Cub among Lions

The great American author Mark Twain once said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” And among the many young achievers who appear to live by Twain’s words, Keshav Bansal is the latest entrant. Meet the 24-year-old, who is the director of mobile handset maker Intex Technologies and the youngest owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) new entrant this season, Gujarat Lions.

While an average boy his age would still be searching for a day job or chasing another degree, Keshav took all of 20 minutes to buy the Gujarat outfit. One could of course say he was born with a silver spoon. Nonetheless, the young lad is yet to come to terms with the feat. “Honestly, buying an IPL team was never part of the plan. It was a surprise even to me,” says the young entrepreneur, who was recently honoured with the ‘Leadership Award for Business Excellence’ by Amity University.

Keshav, however, had to toil hard in the start. His company Intex Technologies was founded by his father Narendra Bansal in 1996. The graduate from Manchester Business School, joined the family business in 2007. “I started with the most basic job in the logistics department. I used to lift boxes from trucks and unload them in Delhi’s heat. I would never go to the corporate office. My work centred on the warehouse and I would have lunch with the other employees and labourers and spend time with them,” recalls Keshav, sitting in a plush five-star hotel room on the 30th floor overlooking the Arabian Sea. After working in the warehouse for eight months, he was then inducted into the marketing vertical. “Then I would visit retailers and become the shop owner for that day, interacting with consumers, trying to understand their needs,” he says.

He realised what his company was missing was a brand perception. Keshav then made a distress call to actor Farhan Akhtar and soon the actor was roped in as brand ambassador. Keshav was 20 when he struck this deal. Not one to sit on his laurels, he wanted something more for his brand. Last year, he got in talks with the BCCI for a long-term on-ground association deal. That’s when he learnt that two new teams would be launched for the next IPL series. “Sponsorships can go on, but we needed to take the brand image to the next level and do something different.” That’s how Gujarat Lions happened and now he hopes with the help of this team, he’s able to multiply his brand reach. Gujarat Lions, who played their inaugural match against Kings XI Punjab, has already accomplished a hat-trick of wins.

He is well aware that he has joined the ranks of fellow team owners such as Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Vijay Mallya, among others. “But it’s not about being in that same league, it’s about your personal goals, thoughts and visions. You’ve come to a certain level but I don’t like to compare myself. So there is no question about pressure,” Keshav says. Now that he owns the team, the franchise will have a run of two years at least. “While we were bidding, we knew that from day one. Your mindset, calculations are in accordance with that,” he says adding that they may be open to owning a team in the Indian Super League or the Pro Kabaddi League too.

Being a young achiever can have its disadvantages. “When I came into the IPL, people were really sceptical. They wanted to understand what is this guy up to? There were a lot of operational challenges. They found it hard to digest that it was all my brainwave. They don’t understand how can I do this at 24, when the other team owners are around 35-40 years of age,” Keshav says.  

While he is roaring on the field, at home though things haven’t changed. “It’s just the same at home. Three hours ago, my mother was telling me not to work too much. The last three months, I have managed to get barely a couple of hours of sleep. We live in a joint family and there’s a lot of attachment with the uncles, aunts and cousins. I’m the eldest in my generation and my cousins look up to me,” Keshav says.

The young entrepreneur got a taste of what it is like to be a celebrity after his team beat Rising Pune Supergiants at Rajkot. “I found myself surrounded by 200 people wanting to get a sneak peek of me or click a picture. A bunch of security guys and policemen had to be called in to control the crowds. People were actually almost ripping apart my clothes,” he exclaims with a laugh, adding, “I’ll take time to absorb this.”

He’s creating a stir with his style statement too — Keshav flaunts a cool stubble along with a diamond stud and his fans, especially the girls, are not complaining at all. “

“I get a lot of messages, yes,” he admits with a smile. “I got a tweet recently. This girl wanted me to wish her and told me if I didn’t she wouldn’t have food for the next three days,” he adds with a laugh.

He has a few words of advice for youngsters who want to make it big. “Do what you love, don’t start loving what you are forced into. Attention, focus and determination are the pillars to drive you forward,” he says. “India has a bright future and it’s up to us youngsters to take it forward. We have the energy that’s needed. It’s just about transforming that challenge into an opportunity. If you just face it, there is a solution to everything,” he adds.