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Small-Town Diploma Holder Builds Rs 200 Crore Turnover Business and Launches Bamboo Fibre Innerwear Brand

In 1995, 21-year-old B. Vijayaraghavan, a diploma holder in textile engineering, started a knitting unit in the textile hub of Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, with an investment of Rs. 5.5 lakh. Starting with one knitting machine and four employees, he embarked on his entrepreneurial journey with big dreams and unwavering confidence.

Nearly three decades later, Vijayaraghavan looks back with pride on his journey. His business has achieved a turnover of Rs 200 crore, producing T-shirts, polos, track pants, and trousers for renowned brands like Van Heusen, Puma, Colorplus, Raymond, Marc O'Polo, Parx, and Boss. He also owns an eco-friendly innerwear brand, Lavos, which contributes Rs 8 crore to the total revenue.
BS Apparel, which began as a proprietorship company, evolved into BVK Exports India Private Limited, commonly known as BVK Apparel. "I named it BS Apparel after my parents, Balakrishnaswamy and Saraswathi," says Vijayaraghavan. Around 1,600 employees work in his business, with 24 dedicated to Lavos.

Although many of his relatives were involved in textile manufacturing and exports, Vijayaraghavan is a first-generation entrepreneur. He was born and raised in the small town of Rajapalayam in southern Tamil Nadu. His father worked as a manager in a cooperative bank, and his mother was a government school teacher.
Vijayaraghavan completed his Class 12 from the same Tamil medium school where his mother worked and then pursued a three-year diploma in textile engineering from SSM College of Engineering in Komarapalayam, Namakkal.

In 1994, Vijayaraghavan joined his uncle’s knitting unit in Tiruppur, where he worked for a year to gain experience in all aspects of textile manufacturing.

“It was more like training for me,” says Vijayaraghavan. A year later, in 1995, he purchased a second-hand knitting machine for Rs. 5.5 lakh and set up his own unit, naming it BS Apparels.

Vijayaraghavan began by knitting cotton yarn into fabric and selling it to other manufacturers. As orders increased, he added 20 more knitting machines with the help of bank loans and also purchased sewing machines to start manufacturing polo T-shirts.
“Initially, we made 3,000 pieces per month, including T-shirts, track pants, shorts, etc. Now, we produce up to 4 lakh pieces per month. Our major export market is the US,” says Vijayaraghavan. Today, they operate with 45 knitting machines and 850 sewing machines.

"I launched Lavos Private Limited in 2010, focusing on innerwear and T-shirts for urban millennials seeking ultimate comfort," says Vijayaraghavan. The brand's primary product is innerwear made from bamboo fibre.

However, they also produce and sell T-shirts, polos, yoga pants, camisoles, wireless brassieres, pants, panties, including period panties, shorts, briefs, boxers, trunks, and vests.

“We aren’t just a typical apparel manufacturer; we constantly explore, experiment, and develop new ideas to enhance the experience of wearing performance apparel,” Vijayaraghavan says.

Vijay even designed innerwear using a bamboo-organic cotton blend and tested it himself. “It was so comfortable that it felt like I was not wearing any innerwear,” Vijayaraghavan shares. They used bamboo performance technology (patent pending) to blend bamboo viscose, 100% organic cotton, and a bit of elastane to create the yarn.
"For female innerwear, I take inputs from my wife Lavanya," he adds. Their products are available on e-commerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra. “We sell close to 1,500 pieces of innerwear per day,” Vijayaraghavan says, noting that female innerwear is their best-selling product.

Online sales account for 70% of Lavos’ sales. Lavos’ products are also sold in about 10 physical multi-brand stores in Chennai and Ahmedabad. “We do not have our own store; we showcase our products in multi-brand stores,” he explains.

Throughout his journey, Vijayaraghavan has focused on innovation and sustainability. The factory in Mudalipalayam, spread over a 1.4 lakh sq ft area with a utility area of 30,000 sq ft, is located 13 km from Tiruppur.

The company uses renewable energy such as solar and wind power for its factory and sells the surplus to the state electricity board. “We produce 36.6 million units of energy through solar and wind power in a year, but our consumption is only 1.8 million units annually,” says Vijayaraghavan.

“Our facilities use LED lights, which save 3,500 units per month. Furthermore, 95% of all effluents from our factory are recovered, treated, and reused to prevent pollution. So far, the factory has saved 22,000 PPMV (parts per million volume) of carbon emissions.”

Looking back on his early years as an entrepreneur, Vijay recalls facing challenges, including significant financial losses, due to his limited knowledge of financial management. "My father was my inspiration. He lifted my spirits and motivated me to learn from my mistakes and move forward," says Vijayaraghavan.

He attributes his success to his unique designs. “At that time, garments were plain, without any design. I began using structural designs like motifs for T-shirts, which became quite popular in the export market,” he recalls. During an era when nylon and polyester fibres dominated the market, BVK began specialising in a range of unique blends such as bamboo-cotton, merino wool, Tencel lyocell, modal, viscose, and Coolmax.

"We set ourselves apart by using 100% natural fibre for our products, from T-shirts to track pants," explains Vijayaraghavan.

The rise in cotton prices and the labour-intensive nature of its cultivation impacted small- and medium-scale garment exporters. Faced with the increasing cost of cotton and synthetic material imports, Vijayaraghavan sought an alternative material that was comparable to or even better than cotton.
“Cotton cultivation requires a lot of water, and synthetic material is a form of plastic,” he says. “While cotton has the maximum absorbent quality, polyester dries faster than cotton. I began looking for something in between.”

Vijayaraghavan started sourcing bamboo fibre from China between 2002 and 2004. He imported the fibre and knitted the yarn in his factory. “Now we are sourcing the yarn directly from the northeastern part of India,” says Vijayaraghavan. “We bring it as grey bamboo fibre, and the remaining process of converting it into yarn and dyeing takes place in Tiruppur.”

It took him two-and-a-half years to knit a bamboo-fibre T-shirt, which he exported to a US company on a trial basis.

“An NBA national-level basketball player who tried this T-shirt gave very positive feedback regarding the quality. He was the brand ambassador for an international brand, hence he could not promote our product,” rues Vijayaraghavan. “He wore our T-shirt beneath the one carrying the logo,” he adds.

So how different is bamboo fibre from cotton? “Very few people know that bamboo fibre is softer than cotton, naturally three degrees cooler, a natural anti-microbial, helps regulate body temperature, has natural micro-pores for better breathability, and is more durable,” says Vijayaraghavan..

“Additionally, bamboo fibre controls moisture, has anti-odour properties, and provides UPF 50+ sun protection, making it ideal for outdoor activities like sports.”

“To remain competitive, our products are priced on par with Jockey and Van Heusen. We also plan to diversify into home furnishings like curtains, interiors, bedspreads, etc., soon.”

EV Startup Founder Achieves Rs. 6-7 lakh Pre-Launch Sales of India's First Geared Electric Motorbike

In the bustling city of Coimbatore, Pranav Singanapalli's company, Emote Electric, is creating a buzz. Pranav has taken on the challenge to revolutionise India's EV market with the country's first geared electric motorbike.

His company offers two models: Surge and LCM. Surge appeals to younger people with its modern design and features like GPS, Bluetooth, and a strong motor. LCM, meanwhile, is built for comfort and daily use.

"Our e-bike is the first in India to have a mechanical gearbox, and Surge can accelerate from 0 to 60 kmph in just under four seconds," explains 37-year-old Pranav.

“Our bikes have the longest range of up to 600 km on a single charge, which is a game-changer in the EV sector. We also have the fastest charge speeds in India - of up to 10km/minute." He points out that this is much quicker than other bikes that offer a "fast" charge at 1.5km/minute max.
Additionally, the bikes come equipped with modular battery packs, the world’s first implementation of third-generation liquid-cooled battery technology, and many futuristic features like 4G connectivity, adaptive headlights, and the ability to remotely unlock/lock the vehicle.

The Surge model is available starting from Rs. 1.55 lakh, and the LCM model's price begins at Rs. 1.2 lakh. “Our bikes are made affordable for everyone," says Pranav.

"They are priced to compete with petrol bikes above 125cc. Right now, we can't beat the lowest-priced petrol bikes, but we are working on it. In 3-4 years, maybe even sooner with the government's support, we will get there.”

While the company is pre-revenue, it has made notable strides, including exporting bikes and receiving over 600 dealership queries globally.
The company is completely bootstrapped, with funding primarily coming from his parents’ savings and some grants. Pranav explains, "Our expenses so far are in the range of Rs. 3 to 3.5 crore, much of it invested before we even started the company in 2019."

Currently, Emote Electric's annual turnover is about Rs. 6-7 lakh. "We are essentially pre-revenue. Most of our income right now comes from selling the prototypes and from small grants and competitions. We will be starting our actual production and sales very soon," he adds.

Emote's research and development centre is on the outskirts of Coimbatore and is staffed by a team of six engineers who build vehicles as needed.

"Right now, we are setting up our manufacturing unit and hiring more staff," says Pranav. “Currently, our e-bikes can only be booked online. We haven't started delivering to customers yet, nor do we have a physical store."

Born and brought up in Ahmedabad, Pranav is the younger son of Dr. Balaram Singanapalli, an industrial designer, senior faculty and former Chairman of Education at the Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design in India, and Dr. Padmini Balaram, a textile designer.

During his schooling in Udgam School for Children in Ahmedabad, Pranav was drawn towards science and technology. He completed his Bachelor of Arts, Industrial and Product Design from Chennai-based D J Academy of Design.

Pranav's tryst with electric mobility began with a personal experience that left him both disillusioned and inspired. In 2009, he purchased an electric scooter, expecting it to be a step towards sustainable transportation. However, the scooter's performance fell short of his expectations.

"Although I did not have great expectations about performance, I was completely disappointed with its impracticality and low utility in real-world usage. It was bad enough that I wouldn’t buy it again nor would I recommend it to anyone," rues Pranav. This experience set him on a path to explore the real-world challenges of EVs and find solutions.

His curiosity and determination led him to take a job as a product designer at Chennai-based Sunray Design Studio in 2010, just after graduating. This period was a formative phase for Pranav, where he delved deeper into understanding the shortcomings of EVs.
He recalls, "I deliberately took a room 20 km away from my workplace," turning his daily commute into a research opportunity to identify the gaps in the existing EV technology.

Pranav's journey took a brief detour when he received a scholarship to pursue his Master’s in Multidisciplinary Design Innovation from Northumbria University in the UK.

This opportunity allowed him to blend his interests in engineering, design, and business, shaping his approach towards developing a revolutionary EV product. Returning to India in 2014, Pranav was armed not only with advanced academic knowledge but also a renewed vigour to transform the EV market.

Emote Electric's inception as eMotion Motors in 2011, and its relaunch as Emote Electric Pvt. Ltd in October 2019, marked Pranav's foray into a domain that was still nascent in India.

"All EVs back then were imported kits, and there was no product development taking place in the country," he observes. This situation drove him to develop a product that was not just an alternative to petrol bikes but superior in many aspects.

Despite the innovative features and advanced technology, the journey of Emote Electric has not been without challenges.

Pranav recalls the early days of developing a working proof of concept, participating in various startup summits and shows, and the struggle to bring the product to market.

"Having to cope with a slipping timeline, which is a consequence of not tying up with a manufacturer and not having a high profile or wads of cash to effectively engage with suppliers that we are dependent on, was challenging," he shares.

However, the response to the products at various exhibitions and shows, from Vibrant Gujarat Startup Summit to AutoExpo 2020, was overwhelmingly positive, validating his efforts and vision.
Pranav observes a growing momentum in India's EV sector. The market has seen an impressive 300% growth since last year, yet EVs account for just 1.5% of the two-wheeler market.

However, there's a noticeable shift in public perception, with more people showing interest in EVs. This change in mindset is bolstered by the considerable improvement in the quality of electric vehicles over the past five years.

“My message to people would be to go electric, help spread the word and for those that have booked our vehicles, I would like to thank them for their patience and assure them that the vehicles are coming and we are getting closer to that every day,” he says.

As Emote Electric gears up to deliver its bikes to a market that is increasingly receptive to electric mobility, Pranav's story serves as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and a beacon for sustainable innovation in India.

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