Chaitanya Aggarwal is the Founder & CEO at Juvalia & You, one of the leading online fashion jewellery and accessories brand. 

An engineering graduate and MBA from Columbia Business School, Chaitanya Aggarwal has always been an aspiring entrepreneur. While pursuing engineering, he started his own venture in home furnishings that is now exporting to nearly 50+countries. 

An explorer and an avid traveller, he knew from the beginning that a 9-5 desk job is not his cup of tea. He aspired to create an entrepreneurial platform that blended fashion and jewellery with a unique channel to empower women. 

Thus, in 2012, he founded Juvalia & You based on an innovative online social selling business model. Spearheading the venture, today, Juvalia & You has become India’s largest online fashion jewellery and accessories brand, and is one of the top runners in direct selling MLM industry.

In this exclusive interview with Ratnika Swami for India Digital Review, Chaitanya talks about the fashion and accessories market in India, challenges faced by startups and a new line of smart jewellery. Excerpts:  

Q. How did you come up with this idea? What was the thought process behind starting Juvalia & You India?

Drawing inspiration from international runway jewellery & accessory trends, a group of us met in New York City during the Fashion Week and started discussing a business model involving this passion. Soon they created Juvalia & You - an innovative and modern social selling company that would offer today’s busy woman a career alternative, where she can achieve success and balance through a career in something she loves.

Q. Could you briefly take us through your journey so far? And what hurdles you had to overcome to reach where you are today?

It has been a great journey with various ups and downs and has taught me a lot of life lessons. I think it is important to have a long term vision in place but as a startup one should always think for short term and keep adapting. It is vital as a startup to keep innovating and be ahead of the competition. It is important to have a balance and we at Juvalia have a culture to work hard and play hard. It is important to celebrate small wins to keep the team motivated. 

Q. Who is your target audience? And how do you engage with them and keep customers coming back—whatever the channel?

Our target audience is women in the age group of 16-45 years. We have different range of products for different sub age groups across the target segment. We are present across Metros, Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. We have a different offering for various profiles of customers across these demographics. We have actively tried to cater to all the regional preferences of diverse India. We have something for everyone.  

Q. Which cities/countries are you currently operational in?

We are currently operational in 13 states of India and have been expanding at a fast pace. We are looking to be present in all the 29 states of the country by mid of 2016.

Q. Who are your main competitors in this segment? What differentiates you from them?

The jewellery market is extremely fragmented in India and doesn’t have any major player in the fashion jewellery segment. From our launch is 2012, we have quickly grown to be India’s largest and most loved brand in the fashion jewellery segment. Accessorize, Claire’s and the likes are our closest competitors who are present in select locations. Our focus on creating and focusing on setting trends in the jewellery space has set us apart from the others.   

Q. What is your current area of focus at Juvalia & You India? And what are your plans for the future?

Juvalia would continue setting trends in the jewellery market. We are looking to revolutionizing how jewellery is worn in India. We are developing a line of smart Jewellery which would have a smart module inside. This product would be a tiny chip and would be a safety device which would alert near and dear ones in emergency situations. The product would also notify the user for all incoming calls and messages. It would also monitor sleep and fitness of the individual.

Q. What is your take on the future of online fashion jewelry and accessories sector in India?

The market hasn’t been tapped yet and it follows the story of India’s Internet story. A major population of India is not online yet and the market would continue to grow exponentially in the near future. We expect that the online fashion jewellery and accessories would continue to grow at the same or higher pace as the pace of growth of India’s e-commerce market.

Q. What is your current revenue model for Juvalia & You India?

Our revenue comes from the B2C segment and is through sales of jewellery and accessories.

Q. Any advice for your peers and fellow startups?

Having the right product is the key to success for any startup. It is also extremely important to have the right foundation team and people willing to go the extra mile complements a great product.