Building a Global Startup from Chandigarh- LetsShave

Sidharth Oberoi, the Founder of Chandigarh-based startup LetsShave, shared his entrepreneurial journey with the audience at CANNABLE 3.0. He was inspired to build his brand while still pursuing his degree in the US. He was set on partnering with Dorco Razors from the very beginning but said that it took him almost two years to convince them, considering his inexperience in the field. However, once he got them on board, he came back to India to launch LetsShave and there has been no looking back ever since.

Sidharth highlighted that despite not knowing how big a company LetsShave could be, he continued with the same passion every day. According to him, entrepreneurs should go in with the “just do it” attitude because there will always be something that will make them wary of taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. Sidharth also added that entrepreneurs must look to create their own market or niche in order to become successful. While the leading companies were focussed on “high quality, high price”, their guiding principle was “high quality, fair price”.

He further went on to highlight why Chandigarh was the ideal place for him to launch LetsShave – he said that loyalty and employee retention rates are much higher than that of Metros along with lower operational expenses. Global companies also respect them more because they are the absolute market leaders here.  

Sidharth said that some of the biggest challenges for him were team building and ensuring the partners, vendors and investors kept their faith in the company. His mantra for team building was to have a brief interview and judge the suitability of the candidate only after 4-5 months of working in the company. Speaking of raising funds, he said that the investors will back those who are determined to chase success and have realistic targets, a reason he feels he was able to raise $3 Million for LetsShave.

While answering questions from the audience, Sidharth stated that it is imperative to search for the right people and partners and not venture into an unknown domain. His major concern was building his brand, which is why he partnered with Dorco Razors for manufacturing and did not take it up himself. He also said that his experience in the US opened his mind to many new things and helped him understand the importance of engaging and networking with as many people as possible.