Little did he know that the sabbatical would result in him launching his own company when Jaideep Mahajan decided to take a break from advertisement and leave his job last year. For a project, his wife and son had moved to Toronto, Canada, and he was set to join them. However, he was stopped from leaving the country by India’s COVID-induced lockdown in March.
For the past two decades, Mahajan has worked in advertising and his last stint was at Rediffusion as a national creative head. He has worked, to name a few, at companies such as Leo Burnett, McCann Worldgroup, Lintas, JWT, Contract Ads.
He looks back on his career and says it gave him a chance like no other. Although he was stuck alone (in India) at one point with limited resources, even ‘living out of a suitcase,’ he thought it was the right time to start his Svish venture, an anti-bacterial and sanitizing space business.
Mahajan explains that Ishan Grover, his friend, and (Swish) founder, was one of the early businessmen in India to dabble in craft beer brewing. Because of the (COVID) pandemic and the resulting lockdown, Grover’s company has also taken a hit. The two regarded it as an ideal time to get the company moving. This is how they founded Swish.
Mahajan took on the position of co-founder and Svish’s chief marketing officer. He remembers that he and Grover spent 5-6 months initially studying the types of goods to be introduced on the market.
They said it was the best time to get into the sanitizer market, but we didn’t just want to do that. Most people saw a chance to make money and took it. In the long run, we wanted to make an impact,’ Mahajan says.
Mahajan explains that one of the early businessmen in India to dabble in craft beer brewing was Ishan Grover, his friend, and (Svish) founder. Grover’s business has also taken a hit because of the (COVID) pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. It was seen by the two as a perfect time to get the business going. This is how Swish was created by them.
Mahajan assumed the role of co-founder and chief marketing officer for Swish. He recalls that he and Grover initially spent 5-6 months researching the types of products to be released on the market.
They said it was the right time to get into the market for sanitizers, but we didn’t just want to. The majority of people have seen an opportunity to make money and have taken it. We tried to make an impact in the long run,’ says Mahajan.
He added that most of the items on the market for sanitizing and disinfecting have their own share of pitfalls. Sometimes the substance made the skin oily, sometimes it made the skin feel dry, sometimes it smelled clinical, and other times it was too unattractive for the packaging and design. Mahajan wanted problems like these to be answered.
So far, surface disinfectant sprays, alcohol-free anti-bacterial gadget wipes, and hand sanitizer sprays are part of Svish’s product lineup.
Mahajan states that not only does he want to target ‘security’ for home users. Those who travel outdoors after India has ‘unlocked’ are Svish’s TG. “Think of company executives taking cars, workers attending meetings. In the 18-30-year old category, we want to target an audience.
He says that his advertising experience has helped him understand how to conceptualize and market his products while creating a product from scratch has been challenging.
