This is the ‘never give up’ story of 2 sisters, Taniya Biswas and Sujata Biswas
These two sisters, Taniya Biswas and Sujata Biswas started their saree business named – Suta, which is now worth over Rs 50 crore. However, they were not meant to be entrepreneurs at all.
Taniya studied engineering from NIT. Then graduated from IIM Lucknow in 2013. Later, she joined Tata Group and IBM.
But in 2016, both sisters quit their high-paying jobs and started a business with an investment of Rs 3 lakh each.
They both were very fond of creating products. Hence they wanted to create sarees. However, this highly saturated market was a tough nut to crack.
Upon researching & observing their experience, they realized that:
🔍Sarees in the market were either stiff or blingy.
🔍NO mulmul cotton sarees were sold that their mother and grandmother wore.
This led to the inception of the idea to bring mulmul cotton sarees into vogue.
But more than the business idea, their purpose helped them make a place in their consumer’s hearts.
💡They wanted to change the perception that only older women or widows wear such sarees. And bring comfort to the center of their masterpieces.
💡To elevate the lives of artisans and craftsmen.
CHALLENGES:
🚫Finding fabric which was starch free.
🚫To find weavers with adequate knowledge and willingness to work.
Finally, after much struggle, they found a weaver couple in West Bengal’s Santipur who agreed to work with them.
This started their journey of SUTA, which means thread. Post this; there was no looking back.
🚀They sold their initial stock within 5-6 days.
🚀Their returning customer rate is 40-45 percent.
🚀They are also exporting to foreign countries.
🚀In the financial year 2022-2023, the company’s revenue was Rs 56 crore.
What I love about this beautiful startup is their decision to pay the weavers 30-40% of the cost of the sarees.
Often, startups or big brands hire farmers/ daily wage labourers/ weavers, but they usually don’t pay well and are exploited. However, SUTA is doing a commendable job at breaking this chain.
Re-reported from the story originally published in LinkedIn
