Entrepreneurs around the Globe: Aditya Singhal, CEO and co-founder of IML Jeans and President of the ESADE Alumni India Chapter

"ESADE helped me to build worldwide networks, which have helped me directly in my business."

Describe your start-up in three sentences.

IML is a bespoke jeans service in Delhi. With over a hundred designs that are further customisable, we offer an entire range of denim jeans, shorts and dungarees for women and men. Our service is direct-to-home, wherein a stylist comes and assists the customer in choosing the best-suited fabrics, trims and finishes with, again, a home delivery within two weeks.

What inspires you as an entrepreneur in Delhi?

My inspiration comes from my father, a successful entrepreneur who made it work in a tough field (management consulting). Being in Delhi, the city’s passion towards life, culture and more than 2,500-year heritage inspires me to create a legacy, becoming India’s foremost premium-goods maker. 

What’s your greatest fear as a global entrepreneur?

My greatest fear is that I could become very arrogant, rigid and narrow-minded towards reality and people. I have seen many entrepreneurs become this way over time. To me, it’s the beginning of the end.

What do you wish you had known before founding your company?

I wish I had better knowledge of and experience with sales before starting. I am much better at it now. Had I spent more time in the field it would have accelerated the firm’s growth.

What systems have you set up in your business to help it grow?

We have a simple model: acquire customer, satisfy customer, get references, repeat. To execute this successfully, we have to have an excellent sales and marketing team, a highly efficient manufacturing set-up and a top-class customer relationship management system. Everything else is a support to these functions.

What do you do on a daily basis to grow as a global entrepreneur?

I try to find areas of improvement across the spectrum, be it in business operations or personally. Reflection and introspection are constantly needed for growth, both individually and as an organisation.

What should a global entrepreneur never forget?

Humility.

What impact has ESADE had on your career as a global entrepreneur?

Beyond the technical business education, Esade helped me to become more sensitive towards team members, and this has driven my productivity further. In addition, while working with people from all over the world, I saw many unique talents and quirks that people employ for better efficiency, which I have tried to imbibe within. Lastly, ESADE helped me to build worldwide networks, which have helped me directly in my business.

What makes being an entrepreneur worthwhile?

Being able to say that I built or created this makes it all worth it and more.