALMA is a steadily growing company aiming to have the best sourcing office in India and change it from a private to a public limited company and give the share to the senior employees. In terms of society, there is a plan to work on enhancing rural strength by providing training and developing a trained workforce.

Always remain optimistic, maintain a growth mindset, and never give up. Please continue your good, productive work that benefits us at all times. Develop strong bonds with your colleagues and business partners, asserted the man behind Alma.

Leaders in Front of ALMA

CFO VIEWS: HOSPITALITY AND SERVICE RESIDENCES

continue to stay as our prime growth vehicle. There is also a considerable peak in demand for co-living spaces within the urbanized, first-tier cities of the region. To cater to these travelers, our co-brand ‘Lyf’ offers a dynamic environment for guests to forge connections through a strong sense of community.”

ACCOLADES & FUTURE PLANS

He also informed us that “The Ascott Limited has opened 20 properties with more than 4,500 units in H1 2022 alone, a 56% YOY increase. In India, with the Oakwood acquisition, Ascott has added 4 properties to the current portfolio across Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune., We are also excited to launch four more properties, Ascott Ireo City & Citadines Paras Square in Gurugram, Citadines Arpora Nagoa & Citadines Calangute in Goa. In addition, Oakwood will add 6 new properties across Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Vizag. Our growth curve is a testimony of our commitment to providing our guests with the highest quality of lodging, wherever they live, with Ascott.”

He further adds, “At Ascott, our major focus remains the long-stay segment, but also perfectly caters to leisure and corporate guests, featuring luxurious global amenities that appeal to vacationers and staycationers round the year. The property locations provide opportunities to tap into new source markets for business. Our guests don’t just return to a serviced space, they come home to familiar faces, welcoming surroundings, and the assurance that their needs will be taken care of.”

PRASANNA RAGHAVAN CFO & Head of Sustainability Ascott India

Business Connect is back with its exclusive monthly edition, ‘CFO of the year 2022’ in which we have featured outperforming financial leaders in the business world. Our editorial team had an interesting session with the CFO & Head of Sustainability of Ascott Limited – India, Mr. Prasanna Raghavan. He shared insights about the company & the plans of Ascott in India.

About the Company: The Ascott Limited is an award-winning, international lodging brand with a global portfolio of over 900 properties across 40 countries. In India, we own and operate the Somerset Residence and Citadines in Chennai in addition to a managed property in Mumbai. We are expanding our footprint across the country, with multiple openings in the coming years.

Ascott acquired the Oakwood brand in July 2022, strengthening our position as the world’s leading player and operator of hotel apartments, expanding our portfolio to over 153,000 units across 900 properties. With our expertise in the ‘extended stay’ space and a track record in delivering excellent returns to our partners, our core brands – Ascott The Residence, Somerset Serviced Residence, and Citadines Apart’hotel

Ascott has been a consecutive recipient of the World Travel Awards globally, including MEAT and India. The Somerset Greenways Chennai won the brand award, and ‘India’s Leading Serviced Apartments 2022’ for the 4th time. Oakwood Residence Kapil Hyderabad bagged the ‘Today’s Traveller 2022’ award in the Premium Lifestyle Serviced Apartments category and the ‘South Asia Travel Awards’ for Best Serviced Apartments. Citadines OMR was ranked among the top 5 best hotels for business travelers in Chennai by CNBC.

ASCOTT & SUSTAINABILITY

Ascott is heavily focused on ESG & sustainability. Clean wind energy & solar panels power our properties. Wooden key cards have replaced plastic. Electric vehicle charging stations, and sustainable water solutions are being rolled out. Sustainability at no compromise to guest comfort.

Before signing off, he says he enjoys working with newage thinkers and their ideologies toward a safer, more sustainable future. He believes that organizations should work with teams that complement their goals. Instead of hiring the best resources, hiring talent with the right attitude, and passion for work will serve business interests in the long run.

Gulshan Parveen | Business Connect

TO INCREASE THE OXYGEN LEVEL IN THE BODY; Eat These 5 Fruits

YOU WILL GET MANY BENEFITS

The human body is an amazing machine that can heal itself, provided you give it the right conditions for doing so. Oxygen is an integral part of this healing process, which is why increasing the amount of oxygen in your system can have many health benefits.

It’s a common conception that our lungs breathe for us, and the work of supplying oxygen to the body is done by our heart and blood vessels. However, if you want to increase the oxygen level in your body, it’s not only about breathing harder or taking deep breaths; it’s also about eating the right things.

Here are 5 unique fruits which will help you fight against a lack of oxygen in the body.

1. Mango:

Mangoes have the potential to boost anaerobic metabolism, which plays a vital role in the production of cellular energy. They are rich in beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, and they also have high levels of potassium and vitamin C. These properties help maintain normal oxygen levels in our body by changing the metabolism of cells.

The most obvious reason you want to eat more mangos is that it tastes great! This tropical fruit is full of vitamins A and C, which help increase oxygen levels in the body. Mangos help to strengthen your immune system so your body can fight off infections.

Some Other benefits of mango:

• It’s good for your heart, liver, and brain.

• Boosts stamina and endurance levels

• Improves digestion

• Prevents sore throat

• Increases energy

2. Avocado:

Avocados are rich in potassium, a mineral known for strengthening blood vessels and arterial walls. This fruit also has monounsaturated fats, which improve blood flow and oxygen delivery to vital organs. Avocado is an excellent choice for active people because it contains large amounts of potassium which they lose during exercise.

Avocados are high in vitamins A, B3, B6, B12, choline, folate, PUFAs, and dietary fibre. These nutrients aid in the increase of oxygen levels in the body.

Some other benefits of Avocado:

• Builds strong bones

• Improves digestion

• Prevents arthritis

• Healthy hair and skin

• Reduces swelling in the body

• Skin elasticity is improved

3. Kiwi:

Kiwi fruits have the potential to deliver oxygen directly to cells because of their high density of vitamin C or ascorbic acid. Dietary fiber, copper, iron, vitamins A, B3, B5, B6, and C, as well as choline and antioxidants, are all abundant in this sweet and sour tropical fruit. In the aged, kiwifruit preserves DNA, boosts the immune system, reduces inflammation, and reduces the severity and duration of upper respiratory infections (14).

Eat a healthy kiwi every day. It may also be added to smoothies, juices, and salads to increase vitamin and mineral consumption, which helps to maintain blood oxygen saturation.

Some other benefits of Kiwi:

• Builds healthy heart and bones

• Improves digestion

• Good for eyesight and skin health

• Reduces inflammation

• Strengthens the immune system

4. Pomegranate:

Pomegranates are high in iron, copper, zinc, vitamins B3 and B6, and choline. They increase nitric oxide bioavailability, which improves oxygen delivery and blood flow. Pomegranate seeds or freshly squeezed pomegranate juice can assist in expanding blood vessels and improve blood flow. As a result, the risk of tissue harm from low oxygen saturation is lowered.

Pomegranate juice helps to strengthen your immune system; moreover, it can help in increasing your stamina and endurance levels. Research has shown that pomegranate juice is full of anti-inflammatory agents which can reduce swelling or irritation caused by swelling in the airways.

Some Other benefits of Pomegranate:

• It’s good for your heart, liver, and brain.

• Blood cleanser.

• Prevents cancer.

• Immune system fortification.

• Stamina and endurance levels are improved.

5. Pineapple:

Pineapples are low in calories and high in vitamin C and beta-carotene. They contain a good amount of dietary fiber, copper, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and calcium.

Pineapples are rich in vitamin C, which helps increase oxygen levels in the body, and vitamin C is also an antioxidant that works to remove harmful toxins from cells. Pineapple is full of dietary fiber (as well as other vitamins and minerals), which has a powerful effect on the cell membrane functions that generally break down with age.

Some Other benefits of pineapple:

• Good for heart, liver, and brain health.

• Detoxifies blood.

• Prevents cancer.

• Strengthen the immune system.

• Increases stamina and endurance levels.

The Role Fruits Play in Increasing Oxygen Levels

The human body receives plenty of oxygen, but it uses up much of it, helping other cells digest food and carry out various processes. When we exercise, the oxygen level in our body is continuously depleted. We need a way to increase the amount of oxygen in our blood so that our body can replenish it.

Fruits are nature’s way of providing vital nutrients to keep us hydrated, healthy, and fit. They contain the necessary vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which help keep our bodies functioning well by increasing oxygen levels. Many fruits are even considered super fruits because of their high oxygen capacity. They contain so many nutrients, which is why they are the most crucial part of any diet.

In the end we would say that these 5 unique fruits are packed with nutrients that will provide your body with the fuel it needs to function at the optimal level. By following this advice, you will be increasing the oxygen levels in your body, and this will have a significant impact on your overall health and well-being.

Executive Director

We are back with our exceptional edition featuring some biggies that have left legacies behind owing to their impeccable business acuity. Hence, to marvel at what they have accomplished so far, we released this exclusive publication. The brand we are featuring here needs no introduction at all. Well, who hasn’t heard of Haldiram’s?

A renowned household brand dominating the Indian market of Namkeen, Sweets and other traditional savouries. The roots of its glorious past belong to Bikaner, Rajasthan from where it commenced a phenomenal journey. In 1937, it began with catering namkeens in Bikaner which swiftly expanded to the market of New Delhi in 1982.

Growing like wildfire, its presence was ensured in the USA in 1993, dispensing packaged namkeens. Well, that’s quite a feat! The eatables introduced by Haldiram’s across the Indian landscape have been well-received by diverse sections and ages of society. Not only India, but Haldiram has managed to leave its footprints across 80 countries.

Customer’s Numero Uno Choice For delectable delicacies…

| Business Connect

Moreover, the rest of the prominence has been due to the resounding success of their 120 Quick Service Restaurants thriving across Indiadelivering impeccable quality service and value for money to its big customer base. The eatables rolled out by these QSRs are projected to serve the best-in-class food quality catering to the needs of different age groups.

We are in a freewheeling conversation with the Executive Director of this FMCG biggie- DR AK Tyagi. He shared a glimpse of the brand’s history, value, philosophy, process and much more in the tete-a-tete held with us. We believe that our global aficionado would be amazed to read the success story of Haldiram’s narrated by Dr Tyagi and it would prove to be a motivational capsule to all our readers.

A BRIEF OF THE ‘ LEADING LIGHT’

Talking of his educational background, Dr A K Tyagi is a Graduate of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and a Master’s in Food Technology from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pant Nagar, Nainital. His specialization lies in Food Processing, Technology of Milk and Milk Products, Food Chemistry, Food Microbiology, and Chem. & Micro Evaluation of Foods. Afterwards, he proceeded with pursuing MBA and Ph. D. in Business Administration as well.

He began his career trajectory in 1984 by joining a multinational companyWimpy International Pvt. Ltd. (a Division of the United

Biscuit empire, UK). Then in 1988, he became Technical Manager at the Noida plant of Uncle Chipps Company Ltd. where he was responsible for and leading for complete operations of the unit in 1990 when he was promoted to DGM (Tech.). His contribution was recognised by Management through fast-track promotions. He was made overall in charge of four plants along with additional responsibilities of Sales & Marketing and Finance as Vice President (1995-1997) and then elevated to President (1997-2000). Dr Tyagi joined Amrit Food (a division of Amrit Banspati Co. Ltd.) as CEO of the Company in 2000 and his last designation was Executive President when he left Amrit Food to join Haldiram’s.

Renu

In 2006, Dr Tyagi joined Haldiram’s Group as the Executive President. He has directed the company’s global strategy for more than a decade while allowing the Group to increase its market share through expansion. He is known for putting several green field projects on the table, developing some innovative products and spreading networks within a short time. Under Dr Tyagi’s stewardship, Haldiram’s has multiplied 16 times over the past 16 years while asserting its place as a market leader in Salty Snacks. Being a leading brand within the FMCG Sector, it has managed to put stiff competition from Multinational and Indian Companies.

In the year 2014, he was elevated to the position of “Executive Director”. As he is steering the company to a higher aloft with proper organization and vision to increase its market share, the roadmap to expand production through in-house expansion as well as third-party operations while expanding inorganically through acquisitions has been carved out.

THE FACT BEHIND THE SPECTACULAR SUCCESS

The remarkable success of the brand would not have been possible without the support extended by the team of professionals at the organization. Today, its global reputation and presence are astounding to the business fraternity but it is the sheer outcome of the collaborative efforts of the individuals associated with itdirectly or indirectly. Well, somewhere in the journey, hiring the right kind of men for the various positions has been fruitful to Haldiram. Be it production or sales or R&D or QA or Finance or HR or Supply Chain or Marketing or Engineering- every department is quite conscious of hiring talented individuals with a passion to create a difference for the company. Whatever the brand value today, A K Tyagi affirms that it is due to years of extensive hard work and perseverance. The vision of the CMD has always been the high quality and taste of the end products that have helped them stay ahead of the curve. The forte of the company is product quality, hygiene and taste with extensive and thought-out distribution expansion.

RELIANCE UPON TECHNOLOGY

Technology has revolutionized every industry with its outstanding

efficiency and productivity introduced in business performance. The FMCG industry has not been left untouched by it. Here, Haldiram’s has adopted technology swiftly to revamp its overall functioning putting aside the conventional ways of working. In this respect, the founder asserts, “Our industry which is very traditional for its products and all the products were handmade, we were the first brand to automate the production of all the handmade products with a minimum human touch. We have technology in all processes be it production, sales, manufacturing, etc. that has boosted our production rate and ROI tremendously.”

CUSTOMER-CENTRICITY: SUCCESS MANTRA

Every consumer is willing to pay a wholesome amount of money for good quality products that could justify their value for money. For Haldiram’s, quality is of paramount importance and its philosophy speaks for customer satisfaction at any cost. In line with this, the company has ensured state-of-the-art production facilities as well as R&D facilities where the best-in-class equipment produces exceptional products.

“Our products can surely be copied but our quality, hygiene and taste cannot be copied, the above gives us a significant edge over our competitors. We serve different age groups, incomes and across the world. We have created a niche in our product which has resulted in huge brand equity that we enjoy from our consumers. With our OMNI channel presence in the Indian market as well as across the global market, we have been able to relish phenomenal growth for the past 4 decades,”

states the Founder.

To expand its customer base, Haldiram’s is about to diversify its product portfolio by including categories like dairy, species, candies, etc.

NOTCHES ON THE BELT

There is a long list of accomplishments where Haldiram’s has been recognized with several awards and certificates from different media and publication houses since 1994. Here, we have highlighted a few of the worthy mentions out of the list of considerable length-

• International Award of Food & Beverages 1994 presented by Trader Leaders Club, Spain

• Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Award 2009 presented by Images Retail Intelligence Services

• Food Innovation Excellence Award 2017 presented by The Association Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India

• Concor Exim Star Award 2017 presented by Concor(Container Corporation of India)

• India Food Safety Summit recognized Dr AK Tyagi with CEO of the Year 2018 award.

• Global Business Icon Award- Brand of the Year 2019 presented by NNS Media

• ET Now conferred Dr AK Tyagi with Business Leader of the Year 2020

• Most Hygienic & Safe Restaurant 2022 award was presented by Food Connoisseurs India Convention Award(Industry Live)

• CEO of the Year 2022 was presented by ET ascent(National Awards for Marketing Excellence and Brand Leadership) to Dr A K Tyagi.

A MEMOIR SHARED BY THE LUMINARY

“Changes are inevitable, adoption of changes before they are forced upon will give your edge over others.”

The Tata group has contributed in significant yet unnoticed ways to India’s growth story ever since its founding in 1868. For the past 150 years, Tata firms have been a silent force advancing the country and the aspirations of India’s more than one billion people. Here is how Tata been affecting the lives of the people across the globe.

Overview:

The Tata Group is a Mumbai-based multinational conglomerate with Indian roots. It was founded in 1868 and is now the largest conglomerate in India, with activities in 100 nations spanning six continents and the sale of goods and services in over 150 nations.

Jamsetji Tata, who is recognised as the creator of the Tata Group, is occasionally referred to

After purchasing multiple multina tional corporations, the organisation attained recognition on a global scale. Under the direction and control of its own board of directors and sharehold ers, each Tata firm runs on its own. Tata Sons, the holding company for the Tata family, is controlled by phil anthropic trusts to the tune of 66%, with the Tata family having a very modest stake. The company generated an estimated 190 billion US dollars in sales annually as of 2022.

as the “father of Indian industry.”

Tata Group Companies

As of 2022, the market value of the 29 publicly traded Tata Group Companies was $240 billion (INR 21 trillion).

Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Consumer Products, Titan Company, Tata Power, Tata Steel, Voltas, Tata Capital, Tanishq, Tata Chemicals, Tata Communications, Trent, Tata Elxsi, Indian Hotels Company, Air India, TajAir, Tata Cliq, Crom, BigBasket, and Tata Starbucks are just a few of the significant companies that belong to the Tata Group.

Amazing Facts about Tata:

1. In 1868, Jamsetji Tata established the Tata Group as a private trading company. He had four dreams at the time: establishing a hydroelectric plant, a distinctive hotel, an elite educational institution, and an iron and steel corporation. Now, it is the largest conglomerate in India. It has operations in 100 nations across six continents and sells goods and services in over 150 nations.

2. After the Indian Railways and the Indian Defense Forces, it employs about 700,000 people, making it India’s third largest employer.

3. In 2018, 4.5 billion cups of Tetley tea were drunk daily worldwide, making Tata Global Beverages the second-largest tea firm in the world.

4. The Tata group has made a major contribution to India’s success story. It contributed around 4% to the GDP of the nation in 2018 and paid 2.244% of all taxes collected in India, totalling a staggering 47,195 crore—the highest sum paid by any corporate organisation.

5. The Tatas’ dedication to sustainability and society included staff volunteering, known as Tata Engage over 150,000 volunteers from all Tata companies participated in the first four years. Employees had the option to mentor and coach non-profits as part of the Pro-Engage Project, which primarily took place on weekends, during holidays, and after work hours.

6. The Tatas founded Tata Industries in 1945, the first technology organisation in Indian business, at a time when management as a science was still in its infancy, even in Western nations.

7. Empress Mills, the flagship textile company of Tatas, provided a healthy work environment in its factories by installing humidifying systems and dust-removing equipment to protect the health of his employees and machinery in the late 1880s, when there was no electricity in India. They also implemented provident fund, gratuity, and accident compensation schemes, which were unheard of in India and many other parts of the world at the time.

8. A century before the term “clean energy” first gained popularity, Sir Dorabji Tata, the second Chairman of Tata Sons and the son of Jamsetji Tata, provided Mumbai with affordable and clean energy through hydroelectric power generation in 1910 through the Tata Hydro Electric Company (now Tata Power).

9. In response to a request from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s office, Tatas launched the Lakme brand of cosmetics in 1952.

10. The World Health Organization (WHO) asked Tata Steel for assistance in 1974 when the Chota Nagpur region had become the epicentre of the smallpox epidemic. The business provided resources and labour in response. 82 towns and 20,500 villages received vaccinations in six months. For the first time ever, India was certified smallpox-free by 1975.

11. In India, one of the earliest businesses to provide stock options to employees was Tata Chemicals in 1981.

12. Employees were even given loans with forgiving terms to purchase debentures, as well as special support from outside organisations who educated them about investors.

13. Large Indian conglomerates like Reliance and Aditya Birla, as well as comparable corporations in other nations like Siemens, Mitsubishi, GE, and Berkshire Hathaway, have created less wealth for shareholders in the 25 years since India’s economic liberalisation than the Tata companies have.

14. The Indian Railways exams—more usually known as the largest hiring drive in the world—are made possible by Tata’s technology. In fact, their platform hosts the IIMs and IITs entrance tests, two of India’s most important entrance exams.

RELIABULL FINANCIAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED

MUTUAL FUND DISTRIBUTOR

ReliaBull Financial Services: An Investor Focused Firm Fuelled By Trust

Company Overview

ReliaBull is a group of experienced professional managers from various sectors of the financial services industry who specialize in Mutual Funds, Fixed Income, PMS and Alternative Investments strategies. ReliaBull provides services to a wide range of clients, including salaried individuals, HNIs, corporations, trusts, and non-resident Indians. They provide investment products right to the client’s door. Their post-investment service is a key differentiator for their desk.

ReliaBull is promoted with the goal of instilling financial discipline in the investor class. “Portfolio Management” and “Financial Planning” are two of their primary services. Clients can choose from Mutual Funds, Fixed Income, PMS, Alternate Investment Funds, and Insurance.

ReliaBull’s team is constantly striving for excellence and delivering results. They have always emphasised lowering their clients’ financial risks by creating a pool of profitable options from which to choose. This along with the alignment of their processes with technology has helped ReliaBull in creating a mark in the industry as well as in the hearts of their clients.

KISHAN JAKHOTIA Founder

Kirti Anand | Business Connect

The uniqueness of the company lies in taking a “holistic approach in meeting the complex needs of investors and providing unbiased advice.”

Entrepreneurial Journey

Mr. Kishan Jakhotia, the Founder of ReliaBull Financial Services is a young entrepreneur who has conquered numerous challenges to envision and create this company. Throughout his career, the majority of the companies he worked for were focused on Sales/Product rather than Advisory/Client. The entire approach to wealth management was based on making money for oneself rather than for clients. He decided to change this at least in his team, but he was not very successful due to a variety of corporate constraints. He also believed that the industry lacked quality advisors because wealth management firms prioritised product push over learning. Upon recognizing that this needed to be changed, he set out to establish his own company.

ReliaBull faced many challenges at first, but one of the most significant was convincing investors to invest with them and gaining their trust in managing their wealth. “When you have MNC Banks, local Banks, Wealth Management Companies, Financial Services Groups etc. vying for the same client it gets difficult. We were in competition with the big boys. So, to convince clients to try our wealth proposition was quite daunting initially,” he explains. What business approach to take and how to arrange funding were other challenges Mr. Jakhotia and his team conquered.

Keeping up with the changes in the industry is crucial for a business to succeed. Mr. Jakhotia states, “As the needs of our investors evolve, we evolve too. We have consciously decided to actively pursue SIP business this year as these assets are more sticky. Also, within our core client network we have been actively pursuing PMS & AIF product offerings.”

ReliaBull is well known for two reasons. The first is the quality of their advice, and the second is their service standards. They have consistently outperformed the market on client portfolio returns, and their turnaround time for resolving all client queries/service issues is two days.

Mr. Jakhotia’s professional goal is to achieve an AUM of 500 crores in the next year. He is also considering expanding the company into new markets and expanding its product offerings. Personally, he intends to devote more time to honing his skills in his field and in the technological realm.

A Client-First Approach Trust is not something that can be gained overnight. ReliaBull has worked hard over time to deliver consistent results, which has helped them gain the trust of their clients. Their unique selling point is that they take a holistic approach to meeting the complex needs of investors and provide unbiased advice.

The customer is the most important aspect of ReliaBull’s business, regardless of what they do. The ultimate goal of the company is to provide an exceptional customer experience. They attempt to fully comprehend the customer’s requirements before providing tailored investment solutions. Their customers are inextricably linked to them in two ways. First, through their relationship management team, and then through the daily market updates and reports that they provide.

Clients in the HNI segment that ReliaBull serves have access to so much information from various sources that they can accurately determine who can or cannot be a good advisor. They approach a client with the right mix of experience, market understanding, and product knowledge, making it easier to gain a client’s trust.

Client referral programmes and connecting on LinkedIn have worked the best for the company in promoting initiatives, offerings, or services among all the business development activities it has undertaken.

When asked about client trust, Mr. Jakhotia is proud to say that the company has consistently been referred by the clients to their extended family members & friends. “This is how we know we are doing a fairly decent job. Also, not a single client of ours has left us, so that’s one more measure of how much they are happy with what we have been doingand the way we have been doing it.” Some of the client relationships of the company have now exceeded 8-9 years and are getting stronger by the day

They plan to expand into newer geographies, such as other metro cities and to add new products to their portfolio, such as stock broking and loans.

Parting Words

“Starting a business is hard, making it successful is harder. Honestly it has been a fulfilling and a rewarding journey so far. It has been a learning experience. If you have passion then things will happen. It taught me newer aspects of leadership. Also, initially we started with only Mutual Funds, but we have consistently added new products to our bouquet like PMS, Alternate Funds, Unlisted offerings etc. Our clients are happier that they can have access to all the financial products under a single roof today

I am still young myself and learning so I can’t give advice but all I can say is do whatever you do with Passion, Integrity and ethics. Know your product and market well before taking the plunge and embrace feedback.”

SHRIRAM JANGIR

Home defines a person’s lifestyle. It’s why people spend fortunes to create visually stunning homes. Visual aesthetics and design add soul to a home and make it unique. Surely, interior design is considered the thematic aesthetic to achieve the required appeal. Choosing the right furniture is also essential because it serves as the backdrop for decorating rooms while keeping them functional. Quality furniture that goes well with the color scheme adds significance to the overall visual appeal. And it’s best to consult the experts for it.

In this context, Shriram Timber has carved a niche for quality and versatility. It is counted among the prominent furniture exporters and is the parent body of Inmarwar, a feature-rich online store that offers furniture that promises to complement unique tastes.

A BRIEF OF THE COMPANY

Shriram Timber was founded in 2001 by Mr. Babulal Jangir (Founder). A firm believer in exemplary leadership, he began it as a small factory with a small team and one Israeli buyer. Time passed, and in 2018, his son, Shriram Jangir (CEO and President), took the responsibility on his shoulders. His stewardship armed the company with innovative modifications to stay on pace with time. In 2020, the increasing digitalization of the world became an opportunity to behold. Shriram’s brother, Krishna Jangir (CEO, INMAWAR), saw this opportunity to digitalize their family business and founded INMARWAR. While Shriram is its chieftain, the support of his father and brother keeps the business running smoothly as a well-oiled machine.

Today, Shriram Timber stands proud with a strong workforce of 500+ employees and 250+ skilled artisans. The leadership trio and the team have created an illustrious legacy. It has 3 factories with 100+ specialized machines to work on. It has a strong suit for design, sustainability, and durability, and INMARWAR is a profound example of ingenuity.

INMAWAR – FURNITURE FOR EVERY TASTE

SHRIRAM JANGIR CEO & PRESIDENT

Inmarwar is a classy online market for furniture and design of the highest caliber that enriches a home. The brand offers an excellent selection of furnishings, whether for the dining room, living room, bedroom, or outdoors. The main highlight of this brand is its ethical standards across all business operations. It’s certified by FSC® and the EPCH “Vriksh” and sources timber from managed forests. The sourced timber is treated to ensure that the wood is resistant to termites and other deteriorating elements and dried in specialized chambers to reduce moisture. From there, they process the wood on machines as per product requirements. After finishing development, they inspect them according to industrygrade standards and deliver them in sophisticated packaging.

It is no secret that the structured modus operandi has bred many unique furnishings and given many homes a dazzling appeal and their owners a posh way of life. Each product comes with longevity, child safety (tips & edges), and after-sales support, further making it a premier choice for all.

ON TO BECOME THE KING OF FURNITURE INDUSTRY

While Shriram Timber is on an illuminating path to glory, it hasn’t been a walk in the park. It has endured many uncertainties like the 2008 recession, demonetization, and COVID-19—all of which were trials by fire. But being unmatched in quality and design, the company has outweighed them all. It has over 20 prominent retail clients in the USA and Canada. Shriram’s visionary leadership has boosted this company’s revenue to 1000 million. Their efforts have bestowed them with prominent awards, namely:

• Government recognized business for outstanding export performance.

• India’s Biggest Furniture exporter.

• Fastest Growing Online Furniture Store (INMARWAR.com)

With such fulfilling milestones under its belt, it’s safe to say Shriram Timber is headed toward being a force to be reckoned with and a pioneer.

Indranil Roy | Business Connect

Rishi Sunak

Net Worth

The newly appointed prime minister of the United Kingdom and the conservative party’s leader Rishi Sunak is the first British Asian and Hindu Prime Minister. This year’s Sunday Times Rich list estimated Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty’s combined fortune at £730 million, placing them 222 out of the UK’s wealthiest 250 individuals.

According to sources, Sunak is the wealthiest member of the House of Commons, and his wife Akshata reportedly has assets worth £430 million, making her richer than Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

REAL ESTATE ASSETS

The couple owns four residences in total, two in London, one in Yorkshire, and one in Los Angeles.

They spent roughly USD 2.3 million on the largest of these, the 19th-century heritage home Manor House in North Yorkshire (Rs 18 crores approx.). The two have recently come under fire for spending more than USD 450,000 (about Rs 3 crores) to construct a recreation centre with a 40-foot swimming pool, gym, and outdoor tennis court in the property.

Their other primary house is a four-bedroom home in fashionable Kensington that they purchased for US$7.1 million (Rs 58 crores approx.).

Apart from these, Sunak is the owner of a South Kensington condominium that he paid roughly US$300000 (Rs 2 crores approx). A private garden is also part of the four-story mansion. The pair has a US$7.5 million condominium in Santa Monica in the US, specifically in California (Rs 61 crores approx.). This penthouse has a view of the beach where Baywatch was shot.

There is an another house in London’s Old Brompton Road where the extended family reportedly resides when they come to visit.

The couple owns a Grade-II listed Georgian mansion with an ornamental lake on 12 acres in Yorkshire. Their total real estate holdings are valued at roughly USD 18.3 million (150 crores approx.)

INFOSYS ASSOCIATION

According to a Forbes survey, Infosys alone has a net worth of almost USD 4.5 billion (Rs 37,065 crores approx.). 42-year-old Murthy holds a 0.93 percent ownership in the IT company, or approximately USD 715 million (Rs 5,890 crores approx.) The majority of their combined wealth comes from this. The organisation has its headquarters in Bangalore and offers

services in business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing.

OTHER ASSETS

Along with this, Murthy is the owner of the $4 million venture capital firm Catamaran Ventures UK (Rs 32 crores approx.) Before giving his shares to his wife before entering the parliament, Sunak possessed roughly 50% of the corporation. The corporation reportedly made investments in a number of businesses today, including the dara5 investment firm, which is funded by the Qatari royal family, the Hallmarq MRI scanner company, SpaceX, Reddit, and the gaming company Loco. Murthy also owns a 5% share in International Market Management, which is the parent company of Immassociates Mauritius, which is the brand name for 11 Jamie Oliver’s franchisees in India in addition to the four Wendy’s in New Delhi. She has a sizable stake in the couple’s riches.

SALARIES AND BENEFITS AS THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER

The amount of money Sunak has made through his profession in finance is mainly unknown. However, he received roughly USD 95,000 as a member of the parliament (Rs 78 lakh approx.) As the British Prime Minister, this rises to more than USD 185,000 (about Rs 1.5 crore).

He was asked how he could relate to the general people in a Reuters story considering his own riches was larger than the monarch’s. He stated, “I believe that in our nation, we judge people by their character and acts rather than by their bank account. Yes, I’m really fortunate to be where I am right now, but I wasn’t born this way.

He continued, “My parents worked incredibly hard to give me all of these chances. I won’t apologise for what they did to help me. In fact, I want to work in this field because I want to provide everyone else those opportunities.

SOFT MINDERS PRIVATE LIMITED

HELPING BUSINESSES BE A “CUT ABOVE THE REST”

Aftab Mondal Founder & CEO

Knowledge

is power and has become an indispensable part of every modern business. Industries have changed radically since the COVID, but close inspection reveals that several linked forces have already had a long-standing impact on customer behavior, prices, and market practices. Digitalization has become a generic goal, and given the market’s unpredictability, everyone seeks knowledgebased solutions. But it’s not an easy-to-achieve goal in today’s market. With an expanding base of digital service providers, it can be a challenge to know and knock on the right door.

Our captivating edition, “Company of the Year 2022,” strives to honour businesses that are overcoming obstacles, rivalry, and market instabilities to remain dedicated to their clients’ success. In this regard, Business Connect is happy to host Soft Minders. Established in Barasat, Kolkata, it’s a reputable digital marketing company with a broad range of services for all types of businesses to stay ahead of the game.

Mr. Aftab Mondal, Soft Minders’ founder, recently spoke with us about what sets it apart, be it culture, people, or services. The discussion is summarized below.

BEGINNING AND OVERVIEW

Aftab, an engineer by trade, had a natural passion for technology, which led him to work multiple jobs while still in college. By the time he completed his B.Tech from Sikkim Manipal University, where he was a batch topper, he had built a strong background in Web Development, App Development, and Customer Support. Over the course of his tenure, he realized how critical the function of a

Indranil Roy | Business Connect

technologist is in raising a firm above the opposition. He began thinking, “Why don’t I start my own IT company?” Little did he know, this would not be a walk in the park. In 2018, he took a risk and rented a small office with only space for two people. It was oppressive, but he persisted and started working as a freelancer.

After a year of contentious efforts, Aftab had amassed sufficient funds to hire a room with decor and assemble his staff. In 2021, he registered his endeavor as a private limited company, bringing Soft Minders under the spotlight. From there, the voyage has been progressing steadily towards a significant objective. Soft Minders specializes in knowledgebased web design & app development and digital marketing, with additional services like e-Commerce Integration, PPC, and hosting. It stands out from competitors because of its emphasis on fostering customer relationships while using creativity to find original solutions to pressing business issues rather than copying others.

GLOBALLY TRUSTED AND RECOGNIZED

The Indian digital space is a vast and competitive sector influenced by interrelated variables. To win here, a company must have a focused strategy, diligently execute commitments, and remain engaged with its cohorts. By doing this, a business eventually positions itself as the go-to provider regardless of how fast or slow the economy grows. Soft Minders strives to impart a similar value to its clients. It is how the company remains steadfast, dependable and attracts stronger alliances even in the midst of crises.

Aftab, having spent a noteworthy period across the IT realm, is well aware of the market volatility. He has assembled a team of jewels whose mission and drive is to position Soft Minders at the forefront of the domain. They perform in-depth R&D to stay updated with technology and trends while keeping a keen eye on the increasing competition. With their support, the company has successfully developed over 6000 websites, incurring a high client satisfaction level. They had the privilege of serving many market leaders like Handpan World, Clean Image Mobile Detailing, Brite Decking, BNJ Events, and so on.

Soft Minders is industry agnostic, and its clientele mostly includes notable figures from various fields. “After we started serving them, they never considered switching to another company.” This increases our confidence and motivates us to keep coming back,” says Aftab with pride. The company also has focused tactics to boost engagement. This primarily entails e-mail marketing, and they have foreign partners who collaborate to bring clients, and increase the clientele.

MANAGED BY A DEFINED PANEL

Soft Minders is an ecosystem of talented individuals working to make a mark on the global market. As strenuous as it is, Aftab has the support of a dynamic panel of leaders namely:

• Sanjay Das, Production Manager: Every leader needs a

trustworthy companion. This companion for Aftab has been Sanjay. He is a composed, cultivated, and jovial individual. But when it comes to his responsibilities and roles, he is unrivalled.

• Shukla Saha, Marketing Team Manager: She oversees the marketing department planning, developing and implementing actionable strategies to increase overall business value. An arduous persona whose contribution is well regarded across the company.

• Amrita Nath, Content Writing Team Manager: She is what Aftab refers to as the team’s “hyperactive ninja,” obviously in a good way. She is a young, vibrant person who makes sure the content team is running effectively.

• Mitali Mondal, SEO Team Manager: Aftab regards her as a business partner as her assistance have been critical to the company’s growth. She has been with the company from the start and has supported it in overcoming numerous challenges and uncertainties.

• Dipankar Roy, Design & Development Team manager: One of the brightest minds in Soft Minders and a brother to Aftab, Dipankar oversees the designing department. He has an abundance of experience and a very creative mind.

Both Aftab and the panel follow the tenets of thought leadership. There is a sense of autonomy among the teammates rather than micromanaging. Aftab explains, “Whenever they feel down, I talk to them, give advice, and help them get back in shape.” Everyone is flexible, working cheerfully and comfortably. And there are always occasions to celebrate to break up the routine.”

A DREAM CULTURE

With a cohort of amicable leaders and employees, it’s safe to infer that Soft Minders has a welcoming culture. They adhere to the notion that “Teamwork makes dreamwork” and are proud to maintain a politically neutral and healthy environment. Everyone on the team is spontaneous, has a go-get-it-done personality, and doesn’t believe in applying a one-size-fits-for-all approach. With a multitude of experience, the team understands the distinct needs of clients and proposes solutions accordingly. “My team is made up of unique gems who know how to astonish clients with their diligence,” affirms Aftab.

ONWARD TO A SHINING FUTURE

Starting from a small, suffocating, rented enclosure to a 3000 sq. ft. fully decorated office and a committed team, Soft Minders has travelled quite an adventure. Its business network is spread across 130 countries. Even though market competition is taking its toll on its growth, Soft Minders is proud to have helped many businesses reach new heights in all aspects. In the years to come, the company aims to open more branches across the nation and launch its proprietary products. It’s all under wraps now, but the company is set to make great strides by the end of 2024.

FROM THE FOUNDER’S DESK

“I think there is always a way if there is a will. I remained steadfast and am now making strides. Even though it could take years, never give up hope, courage, or the fire within of you that keeps telling you that you can become the next business mogul. Be your own harshest critic, own up to your mistakes, learn from them, and move on.”

Amazon launches 3rd gen Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro: Price, specifications, and more

Amazon has announced its latest third-generation Fire TV Cube, a hybrid streaming device. The new Fire TV Cube comes with a faster processor, builtin speakers, HDMI input, and more. Along with this, the company also launched a premium version of Alexa Remote. The company unveiled these and other products at its annual hardware event.

AMAZON E-COMMERCE COMPANY

• Founder: Jeff Bezos

• Founded: 5 July 1994, Bellevue, Washington, United States

• CEO: Andy Jassy (5 Jul 2021)

• Revenue: 46,980 crores USD (2021)

• Number of employees: 14,68,000

• Subsidiaries: Audible, Zappos, Whole Foods Market, Ring, MORE

Price: Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd generation) is priced at INR 13,999. The price of Alexa Voice Remote Pro is INR 2,499. The remote control is available from today.

AMAZON FIRE TV CUBE FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS

The new 2.0Ghz processor that powers the new Amazon Fire TV Cube is said to be 20% more powerful than the previous generation. Along with Dolby Vision, HDR, and Dolby Atmos for audio, the new Amazon Fire TV Cube also comes with support for cinematic 4K Ultra HD content.

Super Resolution Upscaling is another feature included with the Amazon Fire TV Cube, a technology that uses software tricks to deliver an enhanced picture quality by converting HD content to 4K, improving detail, contrast, and clarity on the display.

In case a user wants to connect LAN to their Amazon Fire TV Cube, the new streaming device from Amazon also has Wi-Fi 6 connectivity and an Ethernet port.

The Fire TV Cube also has an additional USB port for easy connection to compatible webcams for video calling with Alexa Communications

ALEXAVOICE REMOTE PRO SPECIFICATIONS

The second product that Amazon launched at the event is Alexa Voice Remote Pro. With a price under INR 3,000, the Alexa Voice Remote Pro is built to assist users to spend more time streaming and less time searching for the remote. The good thing is, it is compatible with most Fire TV streaming media players, and Smart TVs with Fire TV built-in.

It offers a Remote Finder feature that helps users find misplaced remotes more quickly and easily.

SUSAN SEMMELMANN INTERIORS,

A Susan Semmelmann Venture Crafting Corners Through Innovation, Creativity and Class

“My motto, ‘The Spirit of Living is in the Giving,’ encapsulates why I do what I do. I love to share my heart and talent with the world around me.” – Susan Semmelmann

Bhardwaj | Business Connect

Susan Semmelmann Interiors by Susan Semmelmann is a turn-key design firm based out of Fort Worth that offers exceptional client service and luxurious design by combining cutting-edge creativity with classic design traditions and infusing signature style into each client’s home. The design team at Susan Semmelmann Interiors collaborates closely with every client to create the most unique and individualized plans; making home dreams come true one fabulous design at a time.

Susan Semmelmann, with her 2019-founded brand, works closely with the client from construction through completion—soup to nuts, providing many levels of custom consultation and design options, as well as hundreds of top-quality vendor lines offering art, décor, and furnishings. Because of Susan’s exceptional leadership and her amazing team, the company has proliferated since its founding and has over 70 projects in the works within three years of its inception.

The talented designer put in many hours over the years to establish her namesake firm. Susan Semmelmann Interiors creates beautiful, one-of-a-kind feature components that may be incorporated into the house throughout the construction phase using her 23 years of design and construction experience.

SUSAN SEMMELMANN INTERIORS - HOW IT ALL STARTED AND THE JOURNEY SO FAR

In 2019, Susan laid the groundwork for a full-service design firm with the goal of creating beautiful environments where life happens and ensuring that each client’s uniqueness is apparent in the end product. Since then, it has continued to expand while going through an exciting, fast-paced journey.

Semmelmann Owner

Further, the inspiring designer apprised, “I’ve enjoyed every second of the journey, from the beginning to where we are today. It is a worthwhile journey that challenges our ability to live out a calling in faith. I knew that if I took the step of pursuing this dream, it would greatly benefit many people in the process because it is a labour of love born out of a heart of giving. There have undoubtedly been challenges in effectively scaling the business, but I see these experiences as opportunities for growth. I firmly believe that your perspective on life determines its quality. There will always be challenges, and how we handle them reveals character.”

THE SUSAN SEMMELMANN TEAM

Susan Semmelmann Interiors is led by a dynamic team with a singular vision. In fact, this inner circle of people drives Susan’s passion to stay focused and pursue her dream, even when it feels daunting.

FURTHER SHARING ABOUT THE FIRM’S WORK CULTURE, SUSAN ASSERTS,

My primary objective when establishing my business is to retain loyalty, relationship, and connection within my team. The job will always reflect a high level of excellence if the emphasis is kept on the significance of fundamental values, which eventually leads to a trusted brand. It feels like taking a trust fall, knowing that each time I have a need and take a step, God puts the right people and partners in place at just the right time.

Susan

Puja

SUSAN SEMMELMANN IS TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH FROM ITS PEERS

Here, the edge is more about a mindset than anything else. Susan Semmelmann Interiors exists as a design firm to be a blessing, have a positive impact, be intentional with the clients to deliver top-notch service and results, and pay forward the successes to help others. The heart of giving is the backbone of what the firm does.

Another foundation that sets them apart is the firm’s incredible privilege of providing excellent client service, luxurious design, and community investment to make a difference!

Each client appointment at Susan Semmelmann Interiors is approached with an open mind and heart, eager to hear the customer’s overall goal for their desired design plans and engage in that vision to make it a reality. The clients can also choose to have a fully customized design experience through Susan Semmelmann Interiors’ manufacturing facility where they produce their in-house line of bedding, draperies, and

furniture that are part of the Susan Semmelmann Interiors Collection.

“Our expertise can quickly translate a design vision from CAD to reality! Our quality textiles are sourced directly from the mills, and there are countless personalisation options. To satisfy every demand for any taste or style, we also carry hundreds of fantastic vendor lines. In order to share our resources and knowledge with the general public and other designers, our Fort Worth Design Studio will be open to the public,” Susan added.

ACHIEVEMENTS & FUTURE PLANS OF SUSAN

Susan and her team’s work speaks for itself through awards acknowledging their professional and philanthropic pursuits, including Philanthropist of the Year, Best of Design, Best of Houzz, Best Luxury Interior Design Firm in Texas, Most Influential People in Fort Worth, Entrepreneur of Excellence Award, Most Innovative Interior Design Firm, and 10 Most Powerful Leaders Revamping the Future. Susan also has the distinction of having designed five Fort Worth Dream Homes.

Susan said, “I want my firm to grow, but most importantly, I want it to grow well,” when asked about her future goals. “To me, it is clear that the more successful the business is, the more we can do to help others. As a leader, I want to set a good example for people around me by working hard and never resting on my successes. Helping others gives me a breath of fresh air; it is my life force and my joy!”

ZODIAC LIFE SCIENCES

The Future of HPLC Columns Driven By Next-Gen Evolutions

Parveen | Business Connect

Business Connect has been a great platform renowned for its marvellous monthly editions centric on some impeccable ventures scattered in the business world and their creators. Here again, we are back with another exciting edition, ‘The Best Company to Work for.’ our editorial team had an interesting and joyful session with the leadership panel of Zodiac Life Sciences. The Director of the company, Mr. Rambabu G. shared numerous lesser-known facts about the company and also spilled some beans on his entrepreneurial journey so far. We truly hope and desire that this fascinating read will add some extra value to the lives of our global readership panel and will encourage them to break the barriers and chase their dreams.

COMPANY PREFACE

By initiating the detailed intro of his initial journey, Mr. Rambabu quips,

“If you are born poor it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor. It’s your mistake. I firmly believe these lines since I was a kid. I come from a small village in Mogalthur AP and was born into a middle-class family. After completing my studies and working for 6 years of Job in Hyderabad, I started Zodiac Life Sciences without any financial aid. Initially, we started as a distribution company, At that phase I wasn’t knowing how to market the columns, and also the HPLC market was quiet competitive at that time , Although I struggled initially, I started taking columns, supplied samples to the customers and started my business . Later I focused on expanding my business and introduced some new brands in India . That was the time when the Indian market was dominated by only one brand.”

RAMBABU G. Director

Gulshan

He shares some glimpses of his venture by quoting, Although the business is good I wasn’t satisfied, Thinking Why not manufacture columns in India, With the knowledge gathered over years, and few years of rigorous R&D we started synthesizing, bonding, and packing HPLC columns successfully, On launching Zodiac columns in the market, customers were very pleased with the column performance and started increasingly turning towards the Zodiac brand. From then on whatever product technology is not available in India I take it as a challenge to develop it and produce the product in the market, “ I am now what I am because of my wife, she is a greater pillar of support in my journey. He says HPLC columns make a valuable contribution to establishing the quality of natural resources and synthetic industrial products for consumption. Currently, we are facing the challenge of water, air, and food pollution. They contain many unknown compounds but are not accurately determined. HPLC techniques are being increasingly employed for analytical control of environmental pollution levels in the identification and determination of the compounds in air, surface, and drinking water accurately and hence contributing to the people s quality of life.

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL IN ZODIAC?

• RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The R&D process of the company goes into 5 main phases planning, research, development, testing, and marketing. We have a good team of scientists working in different arena like chemistry, engineering, material science, testing, etc. All the departments work parallel in developing the product. Zodiac is always ahead in the implementation of new technologies timely occurring in this field. It has advanced equipment that can help students to have a good experience in interacting with the latest technologies.

Furthermore, from the initial phase to the final output of the HPLC column development we have developed our inbuilt technology, all the raw materials including the silica and hardware used in the HPLC column are manufactured by us. These factors allow us to produce HPLC Columns at lower costs than other companies.”

• ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

“We are very friendly with our employees, I believe when employees are stress free, and happy at work they give you their best of it. I ensure to be an active listener, communicate precisely their roles, train them timely, and motivate them. In case of any negligence, I make them understand the mistake and ensure that it is not repeated. Rather than focusing on production, I ensure that the premises of my employees’ work are safe and calming hence contributing to an ecofriendly environment.”-Mr. Rambabu.

THE FUTURE ENDEAVOUR

“ We are currently exporting our products to 44 countries world-wide, Developing the column bonding technology is one of our great milestones, with this knowledge we have developed many new column chemistries, and secondly, silica particle technology is not available in India, In worldwide, only 4 countries are manufacturing, Developing this technology is a great achievement of our company, In the field of engineering, Germany is the most powerful in the world. With the implementation of the same technology. Our company is manufacturing Column accessories and Column hardware. We have also introduced the safety products used in HPLC Labs that are commonly manufactured in America and European countries. All these products we have mentioned like columns, consumables, silica particles, and safety products were not manufactured in India before. We are the first indigenous company to develop these technologies in India. Our focus is making a product that is not available in India,” says the Director.

Before signing off, the visionary shared his tremendous master plan. He says, “Now our main focus is building ZODIAC as the top HPLC brand in the chromatography worldwide, In coming next we are planning to launch HPLC systems, that are currently being manufactured in Japan, Germany, and the USA , On supplying such systems these countries are getting approximately 15,000 crore business from the Indian market, If we manufacture such type of systems by developing our own technology, we can decrease the financial burden on our country, and strengthen the economy.”

INDIAN-ORIGIN

RISHI SUNAK SET TO

Rishi Sunak will become the new prime minister of the United Kingdom after winning the ruling Conservative Party’s leadership contest, which began last week with the resignation of Liz Truss. Sunak, who lost in the leadership race six weeks earlier to rival Liz Truss, received much support from members of his party after Boris Johnson balked out of the race on Sunday (October 23).

RISHI SUNAK

Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom

• Born: 12 May 1980 (age 42 years), Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, United Kingdom

• Spouse: Akshata Murthy (m. 2009)

• Height: 1.7 m

• Children: Krishna Sunak, Anoushka Sunak

• Party: Conservative Party

• Books: A Portrait of Modern Britain, MORE

• Education: Stanford Graduate School of Business (2006), Lincoln College (2001), Winchester College

“We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together,” Rishi Sunak said.

BECOME PRIME MINISTER OF UK: HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

In a brief public statement, Rishi added, “I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility; and I will work day in, day out to deliver for the British people.”

Around 200 MPs voted in favor of Sunak. At the same time, Penny Mordaunt could get the support of only 26 MPs. Let us tell you that the total number of MPs in Britain is 357. To become the Prime Minister, it is necessary to have the support of 100 MPs.

Following the support received yesterday, Sunak will be sworn in as Britain’s new prime minister on 28 October and a new cabinet will be formed later on 29 October, according to reports.

Indian-origin Rishi Sunak has been the Finance Minister in the Boris Johnson government. During this, he successfully

brought the country’s economy out of recession during the Corona period, gave an economic package to the hotel industry, issued a relief package to the tourism industry, and also gave assistance to employees, and selfemployed. Due to these actions of Rishi Sunak, he became the first choice of party MPs.

WHO IS RISHI SUNAK?

Rishi Sunak was born in Hampshire, UK. His parents were from Punjab. Later they went abroad and settled. Sunak has done MBA from Stanford University, USA. Apart from this, he has studied politics, philosophy, and economics from Oxford University. Let us tell you that Rishi is the son-in-law of Narayan Murthy, the co-founder of the Indian software company Infosys. He married Akshata Murthy in 2009.

AFTER BECOMING THE CEO, ELON MUSK PLANS MASSIVE LAY OFF AT TWITTER: REPORT

handle to “Chief Twit.” By easing content moderation guidelines, making its algorithm more transparent, fostering subscription businesses, and firing employees, the billionaire has pledged to transform Twitter. In April, Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s offer to buy the social media platform and go private.

Mr. Musk, on the other hand, soon called the purchase into question, arguing that the company failed to adequately disclose the number of spam and phoney accounts on the service.

When Mr. Musk announced his intention to terminate the agreement, Twitter sued, stating that he “refuses to honour his responsibilities to Twitter and its stockholders because the agreement he signed no longer serves his personal interests.”

According to The New York Times, Mr. Musk is planning to start reducing the number of employees at Twitter as early as this Saturday. According to the report, some managers have been ordered to “write up lists of staff to cut,” according to people aware of the situation. There were rumours that Mr. Musk would reduce staffing before he bought Twitter, with some sources claiming that up to 75% of the company’s employees may lose their jobs. The New York Times stated [Mr.] Musk, who sealed a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter on Thursday, has instructed the cuts across the company, with some teams to be thinned more than others while noting that it was impossible to estimate the number of layoffs at the company, which employs about 7,500 people. “ Based on the NYT article, the Twitter layoffs “would take place before” the date of November 1 when “employees were set to receive stock awards as part of their remuneration.” These awards typically account for a significant portion of an employee’s income. By firing workers prior to that date, Mr. Musk “may avoid paying the grants.” Mr. Musk has pledged to investors that he “will take Twitter private, cut its workforce, relax its content moderation policies, and discover new revenue streams.”

“Some of life’s greatest pleasures are freshly made bread and pastries.” Finally, the truth about carbs can be stated on this platform!” He said through his tweets with the hashtags “very brave” and “free speech.” on the last

Saturday, A “content moderation council” will be established by the social media firm, according to Mr. Musk, and it will meet before any significant content decisions or account reinstatements are made. He further clarified that they haven’t changed Twitters’ content moderation standards. Parag Agrawal, the CEO, Vijaya Gadde, the legal executive, Ned Segal, and Sean Edgett, the general counsel, were all removed as Mr. Musk’s acquisition was finalised. After only a few hours in charge of Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk published a number of tweets.

“”Spoiler Alert. “The bird is freed”. “Let the good times roll” and “living the dream”, “Comedy is now legal on Twitter.” Mr. Agrawal, 38, took over as CEO of Twitter in November of last year, after co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down. When former US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was permanently disabled in January last year, Hyderabad-born Ms. Gadde stood at the forefront of this extraordinary move made only days after a pro-Trump insurgency at the US Capitol. Mr. Agrawal, Mr. Segal, and Ms. Gadde were appreciated sincerely by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone for their “huge contribution” to the company.

On Wednesday, Mr. Musk came to the company’s headquarters in San Francisco and met with engineers and advertising executives. He also renamed his Twitter

Mr. Musk previously stated in October that he would pursue his acquisition of Twitter at the initial price of $54.20 per share provided the social messaging service abandoned its litigation.

According to Twitter’s lawyers, the Tesla CEO’s “suggestion is an invitation to more mischief and delay.” A judge in Delaware Chancery Court eventually determined that Mr. Musk had until October 28 to finalise the Twitter agreement or face trial. Mr. Musk addressed a message to advertisers on Thursday to reassure them that social messaging services would not descend into “a free-for-all hellscape, where anything may be said with no consequences!”

“I acquired Twitter because I believe it is vital to the future of civilization to have a shared digital town square where a diverse range of viewpoints can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Mr. Musk added in the message. “At this time, there is a significant risk that social media may fracture into far-right and far-left echo chambers, generating more hate and dividing our society,” he said.

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and “Chief Twit” of Twitter Inc., announced on Monday in an SEC filing that he will lead Twitter. Along with serving as the CEO of the largest EV company, Tesla, the brain-chip startup Neuralink, the tunnelling company the Boring Company, and the rocket company SpaceX, Musk will also take this role.

Musk stated that he has dismissed Twitter’s entire board of directors and is now the only director of the social media behemoth in a different filing on Monday. Days after completing the $44 billion acquisition of the social media business, Elon Musk reportedly has planned to start firing employees at Twitter.