In 2013, Sneha Chattopadhyay did the unthinkable. As family and friends shuddered in horror, this spunky girl quit college and launched her own start-up. The 23-year-old from Tollygunge started off with THE MONKEY PROJECTS, a photo studio, bidding her Bachelor’s in media science from NSHM a firm goodbye. A year later, she ventured into women’s fashion.

“I joined NSHM because everyone said I should, but I personally never wanted to. I hate studying and mugging up notes! That’s clearly not for me. For society, a degree is like marriage, one has to have it to survive, whether one likes it or not. Despite my parents not being happy about me quitting college, I decided to leave and go into business. Yes it was risky, but the classroom was never my place,” said Sneha, who started the business with financial support from her father.

Her love for the lens from schooldays meant she could already wield the camera. YouTube helped with technique. “I have no technical knowledge about DSLRs, but I used to click with my dad’s digital camera and my uncle would give me subjects, like people, tree or food, every day. So I started The Monkey Projects with shoots — ad shoots, fashion shoots, portfolios, shoots for calendars, etc. I also employed amateur photographers looking for work. It was only after people praised a kimono I had made with my mum’s old dupatta that I decided to open a garments section in 2014,” added Sneha, who sources her materials from local stores. Sneha bought a sewing machine and initially stitched the garments herself. Once the orders started coming in, she engaged a tailor.

Find her on the ‘Monkey Projects studio’ Facebook page and @monkey_projects on Instagram.

As the city gets into crazy shopping mode ahead of Durga Puja, t2 turns the spotlight on some youthpreneurs you could turn to for an unconventional look this festive season.

GETNERDY

Who: Siddharth Nandi, a graduate from Bhawanipur Education Society College.
Go to him for: Customised T-shirts, handkerchiefs, bandanas, posters and mobile phone covers.
Puja special: A range of tees with Durga as superhero, Durga comic strips and abstract art. 
First step: Siddharth comes from a business family, but from childhood he wanted to start his own company instead of joining the family biz. “My dad is my biggest inspiration. He taught me the tricks of starting a business,” said the 22-year-old from Kasba.
Training: He follows Saygin Yalcin (founder of start-up SellAnyCar.com) on YouTube.
Biz model: Siddharth saved his pocket money to start GetNerdy. He sources single-colour tees from Chennai and gets his designs printed in Calcutta. He has no delivery charges.
Pocket pinch: T-shirts are priced Rs 300 to Rs 350. 
Find him: On the ‘GetNerdy’ FB Page and info.getnerdy on Instagram.
What’s next: “I want to launch a website and sell my T-shirts all over India,” said Siddharth.

NODILEMMA

Who: Atreya Nath, a final-year electrical engineering student at NIT, Durgapur. 
Go to him for: Customised T-shirts on movies, TV series, music and sports. Plus, customised keychains, wristbands, trousers and waistcoats. 
Puja special: ‘Dugga Dugga’ T-shirts.
First step: Atreya used to do the graphic designing for posters during college events. Last September he decided to swap paper for tees. “Start-ups are a trend among the youth. I too wanted to be a part of the trend. I wanted to be different from other T-shirt makers, so I did two things — firstly, I made tees pertaining to TV shows, movies, music, sports, hashtags, quirky lines and other trending topics. Secondly, I kept the price low,” said the 21-year-old Behala boy. 
Training: No formal training, he learnt graphic designing on YouTube. 
Biz model: Atreya’s dad funded his start-up. He has tied up with FedEx and Delhivery for deliveries. 
Pocket pinch: Rs 299 to Rs 399.
Find him: At www.nodilemma.in
What’s next: “I want to start designing cars soon,” said the BMW i3, Ford Mustang and Tata Safari fan.

SINJINI’S

Who: Sinjini Bardhan, a first-year Master’s student of international relations at Jadavpur University.
Go to her for: German silver jewellery and embroidered handkerchiefs. 
Puja special: Crochet danglers and festive jhumkas. 
First step: Making jewellery was Sinjini’s hobby. In 2014, she decided to go into business to make some pocket money.
Training: Sinjini used to help her mom in her boutique, that’s how she learnt stitching and embroidery. She looks up Pinterest and Tumblr for jewellery designs.
Biz model: “I used to give tuition lessons and saved Rs 5,000 to start Sinjini’s,” said the 22-year-old from Tollygunge. She makes the jewellery herself after buying the raw material from Burrabazar. 
She sources some of her materials from Rajasthan as well.
Pocket pinch: Jewellery from Rs 15 to Rs 1,200; handkerchiefs for Rs 35 each.
Find her: On the ‘Sinjini’s (@bardhansinjini)’ Facebook page and @Sinjini_s on Instagram.
What’s next: “I want to continue Sinjini’s as a side business,” said the young lady who aspires to become a banker or civil servant.

THREAD BABA

Who: Wrick, a fifth-year student at South Calcutta Law College.
Go to him for: Garments made out of gamchha and 
tie-dyed cloth, incorporating art forms like Madhubani, Gond, Patachitra and more, and silver jewellery. He also makes home decor items and jewellery out of recycled products like coconut shells, glass, used pencils and wire.
Puja special: A new collection of Indo-western gamchha dresses and saris and bohemian-style cloth jewellery.
First step: After Class XII, Wrick wanted to study fashion but his family convinced him to get into law. But that didn’t stop his pursuit of all things fashionable. “I studied fashion on my own, along with law. I got study material and books from friends who were studying fashion designing. I read magazines and surfed the Internet to keep myself updated. Two years back, when I opened Thread Baba and started selling, my parents realised my potential. Now they support me wholeheartedly,” said the 23-year-old. But why the gamchha? “I have used the gamchha as a scarf and headgear forever. Everyone used to call me mad but once the gamchha started trending, they realised I was ahead of everyone,” laughed Wrick.
Biz model: Wrick started saving his pocket money from Class X. “I saved Rs 50,000, with which I started Thread Baba,” said the Rajarhat boy, who sources his gamchha from all over India — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, south India and the suburbs of Calcutta — as well as from Bangladesh. He makes his own designs and gets a couple of tailors to stitch them. 
Pocket pinch: Skirts, palazzos and saris from Rs 400 to Rs 3,500, jewellery from Rs 500 to Rs 1,500.
Find him: On the ‘Thread BABA’ Facebook page. 
What’s next: “I want to launch a website, which I am working on currently. I also want to work with children living with cerebral palsy. I want to print their paintings on my clothes,” said Wrick.

THE SHOE STORY

Who: Devdatta Dev, a Class XII student of Auxilium Convent School, Barasat.
Go to her for: Hand-painted footwear. Think pumps, stilettos, canvas shoes, boots and sneakers.
Puja special: Mickey Mouse and marine life for your feet. 
First step: From Class IX, Devdatta wanted to have her own business. “I do not want to work under anyone, instead I want to employ people. I had once bought white pumps, which did not look good on me later. I couldn’t pair them with any of my dresses. So I decided to paint on them. But I didn’t know how to make them water-resistant. The guy who painted our house told me to use varnish on my shoes. That was it! I made shoes exactly how I wanted. The concept of customised T-shirts is popular but I have hardly ever heard of customised shoes, so I opened My Shoe Story,” said Devdatta. 
Training: No formal training, She sometimes looks up Pinterest for designs.
Biz model: Devdatta’s parents gave her money to buy the first pair of shoes and the paint. With the profit she made, she bought the next one and so on. 
Pocket pinch: Rs 800 to Rs 2,500 for the shoe, plus design. There’s a small delivery charge depending on the shipping location. Devdatta delivers all over India.
Find her: On ‘The shoe story @theshoestorybydevdatta’ Facebook page and @theshoe.story on Instagram. 
What’s next: “I want to introduce glitter on shoes. I also want to have my own website and store,” said the 17-year-old girl from Barasat.

TCHOTCHKE&JAZZ

Who: Tapasi Bhattacharya, who graduated from Bhawanipur Education Society College this year, and her sister Satabdi Bhattacharya, who is into the family business. 
Go to them for: Antique silver jewellery. Think pendants, earrings and neckpieces. Plus, polymer-clay jewellery, pressed flower and resin pendants and hair wraps.  
Puja special: Handmade jewellery with pompoms, tassels and cowrie shells.
First step: Tapasi and Satabdi wanted to do something that would allow them to spend time together. After a lot of discussion they came up with Tchotchke&Jazz, a jewellery start-up. “Both of us are busy with life and we know we’ll get only busier. So Tchotchke&Jazz is what will keep us together. We spend our weekday evenings and weekends designing and packaging the jewellery,” said Tapasi, a 22-year-old girl from Shyambazar. Arunima Sarkar, a classmate of Tapasi, has joined them and is in charge of hair wraps.
Wondering about the curious name? Well, according to the Oxford Dictionary, tchotchke means “a trinket”.  
 

Training: No formal training. 
Biz model: The sisters borrowed the seed capital from their father. They source the jewellery from Bangkok, Bangalore and  Bengal.
Pocket pinch: Jewellery for Rs 120 to Rs 5,000 and hair wraps for Rs 275 to Rs 475.
Find them: On the ‘Tchotchke&Jazz’ Facebook page. 
What’s next: “We want to gradually start making some of the jewellery ourselves so that we can sell them at a more affordable price,” said Tapasi. The sisters also want to launch their own website.

KREATIV

Who: Chandrayee Chattopadhyay, a third-year geography student at Presidency University, and Shauvik Modak, a third-year civil engineering student at Narula Institute of Technology, Agarpara.
Go to them for: Junk jewellery, including papier-mache and quilling. The other USP of Kreativ is upcycling. Take your old clothes, bags and throwaways to them and they will recycle them into something new and nice. They’ve made bags, dungarees and slippers from old jeans. With old tyres, they have made a couch for a pet and its human. 
Puja special: Ma Durga Minion collection —  from bookmarks and coasters to jewellery.
First step: “I remember coming across mannequins in paper clothes at Shoppers Stop. That’s when I decided to walk the ramp in clothes made out of newspaper for TTIS Challenge. I was in Class XI then. Paper clothing was a short-lived fashion trend in the US in the 1960s. I thought of reviving this trend and eventually Shauvik and I started Kreativ this May. We make paper clothes for shoots and fashion shows but have not started selling yet because the process makes it expensive. As of now we sell paper jewellery,” said Patuli girl Chandrayee. 
Training: No formal training, the duo follow Pinterest for ideas.
Biz model: Chandrayee and Shauvik saved up Rs 3,500 from their pocket money to start Kreativ. A group of 15 friends help them make the different items.
Pocket pinch: Jewellery for Rs 10 to Rs 350, upcycling from Rs 150 to 400. 
Find them: On the ‘Kreativ (@kreativ2016andon)’ Facebook page and @kreativofficial16 on Instagram.
What’s next: “We want to create our own website and hold exhibitions,” said Kudghat boy Shauvik.

CALCUTTA CULTURE WALKS

Who: Toonika Guha and Rounak Saha. 
Go to them for: City walks — heritage to food to literary trails to festive packages. 
Puja special: Durga Puja tours in north Calcutta. “Explore neighbourhoods on foot, learn about the history of the city and the festival. We will also provide our guests with VIP passes to pandals,” said Toonika, who lives in Kidderpore.
First step: The duo would go for morning and evening walks across the city and also take their visiting friends on guided tours of Calcutta. “City tours are not very common here, so we decided to start Calcutta Culture Walks. City walks are common in Europe. We will begin with Durga Puja. We have four packages and anyone can join in as long as they are happy to walk,” said Rounak, a recent grad from WBUT. 
Biz model: “While I was studying at King’s College London, I worked part-time and saved up for this start-up. Our parents also helped us financially,” said Toonika. 
Find them: At www.calcuttaculturewalks.com

Puja package
♦ Pre-Pujo Walk: October 3 and 4 (Rs 600)
♦ Morning Pandal-Hopping: October 6 and 8 (Rs 999)
♦ Pujos by evening: October 7 (Rs 1,200)
♦ Maha Ashtami Mahabhog: October 9 (Rs 1,500)

Text: Malancha Dasgupta

 

WOULD YOU BUY YOUR OWN PRODUCT? SOME PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR START-UPPERS

Congratulations! You’ve taken the first step and become an entrepreneur — against all the advice and admonitions of others. You have decided to be the master of your own destiny. You have spotted an opportunity. You think you can make some money. Before jumping headlong into your business, it is worthwhile to keep the following mantras in mind...
♦ Will you buy your own stuff? Do you think you or someone you know will pay good money to buy your product or service? If the answer is no, then ask yourself why you expect others to pay money for it. 
♦ Investigate the market. Understand who will find your product interesting or useful or cool or all of the above. How much are they likely to pay? Who else is offering similar stuff? Why is what your are offering better? How will you get your product to your customers? How much will the product and its delivery cost? Is there after-sales support required? 
♦ Remember, sales is the most important thing. You are #1 salesperson of your company, therefore learn to sell. Develop a thick skin!
♦ Focus on delighting your customers. Don’t be in a hurry to sell and run. Get feedback, address their concerns, understand what they liked/ didn’t like.
♦ Don’t blame everyone except yourself. Learn to take responsibility rather than pass on the blame. This will help you focus and solve the issue at hand. It will help you learn quickly.
♦ Don’t assume people are dying to buy your product. How do you know they will buy? Have you asked them? How many people have you spoken to? Are sales increasing every month?
♦ Try not to repeat mistakes. Learn from past mistakes and correct yourself. However, make new mistakes. And you will only make new mistakes if you try new things.  
♦ Don’t overanalyse, and then suffer from paralysis when the time comes to act. It is only through action that you will learn what works. Learn to execute with speed — it is a great advantage to have.

— Sanjay Anandaram 
A mentor who has been involved with start-ups for about 20 years.
He is the author of StartUp Mantras, available exclusively on the Juggernaut app