Leading with Purpose: Why Doing Things Differently Matters

By: Neha Mohatta, CEO & Co-founder, Brize

Neha Mohatta is a visionary entrepreneur who is committed to develop smart, sustainable, and design-led solutions for friendlier modern living. Through Brize, India's first consumer-centric D2C air cooler brand, she is transforming the cooling industry by intertwining innovation, aesthetics, and convenience in homes and workplaces. 

In an engaging interaction with Women Entrepreneurs Review, Neha discusses her inspiring journey of transforming the air-cooling category through Brize. She talks about redefining customer experience, the desire to challenge legacy systems, leading with cultural trust, and balancing instinct and insight while being unwaveringly customer-first.

Every entrepreneur begins with a spark. What was that defining moment when you realized the industry needed a complete rethink, not just another product or brand?

I wanted to build something that not only mattered, but genuinely resonated with my customers. I had realized how disconnected the air cooler industry was from its customers. That was the defining moment in my entrepreneurial journey.

Dealers had a monopoly over what products were being bought, warranties lapsed before the next season and there was barely any after-sales service provided. As a consumer, these gaps were glaring. People were buying a necessity but not an experience. That’s when I knew for certain that I wanted to change this, I knew this industry did not need another cooler but a rethink of how customer experience could be delivered in the cooling industry.

Brize began with the question: what if we built a business model that prioritized customer experience first and foremost? This thought shaped our business model. From our unconditional three-year motor warranty, rental solutions to free off-season maintenance are all about building trust in a market where convenience and care were missing.

Turning an idea into a real, working business often means questioning long-held systems. How did you navigate the resistance that comes with doing things differently?

That’s true, especially in legacy-driven categories like ours where doing something different will generate friction. We were questioned many times on our 3-year unconditional warranty policy or the free post-season maintenance which no one else did in the industry. For me, the answer to this question was simply that customers’ trust comes before short-term margins. We focused on proving the mode. The conversation changed when people saw our customers were returning because of service reliability.

I always have my team to see every challenge as an opportunity for growth. One of our strongest verticals is our rental model which was also met with skepticism at first. But, we succeeded with rent-o-cooler as customers experienced the ease of avoiding hassles that come with owning, maintaining and repairing coolers. Resistance, in many ways, helped us stay motivated and grounded towards our customer-first approach.

Customer-first thinking sounds simple, but it requires courage to implement. What were some key decisions that really tested your belief in that philosophy?

Customer-first thinking is not a new concept but it is hard to implement in our country where the toughest decisions were the ones that didn’t immediately make business sense and are often tossed out of meeting rooms but we still went ahead with this approach. And that is what made the difference for us.

Our innovations such as free home delivery, a 7-day replacement policy, an unconditional three-year warranty on motors, and free post-season cleaning and maintenance always challenged the status quo established in the industry. It tested us operationally and financially.

Another defining moment was launching Rent-O-Cooler. It cut down the high costs of seasonal equipment for our customers. It worked well even though it went against the grain of product sales.

As a bootstrapped company, our every choice demanded patience but seeing customer loyalty grow organically reaffirmed my belief that long-term credibility always outweighs short-term gains.

As a founder, building trust with customers, partners, and your team becomes everything. How did you create a culture of credibility and ownership?

We have built a culture where trust and accountability was our utmost priority. Every team member understood that our biggest differentiator wasn’t product design, and how we treat people. Transparency is a practice for us, not just a value. Credibility comes from consistency whether it’s being upfront with customers about service timelines or sharing numbers openly with our team.

Our employees are not just selling coolers, they are helping families and businesses stay comfortable. That sense of impact creates pride and accountability. As we grew, our clients and partners saw that same integrity reflected in our work. This has helped us build lasting relationships with our stakeholders. We earn trust through our actions which speak louder than our words.

Building a business often means striking a balance between instinct and insight. How do you balance gut instinct with personal data when making big, strategic calls?

Instinct and insight are two sides of the same coin. For me, my instinct tells me where the opportunity lies and data helps me validate and further scale it. When we first considered rental coolers, we observed client behaviour like their hesitation to buy high-value coolers for short-term use.

After testing the idea, we collected data that proved it right. Our retail expansion decisions are grounded in both customer feedback and sales insights. Customer conversations often reveal more than numbers.

Balance is maintained in knowing when to listen to the market and when to trust your conviction enough to lead it.

For entrepreneurs looking to build in traditional fields, what is your advice about staying flexible when the road turns out to be longer than expected?

Traditional industries often evolve slowly. My advice for budding entrepreneurs in traditional industries would be not to mistake flexibility for compromise. Adaptability can be adopted without losing sight of your core philosophy. When you are building yourself in traditional spaces where multiple verticals need to operate in sync, it is important to keep evolving with the trends and keep rethinking your business approach.

From launching rentals to strengthening our corporate partnerships, we have evolved constantly. Every pivot came from listening closely to customer pain points. For us, flexibility is quick adaptability and celebrating small achievements while keeping our long-term vision intact. The journey can be longer than expected but that often offers a hidden opportunity to learn and grow meaningfully.