A Bengaluru-based company named Sowparnika Projects is run by Ramji Subramaniam, who used to work in sourcing and operations at General Electric for 14 years. Sowparnika is a real estate firm that claims 35 completed projects, 30 ongoing projects, and over 6000 customers, over the three states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerela. This year, the company is aiming for a revenue of Rs. 220 Cr. It’s unimaginable how he started and what he has achieved today!
The Time Lapse –
2003
Sowparnika was not yet a corporate company. The journey starts, when a friend of Ramji was struggling to build his own house. Ramji, having a Six Sigma qualification from GE, helped him in sourcing and contracting for the house in exchange for a small sum. He gained the confidence to try his hands at construction.
He then made a partnership firm to construct homes in Bengaluru, with his wife and brother.
Till 2008 the firm focused on building homes and 10-12 unit apartments and earned revenues worth Rs. 40 Cr. which made Ramji quit his corporate job and work full time at Sowparnika.
2008
Industries were cutting costs, globally, due to the American housing-led recession. But it did not hit India until 2011. The real estate had an increase by 15%, according to the RBI.
Ramji focused on the value system and went to bigger institutions for debts, like Edelweiss and IIFL, which made Sowparnika grow faster.
The real estate had been going through prolonged glut, where more than 16000 projects were delayed in North India, due to various reforms. Ramji focused on the younger generation of homeowners, which made them grow even in that stage.
2012
When the slow down began to hit, Ramji decided to tap a completely new market. He figured out that many millennials needed one-room, 600 sq. Feet studio apartments, at cheaper rates. He sold 150 units each of five projects by 2016. This made the company’s revenue grow from 200 crores in FY2017 to 210 crores in FY2018.
He even started low EMI products for the millennial customers. He aims at gaining a revenue of 220 crores in the coming year and expects to reach Rs. 300 crore by the end of 2019-20.
The Future
As the real estate sector in India is expected to develop a market size on $1 trillion by 2030, Sowparnika plans to add at least five projects per year and may also make an Initial Public Offering in the future.
Ramji strongly believes that his Six Sigma approach has helped him forge his way from GE to Sowparnika and grow.
