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By Mubin Panjwani
Haresh Kukreja fancied the stock market a great deal. This Mumbai boy knew that a career in this field was his calling. After a few hurdles, Haresh, along with a partner, set up Investhub Financial Services, a franchisee for a popular broking house. After the initial struggles, they now run a successful firm.
wealth explores their journey.
Stepping stones
Starting an independent broking firm was not something Haresh could afford. "We needed a huge capital investment to become a member of the stock exchange (the National Stock Exchange in this case) - around Rs 2.5 - 3 crore. Then there was the office space and working capital for our daily business transactions," Haresh says.
Even if we were to pool in that money, we would need to invest regularly to create a brand name. Further, we would also need a cushion to take care of any initial losses.
A unique idea: Franchising
Haresh and his partner then came across a few advertisements in the papers offering a franchising opportunity in broking.
They got in touch with the brokers and initiated talks with them.
Finally, they zeroed in on Ventura Securities Ltd. Haresh made arrangements for renting out a space close to his house and in January 2008, Investhub Financial Services (IFS) was born with an initial investment of Rs 5 lakh.
This included registration fees paid to Ventura Securities, office renovation costs, and other miscellaneous expenses including computers, Internet connections and furniture and fittings. Since Investhub would become a sub-broker of Ventura, there was no need to pay up the Rs 2.5 crore as membership fee to the stock exchange.
Ventura provided them with the sub-broker's license and also the promotional material and technical know-how to carry out the business.
Read: What impresses a venture capitalist
Photograph: Chris Hondros/Getty Images
