Fancy degrees like engineering or an MBA from a good institution and a high-paying job is like a dream come true for most youth. It is true that for most youths belonging to a middle-class family, getting a good education and getting a job is the highest measure of success. But society also wants talented people to use their skills and abilities in creating opportunities for others, however, in today’s world, it is an unusual event for someone to leave a high-paying corporate job to start a social enterprise. However, the pairing of Tanya and Sujatha, who laid the foundation of a company called Suta Girls, has made this unusual task.
Tanya and Sujata Family
Both Tanya and Sujata are real sisters. They were raised in a normal Indian family. Their father worked in the railway police and due to this, he was transferred. Both sisters earned their engineering degrees and completed an MBA in general management and finance, respectively. After successful completion, Tanya got a placement at IBM while Sujatha started her career with Essar Steel. Her educational achievements helped him get a high-paying job and the job gave him a luxurious lifestyle. The sisters were happy yet both agreed that this was just the beginning but not the final option. The seed of entrepreneurship was growing within them and she wanted to do something for society.
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How did They start?
In the year 2016, she took a tough decision and said goodbye to the job to start her company. Seeing older women in a sari-clad family, the girls’ fascination with saris from childhood helped them plan a startup. Both soon decided to start trading related to handloom sarees made by Indian weavers across the nation. However, it was not as easy as the craze of wearing a sari was taking place among the people. In spite of all the challenges, she decided to grow with her idea as it would directly benefit the poor weavers.
After doing some initial research, she realized that the number of sari users was decreasing, but thought-out saris were emerging as a style statement for women of all ages. Making creativity their weapon of success, Tanya and Sujata started working on a plan to introduce the brand Suta to the public. But with a small capital of Rs 5 lakh and a team of three including them, it was also difficult to compete with well-known brands. Creativity was with the company, but it was quite expensive to promote famous models. To solve this crisis, Bahn became a model for her brand herself and used social media for publicity.
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In just four years, Suta ‘operated by Tanya and Sujata emerged as a known brand. The company, started with a small capital of 3 lakhs and 2 weavers, has become a large company with more than 1500 weavers and two handloom units in West Bengal today. In the year 2019, Suta made revenue of 13 crores. But the most important thing above all is that this startup is helping a large number of weavers to increase the quality of their products and make a better living by avoiding profitable middlemen.
Tanya and Sujata have given up their good corporate jobs and will reach the place where most of us dream today. We get to learn a lot from their story. To do something big in life, you have to have the courage to take risks and then with the right decision at the right time, you too can build a great empire of success.
