Mocemsa is an Indian fragrance brand renowned for curating its own original formulations. It reflects a blend of tradition and modernity in each bottle. At the helm of Mocemsa’s dynamic journey is Paarth Malhotra, who is its co-founder and manager.

Before taking the reins at Mocemsa, Mr Malhotra began his professional journey at Malhotra Oil Company, where he worked from 2010 to 2015. This experience equipped him with invaluable insights into business operations and management, laying a solid foundation for his future endeavours with Mocemsa.

A BA (Hons) in Economics from Delhi University and an MSc in Management and Organisational Innovation have provided him with a robust framework for understanding the complexities of the business world. Beyond his professional commitments, Mr Malhotra harbours a passion for flying and swimming.

Sharmila Chand catches up with Mr Malhotra for a long and engaging conversation. At the end of the interaction, she is impressed with the dynamic entrepreneur’s management principles and practices. 

Your five management mantras

·       Focus on important rather than urgent.

·       Lead from front, set practical examples.

·       Listen, identify, react and resolve.

·       Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

·       Teamwork is dreamwork.

A game that helps your career

I like to swim. It calms me down. While I am in the water, I am all alone and can gather my thoughts, and it actually helps me many times to find the right way ahead. Swimming is also something that tests both mental and physical grit. It teaches you to change your pace, manage depth and hence take decisions, and the breathwork helps in clarity of thought.

Turning point in your career life

I started working very young at 17. For me, the turning point was when along with my brother, we launched Mocemsa, a proud homegrown brand. The next six months post-launch, I found a genuine purpose and saw the scope of taking this up. Since then, I have not looked back and have had 100 per cent confidence in Mocemsa and pushed for it to succeed.

Secret of your success

I would not categorise myself as successful just yet. There are many miles to go and milestones to achieve. Yes, we have tasted small successes with Mocemsa securing a position among the top fragrance brands worldwide. I would say that this is because of our undoubted belief in the brand. Many times, we were told that Indian brands space is in the Rs 200-500 category. However, we knew what we were building and kept driving towards our goal. The secret sauce to this is grit, teamwork and a shared passion by our teams – both internal and external.

Your philosophy of work

Do not give up. Consistency is better than perfection, and making sure that everyone is heard will lead to a great success is the key mantra that has helped us so far. We have two to three long-term goals that I want to achieve in a window of six months to a year and five to six short-term goals to be achieved within three months where business is concerned. Together, we are on our way to conquer them.

A person you admire

I owe my foundational learning from my father. I admire his commitment towards his work and hope I can replicate the same someday. If you want to be successful, you need to be fully committed. There are no weekdays and weekends because work is play, and you can juggle everything beautifully.

Best advice you got

Time is the most precious asset; do not waste even a second.

How has your journey been so far?

With Mocemsa, it was my first stint in retail. I did not know anything, and I have learnt a lot. From managing two sales staff, I have gone ahead and managed a team of 150+. My journey has been learning and now mastering the retail side. I understood how to read the market and consumer behaviour, and we are in a constant growth and learning phase.

Your favourite books

One of my favourite books is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. It provides invaluable insights into how to create and manage successful startups in an age when companies need to innovate more than ever. Another favourite one is Good To Great by Jim Collins, which explores why some companies make the leap and others do not, offering practical advice for achieving excellence.

How do you maintain calm and peace in stressful situations?

I guess that this is something you learn over time and experience. If you ask me today, it has instilled very well in my head that if I lose my temper in a situation, I have lost the situation or argument. Hence, I tend to keep calm. It is not always necessary to have a solution to every problem at hand. It is always wise to think and respond which may not always be immediately. Better to defer a situation rather than choose an unknown or incorrect path.

Your five business mantras

·       Customer Focus: Prioritise understanding and meeting customer needs.

·       Innovation: Continuously innovate to stay ahead and relevant.

·       Resilience: Be prepared to face setbacks and learn from them.

·       Quality: Never compromise on the quality of your products or services.

·       Integrity: Conduct your business with honesty and transparency.

What message would you like to give to youngsters on management?

Do not be too attached to your product. Focus on what the consumer likes rather than your own preferences. Most founders get this wrong. But once you have done your research well and created a product you are confident in, go with it with all guns blazing. No matter what people say, have confidence in yourself. Big things are made only because you are able to see what others cannot.

How would you like to define yourself?
That is a tricky one. I do not introspect much. But if I do have to say, I guess I am a learner. I always like to understand new concepts. I like to travel in unchartered waters and focus on creating unconventional paths to my goals, as they always have add-on successes.