Meet Gaurav Nigam, who left high-profile job, turned small dry-cleaning firm into Rs 116 crore business

Any firm must be built with unwavering determination, resiliency, and the willingness to face problems and learn from them. When carried out properly, even the simplest idea may become a successful start-up. Success is possible with the right combination of elements. Gaurav Nigam's success story explains how his idea for Tumbledry, which provides dry cleaning and laundry services, grew into a Rs 100 crore business in only four years.

Who is Gaurav Nigam?

Lucknow native Gaurav attended the renowned La Martiniere College there for his B.Com degree. He then graduated from Symbiosis International University, Pune, with an MBA. After completing his education, he was hired by Airtel, a corporation in the telecom industry.

He spent over a decade there before moving on to become the product director of the mobile phone manufacturer Lava. Nevertheless, he quit his job and co-founded TumbleDry with former coworkers Naveen Chawla and Gaurav Teotia. This business has dry cleaning facilities all around the nation. 

The firm just began operating four years ago, but it is already present in more than 180 towns across the country. In the near future, the firm will have more than 600 outlets. In the previous fiscal year, it generated revenue of Rs 116 crore.

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How did TumbleDry begin?

The market for laundry services in India has expanded considerably in recent years and is now thought to be worth more than Rs 20,000 crores, Economic Times reported. When he served as the Product Head of Lava, according to Gaurav Nigam, he was ordered to spend 15 days in China each month.

He used to remain in the hotel throughout this time, but he didn't get his clothes cleaned there. He began to search about and discovered a neighbourhood dry cleaner. He was inspired by that and created such a network in India. He had previously studied the dry cleaning department of hotels like the Taj and Oberoi. In addition, he went to a dry cleaning shop in Dubai. He then sketched up the design for his chain of stores.

According to Gaurav, large corporations control the majority of the industries. However, one industry that continues to operate in the unorganised sector is dry cleaning. He decided to explore this industry for that reason. Before starting Tumbledry, he conducted extensive research.

There has been much study done on all of these topics, including where the chemicals for washing garments will come from, where the steaming press equipment will come from, and where the dry cleaning equipment will come from. The store's format was then decided upon.