LABEL Issue III
Student Entrepreneur
Milton Berle’s quote “If opportunity doesn’t
knock, build a door” has inspired many young
lads to construct path for themselves. As a part
of this issue we are in conversation with a very
beautiful and dynamic student entrepreneur,
Vidhi Sanghavi from PGDM-RM. Vidhi, who
loves creating art ranging from charcoal to
jewellery, has done her bachelor’s in
management studies from Narsee Monjee.
Vidhi started Allette Fashion this year itself
and here’s what she has to say about her
experience with her venture.
What is your venture all about? And what
prompted you to start it?
Wow, the age old question just doesn’t seem
to leave our backs. So here it goes :P . Having
lived in Mumbai all my life, the urge to start a
venture of my own was even stronger. Because
even with our shoddy infrastructure, low
wages and sky touching rental rates, the city
has certain advantages: a readily available
network of resources, target audience, access
to capital and the ever present dream that you
could be the next Dhirubhai Ambani.
For as long as I can remember I have had an
obsession with fashion. I studied business
models for bags, clothing, home décor, etc.
But jewellery was the thing I was most
passionate about and hence this line. It was
also the most convenient option in terms of
capital investment and logistics. The USP of
my brand is “affordable fashion jewelry”. So
the target consumers aren’t celebrities but
young, confident and trendy women who like
to keep up with changing fashion fads.
Do you belong to a business family? Did
your parents support your venture?
Although I do belong to a business family, my
family business is nowhere connected to my
venture. My parents were very supportive and
encouraging when I discussed with them the
idea of starting something of my own. In fact a
lot of their inputs made this idea a reality.
How do you manage funds for running your
business?
My brother did the initial investment. It took a
while to break even and to actually start
churning out profits. But once the cycle was in
motion, I repaid him his money and now the
business runs solely on the profits and the
savings.
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