“NO ONE IN OUR FAMILY HAD EVER STARTED A BUSINESS BUT THAT DIDN’T STOP US”
From playing games as young girls, where sisters Sujata and Taniya Biswas would get their cousins together to make products out of waste fabric and sell them on carts, the duo today has made the old and young fall in love with their sarees. Started in 2016, Suta works to combine India’s centuries-old weaving traditions and contemporary style, the brand borrows its name from the syllables of its founders’ names, Su and Ta, which means thread. Promoting slow fashion to bring back sarees as an everyday outfit at affordable prices, Suta is a bootstrapped company worth `6 crore.
The Bright Idea
A finance major from IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade), Delhi, Sujata’s corporate career was doing good but it took a PhD in online business from IIT Bombay and constant chats with her sister, Taniya to realise that their entrepreneurship skills could be considered seriously. Taniya, on the other hand, studied engineering from NIT Rourkela and an MBA in strategy and marketing from IIM Lucknow before leaving the corporate job. Coming across traditional weavers while visiting her parents in West Bengal, Sujata learnt about the lack of work and the menial wages for these communities. Their struggles were etched deeply in her mind, which eventually led her to take a plunge in the apparel industry. The sisters went on a hunt for the right fabric and weavers across India to the remote villages of Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Varanasi, and Maniabandha in Odisha.
Lessons at College
“It was a different city for me but my roommates were helpful and fun to be around. During my study, international business broadened my horizons and gave me a lot of understanding of international market, the business area and customer base,” says Sujata. Believing in learning from books and peers alike, Taniya completed her puzzle by picking up from people who came from different professional and personal backgrounds.
Case in Point
Starting as a fresher in her MBA, Sujata realised that she had no practical experience. Gradually, she studied all the subjects and focused on understanding finances and other aspects of running a business. This, she recalls, has helped her take major business decisions to make her product stand out in the market. “The degree taught me how companies work, what are the entities, and that made me understand about my place and contribution in the big sea,” says Taniya.
The Inside Story
Sujata inculcates Kaizen, a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement of work practices and efficiency, at the workplace. Every employee, from managers to peon in the company, is responsible for ensuring that the office is kept clean. According to her, this creates a sense of respect for work and the products. Taniya considers giving a 100 per cent to make it work. “I don’t believe in taking right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right,” she says.
Takeaway Tips
Sujata suggests to have an open mind and to opt for live projects and work with established companies. Taniya, but feels that one should not go for an MBA expecting just to earn big.