“Every day is a Monday and every night is a Friday,” believes Yash Jain, co-founder at Kala Kollective. Essentially an informal cultural space, the startup encourages denizens to use art as a means of self-discovery. Their core objective is to use creative therapy to help people combat stress, negativity and anxiety.
“With a startup, you’ve constantly got to be on the run. Getting it out there is an integral and ongoing process,” states the co-founder, walking us through his work day.
Yash wakes up to plan his entire work day. This means scheduling important meetings and conference calls over his morning coffee. Next, he heads to the studio where a team meeting is on the cards.
Startup Essentials
Incepted on August 6, 2017, Kala Kollective is essentially an informal cultural space hosting workshops, classes, sessions and seminars in the field of Art, Music and Literature.
Soundproof music studios, a well-stocked library for bibliophiles mark this art space.
Startup Pune Association awarded them the ‘Most Creative Startup’.
“Teamwork makes the dream work,” says the entrepreneur who shares that the rest of his work day is an absolute breeze. “You see, working at Kala Kollective is enjoyable and doesn’t feel like work at all!
Step into the space and you know what he means. It’s a mod-ish yet casual work place with the artsy interiors of a culture studio. “We have a young and energetic team that brings out a new efficient style of work,” says Yash.
“We’re primarily service providers, so we make sure we build relations with various customers. Our team also handles research on people, groups, associations, companies and potential clients.
“Everybody is excited to come to office at a creative startup. On that note, as soon as our cafe starts, there’s unlimited coffees and sandwiches for our team, on the house! Done deal, isn’t it?” he grins amiably.
We meet Isha, Divya, Parvati and Amol from team Kala. Yash adds, “We have a team of 12 working directly and remotely for us, which we’ll be adding to, once we start kitchen operations.
Talking about his co-founders Nilesh Jain and Janu Bafna, Yash fondly admits that they are the better half of Kala Kollective. He reveals Janu is a management graduate with a creative heart. “We handle promotions and branding at Kala Kollective. We also reach out to people who can be a part of our creative faculty.
Planning Kala’s calendar with distinctive and creative workshops and sessions well in advance takes up a lot of our time. Networking and artist management are also an integral part of our role. Of course, as founders, we have interchangeable job roles. We aim to bring to people the best in art, music and literature essentially bridging the gap between art and its audience.
Currently, we’re chalking out a full-length course for sketching and painting where the participant doesn’t need to even carry a pencil for the class. “Running Kala Kollective is a 24-hour task simply because it’s such an unconventional idea,” explains Yash adding, “Eventually, I want to be at the office for just 3 hours every day, and devote the rest of the time to my studio.
CEO After Hours
An outdoor person, he makes time for casual meetings with associates or friends after work.
Heading back to Kala Kollective for a sip of chai and a spot of painting is always a great stress buster for him!
A movie buff, he enjoys watching French, Japanese, Anime, English and even Spanish movies.
Yash is also a design consultant for brands and designers.
“Today, I try to paint often. I have to make sure my art doesn’t get lost in mundane work processes. While I’m a startup founder, I’m also an independent artist. It’s important for me to work in cohesion with the two.”
In the next year, I want to build a holistic cultural centre, museum and recreational space at Kala Kollective so that we start adding value to the art scene in Pune.
We hope to start a second branch within a year of operations,” he discloses signing off.
#Pune365 takes this opportunity to wish Kala Kollective all success ahead!
- StartupStory#80: Gharobar – Avani And Rashmi On Empowering Home Based Entrepreneurs - February 19, 2018
- When Your Favourite Pav Bhaji Turns Quirky - February 17, 2018
- Middle Eastern Cuisine – This Is The Real Thing! - February 14, 2018
