Business, he believes, is not about deep pockets, but about the strength of ideas. The best approach to the future is to invent it. With this one-line guideline, C. K. Ranganathan has scripted CavinKare's incredible success story. It is a classic example of David taking on Goliath. A small company having its base in Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, is now taking on the multinationals in the world of FMCG sector. The Levers of the world now have competition breathing down their necks, from a desi company, CavinKare.

Pioneers in the field of sachet revolution, and mass marketing in rural areas, CavinKare has grown from a Rs.15,000 venture into a company making a turnover of Rs.500 crore. As a school boy, Ranganathan, one of a family of six from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, was not very good at studies. His father was a teacher, and an entrepreneur who recognized the value of a sachet and distributing products in that module. He was in the business of repacking of pharma products and he tried his hand in putting honey and epsom salts in sachets. When Ranganathan's father died, the family did not have the money to close the business as the bank demanded Rs.2 lakh if they closed shop. And that motivated them to somehow run the business.

Ranganathan worked for about six to seven months under his elder brother who set up the brand, Velvette. He then left his elder brother with Rs.15,000 in his pocket and started CavinKare. Ranganathan's has led by example. He terms leadership as a mix of authoritative, associative and coaching in the proportion of 40 per cent, 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. He says that there are three phrases that could well describe this leadership style - 'come with me', 'people come first', and finally, 'try this'.

Together, he believes, these result in mobilising individuals towards a vision, creating harmony and building emotional bonds while all the time developing people for the future. So, what is the philosophy behind his business? Ranganathan says that he has derived this from his father, who said that 'what a rich man enjoys, the common man too should be able to afford the same'. Hence CavinKare looks at the market with Ranganathan's experience, as someone with a rural background, and a greater understanding of the mind of the common men. "I price my products accordingly, and know the people look for affordability. I need to tell them that my product is affordable, and may be in due course, he might be willing to pay me a bit more for quality," he says.