Nasir Ali

Nasir Ali has always been a sports enthusiast. Growing up in Gurugram, India, just outside New Delhi, he played competitive tennis, volleyball, and field hockey. As an adult, he tried to keep pace with the pro cyclists in the Tour de France. But over time, Ali realized that his athletic privileges weren’t universal. “The biggest problem in India is that the people who have money don’t play, and the people who want to play don’t have the facility or the money,” he says.

A work trip to China for a sports infrastructure company marked a turning point. Impressed that Chinese schools all had sports facilities so children could train from a young age, Ali thought: Why not India?

When his colleagues expressed skepticism, Ali decided to start his own business to democratize access to sports. Gallant Sports & Infra constructs playing fields and other sports facilities in India with an emphasis on the educational sector. He also founded Gallant Play, a subsidiary of the larger company, to run those facilities and encourage grassroots participation, from adults as well as schoolchildren. “We build, you play,” is Gallant’s motto.

Ali credits the Stanford Seed Transformation Program with helping him dream bigger — and growing Gallant into a $10 million enterprise. He also recently became the first licensee in India of Nike Grind, which provides infill for artificial turf, and he’s preparing to take his company public.

His greatest dream is seeing India host the 2036 Olympics. If the government’s bid succeeds, it will boost the country’s investment in sports — and popular enthusiasm. “Right now, sport is a luxury in India,” he says. “We want to make it a necessity.”

Were you always interested in business?

I was entrepreneur-minded from day one. I was a risk taker. I started my first business in 2000 — an antique furniture exports business and showroom. But I was a very fast-paced guy, and articles were moving very slowly.

What influenced your turn toward sports?

I’ve always been very passionate about sports. In 2010, we had a Commonwealth Games in India. I thought, this is the right time to get into sports. I joined Altius Sports as a director.

Altius was setting up sports infrastructure in India?

Altius was mainly into government projects in the beginning, but later ventured into the private sector, since I was heading sales and marketing. The first project we got was a hockey field for Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, which was the hockey hub of India. Many big hockey stars have come out of that region and city. At that time, there were only 20 or 30 hockey fields in the whole of India.

But the company’s emphasis remained on building for the government.

Yes, the demand was there for government projects, stadiums for international and national players. But nothing was available for grassroots players or for schools. There were only natural grass fields, which become dust bowls because there are so many people.

Why leave Altius and found your own company?

In 2015, I went to China and saw how they made it compulsory in schools to have a sports field, a tennis or badminton court, or table tennis equipment, and saw how sports were embedded in school curriculums. I thought that was the right way forward. So when I started Gallant, my focus was on the education sector. We have done sports infrastructure in more than 200 schools in India in the last eight years.

That wasn’t something you could do at Altius?

They had a different vision. They still were keen on government projects because those are bigger and more profitable. And they never thought that I’d leave. But then I went for a cycling trip in France during the Tour de France. I tried to follow them, but they were at the speed of 60, and I was at 20.

Despite lagging the cyclists, you were inspired by the experience?

My mind became clear — I thought, I can do this, let’s take the challenge. There were a lot of doubts. But I thought, let’s go and start this company. I wanted to do it my way.

What made you think you’d be successful?

In the first six months, I realized $150,000 in revenue with five or six employees. Next year, we did 10 times the business, so that made us think we are on the right track. I increased the number of people to 20. Our third year, we started our first play center in Mumbai.

And that was Gallant Play?

Yes. Gallant Play runs academies where we have very good coaches who train kids for nominal fees. We are right now training 2,000 kids in all our centers. And then in the evenings, adults can pay and play — football, tennis, basketball. But we need maybe 1,000 times more of what we are doing right now. We are 50 years behind the U.S. So it’s a long journey, and we have not seen the sunrise yet. I always tell everyone we are at 2 a.m.

Why Stanford Seed?

We were growing as a company. In 2020, we reached $2.5 million worth of business. Then COVID came, and I thought it was the right time to get into a good course. I found Stanford Seed, and it changed my whole way of looking at business.

What was the highlight of the program for you?

The peer-to-peer learning. Most of my current friends are all Stanford Seed people. We talk to each other every day. Everybody is ready to help each other, so the community has become very powerful.

You’ve said that Seed helped you go from tactical execution to strategic leadership.

Basically, it opens your mind. The program gave me a perspective that you can have calculated risks, you can have growth strategies where you can multiply rather than add. We were learning and using these ideas in the company.

Tell me about India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics.

India is one of the only large countries that has not hosted the Olympics yet. But it is not the Olympics which I am excited about. I am excited about the journey to the Olympics, because if India wants to host an Olympics, they must have players who can win medals. Every city, every district, every council should be asking for sports facilities.

So that will be good for your business?

It’s good for business. But I can only do 5% of it. I can’t do 100%, so overall the whole industry will grow.

You have recently become the first licensee of Nike Grind in India to repurpose used shoes as infill for artificial turf.

People should be thinking about sustainability in India and what kind of infill to use, how will I recycle it. We need to work on those kinds of sustainable moments. It’s a lot of knowledge sharing. It’s like the electric car. Nobody knew what it was. Now everyone knows about it. So, I think it’s a matter of time for people to start using recycled products in sports.

What are your other goals?

Our target is that in the next 10 years, one million people will play in our sports arenas, and Gallant Sports will be a large 360-degree sports company. This will allow us to contribute to making India a better, more sporty, and healthier country.