Manu Kumar Jain is a name to reckon when we talk about the leading entrepreneurs in India. His successful career has credited him several prominent titles. The 37 year-old maverick has successfully carved his niche in the tech world.
KNOW HIM
Manu Jain comes across as a person who was always determined towards his career endeavors. His passion for technology made him pursue B.Tech from IIT Delhi, and MBA from IIM Calcutta.
He initially paved his career path in Headstrong, working as an engineer. He later served a 5 year tenure at McKinsey. However, Manu always envisioned an innovative path, and wanted to embrace his identity as an entrepreneur.
His stint at Jabong
When e-commerce was in its blossoming period, Manu Kumar Jain became the Co-Founder – Jabong.com. He was instrumental in strengthening the foundation of the company, and building it for an eCommerce rivalry with Flipkart. Summing up his experience at Jabong, Manu said, “There is so much I have learnt over these years during my time with Jabong, which provided me the opportunity to disrupt the fashion segment of eCommerce. Jabong was the opportunity which helped me in using the power of internet effectively, to bring in greater shopping experience and its long-term benefits to people everywhere.”
How Jabong helped him understand the need of the industry ?
Key challenges that Manu faced were related to internet penetration, where he studied the internet-savvy population metric. Another challenging aspect that surmounted was the perception people had towards e-commerce. Working hard to enforce a positive approach, Manu helped his clients see the wide-ranging benefits associated with e-commerce.
After revolutionizing the fashion sector, Manu embarked on his next career journey. He moved on to Xiaomi which provided him with both professional, and personal sense of fulfillment.
How Manu Kumar Jain became the face of Xiaomi?
Manu was Xiaomi’s first employee in India. Joining as the managing director, he had bigger plans for the company. “You must have the capacity to get to your entire world through your mobile phone,” he once said. Later he challenged the dominance of Samsung, in India’s highly competitive smartphone market with an ultra-aggressive online sales strategy at Xiaomi.
Manu Kumar Jain – Vice President Xiaomi
When questioned about the compelling factor behind Xiaomi’s success, the mogul answered “Our vision is good quality, good spec, and honest price. We keep our margins very small on hardware — just 5%. We make money on the e-commerce and ecosystem… We also listen to the market closely.”
Talking about the marketing strategy for India, Manu explained about his preference to follow the masses. India being the second largest in the number of internet users, is a prospect market for Xiaomi. Also incorporating ‘Make in India’ in their business strategy, the smartphone brand has launched manufacturing units in India, and aims to train people to produce quality products.
Driven to create a positive impact, Manu Kumar Jain’s dedication, and farsightedness has made him thrive in these highly competitive industries.
