Open Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media website these days and you will be flooded with paid advertisements for products ranging from clothes to jewellery and gadgets to household items. But things were different when Nikita Acharya and Kiran Timsina started their business in 2012.
“When we were in college, we would see so many things on international shopping websites that we wanted to buy,” remembers Acharya. “But we could not buy them as we did not have international credit cards,” she adds.
“There were websites based in Nepal that could be used by people living abroad to send gifts to their loved ones in Kathmandu, but that was it,” shares Timsina.
The duo sensed a business opportunity. Why not start a shop online? Acharya and Timsina toyed with the idea for a long time and decided to start their own business; they named it Urban Girl (UG). “We saw that globally, it was the women who spent more time shopping than men. Women also have more tendency to spend more,” says Acharya. That was the reason they decided to focus on products related to women.
“Nikita invested Rs 10,000 and I also put in another 10,000,” shares Timsina. “During our early days, we sold our products at a margin and whatever profit we made on our sales, we invested it back into our business,” Timsina, who doubled as the ‘delivery guy’, says.
First, it was imitation jewellery, then came Valentine gifts and clothing. There were many who doubted that these things could be sold online. But that did not stop them. “What we did was focus on building a community of users around our products. To do that, we actively used Faceboook, organised different events such as futsal tournaments so that our so costumers felt they were part of a larger thing,” adds Acharya.
Soon they realised that there was a big flaw in the business model they had adopted. In the early days, the volume of sales was low and sourcing merchandise was not difficult. But later on, that proved to be a challenge. Many e-commerce platforms opened in Kathmandu in the subsequent years. However, none of them addressed the issue. While e-commerce platforms have increased the range of products available in the market, they are criticised for not adding any value to their products.
“We knew that we had to do something about it. So we decided to venture into manufacturing and customisation as well. As a first step, we started our own bakery. Apart from customised cakes, we also have started our own customised tees, cups and necklace,” explains Acharaya. Eventually, the goal is to make our products, she says.
According to Acharya, these days around 90-95 per cent of the merchandise they sell is Nepali. They also employ around 30-55 people in their operations.
Urban Girl was one of the 10 upcoming companies selected for this year’s Rockstart Impact programme. The duo will be pitching to international investors in Amsterdam and in London next month.
“We hope the platform will help us realise our goals,” the duo adds.
