Great Companies: Please tell me something about the business and how did you come up with such an idea?
Utsaha Khare: We started off as a consumer brand focusing on the complicated and niche category of Kids looking at the dearth of kids focused brands with international design & quality sensibilities. Marketed worldwide through eCommerce and Standalone stores, the brand found prominence among the target group leading to high demand and repeat purchases.
From a marketing/brand company we quickly pivoted into a vertically integrated fashion studio with in-house category, design and production capabilities. The objective was to optimise operations and create a nimble development cycle that was equipped to adapt to the dynamic consumer demands.
With heavy focus on Consumer Research and deployment of modern tools we were able to create market winning designs for brands giving them strategic edge.
Great Companies: What are the various services and products provided by your company?
Utsaha Khare: We provide the following services :
1) Brand led Product Strategy
2) Category Planning
3) Design Development
4) Production Management
5) Quality Assurance
6) Go-To-Market
7) eCommerce
We operate in the categories of :
1) Infants
2) Kids - Girls
3) Kids - Boys
4) Women - Casual
5) Women - Party
6) Men - Casual
Great Companies: Why should one choose you over others in this field?
Utsaha Khare: We provide our consumers with the following benefits:
1) Data
2) Design
3) Disruption
Data is the central to all our decisions. Our data analysts used latest tools to make sense of the purchase patterns and changing consumption behaviour. This input helps us to create more contextual and relatable design giving the brands the intimacy with its consumers.
We also work on new initiative and disruption projects that challenge the status quo and gives the consumer a fresh perspective to products.
Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?
Utsaha Khare: 1) Compliances - Its a complex web for someone who is grappling with fine-tuning their model so that they can survive the next day. However, the compliances do present an imposing challenge in that.
2) SME Funding - Not enough traction is witnessed in the growth fund for companies classified as MSME and SSI.
3) Talent Retention- Finding , affording and retaining a critical talent is a big challenge.
Great Companies: What do you think are the few main things which are most important for a successful business?
Utsaha Khare: 1) Product Validation - It is the most important exercise that matches the entrepreneur's vision to consumer's expectation. Not enough emphasis can be given to this exercise.
2) Motivation - Startups are fuelled by entrepreneur's motivation that percolates down to the team.