Hi,
My name is Hemant Thorat.
I’m the father of two beautiful children and the husband of a wonderful enigmatic woman.
I have worked across various domains and sectors, from journalism to advertising, to insurance, banking, broking, investment advisory and wealth management, real estate and investment banking. Having spent the last several years with a number of startups has given me a perspective that few are fortunate enough to acquire, and that has helped me in my advisory business immensely. I am able to view things in 4D and that insight helps my clients in multiple ways.
I have sold clothes on the footpath, I have sold newspapers door-to-door, I have sold insurance to HNI’s, I have sold villas to multi-millionaires, I have sold banking solutions to corporations, and much more.
I specialise in strategy, vision, marketing and fundraising – in short, all the vital elements needed for growth. Business expansion is my core DNA.
My focus sectors are renewable energy, IT, real estate and agro-related businesses.
I am also involved in M & A with SMEs.
Besides this, I am an author, a blogger, an entrepreneur and a teacher.
A strong India where all people live in harmony with each other, where citizens are empowered and liberated, where justice prevails and opportunities are available for all equitably; a country that is proud not simply because of history but more so because of what she stands for today in the global comity of nations.
Maharashtra to take its place as a leader among states; where the Marathi language is truly appreciated for its rich heritage and beauty.
I want to see India’s youth engaged in the conscious and sober pursuit of nation-building, by standing up for the truth, for justice and for the weaker segments of society.
Courage, Fortitude, Faith, Cheerfulness, Excellence, Integrity, Honesty, Perseverance, Industriousness, Humility, Compassion, and Wisdom.
These are some of my most cherished virtues.
Because, first of all, when I see a problem, I always believe there’s a viable solution.
Belief is very important. Without the belief that you can find the solution your mind shuts down and never sees the answer. But with belief, the subconscious gets into action.
Second, when people show me what they think is the problem, I, often, vary with them and discern the real problem.
And that’s vital – spotting the real problem.
Most people get lost in the foliage and mistake the branches for the problem. They fail to strike at the roots.
Third, although I rely heavily on intuition, I always seek data to drive me to the solution.
Data is vital. But one must be able to grapple with data. One must be able to perceive which data is causing what effects, and then follow the knotted threads to the end before beginning to unravel them.
I’m gifted by God to be able to deal with massive and intricate concepts and frameworks. I can trace and track shifting patterns with my mind, such that I neither miss the wood nor the trees. The ability to perceive granularly as well as see the big picture is essential while tackling large problems, such as for smart cities, governance improvements, infrastructure projects or e-commerce.
I look forward to challenging assignments from clients facing massive challenges of growth, scalability, monetisation, marketing, etc.
I have been gifted with a very high EQ. I suspect my IQ is slightly above average but my EQ is extremely high.
There have been occasions when I have intuitively grasped exactly how a person is feeling in one single glance. Later conversations with the person established that my instant insight had been 100% correct.
I have had some extraordinary experiences and dozens of anecdotes in this area that made me realize that I possess this gift.
It helps me immensely in business and negotiations.
It is invaluable in marketing as I am able to look into the customers’ minds and understand what they feel and think.
I am also able to discern flaws and other risky traits in individuals that would cause them to fail in a big way in the future. Helping such people is difficult but I try. I am glad I am able to help my clients through this gift.
I discovered my ability to conceive entire portals or web applications in my mind. I can look at a business, study it and very soon, come up with a way to automate some or all of it, using technology.
I can design wireframes and communicate with programmers to enable them to code the thing into reality just as I envisioned it.
I discovered this ability when I was asked by a friend to help him build a portal for hiring senior executives, above the level of VP. The only thing he added was that it should ensure confidentiality as these were senior level C-suite people.
I went back home and thought about it. Within two days I had ideated and come up with the design for the entire portal along with new features that I had never seen anywhere else before. One of them was a video CV. The site was www.leadcxo.com.
A year later many others came up with that idea. Unfortunately, this person was unable to take it forward as he ran out of funds.
Similarly, I was approached by a previous client whom I had advised on the home cleaning business. He wanted to build a portal that would have the elements of Amway, JustDial and BNI.
Again, I thought about it for a few days and ideated and created www.referedge.com, a portal for customer acquisition using referrals. It took over a year for the site to be coded and launched and then COVID hit. Again, the man ran out of funds and the portal did not take off.
But after that, I have ideated on my private projects and conceived and prepared wireframes of web applications that can completely revamp governance structures and elections in India. All that remains is to code them and launch.
Which, of course, is not a small thing!
If you are looking for an agency to help you create a remarkable presence online, you’ve come to the right place. We can help you take your business to the next level.
Visit the agency website: Scimitar – Digital Marketing
See what others have to say about my work.
NOTE: Unfortunately, the startup had to close down because of intractable differences between the founders in the absence of a Founders’ Agreement, and Shiv Pratap is currently following a corporate career with a leading edtech company.
NOTE: Mr. Screwvalla did indeed engage the services again for designing and developing an online portal where Hemant provided the total design as well as the name for the portal www.referedge.com.
Sold insurance to high-net-worth individuals and companies, including keyman insurance, employer-employee insurance etc. Became savvy with all products of rival companies as well as own products, learned how to sell to any type of Was among the leading insurance advisors in the region.
Led the region in acquiring corporate accounts of IT companies with a total huge current account float in excess of 100 Cr. Acquired corporate banking clients and advised on surplus fund management.
START-UPS: Advised startups like LeadCXO.com, Hello Dhobi, Myfiscus.in, Referedge.com, and others. Mentoring & Coaching entrepreneurs and startups to scale up, streamline, fine-tune and innovate to build sustainable, profitable and growing businesses. Includes minute details like logo, philosophy, presentations, website design, business process audit, marketing and sales strategies with lean marketing spends.
Investment Banking & Marketing Advisory: Worked with companies like Neelesh Kanade Group, Oxford Group, Softlink International and several others through Dunamis Investment Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
REAL ESTATE: Worked with companies like Naiknavare Group, Bramha Realty & Capricorn Group; Provided intelligent, well-thought digital marketing strategies for real estate companies to gain higher inquiries and visits; created sales pitches and trained the sales staff in persuasive sales techniques; Leveraged the power of the internet via smart Social Media activities that generate high interest in specific target audience; creating an outdoor media strategy after studying the micro market, customer behaviour.
