Ninth Episode of Crafting Bharat Podcast Series Explores the Intricacies of the Indian Startup Ecosystem with Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store

The start-up ecosystem of India has grown tremendously in the last decade. India has emerged as a predominant player in the global startup ecosystem and is a home to various successful startups and innovative entrepreneurs. 

The "Crafting Bharat - A Startup Podcast Series" powered by AWS, and an initiative by NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, unlocks the secrets behind these successful entrepreneurs’ journeys aiming to equip aspiring entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts with invaluable insights. The podcast series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan, famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times.

Digital adoption has made shopping online effortless, and a zestful and passionate entrepreneur, Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store, is putting the ‘pop’ in pop culture. In the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series, Sharma talks about his entrepreneurial journey, building a D2C apparel brand around pop culture and upcoming trends. 

Explore the tales of Indian startup founders' transformation from dreams to reality, navigating challenges to seize opportunities through the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series.

Segment 1: The Incubator

How confident were you of a product-market fit considering India was a very nascent market for such options?

The only way to get official merchandise in India was either to call a relative who is abroad to get it for us or to buy fake merchandise from the street side. We saw the gap and knew that there definitely was a demand because people wanted it. There is a very low barrier to entry to start an apparel brand in India as it requires very less capital. 

Dealing with challenges of ecosystem peer pressure and an urge to grow fast. How did you handle this phase? 

When we raised our first round of funding, I wouldn’t call it pressure but more like responsibility to use the funding at the right place. We had a lot of cash in the bank, so we decided to increase the marketing spend which in turn increased our revenue. We burned cash in the short term but eventually it helped us in the long term. We did two things with the cash, one we increased the marketing and branding spend and second, we started hiring aggressively. To cut the long story short, we wanted to achieve the growth in 2 years which would have ideally taken us 5 years to achieve. After 2 rounds of funding and making the same mistake of achieving fast we established that the business would take its time to grow, we need to make sure we’re not burning cash, is profitable and at the same time if your product is good then your success is going to be a little delayed but it will come for sure. 

What was the reasoning behind going physical considering most of your revenue still comes from the website and mobile app?

We did real-life AB testing with the store. The store was 500 sq ft in size, which was a lot of cost to us back during that time. To our surprise the store worked well. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit, and we had to slow down but we managed to pick up the pace and reached 23 offline stores. There was no pressure from the investors, but we wanted to give the offline channel a shot. The Indian audience loves to shop online but there is a great chunk of the audience who wants to shop offline to get the touch and feel of the products.

Segment 2: The Accelerator

From a cost-benefit perspective for a startup, what are the do’s and don'ts of working with influencers and celebrities to drive brand popularity?

I would say that be true to yourself and the brand. What we’ve seen through our journey is that whenever we try to do something for views it never works out. Our brand endorsement with Hardik Pandya aligned with the brand because the type of apparels he wears is like what we sell, and he genuinely loves our products. If we would have done this with someone else from the Indian cricket team whose vibe doesn’t align with our brand, it won’t work as effectively.

As you evolve beyond Superheroes and Sitcoms, what’s the next pop culture phenomenon that you are looking to tap into at The Souled Store?

The next pop culture phenomenon we aim to tap is Anime. We’ve been working heavily to get a Japanese brand like Attack on Titan. We are trying to get these brands to India and generally Japanese brands have very strict requirements. It’s a matter of them understanding that there’s a huge market here in India and we want to be the first ones to bring it to India.

The Indian startup ecosystem has not only disrupted the traditional market but also created new markets and opportunities, showcasing India’s potential for innovation and entrepreneurship. 

Stay tuned to the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series as we bring you these inspirational entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussion with Gautam Srinivasan. 

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