CEO Insights India

True leaders are doers, not just dreamers. Where people see risks, they see opportunities. They work towards success with humble beginnings beyond all obstacles, taking chances, building themselves from scratch, and leaving no stone unturned to crown themselves in their respective arenas. These leaders specialize in different facets of business, but they all have one thing in common: they push boundaries. Amit Singh, Co-founder, Lapis Realty is one of them.

An engineer on paper, banker by heart, and entrepreneur by choice, Amit began his professional journey with Infosys in the investment banking domain where he was involved with the Bank of America Trading desk. The world of finance fascinated him as he kept traversing through various aspects of money flow. From creating products for stock traders, Amit went on to create value for various stakeholders in the financial market from real estate developers to financial institutions and even property buyers. Throughout the last 20 years, he looked at every single assignment as an opportunity to learn and work on something new. Meeting developers, business heads, and property seekers from diverse backgrounds and translating their individual/business needs into value based solutions makes Amit look forward to each day.

At Lapis Realty, Amit is leveraging his wide experience and industry knowledge to create and deliver value for customers and clients. Let’s hear it from him.

Could you tell us about the unique experiences XLRI Jamshedpur offers and what you learned from the campus beyond academics?
Well, there are innumerable experiences. The most important life lesson I learned at XLRI is whatever we do as XL-ings should be methodical, and not only we should be grounded but at the same

time have an XL heart to give back to society. Also, the village trips, guest speaker sessions, events involving students, teaching and non-teaching staff, housekeeping staff, Joy of Giving week, and more, enriched me with valuable lessons for a lifetime. On joining back corporate after XLRI, I consistently pondered- how could I contribute to lives, outside my immediate circle. Subsequently, as my schedule at XLRI got hectic, I also learned to balance work & life in the best possible way- clocking in for classes from morning eight till eight in the evening, later working on assignments of six subjects all in different groups did the balancing act. However, the unwinding of the day used to happen by playing table tennis.

How would you define Lapis Realty as an organization and its current position in the market?
Lapis Realty was established with the thought of giving small to mid-sized builders access to professional sales teams, creating sales processes and better cash flow management, thus creating comfort for customers while opting for lesser-known brands. Over the last three-plus years, we have worked with around 10 developers, marketed over 20 projects, and sold over 1000 units worth Rs.600 crore. We have successfully been able to create a niche in this unorganized sector by collaborating with developers right from the conceptualization of the project, deciding product mix and go-to-market strategy to collecting the last penny for the project. For Lapis to deliver and grow continuously, our focus is on team training, grooming freshers to chart out career paths, and giving cultural experience to customers and clients.

What challenges did you face while under taking major projects, and if yes, how did you overcome them? Delineate your learnings from them and future plans ahead.
Lapis Realty was started in January 2020. Merely two months into this endeavor, we were faced with Covid lockdown. We had a challenging assignment to launch, an upcoming project in a non-prime location. Social distancing along with a disruption in buyers’ mindset were

the major obstacles in the very first assignment. We used technology to conduct virtual site visits, and regular engagements with interested channel partners and property seekers paved the way for our first success. Interestingly, 300 units of the project were sold without even a single hoarding being placed. Transparency is the biggest challenge in this industry, and we created an environment of trust and comfort for the channel partners by way of clear communication.

Today, at Lapis Realty, we are starting a journey of 2.0. We are looking at the expansion of our model beyond Pune to different tier-two and three cities.

Tell us about your leadership approach.
As a leader, I believe in motivating, encouraging, and empowering the team to try and taste success through their own efforts. Creating space for homegrown leaders by mentoring is my ultimate goal as a leader.

In light of your strong experience within the industry, what advice would you give to budding industry leaders?
My advice to all industry leaders (whether senior leaders in an organization/ entrepreneurs), is to always strive to create a value proposition for the customer internal or external. It helps in building the brand. Especially, for all budding entrepreneurs, I would advise keeping track of the cash flows right from day one and critically so, during the expansion phase after initial success.

Amit Singh, Co-Founder, Lapis Realty
An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur, Amit has over two decades of experience working in corporate houses like Aditya Birla, Cushman & Wakefield, Puravankara, ICICI Bank, Societe Generale, and Infosys. Pursuing an MBA in Finance at XLRI helped him connect the dots on his career path and honed his skills and dream of creating a service organization in the real estate project marketing space.

•Hobbies: Playing cricket
•Favorite Cuisine: Indian
•Favorite Book: Who Moved My Cheese
•Favorite Travel Destination: Road trips with family
•Awards & Recognitions:
•Emerging Strategic Partner By Times Realty Icon - 2023