Where Yoga and Business Meet
Starting at the end of April 2022 we will start hosting yoga classes at Manzana each Tuesday from 5:15 pm led by Sarah Ferguson of Yoga Online. As a fan of Valka Yoga’s sustainable cork yoga mats, we reached out to Danny Garg, the founder, to acquire some mats for our upcoming classes at Manzana.
Danny graciously offered us a special discount (so now we can offer mats to those who don’t have their own to bring to class!) and we also started having a good conversation about business and yoga. Interview by Sarah Ferguson.
You’ve had several interesting incarnations in the business world already. What was one of the turning points for you in business?
After completing my degrees at university, I got a "dream" job at Deloitte. Looking from the outside, one could say I had made it. But I hated my job. I found the culture at Deloitte to be an extremely toxic cocktail of elitism, sexism, racism, and binge drinking. Dame Margaret Bazley's 2018 report on law firm Russell McVeagh could just as easily have been on an accounting firm like Deloitte. While I was working at Deloitte, I was also running a small eCommerce business on the side which I had started at university. I was able to make enough profit from this business to cover my day to day expenses. So I felt that if I could make enough money selling office electronics on TradeMe (a product which I had zero interest in), I could just as easily be able to make a sufficient amount selling products that I was passionate about. I knew that starting the business would be a struggle, but it sounded better than a life spent chained to a desk. I would rather create a tangible product that has value and empowers peoples' lives than continue working at Deloitte and help the rich pay less taxes. That's how I started Valka Yoga. (For more on how I came up with the cork yoga products read here).
Who and where were you in your life when you started yoga?
I was in my penultimate year of university finishing off my law degree. I was also working 30 hours a week. To say I was burnt out would be an understatement. A friend recommended I try yoga to relax, recharge and counteract all the time spent sitting. So I signed up for my first class at the Auckland Yoga Academy. I signed up for three months right after my first class. I was hooked...
Where does the name for your business come from?
In Sanskrit, Yoga, of course, means union. Valka means the bark of a tree. Funnily enough, in Latin, Valka also means strong and healthy. Cork, the hero material featured in most of our products, is essentially the sustainably harvested bark of a cork oak tree. And since we also plant a tree for every yoga mat sold, Valka Yoga was the perfect name of the business. The name also ended up being a guiding principle of the business.
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
I tried to launch a hand sanitiser brand in Aotearoa during the pandemic - a product I wasn't really passionate about. The product was a flop and following that failure, I now tend to focus only on products that get me excited.
Valka Yoga has a strong sustainability aspect to the products. What have been some of the challenges in taking this path?
Making a sustainable version of anything is tricky. Synthetic materials like plastics can be made to resemble and perform in many different ways. So when it comes to using natural materials, there are almost always compromises to be made. But natural products can have amazing advantages. For instance, cork is naturally antimicrobial and when wet, it actually becomes sticky thanks to the presence of a natural substance called suberin. So it ends up being perfect for a yoga mat for hot or intense yoga sessions. Cost is always another factor but most yogis and yoginis care enough about the environment and usually want to practice on a well made yoga mat. We were fortunate enough to find a main supplier to work with who was able to provide us products that were plastic free in packaging that was plastic free. But it took time to do so with another supplier. However, with enough convincing we were able to go plastic free after the first year. My advice to any businesses that are being overwhelmed with these challenges is to take incremental steps towards sustainability. Start with something small, like removing the plastic packaging. And then work towards finding alternatives to synthetic and non recyclable materials used in the actual product. Every little bit makes a difference.
What effect does being based in Aotearoa have on Valka Yoga?
Being based in Aotearoa has been both a blessing and a challenge for Valka Yoga. On one hand, we find that the yoga community in New Zealand really cares about sustainability and the planet. We are therefore one of the most popular New Zealand brands for anything yoga related. On the other hand, shipping any of our products overseas is expensive since New Zealand is so far from the rest of the world. And shipping rates have only gone up during the pandemic. So that has, in effect, restricted Valka Yoga's growth overseas.
What would you do differently if you were starting a business today?
I would think bigger and take more risks. Sadly, it's no longer original to start a "sustainable" brand. There are so many out there. And with all the greenwashing, sell-out publications (*cough* Forbes) and fake reviews out there, it's getting harder and harder for genuinely sustainable brands to emerge in existing markets. Sustainability is in, and pretending to be sustainable is part of every brand's agenda nowadays. So I would ideally launch a brand new product or solve a problem nobody has been able to solve before. This is, of course, risky and hard to do. But we also have only one life and only one planet. Let's make it count.
What does success look like to you?
Being great at what you do and living a happy, healthy and fulfilling life with good friends and family.
Who is the smartest person you know personally? Why?
My brother in law. He's the Founder and CEO of a Digital Solutions Agency with over 500 employees. He runs a foundation which provides free education and healthcare to underprivileged children in India. During the coronavirus pandemic in India, he set up a fund for the families of all his employees who got ill or passed away due to illness. He's also a fantastic father (to my three nieces) and husband. Did I also mention that he finds time to workout for an hour before work every morning?
Finally, what are your favorite podcasts, and/or books to recommend?
Any podcast with Alex Hormozi in it and books: Zero to One by Peter Thiel, Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson.
Use the promo code “MANZANA” for 10% off your Valka Yoga purchases.
