Nitin Bajaj

Welcome to the industry show. I’m your host, Nitin Bajaj, and joining me today is Prerna Khemka. Prerna, welcome on the show.

Prerna Khemka

Thank you, Nitin.

Nitin Bajaj

Great to have you here. Tell us who is Prerna.

Prerna Khemka

So I’m a Maru girl from a business family in Calcutta. We don’t get that a lot in the US. And I would say if I could describe myself, I am somebody with a pure heart and a spunky personality. So that’s how I would describe myself.

Nitin Bajaj

It depends to both of those things.

Prerna Khemka

And, you know, professionally, my main strength is problem solving.

Nitin Bajaj

Mhmm.

Prerna Khemka

I have been told that I can solve big problems in a very precise and simple way. I like to simplify things. I don’t like complicated things. And I recently did my core values just to understand who I am a little bit better. And my core values are family, fun, honesty, courage, enthusiasm, and optimism.

Nitin Bajaj

Love it. You know, you said 2 very important things. 1, simple. Simple is not easy, and that ability to simplify things is amazing. It’s a it’s a it’s a superpower, so I’m glad you have that. And then the other one is to find out the core values, what one is made of, what what am I made of, and where do I need to drive that helps bring a lot of clarity not just to ourselves but to people around us. And, so thanks for doing that. That’s not many people get around to knowing themselves and telling others what what drives them and how they can help other people around them.

Prerna Khemka

You know, it also hap it also is very helpful because as we get older, it’s all about decision making and choices. What client do you want? Where do you want to go? Which friend do you want to hang out with? Where do you wanna eat? Every little thing is a decision, and it helps you filter what you want to spend your time, resources, and energy on.

Nitin Bajaj

Yep. Cutting the noise out is a big deal.

Prerna Khemka

Yes. Yes.

Nitin Bajaj

So tell us about what is MyHairSmart and, give us a sense for, you know, what’s the the mission, the vision behind that in order the core values of MyHairSmart. And, something I’m personally very curious about. Why do this?

Prerna Khemka

So HairSmart actually stemmed from my own story of hair loss. You know, life happens. And because of a lot of stress, I lost I was almost completely bald in the front, and, I was offered a lot of hair transplants and everything from doctors. But I have a background in holistic health and wellness. I’m a yoga and meditation practitioner and teacher, and I I believe wholeheartedly in living life in a very holistic way. So if practice what you preach. So I was like, wait a minute. If I am so much into health and wellness, it makes no sense for me to take drugs and get a surgery. So hair smart stemmed from there, from it’s a labor of love and also loss, hair loss. And, this market is actually really, really unorganized, and I saw that it’s very emotionally damaging to people who experience this. And it might sound like a frivolous beauty thing, but it’s not. People do dangerous things too, and they spend dangerous amounts of money. And this is a really big problem. It’s also a profitable problem. So I was like, okay. And I was getting early success. My protocol seems to work. So that’s how HairSmart started. And, we are in year 3, and, we are doing well. We are still a very small company, but we are out of the woods, so to speak.

Nitin Bajaj

That is amazing place to be in just just in 3 short years. Right? And, that’s only possible if one, you know, there’s a problem. As you said, it’s a profitable one to solve. And then if your product and your service works, which obviously it does, and, we have the results here to see.

Prerna Khemka

Yeah. And I forgot to actually tell you what we do. So Yeah. Let me just say that, we are an all natural solution to hair loss, and we are unique in the sense that we match every client up with the hair coach. So they follow-up with you at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 month mark. So we kind of combine the best of both worlds, like getting professional help from a doctor, which you feel really good about, and you feel like, okay. Somebody will take care of me or my weight loss. So we combine that aspect of professional help with home solutions, and we do it over virtual consultation. So literally, you don’t have to move. So, our secret sauce is actually quite innovative. We are self solving the problem of convenience, getting over the problem of embarrassment, and it’s all natural, super safe, and affordable.

Nitin Bajaj

I love that 5 second elevator pitch. Very

Prerna Khemka

Thank you. Yeah.

Nitin Bajaj Tell us about the you know, you talked about the why do this. Right? It it helps a lot of people gain their confidence back, and it was something that you personally struggled with. I’m curious to know the impact of this. I mean, in 3 short years, you have gotten into many different aspects and areas working with a lot of different treatment and solution providers. Give us a sense of the size and scale a little bit.

Prerna Khemka

So just to give you a sense of TAM, just the addressable market in the US alone is $70,000,000,000 just in the US. In fact, you know how weight gain is the number one like, obesity is the number one modern epidemic. We all know it. Lifestyles have changed. Nutrition has changed. Hair loss is the most searched Google term right now.

Nitin Bajaj

Wow.

Prerna Khemka

And that just will give a sense of awe. Like, Nitin, you are blessed. You are one of the few people who are so blessed, and I hope you never have to be my client. Like, so

Nitin Bajaj

Thank you.

Prerna Khemka

So but, because of changes in lifestyle and changes in stress previously, people in their forties fifties would lose hair, which is mostly normal, like aging and everything. But what’s happening now is kids are losing their hair, like people in their twenties, and it’s very, very devastating. Hair loss is linked to suicidal rates going up and self confidence going down, and you and I don’t think like that. We are older, and we have kind of, like, you know, lived our life. We are married. But imagine a 22 year old kid looking like a 40 year old because he doesn’t have hair, and he cannot get dates, and he’s tanking in his social life. So that’s the impact we are talking about. So literally, everybody who is 18 and older is a client. And statistically, 80% of all men and women over 18 are losing hair right now. So that’s just like it takes a moment to sink in. Like, everywhere I go, every building, every family, every social setting, everybody’s a client.

Nitin Bajaj

So huge market?

Prerna Khemka

Yeah. It’s a really, really big market and it’s growing because stress is here to stay. Yes. People are so isolated or connected socially and, you know, not really emotionally nurtured. And, in terms of our, revenue and how we are growing, so hopefully, we’ll cross the $1,000,000 mark in sales. And we Prerna bootstrapped company, so I think it’s a big success.

Nitin Bajaj

It is a huge success, especially in these times when everyone wants to raise capital before they have the revenues or the numbers to show for it. Congratulations.

Prerna Khemka

Thank you.

Nitin Bajaj

Now in a huge market, huge potential, amazing revenues, What’s the one big challenge you’re facing?

Prerna Khemka

So, as I said, the market is $70,000,000,000 and nobody knows us. And the challenge in my industry is, it’s not instant gratification. Hair loss is not like popping a really nice piece of chocolate or getting a really nice facial. So if if you don’t have money to build your brand, you better have a instant viral kind of product that somebody can use instantly and look cool or look better or feel better. Like, you know, either brings you pleasure or takes away pain. You have to have that instant thing. So the challenge we are facing is we are, a, bootstrapped, so we don’t have a marketing budget.

Nitin Bajaj

Mhmm.

Prerna Khemka

And, b, our product takes 3 to 4 months because hair is impossible to grow instantaneously. So the challenge is to, get the word out because it takes 4 months for somebody to get happy. So the organic growth rate is slow. We are not like a viral viral, worthy product.

Nitin Bajaj

Makes sense. Very well thought out challenge. On the flip side of challenges come opportunities. Now other than, you know, this ever growing market that you have, is there one opportunity that you’re really excited about?

Prerna Khemka

Yes. This, this angle that we have taken where we are not only drug free and natural and home based solution, but the angle we are taking is we are giving you a hair coach. Is it sounds like a more labor intensive proposition, but it also creates a lot of opportunity for us. Our customer acquisition costs are really low because our consults are free. So we don’t sell ecommerce products. We sell ecommerce as a free solution, a consultation. So everybody gets a consultation, and then we have a really good team of hair coaches that consult them and do a customized treatment. So, our market strategy is very innovative, and that’s creating a lot of opportunity for us. And also, for whatever reason, people are really interested in female funded color, immigrant, like, ethnic diverse entrepreneurs. So whether I get the results or not, at least these things are opening some doors for me.

Nitin Bajaj

Absolutely. And I love that model also because when these leads do come in, they’re very well qualified. You know who’s going to act on it right away, who might sit on it a bit, and then you reach out to them after the fact. And, of course, the diversity and and having you at the helm of all of this makes a big difference.

Prerna Khemka

Thank you.

Nitin Bajaj

Now looking back at, your own journey, I’d love for you to share with us 2 moments. 1, that blew your own expectations and became a success beyond your imagination, and another experience where things did not work out as you had expected. It became a failure and a lesson.

Prerna Khemka

Well, obviously, the list of failures is much much longer. You know? I would be lying if I said it’s success journey of an entrepreneur is not like this, Nitin. It’s this, it’s this, this, this, this, this. It’s a series of lows and maybe one spark of a high.

Nitin Bajaj

Yes.

Prerna Khemka

I have a list of failures. But, a big failure that ended up being a very big lesson is, I have had a tendency to feel very intimidated, like, either people are very senior or they are older than me or more successful.

Nitin Bajaj

I don’t believe that, but sure. Go ahead.

Prerna Khemka

So I would bend over backwards. Like, I’ve had I’ve had to manage teams that are sales reps that are 70 years old, and they would make comments like, we’ve been around the sun longer. We’ve been in sales longer than you’ve been born. So, and I’ve had a hard time giving feedback to people who work for me or to clients who, like, are just in a win loss kind of a relationship, and I’ve bent over backwards. And I’ve done this for a long, long time. Even in my personal relationships, I’ve always been the one who is dumped. Like, I have never had the courage to, like, stand up or, like, say it’s not working for me. And, recently, I lost a really big client. And I cried for months months the whole relationship of the relationship, like, the whole course of the relationship for a year and a half, 2 years. And every time, I would be miserable talking to the client, giving them what they want, but I still kept doing it. And then one fine day, finally, I was like, okay. I’m going to stand up and have a backbone. And even if it means I have to lose the client, so be it. Like, I lose he was 15% of my whole company’s revenue, if not more. And it took 2 years of some like, an abusive relationship for me to stand up, and the lesson that I learned is invaluable. Now I’m, I’m still, like, nice. I still wanna please people, but that, like, dignity and respect and what do you really stand for, and it’s okay if everybody doesn’t like you. It’s okay if you don’t work with everybody that was a lead, and it’s okay if you lose a client because your peace of mind and your core values and this is just not worth it. And that’s been a and it just happened this year. So I’ve literally just grown up this year.

Nitin Bajaj

We’re not late. We’re not early. It’s we grow up when it’s our time.

Prerna Khemka

But but Yeah. It was just very emotional thinking about it because, the number one thing that all my closest friends and family tell me is, you know, you can tell them, like, something like, you can they work for you. You know, you’re paying them. I’m like, yeah. But how do I tell them? And I’ve always wanted to be too agreeable and amenable versus, but it’s it’s changing, and I feel so much more peaceful and, so much more centered and grounded. And I feel like I have more self respect for me now.

Nitin Bajaj

Yeah. And, you know, in the time we’ve known each other, I’ve come to know you as someone who’s really strong, who’s very personable, very nice, but I and that’s why I said, you know, it’s hard to believe that someone can intimidate you because you seem very clear about what you want, what your goals are, where your priorities are. So that said, you know, thanks for being so transparent and vulnerable in sharing your experiences because these are not easy moments to live through and to think about them again. So I’d really appreciate you being open about them.

Prerna Khemka

And, you know, I think I’m sure most people who kind of I’m not trying to, like, toot my horn, but sometimes when you get early success in your professional life and you start managing team of people who are much older than you, at some level, I think most of us can relate. It becomes awkward. Like, there are egos involved and then, you know, we are also adult immigrants, and there can be all these other Nitin windows. So it can become awkward, and it takes a lot of, like, self assurance to be like, you know, at the end of the day, I am your manager.

Nitin Bajaj

Yes. Yes. The impostor syndrome kicks in. So tell us about your success.

Prerna Khemka

Oh, I forgot. Okay. I forgot I had to tell you, but thank you. So, last year was year 2 of my company. And, obviously, it’s bootstrapped, and you’re just investing every penny. So it’s not like there’s a lot of money left for marketing this and that. So we maxed out all our credit cards, and I took my top clients to Vegas, all ten members of his locations. And we had a great time, spend money that we didn’t have. So it was a act of courage. And but those are the kind of things, like, you know, that’s what entrepreneurship is all about. It’s a mindset, and it’s a mindset of resilience and optimism with measured risk taking. So and that has paid off richly. We created a very good relationship, and their revenue to the company has doubled since then.

Nitin Bajaj

Oh.

Prerna Khemka

So, I I thought that was pretty neat.

Nitin Bajaj

You’re a really good investor. Amazing operator for sure, but really good investor.

Prerna Khemka

And on my and a small success family is very, very important to me, if not the most important thing to me. So and I’m the middle child, and I’m kind of like the glue in my family. Even if I’m very busy at work, I will always talk to everybody figuring out what’s going on and how to I’m the Pammy auntie of my family. So, so one really successful achievement is after you know, we are adults. We don’t take vacations together. So I made this vacation happen for all twelve members of my immediate family, everybody’s spouses and children for the first time in 15 years. I’m very proud of that.

Nitin Bajaj

You should be. I mean, that’s not an easy thing to pull off with such a big family. That’s awesome. Prerna, this makes me wanna move to what I call my favorite part of the show, the one line life lessons. Would love to hear your life lessons, what choices you’ve made, what decisions, you’ve come across. Some of those you kinda sprinkled across in the last few minutes that have led you to either adopt or create these one line life lessons that you wanna share with us.

Prerna Khemka

Yeah. Thank you.

Actually, it was a really good exercise I did in preparation for this. So my 5 life lessons are you live your life how you live your days, and, the other one is be the best version of yourself. The third one is if you don’t stand up for something, you’ll fall for everything. And, this is my current favorite. If you focus on lack, lack grows. If you focus on abundance, abundance grows. And the 5th one, which is literally my own embodiment because my core personality is a lover. I am a big lover. I love everything, everyone, all seasons, all colors, all foods. My my most favorite is love is the bridge between you and everything, and this is by Romy.

Nitin Bajaj

Love it. And especially the one about lack and abundance, we talked about it a few days ago, and I’ve truly come to believe that, you know, as immigrants, especially coming from a country that didn’t have enough when we were growing up, we were raised with that scarcity mindset. Right? We didn’t have enough, and we always thought, oh, I can’t give because I only have that much. And that was so not true. And I’ve truly made that transition both physically from a from a geography perspective, but also mentally and more importantly, psychologically, that there is enough for everyone. And the more we give, the more we share, the more we get in return. And thanks for being that beacon, and a reminder for that. Whenever I think of you, I think of. So that’s that’s an imprint you have left on me, and and I know that would be true for several other people you interact with.

Prerna Khemka

Thank you, Nitin. And I must say that I didn’t have to work too hard on changing that mindset because I’m so, so thankful. My parents have a amazing mentality of abundance, and I grew up with a lot of abundance mindset. My parents were big into giving charity, share whatever you have, so I didn’t have to work so hard. So I I thank them for this.

Nitin Bajaj

That is amazing. They’ve done really well, and so have you. Prerna, thank you for taking time to share your journey, your story, and your life lessons with us. We really appreciate it. Kudos for all your success, and wish you really well for many more successes to come, both personally and professionally.

Prerna Khemka

Thank you, Nitin.