ST Bureau
Mumbai
This
interview is a part of Startup Terminal interview series to mark the occasion
of ‘International Women’s Day’
interview is a part of Startup Terminal interview series to mark the occasion
of ‘International Women’s Day’
ST: Please tell us more about yourself.
 |
| Khushboo Agarwal & Sonal Agarwal, Co- founders, Campus Sutra |
Khushboo: I’m an Engineer-MBA and have completed the
Goldman Sachs Women Entrepreneurs Certificate Programme. The programme,
conducted at ISB– Hyderabad in 2013, was designed to provide world class
education to women entrepreneurs unleash their full potential, think big, and
grow their businesses. I have an operations background with 2 years of experience
in Northern Trust before starting Campus Sutra.
Goldman Sachs Women Entrepreneurs Certificate Programme. The programme,
conducted at ISB– Hyderabad in 2013, was designed to provide world class
education to women entrepreneurs unleash their full potential, think big, and
grow their businesses. I have an operations background with 2 years of experience
in Northern Trust before starting Campus Sutra.
Sonal: I graduated from NIFT (National
Institute of Fashion Technology) Bangalore in 2010 and have dabbled in a
variety of design areas including textile, furniture, accessories etc., before settling
on fashion design. I have had design
stints with Quetzel, Home Stop, Titan etc. She is an IIM Bangalore women entrepreneur.
Institute of Fashion Technology) Bangalore in 2010 and have dabbled in a
variety of design areas including textile, furniture, accessories etc., before settling
on fashion design. I have had design
stints with Quetzel, Home Stop, Titan etc. She is an IIM Bangalore women entrepreneur.
ST: Who is your biggest influence in life?
Khushboo & Sonal: We find a lot of strength in each other. We
also keep pushing each other to do better. This proximity has helped both of us
to grow and to learn from each other. We are also influenced by our mother. She
had sacrificed everything to see us do what she could never do. Coming from a
small town, going out of town to study was a big step and our mother was
instrumental in this decision. We are grateful to her for that and attribute
most of our success to her.
also keep pushing each other to do better. This proximity has helped both of us
to grow and to learn from each other. We are also influenced by our mother. She
had sacrificed everything to see us do what she could never do. Coming from a
small town, going out of town to study was a big step and our mother was
instrumental in this decision. We are grateful to her for that and attribute
most of our success to her.
ST: What challenges do you face in your
day to day professional life, if any?
day to day professional life, if any?
Khushboo & Sonal: Running a bootstrapped firm, one of the
biggest challenges that one has to face is to establish credibility of the
organization among stakeholders. Right from early recruitment to setting up a
sourcing base to tying with partners, one needs to sell the vision and back it
up with numbers. For a funded company the credibility may come with investment
and the investors backing it, for a bootstrapped company your vision needs to
come through and translate into something that your stakeholders can trust.
Being a women entrepreneur, the job is twice as difficult. To build that kind
of credibility among employees, stakeholders and partners, it takes a lot of
hard work.
biggest challenges that one has to face is to establish credibility of the
organization among stakeholders. Right from early recruitment to setting up a
sourcing base to tying with partners, one needs to sell the vision and back it
up with numbers. For a funded company the credibility may come with investment
and the investors backing it, for a bootstrapped company your vision needs to
come through and translate into something that your stakeholders can trust.
Being a women entrepreneur, the job is twice as difficult. To build that kind
of credibility among employees, stakeholders and partners, it takes a lot of
hard work.
ST: Where do you want to see yourself in
next 5 years down the line?
next 5 years down the line?
Khushboo & Sonal: One of the evolving and prominent needs of
a young person now is the need to express one’s identity. Social sites like
Facebook have tapped this need. Campus Sutra aims to become a preferred medium
of expression for the Indian youth. We want to be known as innovators as a
company and ensure we achieve “cult” status among our target audience. Product
innovation is a big focus area for us. While we continue to bring designs that
resonate with the audience, we are also committed to bringing to the market a
range of apparel and accessories built around a young person’s lifestyle –
whether this is travel, sports, entertainment etc.
a young person now is the need to express one’s identity. Social sites like
Facebook have tapped this need. Campus Sutra aims to become a preferred medium
of expression for the Indian youth. We want to be known as innovators as a
company and ensure we achieve “cult” status among our target audience. Product
innovation is a big focus area for us. While we continue to bring designs that
resonate with the audience, we are also committed to bringing to the market a
range of apparel and accessories built around a young person’s lifestyle –
whether this is travel, sports, entertainment etc.
We plan to achieve revenue of 200 crores next year and looking to be a
$100 million brand by 2020. We want to expand our online as well as our offline
reach and want to cover the entire clothing and accessories category.
$100 million brand by 2020. We want to expand our online as well as our offline
reach and want to cover the entire clothing and accessories category.
ST: What is your message to the readers on
‘International Women’s Day’?
‘International Women’s Day’?
Khushboo & Sonal: This International Women’s day every woman
should celebrate herself. Whether you are a woman like my mother in a small
town who wants to see her dreams come true through her daughters or you are a
successful CEO or an entrepreneur running a big business. You should stop and
celebrate your achievements however big or small and feel happy about the
impact you have created in the world.
You could send your feedback at
startupterminal@gmail.com
startupterminal@gmail.com
