Neha Pathak - Keep Learning New Things and Try Working on Something Which Affects Everyone's Life Positively (Entrepreneur From India)

I don't know whether I can call myself a successful entrepreneur or not. But the only thing I will say is Do Not Quit. It will be tough and extremely hard for you to handle the criticism, rude responses, issues within a business, or team conflicts like "Hota hai ye", "that's life right!!". 

Just Do Not Give Up. Once that exact time period will pass and you will see yourself growing up. You will know how it feels to keep moving on. This can be the recipe for a successful entrepreneur/human.

1. Tell us more about your company and your journey.

The HippieSaaz’s journey started when a crazy traveler decided to cancel a trip. Started in December 2018, we grew from a single order to over 1500 orders a month.

When we started, we had another name for our venture but it was taken by someone else. The universe intended us to come with the name that will be cherished by everyone.

In the beginning, we were skeptical about whether to start this journey or not. Who decided to give this a shot, and now we are full-time hippies, with The HippieSaaz as our family. When we started this venture, we had one dream. To transform houses into homes and add a hippie touch wherever we go. 

We, the Hippies took the liberty to be inspired by everything in the world and give it an Indian touch. Going global and coming back each time. Thanks to the love we got from our happy customers, we are now a family of 32k on Instagram.

Already expanded from curtains to bed sheets, duvet covers, and cushion covers. 

In the future too, we intend to come up with innovative ideas and new products to add a wholesome look to your home.  Had an amazing experience till now with thehippiesaaz. I mean it's been a while and it feels like a roller coaster. We have improved as an individual due to this business. This journey has taught us to not give up at any moment because nothing stays the same forever. One just keeps on growing.

2. How did you come up with this idea and go about executing it?

It was a sudden plan. Like I literally didn't have any intentions of starting up a business. It has been an accidental start but after that, there hasn't been any stopping by. We are still learning every day about running a business. 

But the thing which kept us moving forward is (keep learning) I mean we didn't have any idea about how e-commerce works. But exploring and learning helped us a lot. 

3. What has been your biggest challenge that you faced and how did you overcome that?

This answer can surely get me in trouble but I would really like to be very honest over here. Due to a different idea, we got some unexpectedly huge response in a short time which got difficult for us to manage due to extremely small team which headed to backlogs. But slowly and gradually we sorted it up and life is anyways about hurdles. It's like if roads don't have breakers then one can meet accidents. So hurdles are welcome. So that we come stronger on that issue.

4. What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful entrepreneur?

I don't know whether I can call myself a successful entrepreneur or not. But the only thing I will say is Do Not Quit. It will be tough and extremely hard for you to handle the criticism, rude responses, issues within a business, or team conflicts like "Hota hai ye", "that's life right!!". Just Do Not Give Up. Once that exact time period will pass and you will see yourself growing up. You will know how it feels to keep moving on. This can be the recipe for a successful entrepreneur/human.

5. What are some of the most important factors for running a successful business?

Keep on bringing unique or different ideas. Try working on something which affects everyone's life positively. Keep learning new things

6. What are your tips for first-time and aspiring entrepreneurs?

Just start, it's a fun roller coaster ride that will surely give you loads of adrenaline rush. A new journey and excitement are there. Be positive and never give up

7. How can one overcome a hurdle of lack of funds when starting up?

Answering this can be a bit tough because we started the business with literally zero funds. And whenever we get short on funds we try using the savings we made or any small loan helps. I mean that's the basic right!!

According to me, the idea matters for starting a business. Why is it compulsory to start on it big scale? Start small and then make it grow gradually so that one doesn't get burdened up with credits.

Neha Pathak - Entrepreneur 

Interviewed By: Vanshikha Bagga