An interview with Arav Singh and his uncle

00:04 Hi everybody, I'm here for an interview with my uncle Prashant. He is currently in Pune, India and he'll be joining me as I ask him a few questions. So I will address him by morning mama throughout the course of this video because that's how I refer to him. So morning mama, good morning or good night to you. How are you doing?

00:27 Good morning Arav How are you? Am I audible?

00:30 Yes, yes.

00:32 Sure we can start.

00:34 Of course. So one question I have for you. Based on, you know, your life is early in your life, in your childhood, do you have any memorable experiences from high school that you would like to share that were very important to you in terms of your development and how they helped you develop as a whole?

01:00 Sure. Arav, the only memory that, the bigger memory that I have from my high school days is that India was not that open that time and there were limited career opportunities. So right from our childhood till we did our high school, the only thing that we were told for 5710 years, Washington, you have to become an engineer at any cost. And everybody in the city, probably in the country, everyone just had two career choices in their mind, either being an engineer or a doctor. There was no, there was nothing else. So I remember very clearly that like just preparing from four engineering exams at a very early age and then just going through them and became an engineer and then did my MBA and everything. So yeah, the biggest memory is that focus was only on studies, studies, studies and become an engineer. Nothing else.

02:02 Wow. Okay. So based on that, so as you developed, as you moved on to college, what were some of the hobbies and interests outside of academics that you picked up?

02:21 So I think two very clear things that I did during my engineering or MBA days were my, I had a huge interest in stock markets. So at a very early stage, whatever pocket money I used to get, I started investing in share market stock markets at a very early age. And my second interest was around music and dance. So we basically made a group of five, six boys and for at least four or five years we kept representing the college and did lot of events around music and dance. So apart from academics, I think share market stock market investments and music and dance, these are the two things that I pursued as hobby for quite some time.

03:24 Very well. So one question related to your stocks endeavors is how did you pick up this activity and how did you learn about how to invest and how to, you know, sort of do that?

03:43 So I think there was like when we were in engineering, Arav So everybody said that if you need to go for or prepare for MBA, then you should read a lot of newspapers and magazines and all. And during my second engineering, second year in engineering, I started reading a lot of newspapers like Economic Times, Financial Times. I subscribed to few magazines like Business world, Business Today and all. And from there that love for share market and I started tracking them. And during those times there were like not lot of information available on Internet. So most of the analysis was done on the newspapers that we were getting. So at that time you used to talk a lot to your friends, to your seniors, you used to figure out that, okay, what will work, what should not work. But it was primary and primary interest to do something like whether you'll invest rs500 or rs1000 or rs2000. But the idea was to just get into it because you knew that financial markets, you should be a part of financial market if you want to create some wealth down the line. So it was just sort of interest level and reading a lot of newspapers that kept me going for it, right.

05:07 Very, very good, very cool. So in your educational path, how did you decide which route you were going to take and did you have any significant challenges along this path?

05:27 So as I said, challenges were because of the choices that I made. I could have taken lot of I could have taken the way, which was very smooth because in India there was one of the biggest company called Bharti Airtel, which was a telecom leader. So I joined them as a young leader and everything was well set. But I always believed in entrepreneurship and so I made those choices. Like I left my job after doing it for two, two and a half years and started a travel startup with few friends in 2010. Then we sold it off at a nominal price, but we sold it off to one of the biggest online travel portals of the world called make my trip. And then again I went into entrepreneurship, building a b, two b e commerce. So probably there were a lot of hardships, managing team, managing their salaries, managing growth, raising funds from venture capitals and private equity guys. I think when we had almost 40, 45 vc's turning us down before we raised money from make my trip for our travel startup. So hardships were more because I personally selected the route of entrepreneurship and they were more related to that. Otherwise, I think otherwise the life has been smooth.

06:59 Very good. I think it's very cool though that you took that path because obviously creating your own company, it's a dream for a lot of people and running this. So just another question on your startup company is can you describe the process and sort of the struggle that went into creating the company.

07:25 Yes. So I'll explain you about the company called my guest house. So in 2010, there are a lot of online players like Booking.com, expedia.com, where you can go and book a hotel. But what we realized that there is, there is a gap in the market, a platform which can basically aggregate all the guest houses and service apartments. So Airbnb didn't even exist during those times and it was not in India. So we created a platform called myguesthouse.com. and the biggest challenges were onboarding these small, small properties because they are not tech savvy. They didn't, they don't want to come on Internet. They rely on the footfalls who basically come on their own. And so there was challenge on getting the right supply. By supply, I mean all the guest houses. Then you have to spend a lot of money on digital marketing to create demand. And then the third aspect is raising funds from the market. So everything becomes a challenge. Everything becomes a challenge. Once we raised a strategic investment from Makemytrep, life, at least from the demand side, became a bit more smooth. So all our properties got listed on MakeMyTrip and they used to give us bookings and our focus primarily became onboarding the properties and giving them the software, digitizing them, and basically bringing all these properties online at a single click. So. So it was a long journey. We invested almost three and a half, four years there before make my trip completely acquired it. But yeah, challenges were there. And challenges were primarily that people were not ready to move hundred percent online.

09:19 Right, right. So on this online subject, reflecting on your lifetime as you've grown, which technical technological changes had the biggest impact on your life? How it functions and how did you use this and how did you adapt to them?

09:39 So I'll say it was, it was more gradual, like the way India, the way Internet became very accessible to everyone. So I'll give you an example that in 2010, one gb of data on mobile or a good speed was unheard of. The Internet used to cost us 3000, 4000, rs5000 a month. So probably 95% of the indian population was not accessing Internet on a smartphone. They didn't have a smartphone. Smartphones were costing like 40, 50 rs60,000. So the complete ecosystem started changing around 2012 1314 where accessing mobile Internet costs came down. Smartphones costs came down, lot of smartphones started becoming available at a 5000 7000 indian rupees, like probably $100. And all these things basically became like Internet was everywhere. Like everyone. Everyone was suddenly on a smartphone and accessing Internet and everything changed after that. And for my guest house and for my next startup, which I did, b two b commerce, everything actually was driven by mobile phones and mobile Internet and everything started changing. And probably the cost of using Internet have come down by 98 or 99% today. Today nobody spends more than rs100 on mobile phone Internet and still all 30 days they are on Internet. So the costs have come down so drastically and everyone is on Internet and it basically changed the way we were doing the business.

11:27 Yeah. So very, very big impact there. So one question I have for you is, as you've been alive longer and longer, inflation has continued to rise. So how did inflation sort of impact the cost of living and how, like during your adult years and how did it affect your ability to afford things and the job market, etcetera, what impact did inflation have as you grew?

12:01 So I'll say that till few years back, I never used to track inflation, but probably last two, three years it has started impacting probably every human being. And right from the cost of food to the petrol and to the real estate, everything increased quite a bit. I'll be very honest in this Arav that people at our level, I don't think it has impacted us probably because of the kind of money that we end up making. But I see a lot of people in my office who work for me. There are like few hundred people who work for me and even the others who are like the house helps, the maids, the guards. In India, you see a lot of these guys who are present everywhere, their lives, their lives have changed. I've seen people moving from a two wheeler to a bicycle to save, to save some money. I've seen people eating less of fruits and vegetables because of very high inflation. People actually, you see, the struggle is real. My driver is trying to save money so that because milk has become quite expensive, so it's a change that people are bringing in their lifestyle and it is impacting people more who belong to probably bottom of pyramid. And in India, bottom of pyramid is a very, very, very massive base and their eating habits are changing, their travel habits are changing and probably they seriously have a massive task of running their houses in probably $250 to $300. And so it's a change and which is, which is very visible to these people, probably. We still think that we are not affected by it because we still don't think while spending too much. But a massive base like 50, 60% of India is feeling the brunt.

14:25 Yes, yes, definitely was nothing. Not an easy time. It's not good. Okay, so one question that I have for you is, as you sort of left college, how did you get involved with your community, with social circles? Were there any organizations and community events that you went to that had a long, like, long lasting impression on you?

14:56 So I personally think that apart from a very little six month phase, I haven't done much. But my second startup, which was in a B two B e commerce platform called Alexo, so we thought that we'll bring all the tools and everything online. So there is a, there is a us based company called Grainger. We were trying to replicate Granger in India. And during those times, I used to travel a lot and I saw the factory workers who were struggling to maintain a very, very basic hygienic life. And they were working in assembly lines without wearing good safety harnesses or safety goods and safety shoes. So we, along with my company, with few people and with few factories and with few promoters, actually for six months, we ran, we made a group and we ran an online awareness around being safe and wearing all safety gadgets while you are at work. And we subsidized the costs. We said that, okay, if any factory will give 50 safety shoes or hundred safety shoes to their people, like half of the cost will be borne by us. So we, we did a, we did almost 15 to 18 workshops, we visited a lot of factories in north India and we created a, created a group which, and we collected money with, from, from a lot of people. And we tried doing this probably we ended up giving almost 1.5 lakh safety kits to a lot of people. But then as you move on and as that startup got acquired and I moved on, so after that, it was phased out. It was phased out. It got fizzled out. But I think those six months were quite special. Wherever. We actually probably made a lot of people aware that if you are working on an assembly line, assembly line, construction site or anywhere, the first priority is your safety. You should always wear a helmet, you should always wear those safety shoes, those, those jackets that you, you should always wear a hardest while you are doing lot of stuff. So that was a, that probably, that's the only time when I did I something around it.

17:36 Okay, well, it's good that you did that. You know, it's important cause to get them safe. It's definitely not good conditions in those factories. So, yes, I'm glad you did that. So one question that I have for you is you were talking about travel, so. I know, moni mama, you've traveled quite, quite a lot. So. So what are some of your most memorable travel experiences and how have they sort of changed your thoughts and perspective on the world?

18:14 Again, I'll say that I personally think that a lot of things changed post Covid. So a lot of things. You, you assume that this is a part and parcel of your life. Me and with family, we always said that we'll always travel two times. We always have had a plan of two international travels every year. We'll have. We had a plan of two domestic travels every year. So we always planned, we traveled a lot. And suddenly Covid came and things changed and we were not able to step out for almost two and a half years. And this time, when I made a plan for Italy and Austria, I think I'll read that trip as one of the most satisfying because during those days, you realize that what you were missing for last two and three years, the importance of travel, the amount of time that we were able to spend with our daughter and made those memories, probably clicked. Few thousand pictures in 20 days, and that was special. And I now what we realize is that you should not assume things. You should not say that, okay, life probably won't continue the way it is. It can change in a day. So you have to make as many memories as possible. You have to create lot of experiences. Life should not be monotonous. You should not only just focus on work, work, work or something else. The idea is to always take out time every three months, every six months to create experiences, because that is the thing that will stay with you ten years, 20 years down the line.

19:57 So, yeah, very good. Very good. I think it's definitely good to travel and sort of see the perspectives on the world. And, you know, as I go to college, as I get out of college, I'm going to embrace traveling, seeing the world while I'm young, so I can do all of that. Right. So another question I have for you is, so obviously, as you know, in the family, we have a lot of housing properties across India. So when you were first getting involved with the housing market, what was it like? And then how did other economic factors as you progress, like interest rates, prices, change your decisions regarding how, like, the properties that we owned.

20:54 So probably in India, a lot of times you. So you buy your first house based on, like, you have to live there so you don't think too much around it. But every other investment became, you analyze it as an investment. So most of the times you try to figure out that what are the chances that the property or the real estate will appreciate in that part of the city. So for example, is there new factories that are coming up? Is there a new it park that is coming up? Is there a new highway that is getting built? So a lot of people like, I know, and we also, we try to, we try to gauge that, is there any new development initiated, development project that is coming? Because in India there is a pattern that if a government will announce anything, whether it is a university or a highway or a metro train or anything or an airport, suddenly the prices will shoot by 100%, 50% or something. So that is the first thing that, the only thing that goes in your mind and somebody, it becomes a punt. Like probably you will take a bet on one part of the city, somebody will take a bet on some other part of the city. But you try to analyze that, okay, based on whatever is happening. So what part, which part of the city do you think will see the best increase in pricing? And based on that, once you figure out that, okay, this is the land parcel or this is the property that I want to purchase, then you have a lot of banks in India, government, private, public. You go and there, there is a massive difference in rate of interest. Like somebody will be giving you 8%, somebody will be giving you 7% based on your, based on your credit ratings and all. So you, you try to map them and then basically based on your income, you say that, okay, this is the EMI that I can, I'll be able to pay. So you do all these calculations. But at last, final bottom line is which part? Which, which, what thing, what thing do you see will appreciate the most in next five to ten years? And based on multiple inputs, online, offline, you try to go for that property.

23:12 Got it. Got it. Very, very smart. I guess. I think it's, you know, real estate is one of those things that you'll, there's always going to be a demand for, you know, you can generate you later. It's very, very good.

23:27 And in India, in India, actually, it is assumed that gold can go up and higher or lower. Stock markets can go higher and lower. Normally in India, I have not seen real estate going lower. So either it will stay stable or it will increase. Because of so many people, of the 150 crore population that we have, the real estate is actually considered to be the safest bet, right?

23:51 Because India's population will just keep increasing. You know, they need, it has kept.

23:56 Increasing and the dispensable income is increasing, money is flowing in. So all that money ends up going into real estate.

24:04 Right. Right. It definitely will be a good, good money making investment. Okay, so just a few more questions. One is throughout your life, can you give me some insights on the friendships and relationships that you've made that are the most meaningful for you and how do these connections transform your life? Sure.

24:29 I think I have always believed that you, your friends basically make the biggest impact in your life post college. And it becomes a section of friends. Like you will have school friends, then you'll have, you will have bachelor's friends, then you'll have masters degree friends. And these friends actually the way they are living, the way they are doing, you start behaving and you start dreaming in a very different way. So I have always believed and I've always seen that your core group, like your four, five, six friends, uh, they will determine that how far you will go in life. Because if all of them are probably, I say, mediocre people who are, who are fine with mediocrity, right? In, in a way, if you're spending 24 hours with them, uh, you'll, you'll start celebrating mediocrity, right? So it becomes the most important part because probably once you leave your home after twelve, the time you spend with your friends will be ten times more than compared to your family. So they are the biggest influence. And Touchwood, I have made some amazing friends. They have stayed with me like for 25 years, for 30 years now. And amazing impact on me. We discuss career opportunities, we discuss a lot of things and they have helped me a lot. I have actually helped them a lot. And it becomes a small universe in your life where all of where a cycle is going on, where everybody is helping others and just with the sheer power of five, six people, the wheel is going ahead. And it is very important to have a group of good friends. I think it is the, it is the most positive influence that can happen on your life.

26:43 Yes, yes, I agree. You know, surrounding yourself with people with the same ambitions as you, same goals, it'll push you further.

26:52 Yes, I agree.

26:54 Okay, so just last question. As you've sort of, you know, spent more and more time, you've obviously immersed in a lot of media like books, music, movies. So what are some of your favorite all time books, movies and music? And how, or do you have any favorites that you'd like to share and how, like the impact that they had on you?

27:20 So again, I think you won't have watched them because most of them are hindi movies, Bollywood movies. And so I always cherish things that bring smile on my face. So whether it's a movie, whether it is a book, whether it is a song. Once it ends it, it should bring a smile on my face. It should. I don't like serious stuff or heavy stuff. So there are movies like life is beautiful. So in India there is a movie called Zindigi Namilegi Dobara. And there is a movie called Three Idiots. Three basically cherishes friendship. So the most common thing between three idiots and Zindagi Namilegi Dubara is that it's a story of three friends, three days, as well as Indigi Nama Legitobhara. And it is about friendship. It is about celebrating who we are. It is about going out and experiencing stuff which is very different. And it is a celebration of life. It is a celebration of life. So I always like these. And probably I have watched these movies bare minimum, 20 times around. So whenever you come back from office at late night 1112 and sumed and my daughter both are sleeping and you are feeling a bit low, I'll just play that movie for 30 minutes and I feel very excited and very energetic. So these are very nice movies. And I personally feel that media plays a good role. You should always have one book and one music and one movie which can cheer you up. And whenever you feel down, you just play that music or play that movie and the beer. The last point is that that should energize you. Energy is the most important thing. That should bring smile on your face. And it happens. It actually happens. Whenever I watch them, they actually bring a smile on my face.

29:22 Of course, I agree. Okay, well, these are all the questions that I have for you, moni mama, thank you for your time. I'm going to end.

29:32 Pleasure was all mine.

29:33 Yes.

29:33 All the best.

29:35 Yeah. I'm going to end the recording now.