Pooja Nayak & Studio Ekah

                           

On completion of her Masters in Computer Applications, Pooja worked as a Consultant in an MNC for five years. Soon after, she shifted to Dubai where the opportunities in the IT industry were limited. Pooja did a few short stints in Digital Marketing but soon discovered that recruiters were showing a marked lack of interest in hiring a young woman with children. Pooja threw herself into becoming a full-time mom but as years passed by, she missed her financial independence and having a life outside of her home. Looking back, it was actually becoming a mom that pushed her to do something for herself.

Majority of women are fond of Indian traditional jewellery. Pooja always had a keen interest in wedding and occasion wear jewellery styling. On one of her visits to India for a wedding, Pooja decided to do something about her interest in the field and reach out to manufacturers. The plan initially was to start her venture in Dubai where access to affordable Indian imitation jewellery was limited. However, due her father-in-law's ill-health, the family decided to move back to India. Once they were settled, Pooja launched Studio Ekah in September 2021.

Pooja discovered that though the market for imitation jewellery was huge, there was fierce competition with a number of brands fighting for their market share. The two biggest challenges she faced were pricing and marketing. Starting with personal finances meant having to cut down expenses wherever possible till such time as the business takes off. Finding reliable packaging partners also has been another challenge Pooja faced. She also learned that when one worked with manufacturers, there was a lot of back and forth, in order to ensure one got what one asked for without damages.

Pooja wanted a name which conveyed a message. Ekah means ‘The One.’ Her dream is for Studio Ekah is to be ‘the one’ stop shop which met all traditional jewellery needs.

Pooja is a trained Hindustani Classical singer but she never pursued it further. She still sings and her favourites are feel-good Bollywood songs. Apart from that, Pooja enjoys running and swimming. She has a four-year-old who keeps her busy alongside her business.

Follow her on

https://newagemompreneurs.in/member/Pooja-Nayak

https://www.instagram.com/studioekah/


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ankita Gupta- The Person Behind New Age Mompreneurs

Image
Ankita Gupta started Mamma’s Kitchen to provide healthy and tasty baked goods to people across all ages. Being a big foodie, she’s always had an interest in cooking and baking. In pre Covid times, Ankita loved hosting parties and get-togethers and was used to cooking and baking desserts for house parties which sometimes went up to 30-40 people. Experimenting with food is her forte. She would pick a new recipe every time and tweak it, replacing the unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones. Needless to say, her guests loved her efforts and the food. When Ankita was trying to conceive, she discovered she had PCOS which was hindering the process. It was then that she switched completely from junk food to healthy cooking alternatives. When her twins were born, she followed the one year no sweet and salt rule for them but the entire family has a sweet tooth and Ankita didn't want the kids to miss out on the delights of desserts. This is where her healthy baking journey began. Ankita s
Read more

Chitwan Mohan and Cuddles_by_ChitwanMohan

Image
                      From the time she completed her fashion course at Parsons, Chitwan knew that designer clothing was the line she wanted to get into. She started with womenswear in 2011 and then ventured into menswear in 2016. Whenever Chitwan visited the fabric markets for men’s fabrics, she would find herself staring at the cute kids’ fabrics and would wish that she could do something in that line. She would pick up fabrics for her son’s nightwear and shirts and they turned out really well; every time he wore them, her family would encourage her to consider venturing into this as a side business and gauge the response. Chitwan began small in 2020 and then there was no looking back. This isn’t a side business anymore. Chitwan is extremely passionate about it and doing kids' wear in particular makes her extremely happy. Moreover, she has discovered a staunch support system in the form of her mommy clients. It helps that Chitwan considers entrepreneurship to be in her blood.
Read more

Monica Chatrath and Mairaah

Image
                                Mairaah-The Creative Way is a path to that journey which Monica and her daughter began nine years ago to create unique home décor  products and fashion accessories; catering to the needs of people belonging to all strata of society.  They started with trousseau packing and then ventured into other things like fashion accessories, hair accessories, designer potlis and clutch bags, gota jewellery, floral jewellery, handcrafted footwear, home accessories, festive products, gifting items and last but not the least decoupage and resin products; the knowledge of which Monica garnered during the lockdown.  The love for creating handcrafted products was always there which is what gave Monica the inspiration to create different home utility products with decoupage and resin like trays and coasters, upcycled glass bottles and jars, tissue boxes and cutlery stands, cake stands, wall clocks and wall plates, among others. Having been a full-time mother all th
Read more