Quest for 'perfect fit' powers Kaaryah

 Nidhi Agarwal, who grappled with 113 rejections until her proposition was validated by Ratan Tata himself, is a problem-solver first.

“Western formals for women from western brands came in four-five sizes that suited the western consumer. Indians had very little choice, and that too with multiple alterations.

This was a problem that needed fixing,” she said. Agarwal bootstrapped her way through Kaaryah — a women’s apparel brand — which now offers womens’ apparel in 18 sizes that have been customised ‘for a perfect fit’ for the Indian consumer.

“We researched 1,500 Indian women to get our algorithm in place and arrive at these sizes,” she said, at the Sheroes Summit 2015 held in Bengaluru on Wednesday.   

The company further went on to raise pre-Series A funding from Saha Fund and Mohandas Pai earlier this month. Pai, who was also present, explained his reasoning.

“Where the consuming power lies in the hands of a woman, it becomes imperative to encourage them as entrepreneurs. Women are the ultimate consumption decision makers, be it for themselves, their families or their homes. Consequently, they identify and understand problems more naturally” he said.

Having invested in a woman-led startup himself, Pai finds that the main criteria for investing should be the person behind the startup and how dedicated he/she is. “My investment was purely based on Nidhi and her research and calibre,” he said about his investment in Kaaryah.

The Sheroes Summit organised by Sheroes.in, an online career destination for women, is a forum for women entrepreneurs to network and develop their ideas and businesses while maintaining a work-life balance in different phases of their lives.

The summit in its third edition this year hosted around 350 enthusiastic participants and found speakers in leading women entrepreneurs Ashwani Asokan, Co-founder and CEO, Mad Street Den; Pallavi Gupta, COO, Mast Kalandar, Spring Leaf Retail; Nidhi Agarwal, Founder, Kaaryah.com; and Anju Maudgal Kadam, DFounder & Director, WebTCV.in, among others.