Tanuj Shori, the founder and CEO of Square Yards was recently featured in an article in the prestigious journal- Forbes India as a token of celebration of his unparalleled sense of entrepreneurship amidst the unchartered market of India Real Estate. The article takes you through an array of resourceful insights on entrepreneurship, failures and the grand slams. Why Choose Entrepreneurship in the First Place? Tanuj says that he would have never become an entrepreneur had he not found anything to give up his nights and sweat for. An entrepreneur should profoundly believe in his venture and investments’ profitability with all passion and conviction. If this is not the case, the business is not worth investing in. Taking Risks- The Foundation of Square Yards One of the youngest Executive Directors at Nomura, the IIM Lucknow alumnus- Tanuj, along with Kanika Gupta Shori, his wife and the COO of Square Yards, while investing in Indian real estate, realized the model to be completely unorganised and ambiguous. The Indian Market, worth USD 120 Bn. then, had zero data transparency, zero regulation, and hardly any distributors. The couple realized that despite the fact that property is the most significant investment of an individual’s life, the process in India is extremely broken, complicated and challenging. Tanuj was at the peak of his banking career when he decided to quit and establish Square Yards, while Kanika supported him. Having no idea about the enormity of this spectacular opportunity, they were convinced that there isn’t any safe bracket for entrepreneurs. Every good thing came with a risk. “Plan A has to work. We can’t be starting by thinking about failure- the difference between success and failure is not the plan, but the execution itself”, says Tanuj. Build People to Build Businesses Roping a strong talent pool, Tanuj realized that he needed to build up people to build businesses. “We hire people on passion, ownership and trust first, and everything else later. We would rather have an undergraduate passionate hard working individual who is willing to learn, rather than an IVY school pass out who thinks he knows everything”, says Kanika. As a result, Square Yards went from 2 co-founders, overnight, to 15 co-founders willing to invest their time, commitment and energy to the fullest. In no time, the company raised USD 12 Mn. through a unique convertible structure, which was one of the largest retail angel rounds. This milestone was followed by Reliance (ADAG Group) backing Square Yards with an A round of USD 12 Mn. The Ability to Keep Changing According to Tanuj Shori, a company needs to build a very strong change-ready DNA that helps the organization to evolve, learn, change and re-calibrate constantly and pushes the boundaries again. There are never any best practices or benchmarks. Square Yards learnt as it moved along and set the processes right. The desperation to succeed, the intention to care for the clients at each step, taking the challenges in the stride, convincing the brightest talent to progress and stay, backed the company to scale in an industry where practically every other giant failed. Focusing on Demand The crux of the existence of Square Yards has been based on the issues faced by Kanika and Tanuj as clients. Hence, the company tracks dozens of data points, pertaining to every singled out primary project in the country that helps it to analyze the risk-reward opportunities for end users and potential investors. “Clients remain the core focus of everything we do, whether it is ensuring the choice and structuring the right products, bringing data in a highly opaque market, or extending help and support in case of issues with principal’s commitments”, says Tanuj. Square Yards today, has grown into the largest proptech player in the country, with a presence in 30+ cities, 2000 people, the largest lead generation ability in the primary under-construction market, a unique integrated model, and 1 Mn.+ unique monthly visitors. Today, Square Yards has reached a staggering amount of USD 30 Mn. revenues and a transactional value of USD 750 Mn. with around 12,000 annual transactions.
Tanuj Shori: Insights on Entrepreneurship and the Industry
