‘The brand is your customer’s lived experience’

Among the many lessons Darshan Dudhoria picked up at boarding school was the importance of being resilient. He realised that bad days were all about dealing with the consequences and returning stronger. It laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial drive at a later stage in life.

“You wake up hopeful, go to bed wiser - at times, bruised - and return the next day. Motivation comes and goes, but discipline stays. In the 1990s, boarding school wasn’t about comfort, it was about character,” says Kolkata-based Dudhoria, 40, CEO, Indian Silk House Agencies.

Though he studied and practiced law initially, Dudhoria joined the family textile business in 2013 when he saw an opportunity to expand it further.

“Ethnic wear was beginning to organise and scale, but the saree category remained hugely under-leveraged as a national branded opportunity. In many towns, sarees are still bought from small, organised stores where authenticity, information and consistency can vary widely. The strategy was to build an organised bridge between heritage products and modern consumer expectations. Our niche wasn’t created through novelty - it was built through trust and consistency,” he says.

As he gained an understanding of the business, Dudhoria launched AllSilks.com, an e-commerce platform that connects over 15,000 talented artisans with customers who seek genuine products.

“What I’m most proud of is the long-term impact. Sustained demand helps protect livelihoods and keep skills alive. E-commerce isn’t just a sales channel - it can function as a cultural supply chain and take heritage to a global audience responsibly,” he says.

Dudhoria talks to Lounge about mentorship and why he likes to begin his mornings in silence.

Who do you consider your mentor?

My most influential mentor is my mother. She leads with steady strength, deep values and an instinctive understanding of people. Watching her taught me that leadership isn’t about volume - it’s about consistency. The best leaders build trust quietly every single day.

One major insight you worked on with your mentor’s guidance?

The most powerful insight I learned through my mother’s leadership is the art of reading the customer. Not just what the customer buys, but why she buys; what she trusts; what makes her return; what makes her recommend you. In consumer businesses, especially D2C, the brand isn’t your logo, it’s your customer’s lived experience. The best neighbourhood stores become legendary for one reason - they make customers feel understood. That is not marketing, its empathy operationalised. Once you learn to listen, growth becomes a by-product of trust.

What does being a mentor mean to you? How do you mentor your colleagues at work?

Mentorship is about transferring experience. Skills can be taught and information is widely available, but experience, judgement, pattern recognition and understanding consequences comes only with time. At work, I focus on mentoring people to build teams and leadership depth. We’re building a business that requires sincerity, honesty, commitment and trust. If someone has those qualities, everything else can be trained. One principle I often repeat is that the goal of leadership is to make yourself progressively redundant. When your team can operate without you, you’re ready to scale.

What’s your morning schedule like?

My best mornings begin in silence. Before the world starts asking questions, I try to download what my mind has already processed overnight. I record voice notes, ideas, observations and strategic thoughts, without trying to solve them immediately. That quiet hour often brings more clarity than any meeting.

What productivity principles make your professional and personal life easier?

Two principles guide me - time-boxing and communication discipline. Inefficiency usually comes from multitasking, blurred priorities and avoidable confusion. I try to work in focussed blocks - one task, one outcome - instead of touching many things briefly. The second principle is written communication and clear expectations. Miscommunication is expensive, not just in time but also in energy and relationships.

What’s one positive work routine you developed during the pandemic?

The pandemic forced a routine many of us rarely allow ourselves - being alone with our thoughts. Without constant travel, meetings and noise, I learned the value of structured reflection. Even today, I consciously protect thinking time because strategy doesn’t come from speed, it comes from space. And space has to be designed deliberately.

Any book or podcast you recommend about mentorship and growth?

The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Not because business is war, but because it teaches timeless principles, preparation, clarity, understanding the terrain and winning with minimal waste. It also reinforces a belief I strongly hold - no challenge is entirely original. Someone, somewhere, has faced a version of what you’re facing. History gives you patterns and patterns give you options. The best leaders don’t copy the past - they learn from it and adapt wisely.

How do you unwind? Any serious hobbies?

My favourite way to unwind is spending time with my two daughters. We enjoy long drives and music across genres. With long workdays, serious hobbies are harder to pursue consistently, but I never miss a chance to read. Reading resets me. It opens new windows of thought and reminds me that there’s always a bigger context than today’s to-do list.