The advertising industry is a million dollar industry under the clasp of a few individuals. In this article, we bring you the story of one young man who dared to venture into the sector and has seen established a successful company worth over Ksh100 million.
Here is the story of Tangerine Investments founder, Rajiv Mehta as told by WoK.
Rajiv Mehta journey.
Rajiv Mehta was born and raised in a middle class family in Nairobi, Kenya. He dropped out of university after his father passed away and he couldn’t afford to pay school fees to continue with his studies. He took over the family business his father was operating but after a few years he was kicked out following disagreements within the family. An uncle who had orchestrated his removal from the business dared him to venture on his own and see of he wont come back seeking assistance. He took up the challenge as a motivation to keep pushing and chasing his dreams.
Establishing Tangerine Investments
Rajiv started out by importing liquid tyre sealants and accessories like car winches which he would sell to local clients in the country. He had a day job and at night would run his personal businesses so as to get a decent income to support his newly wedded wife who was pregnant. He however wasn’t satisfied with the slow growth of his business prompting him to quit his day job to fully focus on his business. He raised Ksh100,000 from selling a few shares he had and borrowed Ksh 250,000 from his wife which he used to establish Tangerine Investments in 2008. Tangerine Investments is an outdoor advertising firm that uses public transit vehicles, litter bins and street poles to market some of the leading consumer goods on behalf of their clients.
The Success
In an exclusive interview with Forbes magazine, Rajiv revealed that circumstances pushed him to put more effort into the business which in turn led to its success.
“With all the effort I put in, things just completely changed and the business began to grow. So it was the risk that I took that made me make it which if I never took thinking of it right now I probably would have been in the same place and not had a quick growth,” he revealed.
The company currently works with over 500 multinational and local companies including huge brands such as Pizza Inn, Kenya Airways, Coca-Cola and Subway among many others. It had an annual turnover of over KS 100 million as of 2017. The company has also diversified and got into other countries and businesses such as large format printing under Tangerine Printing & Design (K) Limited and Outdoor advertising in both Uganda and Nigeria under Advert Shoppe (U) limited and Tangerine Outdoor (N) Limited respectively.
