Entrepreneurship and Venture

Planning Project

Company-
boAt

Preface
I have always been fascinated with Indian brands which are built from scratch showing the Indian
enterprenuership spirit. I became aquantied with boAt after buying their boAt stone 1500 speakers.
Soon I saw the founder of boAt, Mr. Aman Gupta on my favorite TV show, Shark Tank. All of these
led me to research on this new upcoming and budding company.
The contents of this report are inspired from various Youtube channels, websites and a ton of
research. I would like to thank Dr. Abrar Ali Sayyad, our ENVP professor for sharing his knowledge
of the subject and always giving his best and keeping us engaged throughout the sessions.
Market iOverview i

The iAudio iEquipment iMarket iwas ivalued iUSD i12.13 ibillion iin i2020, iand iit iis iexpected ito ireach
iUSD i17.01 ibillion iby i2026, iregistering ia iCAGR iof i5.9% iduring ithe iforecast iperiod. i(2021-
2026). iThe iCOVID-19 ipandemic ihas iled ito inationwide ilockdown irestrictions, iwhich ihave ilimited
ithe iadoption iof iaudio iequipment ifor icommercial iapplications. iThe ishutdown iof icollege
iuniversities iand ieducational iinstitutions, imuseums, igalleries, ipostponement iof imusical ievents iand
iother igatherings, iand iseveral iother irestrictions iare iexpected ito icreate ia inegative iimpact ion ithe
igrowth iof ithe imarket ifor icommercial iapplications ispecifically.
  Technological iadvancements iand idevelopment iin ithe imusic iindustry ihave iunleashed ithe
iapplication iof iDigital iAudio iWorkstation i(DAW) iamong iartists ifor ithe itasks iof
icomposing, irecording, imixing iand imastering iin imusic. iThe iincrease iadoption iof icloud-
based iaudio iworkstations iand igrowing idigitization iof iinstruments iwill ienhance inew itrend
iin ithe icoming iyears.
 The irising itendency iof iincreasing iexpenditures ion iglobal ifestivals iand imusic iconcerts iis
iexpected ito ipropel ithe irequirement ifor iprofessional iaudio iequipment. iWith iincreasing
inumber iof itrade ishows, imotion iproduction iand ifilms, iexhibitions, imusic iconcerts, iand
isports ievents, iit iis iexpected ito ilead ito irise iin idemand iof ivarious iinnovative iaudio
iamplifiers. iFor iinstance, iaccording ito iBillboard imagazine, i32 imillion ipeople igo ito iat ileast
ione imusic ifestival iin ithe iUS ievery iyear.
 Rise iof iaudio iequipment iin iautomobiles iis idriving ithe imarket. iA ismall icollection iof
iamplifiers iand isound iprocessor ireplaces ithe ifactory iamp iin ia ipremium isystem iwithout
ilosing iany iof ithe ivehicle's ifeatures ior ifunctionality. iWith ian iincrease iin ithe iproduction iof
iautomobiles, ithe idemand iwill iincrease ieffectively.
 Design iand icomplexity iprovide ichallenges ifor ithe idevelopment iof ihigh-efficiency iaudio
iequipment ias ithere iis ihigh iinterface iintegration iissues iwith ihigh icomplexity iin idesigning
imixing icircuits iespecially ifor iaudio imixers iand iamplifiers, iwhich irestraints ithe igrowth iof
ithe imarket.

Problem Statement / Market Analysis

Identifying and catering to a need gap is a popular success recipe for any business. The team at
boAt identified this market gap in the audio wearables segment. The affordable segment was
crowded with cheap Chinese products that had no identity of their own and provided low-quality
sound and had to be thrown away after a month of use. Brands like MIVI, Skullcandy, boAt and
noise identified this gap and capitalized on it.

Solution provided by the company:

The team at boAt brilliantly identified its target customer; their ideal customer were young people
who had been outgoing and loved fashion. They were also looking for a functional but affordable
audio device.
Their headphones delivered extra bass exactly how the Indian audience preferred it, and they
focused on providing an optimal sound quality at an affordable range.
Their most basic earphones, boAt bassheads, start from just Rs299/- and provide a premium feel to
the customer while not breaking their bank.

Few features of the boAt bassheads:

 In-Line Microphone
 Its Hawk-inspired design makes it look stylish and trendy
 Super Extra Bass
 10 mm dynamic drivers with a speaker resistance of 16 ohms to deliver punchy and detailed
sound with powerful bass.
Competitors
The market for audio tech is filled with competitors such as Apple, Sony, Bose, Skullcandy,
Sennheiser, noise, JBL, etc. So how did boat manage to thrive in this red ocean?

(In pic: Market share of boAt's direct competitors)

As of 2022 boAt's market share is more than that of it's rivals combined. So what led to this
massive growth when competitors like skullcandy, noise and realme already existed in the
market?

Marketing

1. Timing

boAt cleverly chose the perfect time to enter the Indian market, they noticed that
smartphones manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Oneplus, etc had stopped providing
a set of free earphones with their devices. This change created a huge market
opportunity for the audio wearables segment and boAt rightly captured it.

2. Building aspirational value

Any customer makes the decision of buying a product based on the product's tangible
and perceived value. In the audio segment after a certain point only sound experts
can differentiate one product from other. All products in a common price range sound
the same to an untrained ear.
This means that the customer takes the final decision of buying a product based on
the perceived value of a product.
boAt was able to set themselves apart from their competitors by building an
aspirational value for the brand in the mindsets of consumers, by hiring national
cricket sensation Hardik Pandya boAt set itself an aspirational product.
(In pic: Hardik Pandya endorsing the newly launched boAt headphones)

3. Delivering extensive and hassle-free customer support

boAt aspired to be a customer-centric product from the get-go. boAt's team focused
on providing excellent and hassle-free after-purchase support to the customers. In
case a customer needed any repairs for their products, boAt's repair program
provided customers with the option of getting their devices picked from their
doorsteps and delivered right back to their house after repairs, all at a zero charge.

This extensive customer focus led to massive word-of-mouth marketing for boAt,
rocketing them to the heights we see them today.

Does brand perception really work and is it worth for a startup to hire expensive celebrities
to endorse a brand?

A lot of customers believe that brand perception does not really matter, afterall why would
they buy a product only because it is endorsed by a popular celebrity. And they are not
wrong in saying that. The first point looked at while purchasing a product is it’s value for
money. But what after that? A lot of brands provide value for money, does the customer go
and buy them all?
No, the make or break factor is made by a brand’s perceived value, and hiring more popular
celebreties build this better perception of a brand in the subconcios mind of the customers.
(In pic: The math behind hiring Hardik Pandya for brand endorsement)
Background of Aman Gupta, the man behind the show

Aman iGupta iis ithe ico-founder iand iMarketing iDirector iof iBOAT.BOAT iis ione iof ithe inumber
ione iheadset iequipment imodels iin iIndia iwhich ihas igained ia iwhopping i27.3% imarket ishare.

Aman iGupta’s icompany imanaged ito igenerate ia iwhopping iINR i500 icrore iincome iin ithe ifiscal
iyear i2020 iregardless iof ithe ipandemic ioutbreak. iAman iGupta ipartnered iwith iSameer iAshok
iMehta iin iNovember i2013 ito ilaunch iBOAT’s icustodian icompany, iImage iMarketing iServices iPvt.
iLtd. i

After icompleting ihis istudies, iAmam iGupta iworked iin ivarious isettings. iHe iwas iDirector iof iIndia
iSales iat iHarman iInternational, ithe iaudio iproduct ipowerhouse. iIn i2016 ihe ifounded ia i“ship”. iThe
i“ship” ibegan iselling i“fashionable iaudio iequipment”.

They isold iheadphones, iearphones, ispeakers, itravel ichargers, iand irugged iluxury ipackages ifor itwo
iyears. iThey imade iRs i100 imillion iin idomestic isales iin ithe ifirst itwo iyears. iGupta iattended iDelhi
iPublic iSchool ibefore idoing ia iBachelor iof iBusiness ifrom iDelhi iUniversity.

Aman iis ia iwell-educated ibusinessman. iHe iwas ithen icertified ias ia iChartered iAccountant iby ithe
iInstitutes iof iChartered iAccountants iin iIndia. iHe ialso ireceived ihis isecond iMaster iof iBusiness
iAdministration ifrom ithe iKellogg iGraduate iSchool iof iManagement. i