Bharat Kalia's Inspirational Journey From Corporate Job To Entrepreneurship

Back in 2015 he was sitting as the team manager at the Gurgaon office of Bain & Company, a global management consultancy firm. Today, he’s sitting at the helm of a home appliances company which has an operating revenue that ranges between Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore.

We’re talking about Bharat Kalia, one of the three co-founders of Lifelong Online Retail Private Limited, an unlisted company that was incorporated on November 13, 2015, as per the information available on Tofler, a business and company research platform.

Where it all started

The year 2015 saw growing internet penetration and the rise of e-commerce in India. Bharat mulled over consumer durables. He was convinced that the sector needed a digital revamp.

“In 2015, there was so much development happening in mobiles and TVs, but none in the home appliances and consumer durables space. These legacy categories comprised supremely bulky and non-efficient methods of production and distribution,” Bharat told in an interview with YourStory.

“At that time, customers across the country, including those living in small towns and rural areas, wanted to live a more comfortable life. But home appliances and consumer durables were not designed for them,” he added.

Before leaving Bain & Company, Bharat had left his mark there. In a period of five years, he rose from the position of an associate to project leader to finally, a team manager.

At that position, Bharat realised he needs to take a leap into the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship.

“So I decided to start making these products according to their needs and at price points that were honest and transparent,” he said.

The entrepreneurial journey

After quitting his job at Bain & Company in 2015, Bharat Kalia, along with his colleague Varun Grover and entrepreneur Atul Raheja started Lifelong Online in Gurugram.

“My idea was to start a customer-backwards brand, deeply understanding customer pain points to innovate on products, focussing on a very lean supply chain, and distributing through a direct-to-customer (D2C) model. This would help us build strong products and efficiencies in pricing which we could pass on to the consumers,” Bharat said in the interview.

The three young entrepreneurs then started with a small seed capital to make the first product – a mixer grinder.

Eight years down the line, Lifelong Online has become a fast-growing, digital-first consumer durables brand that sells over 60 products ranging from home appliances to personal grooming to lifestyle products.

The company raised Rs 40 crore in a Series A funding round from Tanglin Venture Partners in 2019.

Today, Lifelong Online Retail's operating revenues range between Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2022, according to Tofler.

The company’s EBITDA has decreased by -2,385.88 per cent over the previous year, and at the same time, its book networth has increased by 144.62 per cent, as per the report.

Acquisition by Thrasio & story afterwards

In 2022, US-based e-commerce rollup firm Thrasio acquired Lifelong in an attempt to enter the Indian market. However, the company pulled the plug on its India venture because of whatever reason. Some reports indicate that Thrasio was facing heat in its home market, the US.

After Thrasio’s episode, 60 per cent of Lifelong will now be owned by its founders, reported ET quoting people aware of the matter.

Lifelong Online has three directors and two key management personnel, according to the information available on Tofler. Bharat Kalia remains the longest serving director currently on board and the most recently appointed director is Kunal K Thakkar.