MDM Speaks with Our Founder: How a Second-Generation Distributor Built Avent
Modern Distribution Management sits down with Abhay Kalra to discuss how growing up in his family's distribution business inspired Avent.
We're excited to share that Modern Distribution Management (MDM), one of the most respected voices in the wholesale distribution industry, published a feature on Avent and our founder Abhay Kalra.
The piece, written by MDM Senior Editor Vesna Brajkovic, explores how Abhay's experience growing up in his family's electrical and industrial distribution business in India shaped the vision behind Avent — and why he believes AI can unlock growth for distributors everywhere.
From the Article
"We had chances to grow, but the team didn't have time to go after new accounts; they were too busy processing what was already on their plate," Kalra told MDM. "And since everything depended on hiring, growth was always limited by how fast we could find and train good people."
While studying electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley, Kalra founded what he believes is the solution: Avent.
What MDM Highlights
The article covers Avent's three core automation capabilities:
"When a customer sends in an RFQ, the system finds the right pricing, generates a quote and sends it out," Kalra explains. "When a PO comes in, it's matched against the quote, and the sales order is created and entered into the ERP."
Y Combinator Backing
The article also notes Avent's acceptance into Y Combinator — the same accelerator behind Airbnb, Stripe and DoorDash — as a signal of investor confidence in the industrial distribution technology market.
"A lot of very capable people try to build for this industry, but they underestimate how hard it is to get a clear answer by just asking, 'What's broken?'" Kalra said. "Most people will say, 'Nothing,' not because everything's perfect, but because they don't always know what's possible."
