He Turned KES 11,000 Into Scanad, a Listed Pan-African Company | Bharat Thakrar| Business Edition

In December 1982, Bharat Thakrar started Scanad with KES 11,000 after selling his Honda for KES 14,000. What began as a one man advertising agency grew into a listed Pan African business valued at KES 9 billion at its height. Along the way, he built multiple agencies to navigate client exclusivity, took over McCann's Kenyan business in 24 hours, secured an approximately US$18 million annual Airtel mandate across 18 countries and brought employees into the ownership of the business. This is the story of how Scanad was built, the commercial decisions behind its growth and the discipline required to scale a business across markets. But building a successful company and retaining control of its future are two different challenges. Bharat reflects on bringing global partners into Scannad, taking the business public, the governance and ownership lessons he learned, and the events that led to him losing his leadership position. He also shares what he would negotiate differently today. In this episode of Financially Incorrect Business Edition, we unpack the money, people, partnerships and decisions behind one of Kenya's most consequential advertising businesses. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financially Incorrect Live Early Bird Tickets Still Available Get Yours Here: ⁠https://mookh.com/financiallyincorrec...⁠ Access all our links in one place: ⁠https://lnk.bio/Financially_Inc⁠ 💹 Ready to start trading? 🧑‍🏫 Learn how to trade: ⁠https://lnk.bio/fxpesa⁠ 📲 Open a demo trading account: ⁠https://bit.ly/DemoAccountYT⁠ 📈 Start live trading: ⁠https://bit.ly/LiveAccountYT⁠ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Episode Chapters 00:00:00 Intro + FI Live, 28 November 00:12:02 The Live TV Show That Hooked Him on Advertising 00:25:02 Hand-Counting 1,200 Surveys Got Him His First Real Job 00:44:54 Selling His Car to Start Scanad With KES 11,000 00:52:57 A £1,400 Trip to London That Beat 9 Agencies for KCB 00:57:19 "Money in the Bank Isn't Yours": His #1 Money Rule 01:01:47 Convincing Tanzania's Radio to Start Selling Ads 01:07:01 How Scanad Got Around "One Client Per Category" 01:10:19 Taking Over McCann Kenya in 24 Hours 01:17:56 20% of His Agency to Hire One Writer 01:28:16 Listing on the NSE and Giving 28 Staff Shares 01:43:39 How WPP Came In and One Email Won Airtel in 18 Countries 01:53:03 Only A-Levels, So He Hired 3 MBAs 02:02:05 His Side of the WPP Exit and the KES 1.2B Question 02:16:58 Masterclass: How Agencies Really Make Money