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MAKING
MAKING
MAKING
MAKING
MAKING
MAKING

IT

ON THEIR OWN

Bailing out of the family business and branching out into start-ups
of their own are three young entrepreneurs Harprem Doowa,

Sahil Rattanaphas and Sudhant Chand.

BY CARON LAU

Are they mad, super visionary or just plain pig-headed? Masala investigates why these three individuals are
leaving all the comforts of daddy’s business in preference for a life of stress, lack of sleep and the risk of failure.
How do they get on in a world so diff erent to that in which their fathers fi rst set up shop, where
opportunities are lacking, the pace is faster than ever, and start-ups are failing daily? Read on for an inside look
at three individuals whose experiences are as diff erent as their choices in business. These are three young men
who have dared to make it on their own with little or no regrets.

HARPREM DOOWA

Financially independent since college, Harprem Doowa
launched his start-up to prove himself and tells us the best
ideas aren’t original, but rather the best executed.

How well do you get on with dad?
Perfectly fi ne and honestly even if I didn’t, there’s no way I’d be pouring my heart
out in an Indian society targeted magazine. Imagine what the gossips would say!
I have no issues working with dad. When working in a family business however,
you’re not just working with your father, you’re working with the whole family.
They’ve been there for the last 50 years, so naturally they expect you to prove
yourself, and this is where things get tricky. This is one of the reasons I ventured
out. I wanted to prove that I’m capable of taking over the family business.
What’s the family business?
Fabric trading. That business remains, but over the years, we’ve also ventured out
in to manufacturing, property and restaurants.

Tell us about yourself?
I’m the fi rst son of the fi rst son, so people expect a lot of me. When I was young
I enjoyed the attention, but as I got older I realised the attention comes with
responsibility, so I had to get my act together. I graduated from Monash University
with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and fi nance, and worked while I was studying
for two and a half years to pay for all my living expenses. This was my fi rst real job
and since then I’ve been hooked on fi nancial independence. I came back to Thailand
and became an equities and derivatives broker for about two years, before doing my
MBA at Sasin. It was during my fi nal term when I started venturing in to the start-up
world. Within a few months, I found myself at the head of an e-commerce company
funded by Ardent Capital. After three years of founding and running Moxy/Orami,

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