Karan Bilimoria, Founder and Chief Executive, Cobra Beer

Karan has the distinction of launching an extremely successfully beer in the world’s most competitive beer market - UK. He was named ‘Asian of the Year’ in 2002, ‘London Entrepreneur of the Year’ (consumer products category) in 2003, ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ by the Asian Achievers Awards. Cobra beer was awarded the prestigious Gold Medal at the ‘Monde Selection’ in Brussels for three consecutive years (2001-2003) for its superior quality.

His entrepreneurial journey began when a desire to take advantage of the global market potential for Indian products was kindled. According to Karan, most business ideas are simple and are born from the perception of customer dissatisfaction with existing solutions. The key to creating a successful business out of such ideas was to do something different and better. Karan sought and evaluated several business opportunities while pursuing his studies in London. The growing popularity of Indian restaurants in the UK and the shifting preference to lager beer from ale convinced Karan that a premium Indian beer that is less gaseous would have excellent business potential and Cobra Beer was born.

The entrepreneurial journey began with his quest to brew beer according to a new recipe in India, using innovative methods to raise funds, and finding the initial set of customers. A key breakthrough was achieved when the company gained the support of Indian restaurants through launch of a free magazine for them. Karan emphasised the importance of building a team early in the start-up stage and of being very responsive to customers and suppliers.

A key personal learning for Karan was the realisation that you cannot stand still in business. He also emphasised the importance of getting the best advisors and agencies to work for you, an approach he called punching above your weight. But the key to survival and growth was building trust and bridging the credibility gap with stakeholders in order to gain their support.

• Karan offered the following ten tips to grow a business:
• Research and understand the market thoroughly
• Constantly improve the product/ service
• Take the lead in the market and do not be a follower
• Be innovative and creative
• Try and predict market shifts by looking into the future
• Be passionate and proud of your product/ service
• Build your business on the four pillars of success - Focus, Commitment, Drive and Hard work
• Invest in your people
• Do the right thing in the right way
• Aspire and achieve against all odds, with integrity