Mangal Analytics - MARC

Mangal Analytics and Research Consulting Pvt. Ltd. (MARC) is a financial analytics and market research firm based in Panjim. The firm, which is the brainchild of Mr. Ashutosh Kharangate, started operations in August 2010. It was initially incorporated as a partnership firm under the name ‘Mangal Advisory Services’. With the expansion of its portfolio in 2015, the company started functioning as ‘Mangal Analytics and Research Consulting’ and has positioned itself very strongly in the market, delivering specialised services in three key verticals- Mergers and Acquisitions, Financial Analytics, and Market Research.

Poised to bring about ‘Mangal’ for all stakeholdersclients, employees, partners, and society in general, MARC has emerged as one of the fastest-growing management consulting and business advisory services providers in India. MARC’s USP lies in serving an enterprise throughout its life cycle. The firm strives to be useful to a business before its birth, during its growth, and later at maturity, thereby adding to its economic growth. The company aims to empower small and medium scale businesses with proper and the most appropriate financial and analytical techniques and provide businesses with strategic advice that will enable them to overcome pain points and evolve toward success”, says Ashutosh who serves as the CEO of the company

MARC is headquartered in Goa in a 2000 sq ft office at the iconic CMM building at the scenic Rua de Ourem in Panaji. They have 7 other offices in Indore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai, Kochi, Kolkata, and Agartala. In 2021 MARC incorporated MARC Global Inc in the USA with Anita Ganti, an ex-WIPRO and Texas Instruments Executive on their board.

MARC’s plush portfolio covers a wide range of bestin-class services that are delivered by a team of expert professionals including chartered accountants, strategic planners, engineers, company secretaries, LLBs, and MBAs. The firm provides services across two major verticals - Transaction advisory and Management Consulting. Transaction advisory covers services in Mergers and Acquisitions, Project Feasibility Studies, and Profitability Analyses while Management Consulting Service offerings are focused on providing real-time support to improve the accounting, financial, and operational systems of a business. Here’s a glimpse of the major offerings:

As an effort to reduce failures, MARC’s team conducts thorough research on the whole concept of the business. This research entails making an assessment of revenue one can generate over the next 3-5 years. It also includes a detailed assessment of costs, both initial and operational. Hence, it becomes easy to gauge Profitability & ROI, before commencing any business.

Financial Analytics: The efforts are invested to aid businesses in achieving more profitability. The client’s financial statements and other records are assessed to identify loopholes and suggest ways and means of improving profitability. MARC also specialises in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which enable protection against income leakages while ensuring smooth operations. MARC also outsources global financial analytics as it also holds expertise in developing complex financial models for its clients across diversified sectors.

Mergers and Acquisitions: MARC has been able to obtain an eye seizing prominence in the market as an end-to-end Merger & Acquisition Services provider. It represents the SME in an M&A transaction and protects its interest. This could be in terms of representing it to an investor, valuing it, handling diligence, or assisting in drafting agreements.

Internationalisation: MARC empowers businesses to find and explore inbound and outbound markets across borders. Depending on the product/service, MARC’s counterparts look for the right match after thorough research and suggest the best strategy for entry into a new territory.

After topping his college in the university B.Com exams, Ashutosh decided to answer the Chartered Accountancy exam. He cleared his inter-CA exam on the first attempt and created some sort of a record as he was the only student to have cleared among the 231 students appearing in Goa.

After becoming a CA, Ashutosh began working under his father. However, after a few years, he felt that the audit work he was doing was not giving him the joy and satisfaction that he expected it would.

Due to this, Ashutosh decided to explore a career in finance. Working for an amazing company in Goa called Kineco, Ashutosh came across a process called due diligence which was done to ensure that the company invested in did not have major issues which could cause an investment to go down the drain. “This was my eureka moment”, he says. “I realised that it’s the Big4 that has the best Due Diligence practices and luckily, I was selected at PwC as an Associate Due Diligence/Transaction Advisory Services in Mumbai”.

Ashutosh worked with PwC for almost 4 years after which situations led him to leave everything and come back to Goa. “They say when things don’t go your way, you make a way and hence I decided to take an entrepreneurial plunge and incorporated Mangal Analytics & Research Consulting Pvt. Ltd, a due diligence consultancy firm”, he says. “I knew that there were several first-gen and second-gen entrepreneurs who had tremendous potential to grow and needed good advice on profitability and business strategy, and I could assist them with that” he adds.

During the first 2 years, Ashutosh was working out of client locations and business was growing through word of mouth, but all his clients were non-Goans. “Goans weren't very keen on availing our services”, he says. “We took on a project from an Italian MNC that wanted to explore the possibility of bringing gynaecology and derma products to India. It was more of market research and project feasibility. After successful submission, two wonderful things came out of it. One, the client was extremely pleased which gave us tremendous confidence that we could deliver to a well-informed client and secondly, it gave us a new service offering which is our niche today” he says.

After this, things just kept getting better for Ashutosh and his company. His company moved from their 200 sq ft office to a much bigger 2000 sq ft. office. His team size also increased and his client base crossed 250+ entities in a short span of time.

During his 4 year stint at PwC, Mumbai, Ashutosh worked with several private equities and venture capitalists. During that time, he also worked with several SMEs. This made him understand the vibrant SME sector in India and the issues faced by most SMEs in India, in terms of survival and growth. Working with Kineco Pvt. Ltd. in Goa was a pivotal moment for him as it ignited in him a keen interest in the field of financial analysis and inflamed his passion for popularising Goa in the landscape of Business Business Advisory. This gave birth to Mangal Analytics and Research Consulting Pvt. Ltd. (MARC) named after his mother, Mangal who played a significant role in shaping his life and career.

When Ashutosh started Mangal Analytics, many of his friends who were CAs as well as his close family members were sceptical about the commercial viability and success of his company. Many of them felt that there is no market in Goa for business advisory services, let alone due diligence. Even when Ashutosh was leaving PwC, he remembered his partner telling him that it shall be difficult for him to sustain the lifestyle as he had reached a certain level. He also remembers a few early client meetings wherein he faced a lot of ridicule and was written off.

“As per them, I did not add any value, and ‘they knew it all’”, says Ashutosh. “So it was a little challenging in the beginning. I used to have a nice hot coffee and sleep it off and believe that the next day would be a brighter one. It also helped to have a few wellwishers who I could call upon whenever self-doubt crept in or I just needed that boost of energy. But I saw potential in what I was offering when no one else did, and now, after years, we are still standing strong and growing”, he adds.

MARC’s rich clientele envelops several leading and reputed names including Monginis’ master franchise in Goa, Magsons – the largest chain of superstores in Goa, Marriott, Planet Hollywood, Taj, Fomento Group, Tito’s, Alcon Group, Optel Vision Inc, Astra Group of Companies, Dr. Batra’s, and many others. Not to mention, the firm is also appointed by other larger firms outside Goa to execute due diligence and project feasibility transactions across the country.

“These partnerships have not only enabled us to showcase our expertise in the industry but have also allowed us to gain valuable experience and insights", says Ashutosh.

“However, at our core, we understand that every client, regardless of their size or stature, deserves our utmost attention and dedication. We strive to provide every client with the same level of professionalism and service, regardless of the scope of their project or the extent of their requirements”, he says.

After the demise of his mother, Ashutosh decided to return back to Goa to be close to his family. As it was a sudden decision, it meant learning ‘on the job’. “The biggest challenge I faced after moving back to Goa was people'' says Ashutosh. “I gained a lot of knowledge from interactions with people from all walks of life. When I restarted my career in Goa, most decisionmakers were in the age group of 60 years and above, and it was difficult for them to take a young man seriously”, he says.

“Also, what I offered was unique for them. Hence, it took time for them to accept that the services offered by me were of value to them. Goans too, in general, were not comfortable sharing their finances with a Goan for reasons of confidentiality. It took quite some time and effort to build trust”, he adds.

Ashutosh always had some angels who supported him at different phases of his journey. His professor from college, Mr. Nikhil Varerkar became a strong pillar for him in his early days after returning to Goa. “He was my sounding board when it came to venting out my frustrations of all kinds”, says Ashutosh. “Also, my shareholder and director, Mr. Satish Shinde, who was one of my earliest clients, has been of rock-solid support from day one. I am always inspired by his energy and positive spirit. Whenever I need a boost of energy, I call upon him. My cousin, Dr. Tejas Kamat is another person who also inspires me and keeps me going. My family too has played their part in understanding and supporting me. In addition, there are many other people who would not want to be publicly acknowledged but have played a huge role in whatever I am today”, he says.

MARC is following a clear roadmap for expanding its footprints in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India. During the last 18 months of Covid, MARC opened 7 offices across India, expanding their reach across the country. They plan to collaborate with other traditional consulting and CA firms and provide their clients with niche business advisory support. In addition, MARC is today serving reputed consulting firms in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Europe, etc. They are keen on making Goa and India the hub of execution of complex analytics for the world. “This will enable us to support ‘Make (Service) in India’. We are also working on our own fintech product aimed at helping MSMEs understand finance better”, says Ashutosh.

Ashutosh says that entrepreneurship is a marathon. “There will be days when you will feel super low. Everything will seem like it's crumbling. Your landlord will serve you a notice to leave the premises, your best employee would resign taking 3 others along, and your client who gave you 30% of your business would leave. But, never give up. Believe in the power and hope of tomorrow. Go slow on a day that seems to have gotten out of hand. But keep making progress. Keep your passion alive. It doesn’t matter if you are not an entrepreneur; get up to do things that will make you happy and the world a better place. We only live once”, he says.