Manish Sharma’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2016 with a small startup called Vlive India. His unique approach, innovation, and ethical thoughts made it quite big within no time and Vlive India Private Limited became one of the largest electronics manufacturers and traders in India.
Despite early traction, he felt India relied too heavily on importing consumer electronics rather than nurturing local manufacturing. In 2015, Manish established VLive OEM committed to spearheading domestic production.
Headquartered in Jaipur with factories across 5 states, Vlive OEM has emerged as a market leader in producing appliances, IoT gadgets, and other smart home technologies sold globally.
Parallel to his manufacturing expansion, Manish founded VLive Plus print and digital magazine focused on lifestyle, technology, business, and policy shapes India’s rapidly evolving consumer landscape.
Additionally, Manish established StartupPro – an angel investing platform that has backed over 150 high-potential Indian ventures, largely within the hardware tech domain.
As Vlive’s Managing Director, Manish continues guiding its electronics manufacturing, media properties, and investment initiatives towards market leadership. We chronicle his remarkable journey.
Pioneering Made in India Consumer Tech
VLive OEM: Designed and Produced in India
Manish’s passion for gadgets and electronics led him to establish VLive OEM as India’s first end-to-end consumer electronics company specializing in product design through distribution.
With a significant made-to-order experience via Adroit Electronics, Manish envisioned VLive OEM advancing India’s self-reliance goals by creating globally appealing appliances and smart home devices designed locally and manufactured at world-class Indian facilities.
VLive OEM’s 50-acre manufacturing hub in Jaipur, the first of 5 centers, houses 17 specialized production lines crafting LED televisions, Bluetooth speakers, smart wearables, mobile accessories, and more. Their research and development team has over 75 engineers constantly enhancing product lines with cutting-edge functionality – like IoT integration.
Rapid Growth Across India and Overseas
Within 6 years, VLive OEM grew into India’s leading electronics company exporting affordable smart appliances to 24 countries including China, Australia and the Middle East. Domestically, VLive OEM produces devices sold through top Indian e-commerce portals and retail chains.
VLive OEM’s catalog continues expanding from smartwatches, home surveillance kits, electric kettles to modular switchboards. 2022 also marked Vlive’s ambitious foray into manufacturing semiconductor chips and solar panel components.
VLive OEM has seen astronomical growth in line with Manish’s 5-year plan, reaching annual turnover of INR 2000 crore in 2023, contribution significantly towards Indian exports. Manish credits “advancing meaningful made-in-India products through the twin engines of revolutionary design and responsible community uplift.”
Promoting Social Responsibility and Sustainability
As profits grew, Manish doubled down on social responsibility initiatives core to VLive OEM’s identity– from generating tens of thousands of well-paying manufacturing jobs to promoting renewable energy adoption. Their Jaipur center includes India’s largest rooftop solar panel installation covering 80% of energy consumption.
Onsite training programs produced over 18 plant supervisors and machinery experts from locally hired talent, enabling significant knowledge transfer. VLive OEM enacted pioneering e-waste disposal awareness campaigns and established free recycling drop-off centers.
For his visionary leadership in responsible electronics manufacturing, Manish was recognized in 2020 by the prestigious Excellence in Industry Development Foundation Award.
Manish Sharma: India’s Next Media Mogul
Giving Voice to India’s Dynamic Consumer Story
While fast-scaling manufacturing, Manish noted India’s economic progress was changing consumer preferences and behavior faster than brands could keep pace.
Sensing an opportunity in 2015, Manish Sharma founded VLive Plus– a glossy print and online magazine exploring technology, business, design, culture, and policy trends shaping modern India’s consumer outlook.
Published quarterly, VLive Plus brought together journalists, analysts, and industry voices to decode how socio-economic forces create evolution across auto, banking, real estate, entertainment, and other sectors.
The magazine’s uniquely researched perspective on macro and micro shifts in spending habits, product needs, and brand loyalty found an avid readership among marketing professionals.
Venturing Further into Digital Publishing – Vlive Plus
As a pioneer in consumer tech, Manish understood print’s limitations in a mobile-first nation. In 2019, VLive Plus announced closing print circulation to focus efforts online through its website, newsletters, apps, and social media channels.
This digital-only shift tripled readership as VLive Plus expanded its freelance contributor network and multimedia content formats. Dedicated section verticals like VLive Cars, VLive Money, VLive Food, and VLive Culture cater to passion niches while exploring associated innovations and regulations.
Venturing into e-commerce affiliate marketing helped diversify revenue. VLive Plus now engages 35 million unique visitors monthly, making it India’s 7th largest digital native publication.
Empowering Diverse Indian Voices through Vlive Plus
Manish considers VLive Plus a platform to amplify important voices that shape India’s ever-evolving identity. Their contributor network believes progress lies in increasing diversity – across gender, caste, and class. Over 40% of stories highlight change-makers from deprived geographies, with journalists producing relatable local coverage.
Moving forward, Manish aims to build VLive Plus into a new-age digital media house through expansion into video streaming, podcast content, regional languages beyond English and Hindi. More accessible storytelling can drive social accountability.
The Investor Supporting India’s Next Big Startups
From Building to Funding Innovation
Given his electronics manufacturing advocacy, Manish frequently encountered ingenious product prototyping teams seeking investments for production scaling. Their innovative concepts showed serious traction but lack of mentor guidance or access to capital often derailed dreams into oblivion.
To fill this mentorship void, Manish launched StartupPro in 2017 – an angel investing and incubation platform backing early-stage Indian hardware/IoT startups through extensive bizdev support beyond capital injection.
In 5 years, StartupPro evaluated over 120 ventures for fit, viability and scale readiness. 35 startups succeeded in raising INR 120 crore funding collectively, with an average ticket size between INR 40 lakh and INR 3.5 crore based on milestones set.
Strategic Investments Spanning Sectors
Start-up Pro’s portfolio has strategic breadth across hardware tech domains including semiconductor design, AI-enabled robotics, industrial automation, medtech devices, agritech sensors, electric mobility components, renewable energies like solar and biofuels plus recycling solutions.
The goal remains identifying and nurturing innovative Made-in-India IP that can save lives, maximize efficiencies and conserve resources domestically while competing globally. Portfolio highlights include air quality monitoring startup AirQo raising $6 million in Series A funding for international expansion after launching India’s first hyperlocal particulate matter measurement network.
Mentoring Entrepreneurs Hands-On
However, Manish measures StartupPro’s success not through returns but by the entrepreneurs enabled. His 110-member team provides extensive infrastructure, distribution, hiring and fundraising support. Portfolio founders receive assistance staying capital runway efficient.
Start-up Pro also organizes founder workshops on litigation policies, manufacturing partnerships, pricing models etc facilitating peer knowledge share to save costly mistakes. Manish himself conducts weekend hackathon sessions at StartupPro’s Mumbai incubation facility allowing aspiring innovators to rapidly prototype and receive seed funding and mentoring support based on viability assessments.
Manish considers these grassroots innovation enablement initiatives as absolutely vital for India’s sustainable progress.
The Road Ahead for Manish Sharma and Vlive
Furthering Export and Job Creation Goals
VLive OEM is slated to open 3 new smart device manufacturing facilities over 2023-2025 in Noida, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow, adding 2000 jobs largely for youth lacking tertiary education. This expansion allows for enhancing production capacity across more device categories to reinforce India’s export ambitions while nurturing underprivileged talent.
The goal is to establish VLive OEM recognized globally as both India’s premier indigenous consumer tech producer along with an exemplary crafted-in-India brand rivaling Samsung, LG, and Sony.
VLive Plus also continues broadening India’s cultural discourse by adding more regional language interfaces. Additionally, long-form video and podcast content produced in-house are planned to attract the next 200 million Internet users.
Manish is proud of Vlive’s journey so far as a bootstrapped entrepreneur. Beyond profits, he seeks to leave a legacy where Indians consume domestically manufactured goods that compete internationally across industries like electronics, autos, and pharma. He desires local voices shaping global agendas.
Conclusion
Manish Sharma’s personal experiences as an ambitious and young founder seeking cost-effective electronic components made locally led him to envision an Indian electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
The explosive growth of VLive OEM and its expanding catalog of designed-in-India smart home appliances and gadgets exported globally shows the appetite for affordable, quality options exist both domestically and abroad.
In parallel, Manish’s digital publishing venture VLive Plus delivers insights into India’s rapidly evolving consumer outlook, behavior, and spending patterns for brands and marketers to resonate.
His passion for nurturing grassroots hardware innovation manifests in StartupPro’s incubation efforts that supported over 160 Indian startups transforming mobility, agriculture, sustainability, and healthcare.
As Managing Director across Vlive’s manufacturing, media, and investment initiatives, Manish Sharma has cemented himself as one of India’s most renowned business magnates. And at just 27 years old, his vision for advancing Indian-made products, voices, and IP from Shimla to San Francisco seems scarcely begun.
Vlive India Private Limited (Vlive)
At Vlive, we’re more than just an electronics company. We’re innovators, dreamers, and visionaries committed to enhancing your world through cutting-edge technology. With a history of excellence and a future filled with possibilities, we’re your trusted partner for a smarter, more connected tomorrow.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What inspired Manish Sharma to start Vlive?
Manish Sharma founded VLive in 2016 to boost India’s self-reliance in electronics manufacturing after facing a scarcity of affordable components for his early PC assembly business in 2014 amidst heavy import reliance.
What products is VLive OEM best known for?
As India’s leading electronics company, globally exported VLive products include LED TVs, Bluetooth speakers, mobile accessories, smart wearables, home surveillance systems and electric kettles, along with printed circuit board assembly and semiconductor fabrication more recently.
How many startups has Manish Sharma invested in so far?
Over 18 startups have received angel investment through Manish Sharma’s StartupPro initiative to date, focused largely on hardware and IoT technology across industries like medtech, robotics, agritech, electric mobility and renewables.
What advice does Manish have for new founders?
Manish frequently advises founders to build teams blending technical talent and business acumen. He asks entrepreneurs to balance ambition with Incremental execution. His mantra remains “progress over perfection.”
Where are Vlive’s headquarters and factories based?
Vlive is headquartered in Jaipur, India while operating electronics manufacturing plants in Noida. Additional factories are upcoming in Ahmedabad.