#vikramsood

[vikramsoods]

Schzoids, was a surreal art out-of-canvas experiment conceptualised and executed in 2009, and performed live with characters coming alive with the live visual jockeying in Zenzi Mumbai. Circa 2009.

[vikramsoods]

A dear friend took a photo of a mood I was in when in Goa. And converted it into a painting. Thanks #anushyasharma you are fabulous artist, and the journey is just beginning.

[vikramsoods]

You can be as motivated as you like and that’s all good fighting talk, yet that is it. It’s just talk.

There is something else you need to add to this.

It’s permission.

You need to give yourself permission to do what you are motivated to do. The only person who can do this is you. Everyone else believes in you and that’s great. Now it’s up to you.

Your choice. Take it.

[vikramsoods]

'Why do people shout in anger shout at each other?'

A saint who was visiting the river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled 'n asked.

'Why do people shout in anger shout at each other?' Disciples thought for a while, and one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout.' 'But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner.' asked the saint.

Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.

Finally, the saint explained. 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small…'

The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper 'n they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally, they even need not whisper, they only look at each other 'n that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.'

He looked at his disciples and said. 'So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, Do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.'

[vikramsoods]

I just heard about a company making almost $100M/yr selling car washes.

I was fascinated so I spent 2 hours digging into the business.

Here’s what I learned:

The company is called Mammoth Holdings. They own nearly 100 car washes in places like Knoxville, Miami, and Utah Valley. And growing fast.

Mammoth is one of many firms that are rolling up car washes, with PE backing.

And it makes a lot of sense. Car washes can make $1M - $2.5M per year at a hefty profit. Especially if you know how to run them.

Here's the Mammoth playbook:

1/ Buy the biggest car wash in a small market

Mammoth doesn’t actually build car washes. To enter a region, they acquire a popular brand with a few locations. This acts as their car wash platform for the market. They keep the name and continue picking off smaller players in that same market, rebranding them to match the platform. Before long, they are a dominant player.

2/ Implement a subscription model

This is the best part. Most of us pay for a car wash each time we go. But that can lead to a crummy business with spotty revenues. What happens when it rains and no one needs a wash? So Mammoth introduced a membership model. They charge $18 - $35 / month for unlimited washes. Each tier comes with its own perks like waxing and tire shining.

Get this – 60% of the company’s revenue is recurring! This makes a lumpy revenue stream much more smooth and consistent.

3/ Put lots of automation in place

Once you get a car wash subscription, members get a radio-frequency identification tag to put in your windshield. The RFI tag tells the wash which package you have, chemicals are mixed automatically, and you drive right in. With this automation, a typical car wash can operate with just 2 employees. Huge boost to the bottom line.

4/ Acquire smart and finance well

Mammoth buys a mix of dominant car washes and smaller ones, paying higher and lower multiples for each, respectively. Then they will sell the real estate and rent it back from the new owner. This lets them pull out a chunk of capital asap. There’s actually huge demand from real estate investors for the land that sits under car washes.

5/ Keep people and train them up

After an acquisition, Mammoth tries to retain existing employees. The company trains them on its playbook and promotes from within. This streamlines talent acquisition and keeps employees on board for much longer. You can go from working in a single car wash to managing an entire territory.

6/ Optimize back office functions

As you would expect, the company centralizes tasks like hiring, training, customer service, payroll and accounting. This lets them run an efficient operation and cuts down on redundant costs big time.

[vikramsoods]

India's 1st Pixel Mapping Art Installation at Kyoorius Design Yatra 2009.

[vikramsoods]

Toastmasters and Garfield, what a story that will be. I was lucky to become a Toastmaster at 16 years of age, worked wonders for me till date.

[vikramsoods]

Madhya Pradesh is probably the most undersold tourism destination in India, though without mountains and beach bodies, it is a tough selfie sell too ;-)

[vikramsoods]

Glow in dark paint, tells stories of a parallel world, every night. Done for Kids World.

[vikramsoods]

As Indian teenagers, when we come back from holidays, we often bring dirty clothes for washing. Imagine the frustration of a doting husband, watch his kids give mom dirty clothes time and again? Enough to make him make his kids gift Sarees to their mom on Mother’s Day. Show your love.

[vikramsoods]

The first Typographic logo, and packaging I designed, early 2000s. Its so long ago, the years are blurry...

[vikramsoods]

Early 2000s, web advertising and Guerilla marketing for Standard Chartered Bank. Discounts can make you shop more than needed, aren’t we all guilty of that?

[vikramsoods]

How do you takeover college bulletin boards and get the buzz going? Well here, the frenzy about iPod Shuffle made it easy.

[vikramsoods]

Khanate used to be my favourite tailor in Bengaluru, and his speciality was - he gave styling advice.

[vikramsoods]

How do you get Indian teenagers to consider gifting iPods. Remember when these were launched?

[vikramsoods]

Stories, layers and conspiracies, great meat for a History Channel ad campaign