At Brilliant Read Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. This week we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Mohammad Barkat Ali for an interview with us. He is the Founder and Director of Jhingalala – a platform where school and college students can get their hands on high-quality t-shirts and gifting options. Let’s read more about his incredible journey so far and way forward!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
Tell us a bit about your academic and professional background and experiences. How has this academic and experiential knowledge helped you in leading your company?
To begin with, I completed my MBA in Marketing from Aligarh Muslim University. Thereafter, I did SDP, Strategic Management for Luxury and Lifestyle Business from the IIM, Bangalore. Also, in the year 2012, I qualified UGC NET in Management.
While studying at AMU, I was a member of the University Drama and Literary Club and was an active participant in the University drama and cultural fest. I am extremely honoured to have won several prizes in the field and proud of the recognition I have received for my play and skit writing, mimicry, poster-making and contribution to my University’s theatre department.
All these varied experiences during the years of my emotional growth is a huge reason why I believe in bringing change in business via creativity and innovation. My close connection with creativity in the past has been the crutch on which I have heavily leaned on for all sorts of designing and product selection for the company in the present and will continue to do so in the future.”
After my MBA, I started my professional career with Oxford University Press, wherein I handled the Marketing and Business Development for the Delhi/NCR, Haryana and Punjab region. As expected, my job required me to travel to the nook and crannies of these states – often leading me to visit the most remote yet significant colleges.
On several of such tours, I became privy to the fact that the students in these colleges, who were living on/near the campus were grossly missing out on trendy printed tees and creative printed gifting options.”
This is where the idea of Jhingalala was born in 2012 – a platform where school and college students can get their hands on high-quality t-shirts and gifting options that are trendy and suit their young and creative sensibilities.
Please take us through the various strategies and technologies that you utilize to produce your products.
We, at Jhingalala, follow an extremely customer-centric strategy. Our primary goal is to ensure our consumers are satisfied with the products we provide them. It, in essentiality, is a three-pronged approach – first of all, we study the market trends with a fine-tooth comb and design our products to keep up with whatever the market demands of us.
Secondly, we design the product state, following it up with any and all changes, if required. Lastly, we care for all the after-sale rectification that our customers want, if any, with the utmost dedication.
Jhingalala has been built on four pillars – Design, Creativity, Quality and Affordability – and these are the four pillars on which it has continued to prosper. On a personal front, I make it a point to visit different expos and seminars to have hands-on knowledge about all new technologies and machineries which are launched in the market to make sure our products are made from the highest quality material and process that exist.
Throw some light on your range of products with specific emphasis on your flagship offering.
When we think of ‘gifts’, artsy figurines, garments, teddy, wall frames, mugs, and cushions come in front of our eyes, doesn’t it? From home decor collection to fashionable statement-making tees, from mobile covers to tech accessories, from designer diaries to educational puzzles, we have it all.
That, in essentiality, is the range of products for Jhingalala. The only focus for us is to provide our customers with products that embody the concept of premium quality at an affordable price. We have something unique for everyone.
What do you consider to be your USP? Where does Jhingalala deliver, while similar other companies fail to do so?
As I mentioned previously, Jhingalala was founded to cater to the creative gifting needs of students in schools and colleges who aren’t able to access such stuff on any other platform. Be it t-shirts, mugs, cushions or anything else, really, we create and elevate the designs beyond what already exists in the market and provide our customers with something that has a little more punch than the rest.
And that, I feel, is our USP. We keep a close eye on all the trends that the market already has and try to make something better with our innate artistic creativity and the promise of paramount quality.
The pandemic has taken a toll on every single industry around the globe. How has it impacted the Gift and Decor Brand industry and what changes is Jhingalala adapting to, to cope with the challenges?
As we all know, the Gift and Decor industry is not a basic essential need for life. Hence, the pandemic posed a huge threat when it came to the survival and growth of the company. But then, as the old adage goes, when one door closes, several others open up.
In the pre-lockdown phase, while our creativity was still at the peak, innovation had come to a standstill, either due to infrastructure or time. During the pandemic and the following lockdown, however, time was in abundance and innovation took flight. We are soon to release a whole new product range and we are extremely excited about it.
We would love to know a little something about your personal life.
To begin with, I am a huge bookworm when it comes to self-help and motivational books. They teach and drive me to do better in life. Also, I love to write short stories and children stories – a homage to my theatre days in university.
I have a habit of going through different paintings and art pieces and try my best to decipher what the painter wants to relay through their art. As an added bonus, it also gets my creative juices flowing and helps me find inspiration for new designs and products.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
