UL's next generation of entrepreneurs: 1.0

UL is proud to have talent who regularly demonstrate zealous entrepreneurial skills. So, in the month of December 2016, we decided to introduce UL Next 1.0, a platform aimed at creating the next breed of young, talented entrepreneurs. In the first phase of UL Next, ideas for business development and revenue generation were worked on and implemented by 5 teams. The efforts that spanned over a period of 3 months lead to the final segment of UL Next, that took place on March 3, 2017. The CEOs of the 5 teams presented their work before the judges, Gautam Mago, Managing Director of Sequoia Capital and Rajiv Mehta, Retail Operations Consultant, in the presence of the UL folk.

The 5 teams that participated used different mediums for implementation of their ideas, ranging from launching the home artist application, leveraging our experience centre, innovating on various owned formats of distribution through collaborations with partners and launch of unique and interesting retail formats.  

The Shop-in-Shop team comprising of Meha Shetty, Ajay Y J, Ishavasyam Dash, Sushant Ajnikar lead by CEO Juhi Pahwa, stole the show and emerged as the undisputed winner. Their project involved setting up a mini display of selected UL products in an already established furniture store. The team completely transformed a space of 250 sq ft integrating signages in front of the store, display of select merchandise, a digital screen with the complete UL catalouge were key influencers offering customers a unique brand experience. Executed at the Balini store, Koramangala, the store-in-store was launched on Feb 10th and has already started generating revenue. The team won a cash prize of ₹ 3 lakh. And Kindles were awarded to all the participants, across teams. Here are pictures of the winners and the store! 

Hearty congratulations to all the winners and hoping this inspires many more bright ideas in the days and years to come!