A serial entrepreneur finds his true calling, finally

Mice or meetings, incentives, conferences & events is a multi-billion dollar industry globally, but until a few years ago, India lacked specialists in this field. But as globalisation brought several modern business practices into the country, companies were increasingly looking for unique ideas to incentivise their employees. It is here that Sushil Wadhwa saw an opportunity in 2002.
Travel is the biggest form of incentive globally, he says. And travelling was his perk too. “My passion for travel and events was a big motivation for me to decide on starting Platinum.” MICE segment is currently a $270-billion industry globally and it is growing at 30% yearly.
But, Platinum is not his first entrepreneurial venture. He started honing his entrepreneurial skills by running his family business of restaurants and being a hotel management graduate was of help. But, the family business was not a very exciting venture for him, and so he decided to start something on his own, albeit on a smaller scale. The growth options for hotel chains were not much back then, he says.
In his early 20s, he ventured into processed food business. In Belgaum, he created his own branding and marketing company, a one-man show, of a food processing unit. Due to lack of experience, he had to close shop after a year. He lost his total investment. “But I was determined to carry on,” he says. It was the time of power crisis in the 1990s and he ventured into marketing generators. In two years he earned good money, but after that the business didn’t pick up. Then came his next venture, selling textiles to exporters. It lasted till the stock did. He believes that his diverse experience with various entrepreneurial ventures in the past, strengthened his business acumen.
Then, he joined a friend’s company, which dealt with event and party management for corporates. “It was a great experience and exposed me to the MICE segment,” he says. “It was while working in that company I realised how big this segment is, and I was determined to start my own company dedicated to this segment,” he adds.
Platinum was started in 2002, with an investment of Rs 5 lakh in a garage in Santa Cruz, Mumbai. Now the turnover is around Rs 20 crore with 50 employees and two offices and five in the pipeline. Platinum offers service solutions from design to execution, across events, conferences and incentive programmes.
Companies are no longer content with mundane itineraries, which include the usual sightseeing and gala dinner. “Companies are increasingly looking at experiences that have a perception of ‘money can’t buy’, so that the target audience remains motivated and charged up to achieve their targets,” explains Mr Wadhwa.