An investment of Rs 27,000 turned into a Rs 11 Crore party decor business for two friends
Two friends, Sunny Singh and Cherry Saxena who met at work, decided to start a business together after one of them organized a birthday party for the other and spotted a business opportunity. Sunny and Cherry are the founders of ‘Special You’, a proprietorship firm, and they share a journey that nearly resembles a fairy tale.
Launching their business with an initial investment of Rs 27,000 from Cherry’s home in January 2021, they have grown rapidly and achieved a turnover of Rs 11 crore in just three years. Special You offers a wide range of party decoration and home décor items, including various backdrops, from curtains to wall decor, balloon pumps, LED lights, tapes, cake toppers, butterfly stickers, birthday banners, and balloons.
Sunny and Cherry, both 26 when they started Special You, were colleagues at a reinsurance company when the business idea took shape in 2021. On Cherry's birthday in January of that year, Sunny planned a surprise party for her at her residence in Gurgaon.
However, while searching for party supplies, I realized there wasn't a single store that offered all the items we needed under one roof," recalls Sunny, who had to visit multiple shops to find the right items. The party however turned out into a big hit and also sowed the seed for ‘Special You'.
Sunny and Cherry dreamt of developing a one-stop platform for people to easily gather everything they needed to host a party and celebrate with their loved ones. Despite the nation reeling under the impact of the COVID lockdown, the duo went ahead with their plans to start their venture.
We registered the company in February 2021, kicked off operations in April 2021, and by October 2021, within just six months, we achieved a turnover exceeding Rs 1 crore,” shares Sunny. Initially, they sourced products from various markets in Delhi and even imported some from China, turning a room in Cherry's house into their office-cum-storehouse.
In the current financial year, we have already touched Rs 11 crore," says Sunny. "As our business began to grow, we initially struggled with competitors copying our product designs. It got to the point where we had to start issuing legal notices to those copying our designs and images," explains Cherry.
"We began advertising only when we noticed that competitors were selling lower-quality imitations of our products. We turned to social media, Amazon, and Flipkart for a bit of advertising,” says Sunny.
Starting with just 10 products, they have expanded their range to about 700 items now. Their website now features 40-50 themes, catering to various occasions such as 6-month birthdays, marriage anniversaries, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, haldi, and mehendi ceremonies, among others. Sunny started his first business, a BPO in Noida, during his final year of graduation.
Cherry had completed a German language course alongside her graduation, and worked at Amazon for one and a half years, assisting German sellers with their claims. Later, Sunny and Cherry both ended up at the reinsurance company, joining within a few months of each other.
At Special You, Cherry is the creative head of the company. They began their operation from a room in Cherry's house, before moving to a larger space. Initially, the team consisted of just Sunny and Cherry. Nearly 80% of their business is generated through Amazon and Flipkart, while the remaining 20% comes from their website.
As the company is still in its early stages, Cherry and Sunny hardly find time to relax. Cherry has a passion for learning foreign languages and is learning Chinese these days in her free time.
correspondent by:
Comments
Post a Comment