Zivame founded by Richa Kar proves that if there is willpower, any venture can be made into a successful business. Richa Kar started a Lingerie online store at a time when people were shy to speak about innerwear. Richa Kar’s name is now synonymous with Zivame. Women normally feel uneasy while choosing innerwear from textiles. Richa started Zivame to help women overcome this. Women and teenage girls are now aware of Zivame. The brand is popular among women for the fact that its products are reasonable and good in quality.
Strong team
Richa completed her education at the BITS Pilani. Later, she got a job in an IT company. After this, she completed her masters and worked for Spencers and SAP retail consulting. While working for Spencers and SAP, Richa gained valuable retail experience that she carried to the startup world. During her time at SAP, one of her clients was the lingerie company Victoria’s Secret. This paved way for her startup. But, her parents didn’t support her idea. Her mother was worried about society judging her daughter for selling bras and panties online.
Finally, Richa started her company along with her husband Kapil Karekar who had worked in ESPN, Yahoo! and InMobi. She launched Zivame with all her savings and Rs.30 lakhs she borrowed from her friends. Her company started operations in a small office space on August 25, 2011. It received its first order after five hours of being operational. The company sought funding and raised $9 million in two rounds from investors such as IDG Ventures, Kalaari Capital, and Unilazer Ventures as the company grew. Within three years of its launch, Zivame had grown to a 200 member strong team.
Successful venture
Zivame slowly emerged as an online lingerie store featuring hundreds of styles tailored for Indian women. It is a leader in this niche online shopping segment, offering more than 5,000 styles, 50 brands, and 100 sizes. Zivame’s consignments have reached all Indian states except Lakshadweep. Zivame, during its initial growth years, had 5 million visitors online. This number has grown multifold since then. The company claims to have a growth of 300 per cent. The valuation of the company is more than Rs.681 Crores.
Richa had to face criticism when she started her business during the initial days. She emerged successful as she chased her dreams and worked towards them. Zivame is a result of Richa’s hard work and confidence.
