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Startup Story #10: From an engineering student to setting up Chirkutt.in

October 10, 2016

“Do I want to pursue a job or follow my passion and start something on my own?”

A fourth-year engineering student was constantly thinking of this, just before sitting for her placements. Pooja Mrig, is not the only one caught in this dilemma. There are many like her, but very few who muster the courage to choose a path completely different from what they have been studying. By the time you complete school, society expects that your next 10 years are figured out. But, with startups becoming a norm, there are many challenging this notion. Whether they’ve been working a corporate job for most of their lives or are just out of college, many are pursuing their dream and starting something of their own.

The startup industry has seen a number of young entrepreneurs trying to create their mark and Pooja Mrig is one of them. Starting out with a business idea of selling paper jewellery she now has her own online website and brand called Chirkutt under which she sells not just jewellery but personalised items such as T-shirts, posters, notebooks to name a few.

“Like a lot of kids I was unsure about what to do. So I got into engineering, but I always knew I wanted to do something on my own just didn’t know how. Finally, before sitting for my placements I decided I would speak to my parents and follow my dream. Luckily my parents were completely supportive,” smiles Mrig. A casual conversation with a friend laid the seed for her startup venture. Her creative gene made the decision easier, she would do something with jewellery but with a twist. “When I started in 2014, paper jewellery wasn’t big. With the help of Youtube Tutorials I began making jewellery and selling it by the name Trinkets and Treasures,” she adds.

Pooja Mrig (third from left) with her team – Sunita and Saru to her right and Surekha to her left

Using the art of quilling and origami, she began crafting earrings, necklaces, anklets and even key holders. The early entrepreneur first set up her wares at an exhibition held by Rotary Club where her hardwork was met with unexpected success, as she sold 150 pieces of jewellery within three hours.

This was just the beginning for the passionate entrepreneur, who single-handedly prepared for months for just one exhibition. As she learned the tricks of the trade she began doing more exhibitions, making her dream a reality. But, the road to success is never an easy one and for Mrig some of the biggest hurdles she faced was reactions from relatives and people who came by her stall.

“When I just started, I had relatives tell me “yeh toh baccho wali cheez hai or people come and tell me “quilling toh mera bacha bhi kar sakta hai.”(even my child can do this).

I even had some tell me look around your friends have jobs that pay them Rs 40,000 and at the end of the day you sell your stuff between the price range of Rs 40-100, how will you make a living?” says Mrig. She used these reactions as motivation and pushed harder, with determination to achieve what she had set out to. This led to her expanding her business, “I thought why don’t I start designing jewellery made out of metal and terracotta. I realised that nothing will get boring if you keep innovating and that’s exactly what I did.” The budding entrepreneur’s efforts began getting noticed by many. “At an exhibition held at Phoenix Mall, so many people came up to me and told me how impressed they were that I had set up an entire stall with paper jewellery. At one such exhibition, I got introduced to two social activists because of which I have my own team now,” announces Mrig. Earlier, for extra assistance Mrig had trained the wives of two watchmen but with them constantly migrating it got harder to train someone new every time, the interaction with two social activists lead to a permanent solution.

Now, helping her create her products are three women by the name Surekha, Sunita and Saru, who are the mothers of underprivileged children who are being taught under the Teach for India campaign. “Part of my future goals with this venture is to hold workshops and train underprivileged women how to make these accessories. Even if they don’t work with me, they can start their own thing. The three women who I work with have been victims of ‘Jhule me shaadi’ or child marriage and doing this helps them so much,” gleams Mrig. Her hardwork is clearly evident be it in travelling across the city to train the women or setting up her own online shopping marketplace known as Chirkutt three months back.

The various products available on Chirkutt range from personalised T-shirts to trinkets to home décor like shot glasses, mouse pads, mason jars, dreamcatchers and notebooks. These are delivered to your home at a click of a button in eco-friendly packaging which has been made by a non-governmental organisation with deaf and blind children. Mrig has grown her business from merely selling paper jewellery to her own shopping website, she is now looking for designers and technical people to expand further. Owing her success to her parents and friends, she believes “If you really want to do something, you will find a way.”