Campus Sutra is bringing you back to your college memories. All the Alumni of their respective colleges, here is the chance to get your customize campus merchandise.
We had a chat with the founders of Campus Sutra , Khushboo, Ravi and Sonal. Here is what they have to say about Campus Sutra and their plans going forward.
Tell
us where it all started? How did the idea emerge?
The idea took shape in
Khushboo’s mind when she bumped into a stall selling customized merchandise put
up in her college during an Alumni Meet. Her delight was short lived as her
expectations of high quality merchandise went to dust as she glanced through
the products on show. This is where she made up her mind to start up a business
that would cater to all those who wanted to preserve their good old memories in
strings of fabric that would not wore out with time. Campus Sutra came into
being, to give an opportunity to an individual for celebrating his/her
identity. Breaking the stereotypes was one of the aims that were laid down
strongly.
From
where did you get the initial funds required for the venture? Did any investors
contribute to it?
 |
| Khushboo |
No different from any other bunch
of budding entrepreneurs, we funded our business to establish the elementary
setup for our business to start. Unlike few businesses, we never really made a
desperate attempt to attain investors from the initial stages itself. We have
been doing well since our inception and that’s what has kept us going till now.
However as the brand grows, we aim to partner with potential investors.
What
makes your product range unique in comparison to other traditional stores in
India? Would you like to share information about any latest addition to it?
The carefully put together
array of products, ranging from clothing (t-shirts, jackets, Hoodies) to
accessories (bags, mugs, caps, badges), clearly reflect our intention of
enticing customers from a broad spectrum. A wide choice of designs, colours and customization makes the customer’s experience as unique and satisfactory it
can get. Products available exclusively for specific organisations like AIESEC,
Breakthrough, MAD and many more, to come in the future, set the service a notch
above the rest. Coming to speak of
the latest feather to be added to the hat, Campus Sutra is working on bringing
an absolutely unique range of t-shirts with precious stones studded onto the
fabric in place of a print or embroidery. For more information on this, you
would have to wait for a little more time as we are working on making your
experience of owning customized merchandise more precious than ever.
 |
| Ravi |
What
have possibly been the biggest hiccups in your entrepreneurial journey?
For starters, few
stereotypical beliefs about the industry, posed a relatively difficult
challenge in front of us. Beliefs like t-shirts sell more, price and not quality
is most importantly; products would take ages to reach their destination, put
our minds to a great deal of brainstorming. We tackled the quality and delivery
issues by making it sure that our supply chain and delivery chain is strong and
consistent enough to cope up with orders flowing in from all directions. Coming
to the second challenge, we took the ‘e’ out of ‘e-commerce’ and concentrated
on ‘commerce’. Getting a team together which was versatile and efficient to
work on all aspects, was something that has brought us so far.
Tell
us few of your “Aha! We made it.” moments of your journey?
One moment that would
definitely top the list, occurred recently when customized merchandise from the
house of Campus Sutra made it to the Harvard Model United Nations event. Our
products made it through a selection procedure which involved samples from
across the country. What made the deal even more superb was the fact that the
organisers did not negotiate even a bit on the prices, as they were overwhelmed
with the quality. Other moments would include successfully completing orders
for esteemed institutions like IIT, IIM, XLRI, XIMB, ISB, Amity University,
Manipal University to name a few. It would be apt to say that completion of
every order adds to this list, as the hard work that goes behind making it pays
off.
 |
| Sonal |
What
would the expansion plans be and how would you go about it?
The vision, for now, is to
become the market leader by 2015. Other major plans include extending
collaborations with major educational institutions and organisations across the
country. Collaborating with e-commerce websites which can feature our products
to a larger crowd, like Flipkart, Jabong, Tradus, Sweet Couch etc., have been
on the cards as a part of the future plans. Foraying into newer segments of
products and taking the commerce a notch higher from the industry standards,
occupy the majority of the future plans.
Who
have been the founding members of Campus Sutra?
A specialist in Operations
& Finance from a premier B school, Khushboo and Sonal, a graduate from NIFT
took on the challenge of venturing into entrepreneurship, proving many of the
people wrong who think that women entrepreneurs are incapable of making a mark.
As an industry expert to guide the team, Ravi Kabra brought his experience of
online retailing onto the floor. To reassure the efficient functioning of the
company, experienced professionals in the field of marketing and retailing have
been a major part of the team as well.
What
would be your advice to young entrepreneurs? Should they start from the scratch
or after acquiring work experience?
Believing in what you do
should be the first thing you must keep in mind. Entering into a competitive
industry and making a lasting mark, should be the goal right from the start.
Another important aspect to remember is that e-commerce is a lot about
establishing the facets of commerce first, rather than merely relying on a
website. By just having a website up and about, one cannot think that the work
has been completed. Knowing your business in and out, how everything functions
is the most crucial aspect of being a successful entrepreneur. It doesn't really matter from where you make a start as long as you know what you want to
do and how will you do it. These are two very simple questions that must be
answered before going ahead with an idea.