It is an inevitable fact that you have to experience failures in the pursuit of success. “Failures are the pillars of success”, “No pain, no gain” – these sayings are often used by the experts as true testaments of many successful entrepreneurs. And why not? There is no wrong in mentioning that disappointments play a pivotal role in one’s prosperity. Having said that, one such businesswoman, who learnt from her setbacks and reached the pinnacle of success, is Nina Lekhi, the founder of vegan accessories brand, Baggit. From an average student who got failed in her first year of college to becoming the owner of 100-crore company, Nina has certainly achieved a lot in her life with her sheer hard work and never giving up approach.
On that note, let’s take a look how Nina got an idea of launching Baggit.
Life before Baggit
Nina used to be a studious child who did exceptionally well in all her classes. But things got changed when she joined a confirmation course in Foundation Art at Sophia Polytechnic College. For someone who had always been teacher’s favourite, it came as a big shock that Nina got failed in the first year of her college. However, she didn’t lose her confidence instead that failure agitated her from inside and she decided to make a name for herself.
A failure that leads to the birth of million-dollar startup
Just like every other young girl, Nina Lekhi was also fond of bags at that time and she used to have an impressive collection of handbags for various purposes. After she got fizzled in college, Lekhi decided to prove herself and that’s why she planned to start a venture of her own. For her new business, Nina thought that what could be a better option than tapping the fashion industry. She had already discovered that there was the lack of range of classy and elegant bags in the market. Hence, Nina decided to fill the gap by launching Baggit at the age of 18.
Every business needs some investment at the initial stage and in Nina’s case, it was her mother who came as the first investor for Baggit by investing Rs 7000.
Taking the baby steps
In the beginning, Nina started off with just one bag with a vision to create more of them that have their own uniqueness. In order to make a strong market presence of her product, Nina decided to put her bags on display in various exhibitions and even supplied exclusively to a few retailers. Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed as Nina’s got an opportunity to collaborate with Shoppers Stop and after that it was no looking back for her.
Success of Baggit
Today, Baggit has expanded its workforce with 700 employees working at more than 1000 stores globally. And the current brand worth of Baggit is around 1000 crore. All this happened because of a one failure that Nina had faced in her teens. But she accepted the disappointments and make a way for herself to inspire a lot of budding entrepreneurs in the race. Nina’s positive outlook towards life and her business has always helped her tide through even in the most critical situations.