Storyboard18 | Written by IIM Alumnus

Brands look for points of difference (POD), after they have ticked all the boxes that are called the points of parity (POP). (Photo: Mehrshad Rajabi via Unsplash)

I remember after my thread ceremony I was told to seek the blessings of the elders by reciting the following mantra: Abhivaadaye Vaishwamaitra… The mantra, if you call it that, recites your lineage and your Gotrah.

In the startup era, your new Abhivaadaye is your alma mater. While raising funds if you recite the right Gotrah, IIT, IIM, Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley… the VC firm will pay attention to your deck a little more than if you did not recite the right mantra.

A recent analysis done by AngelList said that startups founded by alumni of less known universities have had better ‘mark up rates’, i.e. their funding valuation moves up faster. But the analysis also admits ‘This isn’t to say Stanford founders produce less successful startups than founders from other schools. Startups founded by Stanford alumni make up an outsized portion of startup success rates because of their higher valuations. The lower markup rates are indicative of founders from universities like Washington and Waterloo being unable to get high initial valuations on their startups, relative to startups founded by Stanford and Harvard alumni’.

It is well known that a good alma mater gets you the attention your startup deserves and the right valuation. But what about the end consumer? Do they really care if you are from IIM or IIT or BITS?

A year ago, this ad caught my attention. It was for a new milk brand, Country Delight, which mentioned that it was an ‘An IIM Alumni Initiative’. This week the brand was trending since someone had shared a picture of their milk pouch pack which mentions ‘Founded by IIM Alumni’.

Does this make a difference to the perception of the brand? @ashoklalla even mocked the claim ‘Did the founders hope that people think IIM is the Indian Institute of Milk’.

Why did the founders decide to announce their IIM status? And will it make any difference?

Brands competing in cluttered markets look for points of difference (POD). This is after they have ticked all the boxes that are called the points of parity (POP).

In this case the brand offers fresh milk, processed in hygienic way, full of goodness, packed and priced attractively, etc. Their main claim seems to be that their milk comes to your home in just a few hours (as against all other brands that may be processing and storing the milk for days).

As a claim this is very strong and a POD in capitals. The founders know that they are new to the business and don’t have the credibility or a dairy lineage, hence have used the IIM Alumni tag. Some ads even say that this is ‘A doodhwala initiative by IIM Alumni’.

Obviously this seems to have helped them - not just to raise venture capital money, but also given them a slight edge. Remember that in addition to the end consumers, there is the whole milk-distribution ecosystem and it is likely that a shopkeeper will trust someone with the right education to not cheat you with poor quality milk.

And thanks to HUL and other FMCG companies, gali gali ka dookandaars know that IIM graduates are very competent folks. To sell soaps, shampoos and more.

Maybe the strategy of mentioning IIM is working for the brand. It was trending and here I am writing about them.