At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Punyapriya GS for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Leader, Entrepreneur, Consultant, and Influencer. Punyapriya is the Founder of Orango (OPC) Pvt. Ltd. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background, and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Punyapriya:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem; talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I am very enthusiastic and passionate about everything kind of a woman. I like what I do or you can say I do what I like. I feel every work in the world has its importance and every work is respectable. I try to find the root cause of a problem and create alternatives.
I completed my schooling from Sarvodaya Govt. School, Delhi in science stream. I used to actively participate in each & every extracurricular activity in my school days. I was a zone-level volleyball player and represented my school in many competitions. Apart from this, Painting & Dance competitions were routine activities for me. All of these activities helped me in building confidence in myself.
I did my graduation in Foreign Language Literature & Linguistics – Korean from the University of Delhi. That was the time when people used to ask me, “where is South Korea?”.
And now it has become a rage through K-pop music to K-dramas. However, I still sometimes find it funny (with LOL emoticons) when people ask me ‘Did you learn Korean to watch K-dramas’?”
Further, I pursued my career working with various Korean firms and learned countless things to improve my skills. I have done work in the field of CSR, company branding, e-commerce seller management, office management, and marketing. Recently, I joined a professional Digital Marketing course which is required for any firm at the present time.
I was working in a corporate environment and earning a good salary but I have always aspired about building something on my own related to textile and clothing manufacturing.”
The thought of forming Orango was born with an outlook of creating and spreading ethnic wear fashion to all. It is a platform of numerous designs and clothing styles available for all; to fulfil all event or party needs. There is a great history of Indian fabrics and clothing; hence we(Orango) want to spread this treasurable & versatile trend to the world.
However, building an environment-friendly manufacturing unit along with sustainable clothing is still a major goal for me. Me and my team are doing some research in this space and planning to introduce an innovative option for customers to help us in this journey.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I have been always working for great personalities of corporates such as MD, CEO, Chairperson and President.
Working with them has always knocked myself of doing something great in life. I was always curious to know about their journey, education and audacity to be on top. And, I wanted to make that kind of impact through my work; hence chose entrepreneurship.”
I have always been intrigued by entrepreneurship and read success stories of all successful entrepreneurs.
You see – It’s fascinating how you build something from scratch to build an empire around it and not everyone can do it. It takes a lot of courage, planning, perseverance, hard work, teamwork, combined with good strategy & execution skills. I keep learning and updating myself with the trend as there is a long way to go in becoming a successful entrepreneur.
‘Orango (OPC) Pvt. Ltd.’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
‘Orango’ is the name of an island. An island is nature friendly and colourful, so is Orango. Orango is all about colours and vibrancy. Our believe is to redefine and celebrate the success of every woman of any age by providing them with the best quality, suited, and trendy garments.
We want to celebrate Indian traditional clothing & exquisite weaved fabrics for all genders & ages. Taking these feelings and by collaborating with both fields, we are looking to reach everyone and become one name required for all events.”
The company does not only focus on fashion but also on suitable styling for all body type and age. The company stands for simplicity, comfort and freshness that are depicted in exquisite collections with prices that make you want to buy them all. We are helping people to buy the best of quality in an appropriate price range.
What does your company specialize in?
An online Indian ethnic wear clothing store. We are a platform of numerous designs and clothing styles available for all; to fulfill all your festive or party needs. We bring to you all the latest ethnic wear clothing at the best price in the market.
Orango is rooted in Delhi, the heart of India and exploring international markets with its existence in Europe. The passion and zeal of the brand to spread awareness about Indian wear clothing is one of the key factors. Company in collaboration with multiple manufacturers works on upcycling fashion techniques to create an audacious and stunning collection.
Here are some traditional and ethnic clothing we offer to experience from Orango:
Sari/Saree or wrapped garments, salwar kameez, churidar, Lehenga Choli, Dhoti, Kurta, Sherwani, Achkan Kurta, Zari embroidery, chikankari & Lucknawi, Lungi, Dupatta, Anarkali, Sharara, Ghagra Choli, Kurti, Cotton, Silk, tie&dye, khadi, organza, chiffon, georgette, Crepe, Cashmere, Damask, jacquard, Gingham, Jersey, Lace, Wool, Velvet, Muslin, Linen, Satin, Taffeta, Toile, Twill, Viscose are names of major categories in clothing and fabric types.
Orango has won an award as a ‘Most Promising startup – Yr 2021’ organized by Camsol India.
Orango is nominated under category Promising MSME 2022 organized by Indian Achievers’ Award.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
This business was born just a couple of months before COVID was declared a pandemic. The situation was difficult for every business but originated a new way of dealing with it. Working virtually was the need of time and we followed the same path. We moved every operation and every team to a virtual/online working model.
Our major concern was to manage the warehouse as everything was under lockdown for a longer period of time. There we came up with an idea of creating an in-house warehouse where we were able to manage space issues as well as save finances.
Currently, Orango’s 80% of operations are running virtually and we will continue to work with this model for more than two years.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Entrepreneurship is the longest project of your life where you can feel demotivated, discouraged toward your goal. Sometimes off-track where you may stop getting ideas or mindful thoughts in order to run your business.
There comes your family and your hobbies to refresh you. I spend quality time with my family when in India. And, the major booster & promoter is my husband (Nishant) who always motivates me toward reaching my goal. So that I will be able to travel and pursue my hobby to reduce the stress of my work. I follow a time-management model to keep all tasks on track. This also, helps me relax my mind.
I believe in positive thinking which keeps me calm during the toughest times of the entrepreneur journey. Also, every order with a good review or business transaction in itself is an encouragement to work more in achieving the desired goal.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
There are a few:
(1) Being mindful
(2) Always being resourceful
(3) Stay promising and consistent (you cannot cheat the work you have built)
(4) Networking brought opportunities
(5) Being courageous to take a calculated risk
(6) Take failure as a learning and plan for the next step
(7) Being an explorer
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
Value the time and embrace & improve your skills. Also, I learned that the digital world is an essential tool for an e-commerce clothing company. There are boundless practices and tricks to utilize related digital tools.
I also want to add one more thing competition is a fragment of entrepreneurship but converting it into comparison is not. People usually ask me “how is my company different from a specific company?” Or, other companies are earning great numbers in the same field but why don’t you copy them? I have stopped comparing my business or my journey with other established businesses or people as everyone has different goals to achieve and they cannot be associated.
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
Customer is everything to your business. Understand their needs and listen to them to grow your business. This I have learned from working in the world’s no.1 e-commerce company and applying the same to my business.
Deep market research before jumping into the field. It reduced a lot of fieldwork and helped me prepare myself for upcoming risks.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
Do what you Love to utilize the best of your capability.
Success is not a quick recipe, expecting instant success is not the right approach. It is a marathon which requires a long run.
Calculate the risk but be ready for a failure. Failure triggers innovation which brings transformation in your working style.
Stay connected with your people, be it your family, your customers or your employees.
Invest in social media to spread brand awareness and attain more.
One of the most common reasons for entrepreneur failure is a lack of determination and persistence. You will hear a lot of stories, suggestions, and critics to add-on to your entrepreneurial journey. Sometimes people may suggest you something affirming guaranteed results for your business. But, remember you are that person who is going through this journey and no one knows better than you about your goal, dream or mission.
Listening to suggestions is good but adopting it is not a necessary task. Surround yourself with knowledgeable, active people and smart decision-makers. Believe in your skills, analysis, market research, planning and sometimes gut feeling. Plan your stages and execute them to see if you are getting the desired result.
What advice would you give to students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
(a) It’s very important that you cultivate and expand your network to a healthy & knowledgeable number of contacts. This takes time and effort, and you must work at it constantly to open the door of opportunity.
(b) Constant change and updated skills is the key to move ahead in your career.
(c) Know to manage your earnings/funds well. A very crucial but logical factor is to know your funds and their management.
(d) A positive attitude towards any situation can bring power to choose the correct and best option for your profession.
(e) Be creative & proactive, do market research, bring good working habit, learn to prioritise things. All of these factors will bring productive results at your work.
(f) Explore, explore more; try to slightly understand every work or task (operational) of your business. This improves your skills as well as connects you with the domain.
(g) Most early starters get lost among marketing verticals within the first 3-4 years and find it hard to switch roles after that. Career decisions require a long view of what comes after and a good understanding of personal skills. Make informed choices and build a professional life that empowers your lifestyle.
(h) Learn to analyze every plan before execution. More and more analysis brings accuracy in results.
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.
