Supam Maheshwari serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the baby care firm, FirstCry based in Pune, Maharashtra, India. He is a first-generation entrepreneur who has a sharp business mindset. He is a brilliant executioner and is well known for his leadership skills. He first established a company called Brainvisa Technologies, with its co-founder Amitava Saha. However, the venture was sold and thereafter, he launched FirstCry through BrainBees. FirstCry is bestowed with the Most Popular Online Site award in Child Awards held in Delhi in 2013. He is also the co-founder of Xpressbees Logistics Service provider.
Read the full article to know more about Supam Maheshwari's life and his various ventures.
Supam Maheshwari - Biography
| Name | Supam Maheshwari |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Delhi College of Engineering; IIT Ahmedabad |
| Profession | Entrepreneur |
| CEO | Firstcry |
| Co-founder | Firstcry, Xpressbess |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Daughter | 1 |
Supam Maheshwari - Personal Life
Supam Maheshwari - Education
Supam Maheshwari - Professional Life
Supam Maheshwari - Brainvisa Technologies
Supam Maheshwari - BrainBees Solutions
Supam Maheshwari - Firstcry
Supam Maheshwari - Xpressbees
Supam Maheshwari - Personal Life
Supam is an avid reader and loves to play squash. He currently resides in Pune with his wife and a daughter. The idea of establishing a baby care brand evolved while finding the right products for his child. He found that Indian markets are lagging behind in this sector both in terms of quality and variety. This eventually led him to start his own baby care company, FirstCry.
Supam Maheshwari - Education
Supam started studying at Apeejay School. He did his Bachelors in Engineering specialising in Mechanical (1991-1995) from Delhi College of Engineering. He later did a management course PGDM (1995-1997) from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
Supam Maheshwari - Professional Life
Unlike most entrepreneurs seeking employment first, Supam is someone who jumped directly into the entrepreneurship journey. After completing his MBA, he planned and worked on a project, Brainvisa Technologies, which he soon launched in 2000 and served as the Co-founder and CEO until 2009.
He then co-founded another venture called FirstCry in August 2010. Since then, he is serving as the CEO and Co-founder of the company. Supam is known to be a tough taskmaster who knows how to escalate and excel in his venture in the corporate world.
Supam Maheshwari - Brainvisa Technologies
Supam Maheshwari launched an eLearning startup, Brainvisa Technologies in March 2000, with his colleague Amitava Saha. The company raised funding of INR 3 Crore from Infinity Ventures.
The business initially started as a customer-facing online test play. But, it was eventually graded as a B2B or business-to-business model. It eventually turned out to be one of the largest eLearning companies in India. The primary goal of a startup is to gain customer trust which was well achieved by Brainvisa. Supam ran the company for seven years. He was designated as the CEO of Brainvisa till 2007.
The company was acquired by the US-based group, Indecomm Global in 2007 for USD 25 Million. After the acquisition, he continued his coalition with the company activities till 2009. Soon after he did put all his effort into establishing a new venture, BrainBees Solutions.
Supam Maheshwari - BrainBees Solutions
The idea of launching a baby care firm in India came to his mind as he wanted to eliminate the deficiency of baby care products in India by manufacturing varied baby care products without compromising the quality through his venture.
Supam and Amitava Saha arranged a seed funding of INR 2.5 Crore from their personal savings to launch the company. The company, FirstCry, was launched in 2010.
BrainBees also launched another portal called Good Life in 2011, which is an online store for personal care products. It was basically a strategy to gain customer retention. Good Life portal offers personal care products from top brands.
Megha Rani
Supam Maheshwari - Firstcry
Supam applied his supreme talent and experience to form a baby and kids products business, Firstcry in 2010, with Amitava Saha. The company has its presence both in online and offline mediums. Firstcry has its physical presence in cities like Dehradun, Bhilai, Haridwar, Bharuch, Kanpur, etc. There is also a FirstCry mobile application and website for people to buy products online.
Supam Maheshwari is currently the CEO of Firstcry. Under his leadership, Firstcry acquired a pre-school chain, Oi Playschool. This acquisition marked its first strike into the educational space. The company has also acquired Baby Oye for INR 362 Crore. Also, the company launched its own private label called Baby Hug, which is an apparel brand and Cute Walk, which is a footwear brand. This addition counted for 20% of their revenues.
Firstcry has tied up with 600o hospitals across the country and they gift the Firstcry box to the new moms as a congratulating token. It has now become one of the largest online shopping portals for kids and expecting moms across Asian countries. Firstcry net worth is estimated to be around USD 300 to 350Million as of 2016. It has raised over USD 125 million in funding from investors listed below.
FirstCry Investors
- Ratan Tata
- New Enterprise Associates
- Valiant Capital
- SAIF Partners
- IDG Ventures India
- Vertex Venture Holdings
- Temasek Holdings
Supam Maheshwari - Xpressbees
Supam Maheshwari is the first online retailer to initiate online stores in 2012, a trend which has become a basic need for every retailer today. Eventually, he established his logistics business to fulfil its own orders, Xpressbees. The company is now run by Amitava Saha and it also started taking third-party orders in 2015.
Xpressbees raised INR 85 Crore after encircling it from FirstCry funding. Xpressbees, has reached a valuation of $1.2 billion in a new funding round in February 2022. It has become a Unicorn Startup.
Supam Maheshwari is a genius and successful businessman who knows where the money is. He is a person to follow and take learnings from if you're an aspiring entrepreneur. He has shown what consistency and determination can give us. There are so many people who admire Supam Maheshwari for his work.
Hats off to Supam Maheshwari. Long Live Supam. Keep inspiring.
FAQs
What is Supam Maheshwari's net worth?
Supam Maheshwari's Net worth is USD 350M as of 2016.
What is Firstcry?
Firstcry is Asia's largest online store for baby and kids products.
Who is the owner of Firstcry?
BrainBees Solutions Pvt Ltd. owns Firstcry.
Who is the founder of Firstcry?
Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha are the co-founders of Firstcry.
Which companies are founded by Supam Maheshwari?
Supam Maheshwari has founded Firstcry, Xpressbees, and BrainBees Solutions.
What is the Educational background of Supam Maheshwari?
Supam Maheshwari has completed a PGDM from IIM and also holds BE in Mechanical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering.
Who is the owner of Babyhug?
Babyhug is an in-house brand of FirstCry. BrainBees Solutions Pvt Ltd. owns Babyhug brand.
