Dogs and Salesmen Not Allowed

Q: You’ve often said you weren’t a school topper. Did you always know you would build a brand?

I come from a middle-class family. My father was a sports journalist with the Indian Express, earning about ?1,500 a month. We were five children. Getting all of us educated was a challenge. I studied in missionary institutions where someone’s donation made it possible.

I was not good at studies. That was my biggest embarrassment.

Because I was short, I was made to sit in the front bench. Sitting in the front bench is not comfortable if you are not bright. The toppers sit there. They talk about becoming doctors and engineers. When they asked, “Vijay, what will you become?” I didn’t have marks to lie. In those days, ranks were put on the notice board. Everyone knew where you stood.

Some kids used to call me “idiot.” I had very low self-confidence. I wanted to be invisible. So when they asked me what I would become, I would say, “I want to be a businessman.”

Nobody in my family had done business. I didn’t even know what it meant. But I kept telling myself that story. Later, I understood the power of the subconscious mind. The story you tell yourself becomes the life you live. The world may label you, but you don’t have to accept that label.

Q: What was the first real turning point in your life?

My first day at work.

I joined as a salesman. I didn’t know how to dress. I wore a crushed shirt, rubber slippers, and carried a cloth bag. I was sent to a high-end apartment complex. The security guard stopped me and told me to read the board outside.

It said, “Dogs and Salesmen Not Allowed.”

That sentence hurt deeply. I went home and cried. The next day, with whatever little money I had, I bought a ?75 shirt and a ?150 pair of trousers. I borrowed a red tie from a friend. I polished my old shoes. I went back to the same apartment.

The same security guard did not recognise me. He saluted me. That day I learnt something fundamental. We live in a judgemental world. Your dressing is your visiting card. If someone gives you the opportunity to speak, your inner talent can shine. But if they never give you that opportunity, you remain invisible.

Years later, when I lost everything in business, that memory came back. I asked myself: how many young men want to dress well but cannot afford to? Entrepreneurship is about identifying a problem and providing a solution that people are willing to pay for. Derby was born from that question.

Q: Before Derby even began, you faced a major setback involving your father’s savings. What happened?

After two years in sales, I had saved ?1 lakh. I needed another ?1 lakh to start a small business. My father was hesitant. He said business is risky. But finally, he broke his provident fund, which was his lifetime savings, and gave me the money.

We planned to open a Punjabi restaurant. We had taken a small 200 sq. ft. space and began working on the interiors. Then we discovered we needed a chimney that would cost another ?2 lakh. My partner withdrew. He handed me the key and walked away. Before my business even started, it had failed.

That night I cried. I had invested my savings. My father had given his lifetime savings. I could not go back home and say I had lost it. The next morning, with ?10,000, I bought two second-hand Singer sewing machines. I put up a board: “Derby – Gentlemen Outfitters.” I invited a master tailor from my area, Raj Gopal Master, to join me. Sometimes you move forward because there is no option to go back.

Q: Weren’t you embarrassed shifting from corporate sales to tailoring?

Many people laughed. My former colleagues would park outside and watch me sweep the floor, serve tea, and take measurements. They would say, “You were growing so fast. Now look at you.” I never felt ashamed. It was my business. There is dignity in every form of work.

In fact, I treated tailoring differently. Customers would come, and I would sit with them for 15–20 minutes to understand their profession and lifestyle. If you are an engineer visiting sites, you need a specific wardrobe. If you are a banker, you need another. I designed wardrobes, not just shirts.

People did not see me as a tailor. They saw me as someone who understood them. Word spread. From two machines, we grew to ten. From 200 sq. ft., we moved to 500, then 1,000. We opened a second store in Adyar. The growth was steady and organic.

Q: When did Derby shift from tailoring to becoming a larger brand?

During festive seasons, people would order multiple sets. Because tailoring took time, I would ask them to come later for delivery.

They would say, “We love your fit. Why don’t you make ready-made?”

That question changed everything. I studied our customer database. I created Indian-fit patterns. I standardised sizing. When we launched ready-made, sales doubled.

That was when I understood the power of systems. Tailoring was limited in scale because every store depended on skilled masters. Ready-mades allowed standardisation. That opened the door for expansion — across Chennai, then Tamil Nadu, and beyond.

Q: You later faced a major financial crisis. How did that shape you?

In 2014, after rapid expansion, I ran into nearly ?35 crore in losses. It was devastating. I had to sell my house. I was financially broken.

Failure is not glamorous. It shakes your confidence. But it also clarifies your thinking.

Growth without control is dangerous. Expansion without systems can destroy you. That phase forced me to rebuild from the foundation: to tighten operations, strengthen processes, and focus on what we truly stand for.

When you fall, the important thing is not that you fell. It is whether you rise higher than the level at which you fell.

Q: MANY WANT TO ESTABLISH A START-UP IMMEDIATELY AFTER COLLEGE. YOUR ADVICE?

First, work. Spend two or three years in the industry you love. Learn finance, marketing, supply chain, and product development. Go with an entrepreneurial mindset, not just an employee mindset. Second, save at least 25% of your income. Discipline in saving builds freedom later. Third, don’t chase investors first. Build a minimum viable product. Show that people are willing to pay for your solution. Only then will funding find you.

Entrepreneurship is the greatest form of social service. When you create employment, you lift families out of poverty. Jobs create dignity.

Q: WHAT DEFINES SUCCESS FOR YOU TODAY?

Success is not about stores or turnover. I have seen growth and bankruptcy. Both are temporary. What matters is whether you are becoming the best version of yourself.

Passion for excellence is important. You must beat your own yesterday. You cannot build anything alone. Building a team, removing ego, and respecting people; that is leadership. Discipline creates energy. How you eat, how you sleep, whether you exercise, whether you give yourself silence — these matter. I exercise almost every day. I record my habits. Above all, focus. Burning desire combined with single-minded focus.

Q: What would you tell the 19-year-old wannabe entrepreneurs reading this?

Do not accept the label the world gives you. If they call you “idiot,” that is their opinion. It is not your identity. I was that boy who wanted to be invisible. I was the salesman who was stopped at the gate. I was the entrepreneur who lost his father’s savings. I was the businessman who ran into massive losses. Every fall was also a test.

So I would say, hold yourself to higher standards than the world holds you to. That is how you build something meaningful.