This is about a Sri Lankan entrepreneur who appeared in Dragon’s Den (British TV Program) and successfully won the hearts of all the investors on the show. He is Maneksha Kamaj Silva, founder and CEO of SNEAKERTUB.
A Sri Lankan Citizen who raised up in Mount Lavinia. He migrated to Canada in 2011. Kamaj is a sneaker lover since his young age. When he was in Sri Lanka, he used to collect all types of sneakers from different brands. He thinks that a sneaker is an art piece rather than something you wear on your foot.
We can’t ignore his inspirational past life. Most of you knew Kamaj Silva as a vocalist in the Sri Lankan music industry. Wang Hung song became his first hit in 2010. He worked in a film distribution company in Toronto. He had been working in the marketing field for five years when his company suddenly laid off like 40-50 people from his team.
He was out of a job, hopeless, and not knowing what to do. He got back home and began to worry about his upcoming mortgage payments. At this time, Kamaj began to think about what he could do about it. He checked his bank balance, and there was only $700. It was his turning point of his life which made him come so far.
That’s how he started the business with only $700 in his pocket. He was lucky to make over $200,000 with in the first year by working hard (18hrs per day). SNEAKERTUB
is the world’s first and only sneaker subscription service that delivers brand name sneakers to their subscribers every single month.
The beginning was very hard for him because he didn’t have direct relationships with any of the brands. Kamaj started contacting all major brands and tried and get an account. Richard Benson, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Mark Cuban inspired him a lot as business idols.
Puma and Saucony were the first two brands which gave him a chance. The evolution of the SNEAKERTUB happened when turning into a physical retail space where customers could come in and wear the shoes rather than just living online. It helped him a lot to start another two companies recently related to sneakers and fashion.
It’s not a surprise that in the present, the value of the company is equal to 1 million Canadian Dollars because SNEAKERTUB carries all the big brands such as Nike, Puma, Air Jordan, Palladium boots and Saucony. Moreover, clothing and accessories brands like Altamont, Stance Socks, Vitaly, Jason Markk and many more are also working with him as business partners.
According to Kamaj, he is a big believer in experiential marketing. If you want to make a sales pitch, you should have an emotional story that connects with your audience. Present yourself likable, don’t blame the government or anyone around, stop complaining and work hard. If someone in your life is holding you back, let them know that this is what you want to do. It’s up to you.
