Overview:
Our college recently organized an insightful event featuring Miss Shivani Mehta, founder of Daakroom and co-founder of BIO-Q Solutions. Miss Mehta, an alumna of NID Ahmedabad, shared her journey of turning her passion for writing into a successful business venture. The event was attended by students and faculty, providing invaluable insights into entrepreneurship and the importance of perseverance, patience and creativity.
Objectives:
- To inspire students with real-life entrepreneurial experiences.
- To highlight the significance of patience, passion and persistence in business.
- To provide practical advice on starting and managing a business.
Key Highlights:
Keynote Speech:
Miss Mehta began her speech with a Kabir couplet: This couplet served as a profound reminder that success, much like business, takes time to materialize. She encouraged the audience to keep pushing forward, emphasizing that a strong passion will eventually lead to success. Her key message was that one should not rush, but rather be patient and persistent in the pursuit of their goals.
Journey of Daakroom:
Miss Mehta recounted how she started Daakroom in 2013 purely for fun, intending to bring joy through handwritten letters. What started as a personal passion eventually grew into a business by 2022. Daakroom revived the practice of letter writing and built a strong emotional connection with customers. She shared her strategy from the early days, where Daakroom sold postcards for Rs 30. To incentivize letter writing, they refunded Rs 10 when the customer returned with a written postcard. This not only promoted the habit of letter writing but also taught people how to post letters. Thus, Daakroom initially focused on three key services: convenience, incentives, and the basic know-how of how and where to post letters. To further understand how postal services were perceived by the public, Miss Mehta and her team even shadowed a postman, observing the relationships and interactions between the postman and the community.
Entrepreneurial Insights:
Miss Mehta provided important guidance on how to evaluate the timing of a product or business idea:
- Outdated Product: If a product seems outdated, recognize its weaknesses and convert them into strengths.
- Ahead of Time: If your product is ahead of its time, you must raise awareness and educate the market through campaigns and marketing to ensure its success.
- Right Time: If the product fits the current market, proceed gradually but confidently.
She emphasized the value of being a "jack of all trades" in business. Entrepreneurs should have a basic understanding of areas such as marketing, design, or even software, as this helps in effective outsourcing and cost-saving. Knowledge of these areas also ensures better management and execution when working with professionals in those fields.
Innovative Business Practices:
Miss Mehta shared unique strategies like incentivizing customers to write postcards, which helped in promoting the habit of letter writing.
Entrepreneurial Insights: She provided guidance on understanding market timing, product relevance, and the importance of being a versatile entrepreneur.
Interactive Follow-Up Session: Following the keynote speech, a follow-up session was conducted, allowing students to engage directly with Miss Mehta through a Q&A segment. This interactive session fostered deeper engagement and offered students personalized advice on their entrepreneurial questions. Students were particularly interested in understanding the processes and strategies for attracting investments from platforms like Shark Tank, to which Miss Mehta provided a detailed explanation.
Key Learnings:
- Patience and Persistence: Success in business requires time and continuous effort. Miss Mehta’s journey highlighted the importance of staying committed to one’s passion.
- Innovative Customer Engagement: Offering incentives and educating customers can significantly enhance engagement and loyalty.
- Understanding Market Timing: Identifying whether a product is ahead of its time, behind, or just right is crucial for strategic planning and marketing.
- Versatility in Skills: Being well-versed in different business areas helps in managing costs and outsourcing effectively.
- Continuous Learning and Delegation: Developing and maintaining a learning mindset and delegating responsibilities are essential for personal and business growth.
Recommendations for Future Events:
- Enhanced Marketing: Utilize social media and local networks to broaden the event's reach.
- Follow-Up Activities: Organize follow-up sessions or webinars to maintain engagement post-event.
- Improved Logistics: Streamline registration and check-in processes to enhance participant experience.
This event offered a rich learning experience for all attendees, showcasing the value of passion, patience, and continuous learning in entrepreneurship.