THE INTROVERT: THOUGH BOAT WAS PROFITABLE FROM DAY ONE, INVESTORS REFUSED TO BACK IT. BUT LOW-PROFILE CEO SAMEER MEHTA NAVIGATED THE CHOPPY WATERS WITH A SHARP FOCUS ON R&D.

HE PREFERS to be in the background, stays away from the limelight, and quietly does what he knows best—build cutting-edge audio devices and wearables for Indian consumers.

- AJITA SHASHIDHAR

Sameer Mehta, the introvert co-founder and CEO of boAt Lifestyle, says that his being lesser known compared to his gregarious co-founder and chief market marketing officer Aman Gupta is by design. “I am not comfortable meeting people I don’t know. Therefore, I chose to lead operations, product development, and finance which require thorough processes. Aman is good at the front end, he knows how to build and nurture relationships, so he led sales and marketing. It is our contrasting personalities that have worked beautifully for the brand,” says Mehta.

In less than a decade, the duo has catapulted boAt to a leadership position in the market. The ₹3,121-crore audio and wearables brand competes with deep-pocketed ones such as JBL, Philips, Panasonic, Skullcandy, and OnePlus in a cluttered market. boAt's proposition is simple: build fashionable, durable devices especially suited for Indians. The devices are priced 20% cheaper than a JBL or Skullcandy, but boAt makes sure they don’t compete with cheap unbranded devices sourced from China. Mehta says boAt wouldn’t have survived had it played the mass game. “Back in the day, none of the brands were making devices for Indian consumers. They were designed for people in Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia and then brought to India. We made sure we tailored everything to Indian audiences.”