Venture Born in a College Campus with Zero Investment is Now Rs 90 Crore Business

 

Parthia Manikandan was born into a business family that owns the Sang am group of hotels in southern India. But he had the fire in his stomach to do something for him and leave a mark, before joining the family business.

"Karthik Manikandan started his business in college and has now built it into a Rs 90 crore turnover company He wished to study hotel management, but his family wanted him to study engineering"

While pursuing his B Tech, he started organizing college trips, which turned into a business that earned him a net profit of Rs 25 lakh when he graduated. Now 32, he has set up a Rs 90 crore company, GT Holiday Private Limited, which focuses on MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) for corporate clients. Its customers include well known brands such as Venus Heaters, Cognizant, Nero lac Paints, Panasonic, Philips Lighting, Cadbury India, Compton Greaves and many more.

“Dad won, and I ended up at PSG Tech College, Coimbatore,” says Karthik. “I had no interest in programming and technology, so I was very active in co-curricular activities like dramatics and I also headed the entrepreneurship cell in the college.”

Sixty people work from their offices in Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Herod and Madurai. Using his earnings, Karthik even bought property on Rameswaram Island and built the Rameswaram Grand Hotel, entering into a business his family is known for.

“Due to my knowledge about hotels and because of my family background, I would actively take the responsibility of arranging travel and stay of guest speakers who would visit the college.”

Then he founded the Sangam hotel group in 1968 in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. Later, his father Mani took over the business. Karthik, born in Kanyakumari, a small tourist destination with few amenities, completed class 12 in nearby Nagercoil.

“That year I ended up arranging 50 trips for 13 departments (with four batches each),” he says. “My friends would help me to take care of the entire trip and we would arrange everything from vehicle, food, and stay, to any other requirement. I earned a minimum profit from every trip.”

After class 12, he wanted to continue the management of the hotel in Switzerland until the end, he will help manage family activity. His presence was always perfect because he would never lose a lesson. In some nights, up to eight buses would be left and make sure everything went well was hard work, he adds." Ours is a service-oriented company, from where it is safe from points of view, it's escaped. It's when I looked for 10 years of my father to get me doing my thing,

“So I attended classes till 4 pm, and then left for my office, for which I paid a monthly rent of Rs. 3,000. Most of the buses would leave at night,”

Karthik a travel enthusiast, got married to his classmate, Yamini and now the couple has a daughter. The daughter loves to travel and Karthik ensures that there is travel on the cards every now and then.

“I had built a rapport with clients and it would be gone in the two years I would go for abroad for studies,”

His most recent holiday was in Dubai, and when it comes to his favourite holiday destination, Switzerland wins hands down.

“There was chaos, but I stepped in to ensure that all the people returned home safely,”

His parting shot: He can provide Tamil feast for a wedding in the Alps if there’s a demand, and it is also part of his diversification plans to explore destination weddings.

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