In its latest episode, when Shark Tank India Season 3 opened its massive doorways, it welcomed a younger entrepreneur Ankush Barjata, who was draped in — anticipate it — a saree!
Ankush is the founding father of an internet saree platform ‘Deeva’. He began the corporate with a easy thought — to get rid of the center chain within the massive saree business and join clients on to producers.
What left the sharks amazed was the truth that on the age of 23, he had established a Rs 5 crore firm — all whereas figuring out of a small village in Himachal Pradesh known as Bangana.
Together with his work, he was in a position to onboard three ‘sharks’ — boAt founder Aman Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund Radhika Gupta, and OYO Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal. He bagged a deal of Rs 2 crore — Rs 75 lakh for six % fairness together with a debt of Rs 1.25 crore at 10 % curiosity for 3 years.
“Coming from a small village with restricted sources, the journey to Shark Tank was a distant dream for me. After our episode was aired, we obtained an amazing response from clients. Our telephones haven’t stopped ringing since then,” Ankush tells The Higher India.
‘My grandpa offered garments door-to-door, my mom wore threads for bangles’
Born and raised in Bangana village, Ankush had a harsh childhood. His household of 12 would stay in a makeshift tin construction earlier than shifting to a 2BHK house. To maintain this huge household, his grandfather would peddle garments door to door.
“He was a feri wala promoting salwar kameez in villages. We had a small tea store in our house. We solely survived on one meal a day. Our scenario was so abysmal that my mom would wrap threads on her wrists. We didn’t come up with the money for to purchase her bangles. In 2004, my mom began taking stitching lessons and promoting fits,” he says, “By 2011, our scenario improved when my father joined the enterprise after quitting his retail outlet job.”
Ankush says his success is rooted in his household’s clothes legacy. “My household’s scenario has not solely taught me to be humble and grounded but in addition about operating a enterprise. Our on a regular basis dialog can be on gross sales and enterprise,” he provides.
Nonetheless, Ankush — a pc science graduate by schooling — took up a gross sales and advertising and marketing job in a Hyderabad-based firm. “As a part of this work, I met a saree producer who was counting earnings after promoting 100 sarees for Rs 300 every. After talking with him, I understood that whereas producers make a saree for Rs 300, they’re offered for Rs 1,000 in the identical nation,” he informs.
Later, when Ankush determined to begin his personal saree enterprise, he says he used a easy Google search to discover a saree map of India that showcased the sorts of sarees worn statewide. Primarily based on these classes, he discovered contacts of producers and ready a database.
“Utilizing that checklist, I began reaching out to them. For a couple of month, I constantly travelled to at the least seven cities together with Hyderabad, Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan, Surat, Kanchipuram, Chennai, and Kolkata,” he says.
This tour was an eye-opener for Ankush as he noticed issues confronted by the producers as effectively. “From weavers, producers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and at last to clients — there may be not one however many middlemen within the saree business. Producers take care of distributors and work on credit score for one month. Meaning they’ll get funds after this era,” he informs.
“I aimed to deal with these challenges with my startup. My answer? As soon as orders begin rolling in, we decide to paying producers promptly. My thought was that by choosing quick fee as an alternative of credit score, they may take pleasure in a gradual every day earnings,” he provides.
After understanding the nitty gritty of the saree business, Ankush lastly stop his high-paying job in 2021 and launched Deeva.
From a small village to Shark Tank
To begin Deeva, Ankush exhausted all his financial savings of Rs 3.5 lakh and an extra Rs 3 lakh monetary assist from his father. A lot towards his hopes, he skilled excessive losses. Amid societal stress, he moved to Chennai — the place he pursued his larger schooling — to flee the scenario.
“Everybody is aware of one another in a village. When villagers noticed me battle for my startup, they began throwing tantrums at my resolution to stop a high-paying metropolis job to run a saree store. My household additionally saved asking me about my every day progress. I had no solutions to them,” he says.
Shifting to Chennai was a difficult chapter of his life. “I used to be surviving on loans from buddies. I used to be dwelling in a small room on lease and survived on one meal a day to save cash. There have been days once I wished to stop; I wished to cry and return house,” he remembers.
However Ankush remembered all the guarantees of an opulent life that he made to his dad and mom. “I needed to discover methods,” he says.
Apart from a cellular app, Ankush designed a web site for Deeva and listed essentially the most shopping for classes on the homepage. “By this time, I had understood that my clients had been office-going girls within the age group of 25 to 45 years who wished to put on good high quality sarees every day by investing Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500. I began sourcing extra such sarees from producers and marketed them on the homepage for simple search,” he provides.
To spice up gross sales, Ankush additionally outsourced to a digital advertising and marketing firm that helped promote the sarees. “Quickly after, I began getting gross sales by way of social media. I obtained my first enhance in April-Might 2022 once I made gross sales of Rs 15,000 in sooner or later. This was once I determined to return again to Himachal,” he says.
After he returned to his village, there was no trying again. In the present day, he has established a multi-crore firm based mostly out of Bangana that sells sarees throughout the nation in 50 classes — together with Patola, Kanjivaram, Chanderi, Banarasi silk, and Chiffon sarees.
Ankush has established a core staff of 30 individuals from his village. He has partnered with at the least 500 producers throughout the nation. This partnership has been a win-win for Ankush in addition to small producers who’ve noticed a lift of at the least 5 occasions of their earnings.
Considered one of his producers, Himanshu Jain, who has been related to Ankush for the previous 12 months and a half tells The Higher India, “Earlier, we needed to work on credit score with offline distributors. This meant that we’d get funds solely after 30 to 45 days. They might additionally purchase sarees in bulk and there was no surety if all sarees can be offered.”
“So, they might return to us after a month or so and dump all of the unsold sarees. The onus to promote these would fall on us. However with Deeva, we get orders solely after the buyer has positioned an order, and we get funds in 7 to 10 days. Right here, my earnings has additionally elevated by 25 %,” he provides.
In the meantime, to make Deeva a giant model, Ankush wished to look on Shark Tank India. Although he couldn’t make it to season 2, he made a long-lasting impression on the ‘sharks’ in season 3. The affect of the episode was so monumental that he noticed a lift of six occasions in his enterprise, he informs.
Rooted in his village, Ankush now goals to make a enterprise of Rs 150 crore, enter into export in at the least 10 nations, and open offline shops within the subsequent 12 months.
“I don’t really feel I’ve achieved very massive. It was by way of my grandfather’s efforts that we began getting meals 3 times a day. My dad and mom labored laborious in order that we may put on first rate garments. I simply wish to give no matter finest life I can to my dad and mom,” he says.
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“Just lately, I gifted a seven-seater automobile to my father. At present, we’re constructing our dream home with a helipad and rooftop swimming pool in Himachal,” he provides, “Though these are materialistic issues, having a bada ghar, badi gaadi (massive home, massive automobile) are desires of a lower-middle earnings household. In eight months, I’ll transfer to our new house with my household.”
Edited by Pranita Bhat. All photographs: Ankush Barjata.
