Startup legend and Magicpin co-founder Brij Bhushan on his entrepreneurial journey

Brij Bhushan has over 15 years of expertise in technique, enterprise capital, and tech progress. As the previous COO and Co-founder of Magicpin, a hyperlocal startup, he performed a key function in its success, serving to it develop to over 10 million members and join with 250,000 manufacturers and retailers. He led the corporate’s imaginative and prescient, expanded the service provider community to greater than 5 million throughout 50+ cities, and constructed a proprietary tech stack.

Not too long ago, Magicpin grew to become the most important restaurant aggregator on the ONDC community, with over 40,000 eating places and a 200-fold improve in day by day orders.

Earlier than magicpin, Brij labored with Nexus Enterprise Companions, investing in corporations like Delhivery, TinyOwl, and Housing.com. He additionally held a management function at UrbanTouch and spent 4 years at Bain & Co in San Francisco and New Delhi, advising shoppers in varied sectors like shopper, tech, training, retail, and telecom.

The journey of constructing a enterprise is commonly unpredictable, full of surprising challenges that require resilience, adaptability, and a relentless deal with delivering worth. On this podcast, Bhushan shares a compelling account of his entrepreneurial path—his story is a testomony to the facility of grit, transformation, and staying true to core values.

The worth of monetary self-discipline

One in every of Brij’s key takeaways for aspiring founders is the significance of sustaining monetary prudence. Even in high-growth durations, Magicpin’s crew adhered to a strict rule, “simply don’t run out of money. It’s completely foolish that you find yourself with solely three months of money within the financial institution. We had a rule of 12-plus months. That method, you give your self the perfect likelihood of surviving the powerful years and constructing an organization with an above-average likelihood of success.”

Pivoting by means of COVID-19: Staying true to core values

When COVID-19 struck, Magicpin’s offline-focused enterprise mannequin grew to become unsustainable nearly in a single day. Somewhat than retreat, Brij and his co-founder Anshoo Sharma embraced the problem, pivoting to a supply mannequin that helped native Kirana shops convey important items to customers’ properties.

He recollects, “the core of our enterprise was the retailers and serving to them succeed. When clients couldn’t exit, we realised a very powerful factor we may do was assist native shops attain clients. We constructed a house supply platform nearly in a single day and partnered with logistics suppliers to make it occur, all with minimal capex.”

Selecting the best market: The significance of scale and demand

When selecting a market to enter, Brij and Anshoo prioritised a sector with scale and demand, which allowed them the pliability to make changes as wanted. Their alternative of offline retail was a strategic one, grounded of their understanding that the sector’s dimension would permit for errors and progress.

Sharing the technique they used, he stated, “Our easy precept was: go after a big market. With a sufficiently big market, you may have room for errors, which is essential. We selected offline retail as a result of, not like on-line, it was underserved. The sheer dimension of the market gave us a margin for error and room to develop.”

The revival of offline commerce: Recognising human connection

Brij shared an insightful remark on the enduring worth of offline commerce. For a lot of, purchasing isn’t nearly transactions—it’s about connection, a type of social remedy. This perception helped form Magicpin’s omni-channel method, emphasising that whereas on-line commerce is crucial, bodily retail will at all times play an important function in shopper behaviour.

“Individuals love going out. Procuring is extra than simply shopping for issues; it’s a social expertise, a type of remedy. After COVID, there was an enormous return to offline purchasing—it’s how people behave. And for lots of people, that connection is irreplaceable.”

Management transformation: The ability of a coach

Brij’s management model additionally developed as Magicpin grew. He candidly shared how, within the early days, his drive and focus may typically result in a very aggressive method. Over time, he realized the significance of balancing ambition with empathy, a metamorphosis he credit to suggestions from his crew and steerage from a management coach.

He emphasises, “as a founder, it’s straightforward to turn out to be tunnel-visioned, particularly beneath stress. Each pushback felt prefer it was getting in my method. Over time, I realised that constructing an organization isn’t about rolling over folks; it’s about working with them. The most effective lesson I realized was to remain related to who I’m as a frontrunner and maintain true to that.”

He additional defined, “even with a terrific co-founder and household assist, you want that third perspective. A coach brings an unbiased view and helps align your actions along with your values. It’s one of the crucial profound investments I’ve made in myself.”

In a world of various enterprise fashions and numerous paths to success, Brij reminded founders that there’s no single blueprint for constructing a profitable firm. Every step of Magicpin’s journey has been formed by its dedication to the wants of native retailers and customers.

His journey highlights that whereas methods could range, the ideas of resilience, adaptability, and buyer focus are common in constructing an enduring enterprise.

Timestamps:

0:00 – Brij’s childhood and background

7:00 – The Early days of Magicpin

17:00 – GST, Jio, Pivots

30:00 – The COVID Period

38:00 – The Entrepreneurship Saga