Interview with Kanika Sharma | Ethical Rani
I hope this can inspire you to become a successful entrepreneur too! Why is it important to hear the story of a successful entrepreneur?
Having the vision to become an entrepreneur is great. Making it happen is another story!
In that frame, I had the pleasure to interview Kanika Sharma, founder of Ethical Rani.
About Ethical Rani
Ethical Rani is true to its name – it is both cruelty-free and eco-friendly. Founder Kanika Sharma Soni says, “We strive to continually minimize our impact on the planet while making sure you don’t have to sacrifice beauty and elegance when you choose cruelty-free juttis.”
No animal products: From the soles to the uppers, every element of the jutti is devoid of animal products
Recycled dust bags: The juttis come in dust bags that are made from repurposed waste fabrics (sourced from local tailors and designers), in a bid to promote recycling.
Committed to craftsmanship: Each pair of juttis incorporates intricate and mindful design to create high-quality products that are stylish and sustainable.
A style for every occasion: From elegant jewel-toned juttis for everyday wear to quirky, colorful sequinned juttis and bandhani and ikat designs, Ethical Rani has a range of beautiful footwear for work and play.
1. What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e what’s your source of motivation?
I am not a morning person at all so I would say what keeps me up at night is my goal for the brand. I want to create awareness about the reason behind the brand more than the brand itself.
2. Why should people choose your product/services?
Because we make you feel good and look good. If you have an equally good option for an alternative to a leather product why not go for it. Every little change counts.
3. What’s your competitive advantage and why can’t it be copied?
That I am the first one (as per my knowledge and our research) who makes vegan juttis, but our products definitely can be copied. That doesn’t bother me though because I always feel you can copy the design and look of my product but not my ethics and the brand’s essence.
4. What risks are you facing?
Lack of awareness in the market. There are a lot of people including celebrities who have turned to a vegan diet, but that change hasn’t come to living a vegan lifestyle and ditching the leather altogether. So the lack of opportunities is something that is amiss. But we are very new so I don’t think of it as a risk but rather a challenge.
5. Have you considered any alliance/partnership?
We would love to partner up with someone if we have similar work ethics and our end goals match. Currently, we don’t have an alliance with anyone.
6. What are your cash flow projections? When will you break even? How much will you need in investments?
We started slow, and have been only 6 months into this, so our investment hasn’t been very large. We hope we can break even with 2 years.
7. What comes first for you money or emotions?
I think they need to go hand in hand. You can’t start a business without money but u can’t sustain it without emotions either. If you can find a balance between the two I think you have a good thing going. We at our brand believe in making a change but for that emotion to flourish we obviously need money too. So our production doesn’t run high and we like to take it to step by step.
8. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths would be the team I have. My karigars have the finest hand when it comes to embroidery. Their knowledge is so vast it leaves me wanting to learn more and more.
Weakness would be a lack of social media knowledge. We are very new in a market which is flourishing and is so dependant on social media and social marketing. Something I have never had to dabble in. So we as relearning the tricks of the trade as we go.
9. Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of.
Everything the team has achieved in these 6 months is worthy of being proud of.
10. How do you handle the pressure?
I was a lawyer by profession and always had a creative side, but the switch to starting your own business wasn’t easy. Whenever the team is stressed out we start brainstorming to get our minds away from the setbacks towards something more positive.
11. If you sold your company today, what would be the tone of the conversation? What would you want to gain? What would you want to avoid losing?
I would never sell my brand. If I come across someone with our work ethics I would love to partner up but selling is just not an option.
12. What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Don’t ever second guess yourself. If you are confident in what you want to achieve however fast or slow your track may be , others will definitely believe in you.
13. What is the vision for your brand /company?
We as a brand want to make a change in the way everyone spends their money recklessly on fashion. We want to work towards a more sustainable way of living without having to spend too much money or compromising on the quality. If we can have people who use leather products switch to using non-leather products even if it’s one person at a time we think it’s our battle half won.
