At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some of the meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of that endeavour, this weekend we invited yet another passionate women entrepreneur Shreya Patharkar to know more about her inspiring journey. She is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with rich expertise in the consumer services industry. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Lafayette Luxury Concierge and Lafayette Student Key. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, way forward and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Shreya:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and build my own empire globally.
My vision started growing global when I was studying my IBDP (11th and 12th) from Symbiosis International school, as the IB curriculum helps you to be an independent and a global thinker. Prior to that my entire schooling happened from Symbiosis school.
After completion of my 12th grade, I moved to Singapore for my further studies. In a year’s time, I moved to Australia and studied commercial law at Macquarie University. While studying in the university, I used to pick up part-time work, just to gain exposure and experience in all fields. From that time I knew my interest was in Luxury after working in multiple luxury retail stores.
When I was back from Australia I was thinking about what to do, either study more or start something on my own. Finally, I decided upon taking up Image consulting and personal shopping courses in ICBI India and Conselle Institute of Image Management – USA.”
Post my return from the states I decided to move to Dubai – the land of luxury as we call it, to pursue my career. While working as an image consultant in the UAE, I worked with a diverse clientele, ranging from celebrated Emiratis to business families of the country. One such family is the illustrious Datar Family, the owners of Al Adil Group Dubai.
“I got inspired by Mr and Mrs Datar’s work ethics, and I managed to incorporate those in my professional charisma.”
At the same time, I studied Luxury Brand Management from FAD Dubai and that’s when the idea of establishing Lafayette hit me. And here I am today!
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I chose entrepreneurship because I always believed that I have the capability and the ability to bring about a change in this world. I have always been intrigued by entrepreneurship as my family has a jewellery business background, and since childhood, I used to look up to my father as a smart, creative and a strong businessman.
My parents have been a strong pillar in my decision making to be an entrepreneur. They believed in me and always motivated me to be one.
We all have that one passion in life, and my passion was everything that is luxury, call it luxury travel, luxury fashion, luxury fine dining etc. In fact, the best life has the offer.”
Besides passion, I realized I love taking up challenges and re-inventing myself every day. I can never lead a monotonous life. And here I get to work on different sectors in luxury, every day is a new experience, every day I get an opportunity to learn something new and this urge to re-invent myself and my passion keeps me going that extra mile and makes me proud to have taken the decision to be an entrepreneur.
‘Lafayette Luxury’ 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 with the help of your startup?
Well Lafayette has no meaning as such, it is a proper noun – A city in the USA. The only reason I chose this name was because it was going well with Luxury, plus I am confident that a few years down the line People will know Lafayette as a synonym to Luxury.
So Lafayette is a luxury concierge firm, taking care of the lifestyles of the HNI’s and UHNI’s. We all have 24 hours in a day. It is rightly said that time is the only asset we have. In that limited time, we need to take care of our career, our dreams, ambitions, family, ourselves etc. So much to do in such a limited time!
Exactly here we come in, we let our clients have the leisure and luxury of time for the things that matter the most to them while they dedicate all their lifestyle handling work to us. From finding house help, dog walkers, errand running to planning out your perfect luxury vacation, reservations at your favourite Michelin Starred restaurant and even helping you buy a new property or a car.
We do it all. Time is our value proposition!
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
The Pandemic was something we all never expected, however as being a concierge firm we literally cater to all the sectors. As an entrepreneur, it is important that you seek opportunities even in difficult times. It’s all about being creative and curating new ideas fit for the situation.
People all across the globe were scared to leave their houses even for buying basic necessities, we introduced our team of daily errand runners who would deliver these necessities to our client’s house, taking the right precautions and following guidelines and protocol.
We all know staying home can be so boring and we all have experienced that, a few weeks after the lockdown happened, we introduced online experiences for our members. From learning cooking from top chefs in the city via zoom, learning music from experts to even getting a virtual tour of your favourite city. We curated it all online.”
Last but not the least, seeing the situation we knew how unsafe it was to travel on commercial flight initially, we used that opportunity and heavily sold private jets to bring back our clients loved ones home.
There are always opportunities present. You just need to grab them or create them for yourselves. That’s exactly what we did in the Pandemic.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Well, to be honest, challenges keep me going. After every challenge, you face you have learnt something new. A new skill, new ways of handling a situation or a way to not do certain things.
And when it comes to managing myself, I have my meditation and workout routine set. Practising mindfulness is very important to keep a calm and healthy mind nowadays.
And to be a successful entrepreneur having a calm mind is very important. My mindfulness comes from meditation and travelling.
My passion to accomplish my ambitions is my biggest drive to keep going!
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
Not waiting for opportunities, creating them for myself and the never give up attitude in spite of hardships and hurdles.
After every setback or failure, I have stood up again with a more positive approach and better strategy.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
A leader has played all roles in the company. You can’t sit back and give orders
When needed you to need to the groundwork as well sometimes.
Other traits I think a leader should have now days are:
a) Ability to adapt to change
b) Taking criticism in the right positive way
c) Empathetic towards employees
d) Opportunity seeker
e) Helping your people grow. Growth is a combined effort.
In your opinion what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful startup?
Definitely a blend of both! The idea is the base, it is the most important. More than idea now – a – days call it a solution. The best start-ups are the ones giving a solution to a problem, or solving a problem. With the same having a good team with the same vision is also very important.
And the most important is making sure you have a team who believes in your idea as much as you do because if they would not believe in it, even your clients or users will not believe in it.
So the idea, good team, believe and the urge to make it happen are the aspects necessary for a successful start-up.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned building your startup?
1 – There will be failures, accept it and improve upon your strategies
2 – If you take care of employees well, they will take of clients well
3 – Make your customer the hero always in your marketing campaigns
Please share with us what has worked well for you so far?
1 – Changing strategies with every customer feedback
2 – Like I said before – making the client hero of our brand story
3 – Creating a brand identity
4 – Connecting with our clients on an emotional level
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
Positivity is the key! Always believe in the good and see the positive side even if you are facing hardships. you will always be motivated.
And my biggest motivation is my passion for Luxury, my love towards my company and my ambition to make my own luxury empire! I do not anything or anyone else to keep me going.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
Take risks, face challenges! You will fail initially. But do not give up.
Remember failures are only and only the building blocks of success. Without failure, there is no success.
And if you cannot handle failure, you will never be able to handle success!
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.
