SHUBHRA CHADDA
The woman behind the kitschy souvenirs brand Chumbak
W OULD YOU sell your house to finance your dream? When you’re on
maternity leave? Shubhra Chadda did. In 2010, she sold her Bangalore
flat for R40 lakh and put that money into her quirky India-themed
lifestyle accessories brand, Chumbak. “I was working for a company
called NetApp and I got to travel a lot,” explains Chadda. “I’d pick up a
fridge magnet from every place I visited. One day, it struck me that
none of my magnets
were from India. That’s when I came up with a plan to make India-themed magnets.” Her boss was not encouraging
W OULD YOU sell your house to finance your dream? When you’re on
maternity leave? Shubhra Chadda did. In 2010, she sold her Bangalore
flat for R40 lakh and put that money into her quirky India-themed
lifestyle accessories brand, Chumbak. “I was working for a company
called NetApp and I got to travel a lot,” explains Chadda. “I’d pick up a
fridge magnet from every place I visited. One day, it struck me that
none of my magnets
were from India. That’s when I came up with a plan to make India-themed magnets.” Her boss was not encouraging
(“How many magnets will
you sell?”), so Chadda went back to the corporate grind. A couple of years later, when she decided to have a baby and take a year’s break, she figured it was time to transform her dream into reality. “I was a constant cribber and never wanted a desk job,” says Chadda. “So when Samara was born, I thought to myself ‘let’s do this now’. I made a list every morning, got samples ready, registered the company, and went ahead. I wasn’t scared because I knew I had spotted this big gap, and I wasn’t deterred by negative criticism.”
There certainly were some eyebrows raised. An elderly gentleman
looked at her spoofs on Indian stereotypes and accused her of “making
fun of Indians” but ultimately, the joke was on him. Chumbak broke even
within its first year and now retails from 120 stores across India. “We
joined Facebook early, and had an online store in a month’s time,” she
says. Of the stores that stock Chumbak, “Ninety per cent approached us,
and now, my challenge is to improve our instore displays.”
you sell?”), so Chadda went back to the corporate grind. A couple of years later, when she decided to have a baby and take a year’s break, she figured it was time to transform her dream into reality. “I was a constant cribber and never wanted a desk job,” says Chadda. “So when Samara was born, I thought to myself ‘let’s do this now’. I made a list every morning, got samples ready, registered the company, and went ahead. I wasn’t scared because I knew I had spotted this big gap, and I wasn’t deterred by negative criticism.”
There certainly were some eyebrows raised. An elderly gentleman
looked at her spoofs on Indian stereotypes and accused her of “making
fun of Indians” but ultimately, the joke was on him. Chumbak broke even
within its first year and now retails from 120 stores across India. “We
joined Facebook early, and had an online store in a month’s time,” she
says. Of the stores that stock Chumbak, “Ninety per cent approached us,
and now, my challenge is to improve our instore displays.”
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