Karan B.

Most people think AI will help people do their jobs faster. I am interested in something bigger: 𝐀𝐈-𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞.I am re-building Hula Global as the AI-native operating layer for apparel sourcing. A fashion brand shouldn't have to spend weeks finding factories, comparing quotes, validating capabilities, coordinating samples and chasing production. It should be able to share a product brief and get a production-ready supply chain. That's what we're building at Hula Global: combining AI agents, manufacturing intelligence and 15 years of hands-on industry experience to take sourcing from product requirements to execution.𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲; 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗪𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱.The insight behind this is simple: the unit of apparel sourcing isn't the factory. It's the product-capability match : whether a specific factory can actually reproduce the fabric, construction, finish, quality and cost a brand requires. I have spent 15 years in the trenches of global apparel manufacturing, working across product development, sourcing, costing, factory operations, quality, logistics and international trade. Through Hula Global, I had the opportunity to work with over 200+ brands navigating manufacturing and supply chains across Asia. I have seen firsthand where traditional sourcing breaks down: fragmented information, poor capability matching, manual coordination and execution risk. We are using AI to rebuild that operating model - not simply add a chatbot to it. My broader focus is on 𝗔𝗜-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀: companies that combine deep domain expertise, proprietary operational intelligence and AI agents to deliver measurable outcomes in complex, real-world industries. Alongside Hula Global, I work on operational value creation and investment opportunities through Pepper Fund, focusing on businesses where better execution, stronger supply chains and improved unit economics can unlock enterprise value. (Update - Pepper is paused to focus my attention on Hula)𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀: The next generation of category leaders won't just give people better tools. They'll build companies that get the job done. Background: Production Engineering | MBA, NTU Singapore | MSc, ESSEC ParisConnect with me:Instagram: @karanbose_YouTube: youtube.com/@fashionbusinessacademyWebsite: hulaglobal.com