Category Lead - Soda Ash

SourceOne SourceRe SourcePlus SourceIntel

India's largest tech-led B2B industrial-materials distribution platform - Pune, India

About Source:

Source (source.one) is India's largest and fastest-growing technology-led B2B platform for industrial materials currently ~7,000cr ARR across Polymers, Chemicals, Minerals, TiO2, Solvents, Recycled Polymers and Compounded materials, and expanding into new verticals. Source is profitable, among the largest players in Indian industrial-materials distribution, and backed by India SME Investments and Param Capital (Mukul Agarwal family office).

Distribution runs on two brands: SourceOne, an asset-light, back-to-back distribution business for virgin/commodity materials material owners quote prices, and Source orchestrates the trade so buyers transact at one best price, entirely digitally, without Source owning inventory; and SourceRe, which extends the same trust and technology to recyclables and reprocessed materials.

The Iron Triangle: Commerce, Logistics, Finance:

Source's core thesis is that no back-to-back trade is complete on price alone it has to be orchestrated across three legs at once: Commerce (sourcing, pricing, matching buyer to seller at the best landed price), Logistics (freight, routing, delivery reliability) and Finance (credit, insurance, working-capital funding of the trade cycle). Most traditional trade channels are strong on one leg and weak on the other two; Source's moat is running all three together, in-house and at scale, for every transaction. Soda Ash sits inside Source's Minerals/Chemicals category alongside TiO2 this role is accountable for standing up and scaling the iron triangle specifically for Soda Ash.

Intelligence: SourcePlus & SourceIntel:

Alongside Distribution, Source runs an Intelligence pillar that turns the platform's pricing, market and transaction data into monetisable products. SourcePlus (plus.source.one) sells real-time price-discovery and market-insight subscriptions to buyers and sellers (~20-25L/mo today). SourceIntel (intel.source.one) is a GST/entity-level intelligence product PAN/GST-wise visibility into what's being bought and sold still in build and not yet monetised. Both are proof that Source's data, not just its distribution volume, is a standalone asset; a mature Soda Ash category is expected to eventually feed this same intelligence layer.

The Opportunity:

We are hiring a Category Lead to build and own the Soda Ash category within Source's Chemicals/Minerals business. Soda Ash meets Source's core entry criteria: a large, fragmented base of buyers (glass, detergents, chemicals, textiles) and sellers (domestic producers and importers), a market measured in millions of tonnes, a price point that supports a healthy ex-works+freight+margin stack, and a credible path to a meaningful monthly-volume business at 1-2% margin. This is a hands-on, largely 0-to-1 mandate similar in spirit to how TiO2 and Solvents were stood up first sellers, first buyers, first trades, before scaling a team.

Where You'll Take Us Next:

- Build the Soda Ash category P&L validate unit economics, onboard the first sellers and buyers, and run the first back-to-back trades personally before hiring a team around proven volume.

- Extend Source's trust playbook into a new category - carry the credibility Source has built in Polymers, TiO2 and Solvents into Soda Ash's buyer and seller base.

- Plug into Source's growth levers credit (Source's 150cr credit capacity and upcoming anchor-led SCF), logistics optimisation via TMS, and trust & awareness the same lowering-buyer-price-to-drive-volume flywheel that runs Polymers, Solvents and TiO2 today.

- Own the roadmap with category and functional leadership full commercial accountability and a direct hand in shaping how Soda Ash gets built inside Source.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Market thesis & segment selection:

- Define and validate the Soda Ash category thesis: sub-segment focus (e.g., light vs. dense soda ash, domestic vs. imported supply), target end-use industries (glass, detergents, chemicals, textiles, etc.), and volume/price-band economics against Source's own entry criteria.

- Map the competitive landscape (domestic producers, importers, traditional stockists/distributors) and identify where Source's back-to-back, tech-enabled model creates a genuine edge.

2. Sourcing, sales & execution:

- Onboard the first sellers (producers, importers, traders) and buyers; run the initial trades hands-on sourcing, pricing, negotiation, execution.

- Build pricing/quoting logic (seller price + freight + margin, one price to buyer) in partnership with Source's product and tech teams, replicating the model that runs Polymers, TiO2 and Solvents.

3. Team & scale:

- Hire and build the founding Soda Ash team (account managers, operations) as volume scales past initial proof points.

- Institute the same post-order operating discipline Source is rolling out platform-wide a single Order Manager owning fulfilment end to end, rather than fragmented seller/buyer back-office and transport roles.

4. Reporting & ownership:

- Report to category/Chemicals & Minerals leadership with full ownership of the Soda Ash category P&L - revenue, margin and volume.

What You'll Deliver in the First 12 Months:

- A validated Soda Ash segment thesis with the first cohort of sellers and buyers live on-platform.

- First back-to-back trades executed and a repeatable pricing/quoting model in production.

- A monthly volume run-rate that proves the path to a scaled, 1-2% margin business.

- A small founding team (account managers, ops) hired and operating, with you transitioning from personally running trades to leading the category.

- A clear recommendation on how Soda Ash expands - additional grades/segments, credit-enabled trades, or cross-sell into Source's existing 22,000+ buyer/seller base.

Who You Are - Must-Haves:

- Minimum 8 years in the Soda Ash or broader inorganic chemicals trading/distribution industry, on either the producer/importer side or the trading/distribution side. Direct Soda Ash market experience is strongly preferred.

- Proven commercial ownership - a track record of owning revenue and margin for a product line, region, or trading book, not a purely functional sales or procurement role.

- A strong, activatable network - existing relationships with Soda Ash buyers and/or sellers (producers, importers, traders, converters) that can be brought on-platform quickly.

- Founder-mode comfort - genuinely at ease in a lean, high-ambiguity, 0-to-1 environment; this is building a category, not inheriting one.

Nice to Have:

- Experience in a distribution, trading, or marketplace model, rather than pure manufacturing.

- Exposure to GST-era organised trade in commodities - similar to how Polymers, PVC and PET consolidated post-GST, which Source rode early.

- A prior entrepreneurial track record - has started or scaled a business, division, or trading desk before.

What Will NOT Work Here:

- A functional chemicals-industry executive (sales/procurement head) who has never owned P&L and expects a ready-made team on arrival.

- Someone who needs an established playbook, big budget, or large team before they'll start moving - this role starts with the category lead doing the first trades personally.

- A brand-chaser rather than a value-for-money operator - Source's model wins on price leadership and trust, not premium positioning.