HANDICRAFTS & ACCESSORIES

Kopai-Paar

Who: Neha Rungta, a 38-year-old filmmaker.

Go to her for: Handloom lounge-wear and home decor items made by rural artisans. 

First step: “I was always interested in handicrafts and have always felt that every piece of home decor should be unique. I have travelled a lot for work and, over the years, I’ve discovered different forms of handicrafts and got to know about the people who make them. It is sad how most of us have no idea about these beautiful pieces of art and the people behind them. So I came up with a start-up that gives them a push, and I too can put my designing ideas into their work and sell these pieces of art,” says Neha, a resident of Ballygunge.

Training: “The artisans who are involved have been practising their trade for generations. I often give them the designs which they work on,” said Neha.

Biz model: Neha started off with a capital of Rs 20 lakh from her savings. “My family, especially my mother, assisted me on this venture. Once an order is placed, we deliver the item to the client. There is a delivery charge, which depends on the destination of the order,” said Neha, who floated Kopai-Paar in August 2016. The raw materials are sourced from the regions the artisans belong to. 

Pocket pinch: Table mats start at Rs 130, scarves are priced upwards of Rs 1,300 and utility baskets are priced between Rs 950 and Rs 1,900.

Look up: @Kopaipaar on Facebook and Instagram. Or visit kopaipaar.com. 

Next step: “I will try to open a store where people can learn from these artisans over a cup of coffee. It will basically be a place for creativity and not just sales,” said Neha. 

GARDEN

Plantster

Who: Ayush Ray, 20, a third-year BBA student of iLead. 

Go to him for: Potted plants and seeds for gardening and decor.

First step: “I have a garden at home, which made me think about the vanishing greenery around the city. I wanted to bring about a change in my own way and came up with the idea of distributing plants for gardening and decoration,” said Ayush, who started Plantster in November 2017.

Training: He has learnt everything about gardening while assisting his mother in the garden at their Ballygunge residence. 

Biz model: Ayush, who mostly grows the plants in his garden, began his venture with Rs 3,000. For some special orders, he gets plants from various markets. “If it’s a bulk order, I don’t charge for home delivery. Else, one has to pay Rs 20 extra,” he added. 

Pocket pinch: Potted plants are priced between Rs 50 and Rs 500. 

Look up: @ayushray08 on Facebook and @plantster08 on Instagram.

Next step: “I would like to own a nursery and continue selling plants,” said Ayush.

TRAVEL

Izifiso

Who: Gopal Paul, 30, post-graduate in geological sciences from Jadavpur University. 

Go to him to: Plan camping trips and treks in different parts of West Bengal. There’s a variety to choose from — lakes to mountains. 

First step: “After completing my education, I took up a job in the research division of a cement company in Mumbai. I returned to Calcutta in 2016 with the idea of having a start-up related to tourism but with a twist. In November last year, we came up with our first camp, at Mousuni Island in the Sunderbans, and that’s how our journey began,” said the Jadavpur boy.

Training: Gopal completed an entrepreneurship programme from S.P. Jain Business School, Mumbai. Once the project took off, nine young entrepreneurs came on board. 

Biz model: “I started with Rs 10 lakh, the amount I had saved during my job back in Mumbai,” said Gopal, who dreams of bringing about a change in the tourism industry. 

Pocket pinch: Packages are priced between Rs 900 and Rs 1,600 per day per person. 

Look up: @izifiso on Facebook and Instagram. Or visit izifiso.com.

Next step: “There are plans to organise camps in other states. We are also planning to hold different kinds of camps, like spiritual and musical,” said Gopal. 

BAKING

The Cakery

Who: Yashvee Dewan, 19, a third-year journalism and mass communication student at Amity University Kolkata.

Go to her for: Cakes and cupcakes. Her speciality is chocolate, red velvet and Oreo cakes.

First step: “In Class XI we had organised a farewell party for the Class XII students. I had baked a two-tier cake for a reasonable price and that gave me the idea for a start-up,” said the girl from Lake Town.

Training: Yashvee attended a cookie baking workshop in Salt Lake in 2016.

Biz model: “I started with Rs 300!” said Yashvee, who buys her ingredients from New Market. “I usually bake at night because most of the time the cakes need to be delivered in the morning. I also bake when I am not studying.” There’s a home delivery charge of Rs 15 per km. 

Pocket pinch: Rs 40 onwards for cupcakes and Rs 500 onwards for cakes. 

Look up: @happycakes2015 on Facebook.

Next step: “I would like to pursue a bakery course and then open a food truck. I would also like to set up a doughnut shop in Calcutta,” said Yashvee.

APPAREL

Twirl.store

Who: Sujata Chatterjee, a 36-year-old engineering graduate from University of Kalyani.

Go to her for: A range of clothing, accessories and home decor.

First step: In 2017, Sujata started looking for women who have the skill to upscale fabric and started work with 10 women from rural Bengal. “I was motivated to contribute towards the empowerment of women. Through Twirl.store, we are able to help the environment by reusing fabrics and we employ women from the districts of Bengal,” said the Bhowanipore resident.

Biz model: “Customers can sign up on our website and make requests to send old fabrics. We have five drop boxes — in Dalhousie, Salt Lake, Alipore, Bhowanipore and Behala — for customers to drop old fabrics. We also pick them up from houses. The ones that cannot be upscaled are donated. The women work on the usable fabrics. These products are then made available for purchase on the website,” said Sujata. 

Those who drop off their old clothes are awarded points, which they can redeem while making a purchase on the website.

Pocket pinch: Clothes are priced between Rs 400 and Rs 2,500, accessories between Rs 200 and Rs 999, and home decor between Rs 175 and Rs 500. 

Look up: @twirl.storeindia on FB and @twirl.store on Instagram. Or visit www.twirl.store. 

Next step: “Twirl.store is now associated with 50 women and we plan to include more in the coming year. We want to enter the offline retail market in the coming year too,” said Sujata.

Just Hashtags

Who: Two 20-year-olds — Swarupjit Palit, a third-year economics student of St. Xavier’s College, and Pranoy Ray, a third-year BTech student of NIT, Durgapur.

Go to them for: Customised shirts and T-shirts. 

First step: “We are childhood friends. Swarupjit’s school (Calcutta Boys’ School) needed batch T-shirts for Class XII 2017 and I knew designing, so we decided to join hands and design customised T-shirts. Once it was approved by the school, we decided to have our own start-up. Just Hashtags was born in April 2016,” said Pranoy, who lives in Lake Town.

Biz model: They usually take bulk orders from schools, colleges and corporate houses. The raw materials are sourced from Thakurpukur and New Market. “We give the materials and designs to a tailoring-and-printing factory. Because of college, we can only meet over weekends,” said Swarupjit, who lives in Baguiati.

Pocket pinch: Rs 250 to Rs 400.

Look up: @Justhashtagskolkata on FB and justhashtags_kolkata on Instagram.

Next step: “We want more people to join us as partners to help us expand,” said Pranoy.

JEWELLERY

Jhikimiki 

Teerna Sanyal, a second-year MBA student of Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi, started the Calcutta-based jewellery start-up three-years ago. “I borrowed Rs 1,000 from my mother for it. During my graduation I didn’t have much work, so I wanted to do something that would keep me busy,” said the 22-year-old from Kudghat who sources raw materials from Gariahat and Burrabazar. 

Pocket pinch: From Rs 65 to Rs 2,500.

Look up: @jhikimiki.jewellery on FB and @jhikimiki on Instagram.

Angaraag 

Parna Naskar, a first-year sociology masters student, Jadavpur University, began her venture for German silver jewellery in December 2016. “I started with Rs 250, which I earned by giving tuitions. I get raw materials from Burrabazar,” said the 22-year-old from Joka who makes the jewellery herself in free time. “Customers can pick up the products from Jadavpur, Thakurpukur, Behala and all the metro stations in Calcutta. If I need to courier, I charge between Rs 20 and Rs 50,” she said.

Pocket pinch: Rs 20 to Rs 300

Look up: @parnascreation on FB page angaraag_p on Instagram.

Tuki Taki Crafts 

Payal Chowdhury, a third-year mathematics student of Bethune College, used to make jewellery with paper as gifts for her friends. “In 2017, my family was undergoing a financial crisis. I started teaching children to earn money. That’s when my mom suggested I do something I like and I came up with Tuki Taki Crafts in March 2017. I had saved Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 from tuitions. I get my raw materials from Burrabazar,” said Payal, who learnt jewellery making by watching videos on YouTube. Her jewellery is made with German silver and clay; she also makes stationery like pen stands and bookmarks. 

Pocket pinch: Rs 30 to Rs 350. 

Look up: @tukitakicrafts on FB and Instagram.

Text: Nurul Hasan and Vedant Karia

Things people who have start-ups are sick of hearing

Why don’t you get a real job?

Too many people in our lives seem to think that only a corporate job is a “real” job. They are under the impression that we are just wasting time and we will never be able to earn. And not just us, they also have advice for our partners! “Don’t date till they have a stable job” is what they will tell them. 

Why take a risk at the beginning of your career?

When should one take risks? Surely not when we reach 40? 

What’s your long-term plan?

Obviously a business that can sustain itself (and us)... and we’re proud of it. This is not a short-term phase or some sort of late-adolescent rebellion. Maybe help us out, instead of making us feel even less confident in an uncertain world!

Since you don’t have a job, take a day off, na!

This makes our blood boil. We’re not lazing around all day watching TV in our pyjamas. In fact, we have more work to do, partly because we are the boss and the employee.

You’re so lucky that you don’t have to go to an office. No stress or travelling or dress codes or boss’s expectations!

Yes, we don’t have to go to office regularly but we do still have client meetings. Believe it or not, some of us even have offline offices and teams that we work with. Our workplace might be more relaxed, but it’s still a workplace with all the pressures that everyone else has. 

Please give me an internship, I really need the experience. And I’m your friend!

It’s always the person completely unqualified to do the job who says this. We love you as “my friend”, but this is a completely unfair request! 

Do this for free, I’m your friend! 

Let us say this loud and clear: START-UPS (and freelance!) ARE NOT HERE TO WORK FOR FREE, not even for “exposure”. We understand that your resources are limited, but so are ours! It’s even worse when a friend would promise someone that we would do their job for free.

Must be so difficult working without a steady pay cheque.

Just imagine asking this to anyone else with literally any other job. It’s an extremely impolite question, unless you’re discussing an actual business transaction! 

Listen, I have some feedback to give about your start-up. 

We want feedback but not from someone who has no idea about what we are doing. It is usually one of the elderly uncles at a family function. We appreciate your enthusiasm and concern, but we could really do without the dose of negativity.

Arrey yaar, I could have done this, I had the same idea also.

(Cue for the eye-roll) Ah, we see. You should have worked on your own idea then. Thanks! 

Text: Ravjit Singh, Vedant Karia and Rushati Mukherjee