Anand Suman: A Visionary Leader Placing Innovation & Customer At The Forefront Of Everything
Anand Suman
Founder
In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights Magazine, Anand reveals the distinctive facets of Cinnamon Homes and his professional journey.
Tell us about your educational background and the professional experiences that you bring to the table.
I graduated from IIT Bombay and went on to do a Post Graduate Program in Management at IIM Ahmedabad. On the professional front, I bring in 13years of experience in attaining corporate growth objectives in various organizations. I began my career at Bharat Petroleum, a public-sector company that is one of the Navratna companies of the Indian government, where I worked for two years. Following that, I've been into various sectors, starting with a Techno commercial company based out of Ahmedabad that manufactured automobile & air conditioner components and supplied them to companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra, Voltas, and more. We were the pioneer company in India to innovate a new heat exchanger made up of purely aluminum materials and were quite successful in pitching the product to the industry. At the business head
and was at the helm of not only the tech aspect of the project but also taking it to several available OEMs.
I then worked for a large corporation, Lloyd Air Conditioning Company, for a brief duration. I worked under Lloyd's MD, developing innovative products and launching them in India. Thereafter, I shifted my career path to eCommerce. I had moved to Delhi, and eCommerce was the flavor of the day, and one of my friends who worked for Amazon suggested me to try it out, which I fortunately did. From there on, my track has changed and for the last four and a half years, I have been the founding member and CEO of Fabrento. Fabrento is a bootstrapped company that began from the ground up and has since grown to become one of India's top firms in the home furnishing rental segment. My venture Cinnamon Homes, has been launched recently in August and it is the first experience center to be inaugurated in Noida.
Could you talk about the learnings and experiences that you have acquired from IIT Bombay?
IIT Bombay is one of the most prestigious and competitive institutes in India, with a remarkable culture of great leaders emerging from the institute, including the CEO of Twitter, the co-founder of Ola Cabs, and the co-founder of Infosys, to name a few. IIT Bombay gave us a flame of learning as well as experimenting. It provided us with a pool of opportunities to learn and excel in what we do, as well as surrounded us with amazing people, which leads to making a significant influence. At IIT Bombay, we had an entrepreneurship cell, wherein we used to have people from several industries participating and mentoring on different ideas. I used to take an active interest in the same and was always keen on doing something different and making an impact. Even during convocation, we had great personalities on campus who had a big influence on me as a person and
IIT Bombay helped me count myself as a person who can make a significant impact
I then worked for a large corporation, Lloyd Air Conditioning Company, for a brief duration. I worked under Lloyd's MD, developing innovative products and launching them in India. Thereafter, I shifted my career path to eCommerce. I had moved to Delhi, and eCommerce was the flavor of the day, and one of my friends who worked for Amazon suggested me to try it out, which I fortunately did. From there on, my track has changed and for the last four and a half years, I have been the founding member and CEO of Fabrento. Fabrento is a bootstrapped company that began from the ground up and has since grown to become one of India's top firms in the home furnishing rental segment. My venture Cinnamon Homes, has been launched recently in August and it is the first experience center to be inaugurated in Noida.
Could you talk about the learnings and experiences that you have acquired from IIT Bombay?
IIT Bombay is one of the most prestigious and competitive institutes in India, with a remarkable culture of great leaders emerging from the institute, including the CEO of Twitter, the co-founder of Ola Cabs, and the co-founder of Infosys, to name a few. IIT Bombay gave us a flame of learning as well as experimenting. It provided us with a pool of opportunities to learn and excel in what we do, as well as surrounded us with amazing people, which leads to making a significant influence. At IIT Bombay, we had an entrepreneurship cell, wherein we used to have people from several industries participating and mentoring on different ideas. I used to take an active interest in the same and was always keen on doing something different and making an impact. Even during convocation, we had great personalities on campus who had a big influence on me as a person and
a leader. It helped me count myself as a person who can make a significant impact.
How would you define Cinnamon Homes as an organization?
Cinnamon Homes is an Omni channel subtle premium furniture, art and decor brand primarily, targeting the aspirational class of India with a simple aim of making homes look gorgeous. We are coming up with a designled catalog that the customers will find unique from the market. We will also be giving them an option to set up their entire house. Rather than just buying one product, the clients will be having the option of designing their entire house by presenting them with fresh concepts and novel ideas via interior designers. The idea is to commence from Noida/NCR and take it to other cities across the nation via both online and offline channels.
What has been the success mantra that has guided you consistently toward successful outcomes? Based on your strong professional experience, what advice would you give to the upcoming leaders?
One of the key success mantras that has constantly helped me arrive at positive outcomes is by placing the customers at the forefront of everything. Working towards achieving customer satisfaction and making them happy is the key facet of any successful business. I'd like to encourage all aspiring industry executives to think differently. Analyze the market gap and how you would want to fill it through different innovations. And one should not be afraid of taking risks in their life. Take calculated risks and the results will follow, perhaps not on the first or second attempt, but it will lead to fruition even if it is in the long run.
Anand Suman, Founder, Cinnamon Homes
Anand is a Postgraduate from IIM Ahmedabad with 13 years of experience illustrating rich experience and year-on-year success in achieving business growth objectives; demonstrated excellence in identifying new opportunities, founding & leading new ventures, and maximizing competitive strength for long-term success.
•Hobbies:Playing tennis
•Favorite Cuisine:Indian, Chinese, Sweets
•Favorite Book:How to Make Friends and Influence People
•Favorite Travel Destination:Italy
How would you define Cinnamon Homes as an organization?
Cinnamon Homes is an Omni channel subtle premium furniture, art and decor brand primarily, targeting the aspirational class of India with a simple aim of making homes look gorgeous. We are coming up with a designled catalog that the customers will find unique from the market. We will also be giving them an option to set up their entire house. Rather than just buying one product, the clients will be having the option of designing their entire house by presenting them with fresh concepts and novel ideas via interior designers. The idea is to commence from Noida/NCR and take it to other cities across the nation via both online and offline channels.
What has been the success mantra that has guided you consistently toward successful outcomes? Based on your strong professional experience, what advice would you give to the upcoming leaders?
One of the key success mantras that has constantly helped me arrive at positive outcomes is by placing the customers at the forefront of everything. Working towards achieving customer satisfaction and making them happy is the key facet of any successful business. I'd like to encourage all aspiring industry executives to think differently. Analyze the market gap and how you would want to fill it through different innovations. And one should not be afraid of taking risks in their life. Take calculated risks and the results will follow, perhaps not on the first or second attempt, but it will lead to fruition even if it is in the long run.
Anand Suman, Founder, Cinnamon Homes
Anand is a Postgraduate from IIM Ahmedabad with 13 years of experience illustrating rich experience and year-on-year success in achieving business growth objectives; demonstrated excellence in identifying new opportunities, founding & leading new ventures, and maximizing competitive strength for long-term success.
•Hobbies:Playing tennis
•Favorite Cuisine:Indian, Chinese, Sweets
•Favorite Book:How to Make Friends and Influence People
•Favorite Travel Destination:Italy