Rohit Bachani is the chief executive of Merlin Digital, a global technology and consumer electronics company that sells and creates its own products. Mr Bachani cofounded the company with his brother Sharad Bachani in 1997 as a small computer assembling firm when they were both teenagers. It later rebranded as Merlin Digital in 2001. Among its patents is a virtual reality mindfulness kit and a solar car sunshade. Born in Dubai, Mr Bachani, 34, says he lives in Al Jafiliya “in a traditional Indian joint family system” with his parents, his brother’s family, his wife and 18-month-old son.
How do you spend your weekend?
I’m a cricket aficionado and my weekends are spent sweating it out on the field. At home, I’m a doting father to a bubbly one-and-a-half-year-old who keeps my spirits high.
How did you become a chief executive?
Well, I consider myself the junior chief executive. The company is run by me and my elder brother, Sharad Bachani, who founded the company and is the senior CEO. How did I become a CEO? Perseverance and hard work — lots of it. Having started a full-time business at a very young age, life has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride for both of us. With only an initial personal investment injected into the company, I’ve learnt that only hard work pays.
What is your go-to gadget?
I’ve been using the IntelliSense Mindfulness Virtual Reality Kit, which has been designed and developed by my brother Sharad, and it transports me to a different dimension, thanks to VR technology. It really helps me de-stress wherever I am and allows me to handle work pressure much more effectively. I believe “mindfulness” lets you see the bigger picture.
What was the lowest point of your career?
A challenging time would have been when we started off, pretty much from scratch. At a young age of 16, with my 18-year-old brother, Merlin Digital was founded with nothing but Dh10,000 in personal savings. We learnt the true meaning of “working hard” when we would work even on the weekends while our peers would be out partying hard. Making a home-grown brand is no mean task, and I’ve been taking it slightly easy nowadays.
What advice would you offer others starting out in your business?
Start young, if possible. There is no greater asset than time on your hands and sheer determination. In terms of financials, try to use your own money as much as possible. Resort to bank lending when you have a sizeable customer base and enough cash flow to cushion any untoward impacts.
What is your most indulgent habit?
In one word: cricket. Having represented the UAE in the under-19 squad, cricket has always been a first love of mine.
What do you have on your desk at work?
I have a picture of my family and a few of the latest gadgets to test and see if they are launch material.
What can’t you live without?
For me, family is everything. It’s the one support column that I completely rely on.
What car do you drive?
I used to drive a Hyundai Coupe back in 1999 and have always loved sports cars. By God’s grace, I still drive a sports car, but with a little added luxury – it’s an Audi A7.
How do you achieve a work-life balance?
Up until 2005, I don’t remember leaving Dubai and was working 365 days, seven days a week, with no breaks at all. However, we have slowly set a good, steady team in place and this has helped me a lot in redirecting my focus towards things outside of work. For the last two years, I have been taking two-day weekends, which is quite refreshing. And I make it a point to make time for holiday with my family at least twice a year.
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be and why?
Besides swapping jobs with Indian cricketers, who I believe have the best jobs in the world, I’d like to swap jobs with the Dalai Lama to meet world leaders, be an influential force and a staunch supporter of world peace. Also it’d be nice to work from the mountains for a change.
mkassem@thenational.ae