In a world driven by the urge to explore, Mohit and Aditya charted their paths to launch Assembly in 2019, fueled by a deep-seated passion to solve the pain points of the modern-day travellers. Assembly is a homegrown luggage lifestyle brand that caters to the needs of modern-day travellers with a product line which is a perfect combination of both aesthetics and functionality, paired with premium quality.
While Mohit seeks the allure of the uncharted to immerse himself in the diverse tapestry of global cultures, Aditya’s journey is one of knowledge, driven by an insatiable curiosity about the history and essence of new places. Their distinct motivations might set them apart, but it’s their shared love for the adventure of travel that brought them together. This unique blend of perspectives was the genesis of Assembly. Through Assembly, they aim to simplify the journey, enabling explorers everywhere to focus on what truly matters: the experience.
We recently interviewed Mohit Garg (CEO & Co-founder, Assembly). Read the article below to understand how both these exceptional founders built an 85-crore company in just 5 years with Made in India travel products.
When did you start your journey as an entrepreneur?
I started my journey as an entrepreneur in 2013 when I joined my family business in luggage manufacturing. This was a starting point of my journey as I got familiar with the know-hows of product designing and manufacturing.
Can you share what Assembly is all about?
Assembly is a homegrown luggage lifestyle brand that focuses on solving the pain points of the modern-day travellers with an extremely practical product line-up at accessible prices. They are all about building products that are a perfect combination of both aesthetics and functionality paired with a premium quality.
How does travel contribute to personal growth, according to your perspective of experiencing the unexplored and cultural exchanges, and Aditya’s focus on gaining knowledge and understanding history?
When one travels, they get the essence of different cultures, people, and places. One breaks their pattern of thinking, and they grow out of it. Travel makes one explore the diversity of the world.
Can the exploration of new places and cultures lead to a deeper understanding of one’s own identity and beliefs, as seen through your and Aditya’s experiences?
As one meets new people, one starts to appreciate the goodness in every culture, and it helps human beings improve their way of living, such as people going to Shillong to enjoy music and someone visiting Rishikesh to immerse themselves in spirituality. That’s what different places give us: a new essence.
In what ways does the creation of minimal and functional travel pieces reflect your and Aditya’s shared values and motivations in your exploration and understanding of the world?
Both of us understand the pain points of the people on the go; we feel it is essential to add some thought to a product and ease one’s journey when they are using Assembly’s products. This is why we thought of easy-going, calm designs which are soothing to the eyes; The idea was to add a sense of convenience and practicality to every traveller’s experience.
How do you and Aditya reconcile your different motivations for travel while collaborating on projects like Assembly? What challenges might arise from your divergent perspectives?
Both of us are very practical and share common opinions regardless of our travel motivations . Even when it comes to being organized while travelling or planning trips, we share common perspectives.
Can the pursuit of knowledge through travel be considered as valuable as the pursuit of cultural experiences and personal growth? How do you and Aditya balance these two aspects in your approach to travel and in the products, you create for Assembly?
While travelling, we often meet new people, and talking to people makes us a better individual. One can know what they are good at and learn from them. It’s not always about balancing personal growth while travelling, but both of these things beautifully complement each other.
How do you and Aditya leverage your diverse motivations and perspectives to create travel pieces that cater to a wide range of travellers with different interests and preferences?
I have an in-depth knowledge of product development, while Aditya has expertise in reaching out to the customers through digital marketing; both of us complement each other in that sense. So, the data, intuition, and logic combine to help us design all the travel pieces.
What role does curiosity play in your and Aditya’s approach to travel and product design? How do both of you foster and channel your curiosity into meaningful experiences and functional designs?
Curiosity was the first reason to start a consumer-focused brand. Knowing travelers’ and consumers’ experiences is an intriguing activity in a general sense that we try to express through brand content and products.
How does the concept of minimalism in travel pieces align with your and Aditya’s desire to enhance the travel experience? In what ways does minimalism contribute to efficiency and enjoyment during journeys?
When one is organized, it means one is minimalistic. In all our products, we follow minimalism on the aesthetic side rather than the functionality side. This design approach has helped us in the sense of sophistication and elegance in our merchandise.
Can travel be viewed as a form of education? How do you and Aditya integrate elements of education and exploration into the products you design for Assembly?
Sharing some examples, Mohit answered that once he was talking to a professor with lower back pain, and it was difficult for the professor to carry his bag all on his shoulders. He then realised that a trolley backpack could definitely solve this problem. It sells well to the audience who understands trolley use and its system.
How do you and Aditya envision Assembly’s impact on the travel industry, considering your emphasis on personal growth, knowledge acquisition, and functional design?
It has a tremendous impact on the industry. We observed that the industry had under-indexed functionality and aesthetics, and have rather put more emphasis on variety and prices. The philosophy of “less is more” can add much value to the consumer. It is not just the colour of it or the price of it but the practicality and a premium quality that sets our products apart.
How does the concept of a trolley bag as a “travel pal” reflect our modern relationship with belongings and the symbolic significance of items we carry with us during our journeys?
Whenever we buy a product, we take that decision very emotionally; we tend to rationalize it. We buy products to align with our personality and our fashion statement, and with I feel in that sense, trolley bag as a travel pal reflects how we want everything we own adding to our travel experience.
What psychological and practical factors contribute to the symbolic significance of a trolley bag as a dependable companion throughout various stages of travel, from planning to return, and how does this perception influence consumer behavior and product design in the travel industry?
When travelling, people want to be least bothered about their luggage. They need to be organized. Some people use plastic bags to keep their toiletries, so we have introduced with in-built packing cubes with all their luggages to solve that problem. It also gives a lot of convenience to checking in security. All these thoughts are quite appreciated by our consumers.
Talk with us about Shark Tank as we have seen you?
Our Shark Tank journey was nothing less than elevating. It’s very rare to share our story and innovation with such a huge audience and we’re really thankful to Shark Tank’s team for providing us with this opportunity. Interacting with Sharks and taking feedback from them was a learning experience for us as this helped us have an outer view of our business and work wherever needed. We were called out for our branding on the show, but that’s something that we’d blame on the timing as our brand revamp was already work-in-progress back then. We received an offer from Shark Anupam aligning with our initial request for 85 Lakhs for 1% post-money equity, but had to let it go with a heavy heart as a condition of 1% royalty was attached to it which would not have been fair with our current investors. All-in-all, we were happy that a Made-In-India brand could share its innovation on national television, creating a sense of pride for the Indian luggage industry.
“It always takes utmost resilience and determination to break the norms and innovate something new.” Mohit and Aditya took a leap to come up with a Made in India luggage brand in an industry where importing from China is a norm. While building something huge and unconventional, it’s obvious to encounter a lot of new hurdles, but the idea is to learn and that’s what Mohit and Aditya and we as a country are doing every day. #IndiaIsLearning.
