India Boulevard - Provides an End-to-End Solution for Customers and Designers
Akta Adani, the Founder and CEO of India Boulevard, has excelled in marrying business success with meaningful personal growth. India Boulevard is an online platform that inspires people to be a part of creating elegant designs for themselves and in personalizing their own style. Akta, befitting her name, unites the efforts of customers, stylists, and designers in delivering ideas that have turned into beautiful realities to people’s doorsteps. From an urban city in India to the start-up capital of USA, her journey will truly be inspirational to many at who restart careers in foreign lands.
In an interaction with BW Disrupt, Akta Adani, Founder and CEO of India Boulevard shared details about her venture.
Tell us about yourself:
I am originally from the city of Mumbai. I started my career as a finance associate and worked for over 10 years with premium international organizations. The journey from the financial capital of India to the financial district in San Francisco has truly been remarkable. Coming from an entrepreneurial family, I always felt it was a matter of time before I ventured out and pursued my passion. Swati Adani, my mother is an established designer in Mumbai and is my biggest inspiration. It is from her, I learnt that through the medium of fashion one is able to enlighten the lives of many. So when I got the opportunity to start afresh, the choice was obvious.
How did the idea of India Boulevard start?
As a bride-to be, I was first confronted with the nightmares of designer wear shopping in India. I realized that shopping was a painful experience going from door-to door. That experience got me determined to create a platform that would allow for a worry free, engaging, cost effective, and gratifying experience.
India Boulevard was launched as an online platform from a small Indian coffee shop with two people and the aroma today has spread to the global diaspora looking to buy ethnic Indian wear.
What is your business model?
We provide an end-to-end solution for our customers and designers. We act as the bridge between these two important players in the business of fashion and in the process allow for personalized service to both. Our customers can order their outfits with a few clicks on their palm and our designers concentrate wholly on the design techniques allowing their work to be superior and specialised. This mantra has proven to be successful as our outfits are of the best quality and our customer satisfaction high. Adapting to the changing trends, sustaining quality, collaborating with designers and team, increasing and maintaining a good social media interaction are the wheels on which India Boulevard stands on and our customers fuel this vehicle!
There are so many online boutiques in the market, how is India Boulevard different?
To understand where the customer comes from and with what expectations is an important part of our work. The team at India Boulevard is upbeat with the right colors of the seasons, with the prints that are trending and with fabrics that can accentuate a design. The whole team, including the designers, the seamstresses, administrators, sales staff, is all involved in catering to the preferences of the customer as a priority. This is what sets India Boulevard apart, because it is not just about bringing the best designs to you but it is about bringing the best design for you. Every outfit we design for our customer has a story to tell and we create memories along the way. Our customer service is our biggest strength and we are constantly improvising on how best to cater to their needs. Our responsibility does not stop once the outfit is delivered to our customer. We follow up and ensure that they like our creation, it fits well and that they are happy with the overall experience.
What are your funding plans?
I bootstrapped the company for the first 6 months and then successfully raised a venture-backed funding from Arena Ventures in late 2015. They are founder focused venture firm and have been huge advocates of the business and growing the company for the past year.
What is the long-term vision for India Boulevard?
The long term vision for India Boulevard is to be the globally inspired brand one culture at a time. I am set out to build a company that celebrates the people behind our products. Our name is a reflection of the collective individuals - artisans, designers and customers - who rally together across cultures and continents to craft our collections. India Boulevard is our first step towards sharing these stories and products with everyone.
