Ayan Mukhopadhyay is a partner and owner of Brazilian beauty franchise Nao Mais Pelo - a company uses technology called Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) to remove body hair, permanently - “Kind of like waxing, but not laser treatment,” Ayan explains.
Originally launched in Spain, Nao Mais Pelo has more than 1,300 units in 15 different countries. Ayun was keen to take advantage of the opportunity to set up a franchise and started the business from scratch, with no prior knowledge of the industry.
Although enjoying a decade of encouraging growth, Brazil’s economy has stalled. 2013 growth targets were reduced in August, and the agriculture industry has responsible for most of this year’s expansion. But Ayan is not fazed by gloomier economic statistics – IPL services are in high demand.
Health and beauty is big business and in Brazil. According to new figures released by Canadean, the industry is expecting to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.7 per cent by 2017.
After outperforming the other franchises and doubling revenue in the first four months of opening his store, it is surprising to hear that Ayan started out his working life as an engineer. Like many b-school students, he is studying an MBA after engineering.
His transition from a four-year engineering career with BT in India to running a beauty business in South America is seemingly a rarity. The two industries could not be farther apart. “It was very different to what I was doing before,” he admits. “I was contracted out by BT, working for a consultancy services company.”
Ayan decided to move out of India and look for a job in the region with his wife, who is Brazilian. But things didn’t work out and he was inspired to create his own company. IPL is a worldwide health and beauty treatment, a craze that swept through Brazil with some speed.
Ayan and his wife knew it was the right decision after speaking with other franchise owners. “We didn’t have any knowledge of the industry but we heard from people that this is something new,” he said.
“We went to the stores and talked to owners, and our decision was more or less made by their feedback; that the treatment has high demand in the market and the feedback from customers. There is competition and at the moment there are around three companies in the same market operating with this technology.”
After running the business for around a year, Ayan decided to study an MBA in France. He wanted to differentiate himself from other Indian students who commonly study in the US and UK, and wanted to understand how big businesses operate - skills that can be transferred to his entrepreneurial venture in Brazil.
In 2011, he enrolled on the Global MBA program at ESSEC Business School. He was enticed by the fact that his old friend from school designed the program. “When I started researching about the school I talked to him and it gave me lot of confidence,” he said. “I wanted to study an MBA to know how big businesses are run and what other criteria these businesses look for.
“I wanted to get more credibility for my resume, build a good network and meet new people; to talk to people who are intellectually much more developed.”
ESSEC is a b-school that prides itself on international diversity. Although based in France, the Global MBA seeks to integrate social and cultural issues in business. With over 90 nationalities represented across campuses in both France and Singapore, ESSEC also has 90 MBA exchange programs to destinations all over the world.
Ayan admits that the cultural differences between India and Brazil were a big challenge. At first, he found the language barrier difficult and he wasn’t fluent in Portuguese.
It was a risk and he and his wife had no idea where they would end up. “It was like jumping in a pool of water without knowing depth,” Ayan said. “We didn’t known how to make the processes more efficient, and learning how to market ourselves was one of the biggest challenges we faced.”
Like all entrepreneurial start-ups, Nao Mais Pelo was often a learning curve. “We knew that we would not be perfect and we made mistakes,” he said. “Slowly we started realising what we should do and what we should not do; how we should talk to clients; what we should tell them.
“We learnt what the processes are that the client has to go through. And even, for that matter, how to organise our staff so we have everything in a sequential manor.”
They have one full-time and two part-time employees working for the business.
After graduating from ESSEC in 2012, he used his MBA skills to make the important financial decisions. It made things easier to handle. “The financial decisions we were taught on the MBA gave me an insight into what we've done so far,” he said.
“It also increased my marketing skills, how we should reach out to people. After an MBA, stuff like this is easier to handle. I would have learnt it without business school, but over a much longer period of time.”
While his business grows in South America, Ayan is currently working for Accenture in India as a language expert, helping to speak to clients in Brazil.
He has made a remarkable career switch from engineering to hair-removal – an uncommon business path, most would agree. With the health and beauty industry in Brazil ripe for the picking, he is hoping to take a slice out of the market as it continues to expand.
MBAs know the challenges facing start-ups, and deciding whether to study at b-school is a big decision. But attending ESSEC gave Ayan to tools to make a successful business in Brazilian beauty.
As he says: “Now I know what needs to be done.”
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