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Generally, the answer to a private downside can even encourage you to begin a enterprise. That’s what occurred when sister-duo Jayanti and Shalini Bhattacharya found the advantages of hemp.
The sisters have been looking out for more healthy options for Shalini’s again ache once they stumbled upon hemp, a sustainable plant. At all times striving to reside a zero-waste life, the duo thought, ‘what higher method of making a sustainable world than to advertise a planet-friendly plant?’
Cue – the inception of their hemp-based meals model, ‘India Hemp & Co’.
India Hemp & Co is a Bangalore-based hemp model that strives to supply excessive diet merchandise and construct a group round it. When the duo got here up with their enterprise thought, they knew that having an internet retailer was a no brainer. However with so many platforms to select from, how do you discover your good match?
After an intensive google seek for ‘one of the best platform to purchase a website’, Jayanti discovered Shopify. With its easy-to-learn interface and self-study sources, she constructed the model’s on-line retailer on her personal.
As soon as the shop was arrange, the sisters targeted their efforts on branding and advertising and marketing their merchandise. This wasn’t simple as paid promoting wasn’t accessible to hemp manufacturers even once they had all of the licences in test.
Whereas searching for methods to get their model on the map, Jayanti serendipitously stumbled upon a Shark Tank India commercial within the Financial Instances.
With out placing a lot thought into it, she stuffed out the registration kind for Shark Tank India. And the remainder, as all Shark Tank viewers know, is historical past.
We talked to Jayanti, one-half of the founding duo of India Hemp & Co, about their Shark Tank India journey and the position Shopify performed in it.
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to know extra? Then, learn on.
Additionally learn: Our detailed case examine in regards to the model’s inception and the way they constructed a group by elevating consciousness about hemp.
Kicking off the journey and busting myths on Shark Tank India
Followers of Shark Tank, the sister-duo questioned if it was too early for them to use. They took a leap of religion although they have been conscious of the misconceptions connected to their star ingredient.
Jayanti revealed that the appliance course of was exhaustive proper from the beginning. The applying kind itself was 18 to twenty pages lengthy. The model had to offer 3 years of a number of monetary metrics and information factors throughout the course of, and located Shopify studies and Shopify analytics extraordinarily helpful for fetching the related numbers and conducting evaluation.
After making use of for the present, the model had a number of on-line and face-to-face interviews together with submitting documentation and certifications for verification.
Roughly 66,000 manufacturers utilized for the primary season, out of which solely 198 have been shortlisted, and solely 97 manufacturers’ pitch was telecasted.
“It took a number of grit, arduous work and luck to have the ability to make it to the televised rounds. However it was an expertise of a lifetime”, Jayanti exclaimed.
With restrictions on internet marketing for hemp, the model needed to discover offline advertising and marketing techniques to achieve its viewers. The duo knew that taking India Hemp & Co on nationwide TV would do wonders in boosting its attain.
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Not solely was this a nationwide platform, however entrepreneurs additionally had the chance to showcase their manufacturers in a primetime slot, which might in any other case price crores of rupees.
Whereas elevating capital was positively on their minds, one other key purpose for showing on Shark Tank India was to bust hemp-related misconceptions and make clear hemp’s well being advantages and supply publicity to India Hemp’s merchandise.
The Pitch
The hardest half for Jayanti whereas making ready for the pitch was explaining hemp and its advantages given its complexities. And doing that in Hindi was an added problem.
Jayanti shares that her fluency in Hindi was beneath common, however Shark Tank India requires Hindi pitches because of the tv viewership. Jayanti recognised the language’s nationwide attain and brushed up on her Hindi expertise to elucidate hemp’s worth as greatest as she might.
The Shark Tank crew helped her put together a powerful pitch in Hindi inside simply three days.. That’s how invested the crew was in guaranteeing that the entrepreneurs gave their greatest shot in entrance of the sharks.
One other problem for India Hemp & Co was how each assertion of Jayanti’s pitch was scrutinised and verified earlier than it was televised by Shark Tank’s authorized crew. Hemp has lately been categorised as meals by FSSAI, which implies that hemp-based merchandise can now be bought conventionally like different meals merchandise.
Positive, hemp manufacturers would tremendously profit from this, but it surely takes time for individuals to familiarise themselves with a change. That is why Jayanti needed to submit quite a few paperwork to again up the whole lot she mentioned about hemp on TV.
Within the tank, the Sharks had endless questions in regards to the model and hemp generally. Aman Gupta (Co-founder and Chief Advertising Officer of boAt) even questioned if hemp could possibly be bought in markets. Jayanti outlined the model’s stance, shared hemp’s advantages and cleared hemp-related misconceptions together with her pitch.
Although the opposite Sharks backed out, Namita Thapar (Govt Director of Emcure Prescribed drugs) was impressed with India Hemp & Co’s branding.
“Namita Thapar is an unbelievable particular person, she actually walks the speak and was very effectively knowledgeable about all the advantages of hemp. It was an incredible expertise to be to pitch to her”, Jayanti mentioned.
When requested why she declined Namita’s provide, Jayanti defined how decreasing your valuation on a platform like Shark Tank India would have an effect on related hemp manufacturers too. “With the grandiose televised setting beneath all these shiny lights, it is extremely simple to succumb and settle for a proposal, however as hemp is a rising business we wished to do proper by it”.
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However the founders have a no-shortcut-to-success coverage that displays in all their endeavours. As difficult because it was to show down Namita’s provide, it was mandatory. Jayanti needed to step out twice to seek the advice of her sister Shalini Bhattacharya and IIMB mentor Gopal Rao Addanki on name earlier than declining the provide.
Turning down the provide labored out within the model’s favour. “I’m glad we held our personal because it resulted in a number of real curiosity for the model”. India Hemp has been receiving a number of queries from clients searching for a wholesome different in addition to from buyers globally after their Shark Tank look.
As a model, India Hemp & Co. needs to develop by constructing a group that wholeheartedly trusts them and their model. To ascertain that degree of belief, Jayanti believes that ‘each model must have a face’. That’s why the founders have determined to maintain the human contact intact, and in reality, they personally observe up with all clients to work together with them and handle all their issues and doubts.
Need to get natural site visitors and construct a group on your model? Listed here are some sources that can assist you get began:
The Ripple Impact
Each entrepreneur on Shark Tank India has gone residence with one thing invaluable – the expertise and community they construct with buyers and fellow entrepreneurs! The funding gives and publicity helped an ideal deal too.
Jayanti expressed her gratitude to Sony and Shark Tank India crew for airing the model’s pitch on TV. She remembers how the Shark Tank India crew prompt being ready for elevated site visitors publish the published.
Fortunately, Shopify’s buyer help instantly assured her that the model’s website was in good condition and would simply deal with the surge in site visitors. “We’ve at all times had Shopify’s help”, she claimed.
After the episode aired, India Hemp & Co noticed round a 500% improve in site visitors on the web site. And it stayed like that for an entire month! At present, it has been averaging round 2x the quantity of site visitors it obtained earlier than Shark Tank.
Jayanti shared that loopholes within the buyer journey got here to the floor because of the spike in site visitors, however she was in a position to join with Shopify to repair these points.
India Hemp & Co’s shopify web site didn’t face any glitches or downtime. A number of contributors who had constructed on completely different platforms complained of web sites crashing and switched to Shopify based mostly on Jayanti’s advice.
On a private entrance, she was stunned on the quantity of people that acknowledged her on the road after the present. “I believe I underestimated how many individuals watch TV. Even now, I come throughout individuals who have that ‘I’ve seen her someplace’ look.”
Nuggets of knowledge for brand new entrepreneurs
We requested Jayanti if she had any recommendation for budding entrepreneurs who want to apply to Shark Tank India. Right here’s a summarised model of her takeaways:
- Take the shot, it might change your life. : “Everybody ought to apply. Don’t hesitate, as a result of you may get there even when you find yourself nonetheless within the ideation stage of what you are promoting!”
- Be open to studying: You’ll meet some wonderful and enterprising individuals who undergo comparable enterprise issues as you. Plus, the Shark Tank crew guides you thru each step of the method.
- Know your numbers: You’ll be pitching to specialists who’re open to out-of-the-box concepts, however not irrationality. For India Hemp & Co, getting information for his or her valuation was simpler as that they had entry to detailed studies by Shopify analytics.
- Put together for the publicity: So long as your pitch is televised, you possibly can anticipate a rise in your attain. The publicity your model might get with being on a nationwide TV channel can’t be put in numbers. Jayanti even has her personal meme now!
- Don’t compromise in your/your model’s value: Most significantly, be obsessed with what you do, and by no means cease believing in your model’s true potential. You signify your crew and group alongside along with your model. It’s important to just accept a proposal that resembles your authentic valuation and advantages all.
In search of extra sources to improve your entrepreneurial expertise? You might discover these fascinating:
Going towards the grain, responsibly
From beginning a hemp-powered kitchen to being a finalist on Shark Tank India and scaling the enterprise by all of it, India Hemp & Co has skilled great progress as a startup.
The model continues to encourage change by creating plant-based dietary merchandise that help the concept of a more healthy, sustainable world.
Although obtainable on virtually 30 marketplaces, the model continues to have a improbable on-line journey with Shopify. Whether or not it was a number of lockdowns or a site visitors surge, India Hemp & Co at all times had a steady platform to depend on. “Shopify is that steadfast help you want when the whole lot else is falling aside,” Jayanti shares.
In case you have a singular enterprise thought and are searching for a dependable accomplice that can assist you set up an internet retailer, look no additional. Shopify gives you with instruments and sources to create your retailer with little to no tech expertise.
Kickstart your on-line enterprise journey with Shopify’s 14-day free trial.
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