Rising from the Ashes..The inspiring story of Bruno Vincent

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Bruno Vincent is the founder of Benren Office Systems, an office furniture manufacturing company based in Bengaluru. What started as an endeavour to start something on his own has now turned into a family business empire with a yearly turnover of 20 crores!

Education and the Road to Experience

Bruno studied in Bengaluru and lived here for the better part of his life. After completing his 10th standard, he opted to do a 2-year ITI course in the electrical field at Nadiger Polytechnic College. Always having been interested in pursuing a technical career, Bruno chose this course also because of a financial crunch in his family. But, even before he could finish his course, he was forced to join ICICI Bank in their credit card payment collections department as his family experienced a more severe financial crisis.

Taking this opportunity head-on, Bruno gave his full commitment to this job and rose to the role of Agency Manager after starting out as a field collection officer. During the 6 years that he worked here, Bruno learned good people management skills, and he was also very active in his church, Immaculate Conception Church, as a Youth President.

In his role at the church, he learnt a variety of skills, especially leadership skills. He actively leads all church activities, including Family Day, blood donation camps, raising funds for orphanages, and visiting hospitals to do charity work.

In his next stint, Bruno started his own recovery agency and ran it for 2 years, hiring 50 employees under him. However, the enterprise had to be shut down due to the recession in 2010.

The Turning Point

Bruno then joined Artha Healthcare, and he would go to client locations to demonstrate their healthcare products. During one such demo, he met his future employer, who was impressed with this presentation. The man was the regional manager for South for Featherlite, the famous office furniture company, and he offered Bruno a chance to work for him and made a generous offer. Bruno moved to Chennai to join Featherlite and was appointed as the showroom manager. Bruno worked here diligently for 6 years and rose through the ranks. He met and fell in love with Remona, an employee from the same office.

After the birth of his two children, Remona and Bruno were once again bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and decided to start something on their own in the office chair industry - an industry he knew thoroughly. They moved back to Bengaluru in 2016. Bruno got his company registered and initially started out by offering repair services for products of other brands. The company was named Benren after his two sons, Benito and Renaldo. The company saw great growth in the first year, and in 2018, it set up its own manufacturing unit and office space in Rajajinagar. Bruno offered a 5-year- warranty for all his products, and the products were cheaper by 30% compared to those of his competitors. He even offered free delivery within a 10-km radius and added a whole new array of products to the existing repertoire.

COVID-19 and the Boom in Business

Bruno saw the most success during COVID, as the demand for office furniture rose substantially with everyone working from home. Bruno took this as an opportunity to expand his business by ramping up manufacturing and moving to a more visible spot in Rajajinagar. While the factory remained in Rajajinagar Industrial Area, the showroom being in the front lines of Rajajinagar helped his company gain great visibility and attract more customers. At the end of 2022, the company was making a turnover of 10 crores per year!

Future Plans

Just six months ago, Bruno launched BenRen Interior Studio, which offers home interior solutions, modular kitchens, wardrobes, and the like. Bruno doesn’t want to stop just here. With his new additions bringing in a turnover of 20 crores per year, he wants to continue expanding his business. He dreams of having at least 50 franchises all over India, with at least 20 of them being in South India.

Inspirations

Bruno is not a man who rests. Despite his tremendous success in the industry, he doesn’t forget where he comes from. He continues to mentor youth presidents - while he was at the forefront of church activities before, these days he is interested in training today’s youth to take up similar activities.

Bruno believes in the power of religion and the support of his family. He goes to church every single day, without fail. His family supports him wholeheartedly - while his wife takes care of the delivery, accounts, and dispatch side of the business, his father takes care of the showroom. His two boys attend a prestigious school in Bengaluru, and he has built his own beautiful home here.

Bruno Vincent Taj is the recipient of many prestigious awards for his business acumen. He was awarded the Bangalore Business Excellence Award in 2024, BNI IKON Award 2023-2024, Pride of Karnataka Award 2024, the Notable Networker Award by BNI, and many more! He continues to be at the forefront of this industry and works tirelessly to take his company to new heights while being a true inspiration for all aspiring entrepreneurs

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