The Brandologist Co. independently recorded
conversations with 35 founders, directors and business leaders through its BVM
Founder Stories initiative during Bharatiya Vyapar Mahotsav 2026 at Bharat
Mandapam, New Delhi.
New Delhi : Bharatiya Vyapar Mahotsav (BVM)
2026 brought together Indian businesses, entrepreneurs and homegrown brands
across sectors at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from August 12–15, 2026.
Positioned as “India’s Largest Multi-Sectoral Business Expo of Bharatiya
Brands” and a major Make in India multi-sectoral trade expo, the event carried
the spirit of “Made in India. Made for India. Made for the World.”
The theme also reflected the broader
national focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India — encouraging stronger
indigenous enterprise, self-reliance and globally competitive Indian
businesses. Against this backdrop, The
Brandologist Co. chose to spotlight a part of the exhibition story that
often remains unseen: the people behind the businesses.
Through its independent BVM Founder Stories
initiative, The Brandologist Co. recorded conversations with 35 founders,
directors and business leaders during the four-day expo.
The series featured business leaders
associated with organisations including Shriram
Finance , Harrison Locks , Omaxe Group , Cellecor , TRV Sports , Kranti Soaps , Geo Spar Developers , RCM
, NP AV Cyber Security , Bupati Steels , Bay Breeze Coolers , Marsin
Technology , KLW Masale , Drool , Prodot , Green Planet India
, Glory Infocomm , GTC Pots , 1to3 Foods and Spar Geo
Infra , among several others.
Rather than focusing only on products,
stalls or company pitches, BVM Founder Stories explored how these businesses
were built, the challenges their leaders faced, defining turning points,
lessons learnt over the years and the thinking behind what they are building
next.
The Story
Behind the Business
Exhibitions naturally put companies in the
spotlight. Visitors see products, displays, brochures, teams, innovations and
brand communication. What often remains invisible is the journey of the person
or team that built the business.
That became the core idea behind BVM
Founder Stories.
Across the 35 conversations, industries and
business models differed, but several themes kept returning — starting small,
navigating uncertainty, building teams, earning customer trust, adapting to
changing markets and continuing to grow through difficult phases.
For The Brandologist Co., the conversations
reflected the depth of experience that exists within India’s MSME and business
ecosystem but often remains limited to boardrooms, internal teams and personal
networks.
“Exhibitions are full of company stories,
but very few founder stories. Behind many of these businesses are 10, 20 or
even 30 years of experience, struggle, decisions and learning. Through BVM
Founder Stories, we wanted to bring that side of business into the spotlight.”
— Sudhir Makhija, Founder, The Brandologist Co.
The initiative also connected naturally
with the spirit of Bharatiya Vyapar Mahotsav 2026. If BVM 2026 showcased what
Bharatiya businesses are building, BVM Founder Stories sought to capture the
people, experiences and thinking behind those businesses.
From
Experience to Visible Authority
The initiative also reflects a wider shift
in B2B communication.
For years, many successful business owners built
strong companies while remaining relatively invisible outside their immediate
business networks. Today, customers, partners, employees and other stakeholders
increasingly want to understand the people behind the companies they engage
with — their experience, thinking, values and point of view.
The Brandologist Co. works with established business
owners through Founder Personal Branding and 360° Marketing, helping turn years
of experience and credibility into stronger visibility, authority and business
opportunities.
Experience creates credibility. Visibility creates authority. And
authority can create opportunity.
For founders who have spent years building
companies, that visibility is not about becoming an influencer. It is about
making hard-earned business experience more visible, discoverable and useful to
the ecosystem around them.
Beyond Lead
Collection: The Exhibition ROI Question
The company believes a similar gap exists
in exhibitions.
For many exhibitors, success is still
measured by a familiar question: “How many leads did we collect?”
The bigger question is: “How many of those
leads actually converted into business?”
After an exhibition, potentially valuable
opportunities can easily get scattered across visiting cards, WhatsApp
conversations, spreadsheets, quotations, CRM systems and individual
salespeople. Without a structured follow-up and accountability process, even
strong enquiries can gradually lose momentum.
The Brandologist Co. also works on Exhibition ROI and
Lead Conversion, helping exhibitors build structured follow-up and
accountability systems around serious opportunities so that exhibition activity
has a better chance of translating into measurable business.
“For us, visibility is only half the job.
Whether it is personal branding or an exhibition, attention eventually has to
translate into measurable business.”
— Sudhir Makhija
35
Conversations. 35 Different Journeys.
For The Brandologist Co., Bharatiya Vyapar
Mahotsav 2026 became an opportunity not only to observe businesses, but to
document the people building them.
The 35 conversations represented different
sectors, stages of growth and entrepreneurial journeys. Yet one thing remained
common — years of experience, decisions and lessons that rarely get captured
through a stall, brochure or product catalogue.
The BVM Founder Stories initiative aims to
bring those journeys to a wider business audience through digital platforms,
allowing people to discover not just what these companies do, but also the
thinking and experiences of those who built them.
For audiences, the series offers a closer
look at the people behind familiar and emerging businesses. For founders and
business leaders, it creates an opportunity to share not just their products or
services, but the lessons, convictions and turning points that shaped their
journey.
And for The Brandologist Co., the
initiative reflects a broader belief that some of the strongest business assets
already exist within an organisation — in the experience, credibility and
journey of the people behind it.
Behind every stall is a business.
Behind every business is a journey.
And every journey has a story worth
telling.
The BVM Founder Stories series will be
released across digital platforms over the coming weeks.
More information: www.roi.brandologist.in