SUCCESSFUL STORY OF “boAt”

Music systems are not portable! Hence, we all want such devices that can easily be
carried with us while traveling. This is the idea that gave rise to headphones and
earphones as a portable alternative to traditional music systems. These devices can
easily be carried from one place to another, thereby offering the same feel as
speakers and music systems. With the emergence of headphones, music lovers,
listeners of music, and other professionals can now listen to their favorite tracks,
watch the movies of their choice, and talk with their office colleagues, managers,
and friends without disturbing others. Though the headphones have been used for
quite some time in India, just like they are used in any other part of the world, only
a handful of Indian manufacturers can be spotted. The boAt company is one of the
leading players among them, and the brand simply steals the show!

boAt has been dubbed the 5th largest wearables brand globally since
December 2020.

The boAt has an astonishing collection of earphones, earbuds, headphones, and

wireless speakers that stands apart due to the quality, affordability, and world-class
designs that the company offers. Founded in 2016, boAt is hailed as India's no. 1
earwear audio brand. The company allows users to experience both spirit and
energy at the same time.
boAt - About
boAt is an Indian company that markets audio-focused electronic gadgets
like wireless speakers, earbuds (Airdopes), wired and wireless headphones
and earphones, home audio equipment, premium rugged cables, and a
selection of other technological accessories.

boAt - Founders and Team

Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta are the founders of boAt.

Sameer Mehta

Sameer Mehta - Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, boAt

Sameer Mehta is the Chairman, Executive Director, co-founder, and Chief

Product Officer (CPO) of boAt. He is also the Executive Director of Kores
(India). Sameer Mehta started his career at Redwood Interactive and was the
owner of the company. Mehta completed his schooling at St. Xavier School,
Mumbai, and pursued his bachelor's degree in commerce from Narsee
Monjee College of Commerce and Economics. Sameer also co-founded
Imagine Marketing Pvt. Ltd., the parent company of boAt.
Aman Gupta

Aman Gupta - Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, boAt

Aman Gupta is the Executive Director, co-founder, and Chief Marketing

Officer (CMO) of boAt. He pursued his bachelor's degree in commerce from
Delhi University, after which he joined the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of India. Gupta also pursued an MBA in Finance and Strategy at the Indian
School of Business and an MBA in General Management and Marketing as
an exchange student at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern
University.
He started working as an Assistant Manager at Citibank and later worked as
the co-founder and CEO of Advanced Telemedia Pvt. Ltd. Aman then joined
KPMG as a Senior Management Consultant. He also worked as a Sales
Director at HARMAN International. Aman Gupta ultimately co-founded boAt
in 2016 with Sameer. He also co-founded Imagine Marketing India, which
became the parent company of boAt. Aman Gupta served as a judge during
Season 2 of Shark Tank and is also the first entrepreneur to walk the red
carpet at Cannes in 2023.
boAt - Industry
boAt thrives in the vibrant and ever-evolving Consumer Electronics industry,
which holds a pivotal role in India's growing technological landscape. This
industry has experienced remarkable growth, fueled by the increasing
demand for electronic devices and gadgets. With its prominent presence,
boAt stands at the forefront of this dynamic market, poised to meet the
changing preferences of tech enthusiasts and tech-savvy consumers alike.
According to Statista, the Consumer Electronics market in India is set to
reach a revenue of $69.15 billion in 2023, with an annual growth rate of
5.89% (CAGR 2023–2028).
boAt - Startup Story
The founders wanted to create a lifestyle brand, which would bring
fashionable audio products and accessories to the millennials. boAt is the
brainchild of this idea. The company began its journey as a cable
manufacturer and seller, which had rapidly expanded its categories to serve
over 800,000 customers, as reported in 2020. boAt started as a
bootstrapped startup with a capital of around Rs 30 lakhs that came from
the founders.
boAt - Funding and Investors
boAt has raised a total amount of $177 million in funding over 7 funding
rounds.
Date Transaction Name Money Raised Lead Investor

October 28, 2022 Convertible Note - boAt $60 million -

April 16, 2021 Series B $6.68 million Qualcomm Ventures

January 5, 2021 Series B $100 million Warburg Pincus

September 1, 2020 Debt Financing $3.34 million InnoVen Capital

July 26, 2019 Debt Financing $2.13 million InnoVen Capital

July 17, 2019 Debt Financing $2.67 million Navi Technologies

May 3, 2018 Venture Round $802K Fireside Ventures

boAt – Shareholding

boAt
Shareholding Pattern

The majority of the boAt stakes are held by Warburg Pincus, which boasts of
holding 36.48% of the company's shares. The boAt co-founders Aman
Gupta and Sameer Mehta come next in line with 28.26% shares each. Then,
comes Fireside Ventures with 3.76% of the shares, followed by Qualcomm
Ventures, which has 2.6% stakes. The remaining 0.64% of the boAt's stake is
held by others.
boAt - Growth and Revenue
The company retails at Croma outlets, Myntra, Amazon, Paytm, and Flipkart.
The quality performance of boAt products has helped the company a lot in
achieving the growth it has witnessed over the years.
Here's a quick glance at some of the most prominent growth milestones of
boAt:
• boAt has gathered 800,000+ customers within a short span of 4 years as
of July, 2022

• It claims to add one boAthead to its family within every 3 minutes that
pass as per reporting of July 2022.

• The company sells four units every minute and over 6,000 units each day
as of July 2022.
Financials
boAt's operating revenue for FY23 reached an impressive milestone, rising
to approximately Rs 4,000 crore ($500 million), showcasing impressive
growth compared to the previous fiscal years. In FY22, boAt recorded net
sales of Rs 2,873 crore, indicating a remarkable growth rate of around 39.1%
in FY23. Moreover, when compared to the net sales of Rs 1,314 crore in
FY21, the brand's progress becomes even more evident.

boAt - Business and Revenue Model

The company focused on 3 important market strategies to create a good
consumer base:
• Consumer's Needs

• Consumer's Desires

• Consumer's Behaviour Pattern

The founders implemented their research on the products and made the
products affordable, durable, and fashionable. boAt focuses on building a
customer-brand relationship where it considers the buyers as a member of
the boAt family. They also focused a lot on the brand boAt and presented it
as an Indian brand. For the marketing of the brand, boAt decided to appoint
cricketers and other celebrities as the brand ambassadors of boAt because
the Indians are very fond of cricket and Bollywood films. All of these helped
the company create a considerable consumer base and become a billion-
dollar company in India with smart pricing and attractive looks. boAt now
claims of selling 6,000 units per day with four units sold every minute.
Some other strategies that helped boAt climb the ladder of success in the
audio segment of the Indian market are:
Keeping the customers first: boAt has decided to term its users "boAtheads",
thereby making them a part of their clan instead of keeping them anonymous

A range of improvisations: boAt is known for its innovations and improvisations.

The company carved out an indestructible cable for Apple mobile users after
discovering endless complaints about Apple charging cables. As soon as it sensed
the urgency of sports and fall-proof headphones, boAt immediately moved out to
build them, which are now available in a variety of colors.

boAt's "Make in India" Drive: boAt has partnered with Dixon Technologies as
part of its "Make in India" initiative. This joint venture aims to strengthen boAt's
manufacturing capabilities by producing key components like mechanics, plastic
molds, speaker drivers, and batteries within the country. This strategic
collaboration highlights boAt's commitment to promoting domestic
manufacturing and delivering high-quality audio products to the market. Around
15 million products were produced in India by boAt in just FY23 as per various
news report of June, 2023.

Posing as a lifestyle brand: boAt marked itself as a lifestyle brand rather than
calling itself a consumer electronics brand.

An ever-expanding catalog of products: boAt products are ever-increasing.

From cables to chargers to audio products, boAt is simply bringing new products
powered by innovative technologies and awesome designs. In June 2023, boAt
made a significant product launch with the introduction of the Nirvana 525 ANC,
the world's first wireless neckband earbuds powered by Dolby Audio.

Targeting their customers: The youth and millennials are the target customers of
the brand and the company is making sure to impress them at any cost. This is the
way the company is speedily steering forth.
Digital marketing: The company has distinctively stayed away from traditional
media, thereby choosing the digital way for marketing. Social media platforms like
Instagram and others have solely become the pillars of success for boAt.

Expenses Breakdown - boAt

Company expenses breakdown for FY21 was Rs 1,202 crore in total and in
FY22 it becomes Rs 2,787 crore.
Below is the expenses breakdown:
Expenses Breakdown FY21-FY22 FY21 FY22

Cost of materials consumed Rs 1020.84 crore Rs 2346.6 crore

Warranty claim expenses Rs 52.7 crore Rs 136.60 crore

Advertising and promotional expenses Rs 47.86 crore Rs 99 crore

Employee benefit expenses Rs 14.92 crore Rs 56.12 crore

Freight and transportation charges Rs 21.75 crore Rs 43.32 crore

Others expenses Rs 43.93 crore Rs 105.36 crore

boAT - Partnerships
boAT has partnerships with many companies. Some of the most prominent
recent partnerships are:
Netflix
boAT partnershiped with Netflix in December, 2022 with this partnership
boAT will launch True Wireless Earbuds (TWS), On-Ear Headphones, and
Wireless Neckband.

Reliance Digital
boAT has partnered with reliance digital in September, 2023 and with this
partnership they planned to introduce 3D hologram projections as part of
an exciting retail experience with the boAt Smart Ring.
boAT partnership with IPL team
boAT has agreed to become the official audio and wearable partner of three
Indian Premier League (IPL) clubs, including Gujarat Titans (GT) and Royal
Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in March, 2023.
The company said in a press release that it has also extended its relationship
with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and will continue to serve as the team's
official audio partner throughout the IPL's 16th season.
boAt - Challenges
boAt started as a bootstrapped company in the initial years with funding of
around Rs 30 lakh from the founders and had to struggle initially for raising
funds. Apart from this, the company faces numerous challenges day in and
day out in manufacturing trendy products at affordable rates and bringing
them to the market that is already packed with equally able competitors.
boAt - Awards and Recognitions
boAt was awarded and recognized on numerous occasions by a list of
organizations, here's a look at some of the most prominent awards and
recognition of the brand:
• The company was declared the "Number 1 brand for truly wireless and
earwear in India" as per Q3 CY21.

• It was noted as the "5th largest wearable brand in the world in 2020".

• boAt boasts of being the official audio partner for six Indian Premier
League (IPL) teams in 2021.

• It has partnered with a wide range of celebrities and cricketers, from

Hardik Pandya to Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani.

• boAt served as the official wearable partner for RCB and GT and the official
audio partner for KKR in the 16th season of the IPL, solidifying its position
in the cricketing world.
boAt - Competitors
The top competitors of the Boat are Noise, Mivi, and Skullcandy

Noise
Gonoise is one of the biggest rivals of boAt. It is headquartered in
Gurugram, Haryana, India and was founded in 2014. Noise competes in the
electronic equipment industry.
Mivi
Mivi is another rival of boAt. It is headquartered in Telangana, Andhra
Pradesh, India and was founded in 2015. Mivi also operates in the electronic
equipment industry.
Skullcandy
Skullcandy is also one of the top competitors of Boat. It is headquartered in
Park City, Utah and was founded in 2003. Skullcandy also works in the
electronics industry.
Apart from these, there are certain other competitors of boAt like pTron,
Boult Audio, Fire-Boltt, and Ambrane.

boAt - Future Plans

The company believes that there is always a trend of buying earphones
along with new smartphones. boAt finds this concept to be a channel of
success for them. According to the reports, the major phone makers are in
the process of stitching new relations with audio companies. For example
- Samsung has got JBL and Harman, Apple has Beats, and so on. These
manufacturers are attracting consumers with good deals
boAt is currently aiming to provide more and more products to satisfy the
increasingly high demand for technological gadgets and bring them at affordable
rates to its users with style! The brand wants to help the Indians get all the quality
technological devices that they need from the homegrown brand boAt, without
letting them rely on other foreign brands. Additionally, boAt is actively formulating
a trust-focused strategy to enter upcoming markets like Singapore and Vietnam,
with a strong emphasis on establishing a solid presence and capturing significant
market share.
boAt - Acquisitions
boAt has acquired 2 companies: TAGG and KaHa Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-
based smart wearable IoT (internet-of-things) product development startup.
With the addition of the KaHa Platform, boAt strengthens its wearables
development and aims to create a comprehensive health and wellness
wearables ecosystem within its product portfolio.

Acquiree Name Date Price

KaHa Pte January 15, 2022 -

TAGG June 9, 2021 -

boAT - ESOP
According to regulatory filings, the BoAt board approved a special resolution
to grant its employees 9,55,523 Employee Stock Options (ESOPs) valued
around Rs 72 crore (almost $9 million) on October, 17, 2023. According to
the filing, these ESOPs will be converted into equity shares in order to
promote employee ownership and attract, retain, motivate, and reward
important personnel in pace with business growth. This tactical choice
demonstrates BoAt's dedication to both its personnel and its ambition for
long-term growth in the tech sector.

boAT - Products
boAT has launched various products some of the prominent products are:

Stream Edition
boAt launched stream edition audio products including a neckband,
headphones and TWS earbuds in India in partnership with Netflix in
December, 2022.
StanceOS
boAt, and StanceBeam, a leading sports technology start-up in April, 2023,
have joined forces to offer StanceOS, which includes advanced smart sensors
and sports motion detecting AI technology in smartwatches.

Dolby-powered neckband
The Nirvana 525 ANC was formally introduced by boAt and Dolby in June
2023.

Kids Wireless headphones

Rockid Rush, a line of wireless Bluetooth headphones for kids, has been
introduced by boAT in August 2023, expanding its line of products. The 10-
hour battery life, 30-mm drivers, and 85 dB sound limit of the limited-edition
Bluetooth headphones are included.

Airdopes
As a new addition to the Airdopes series, boAt has introduced the Airdopes
Flex 454 ANC in India in September, 2023. These cost less than Rs 2,000 and
have ANC, up to 60 hours of playback time, and other capabilities.