Profile of a Startup: Urban Junkie

A report submitted to

Instructor: Prof. Anil Gupta

In partial fulfilment of the requirements of the course

Understanding Creativity, Innovation, Knowledge Networks and Entrepreneurship

By

Sowjanya Kanuri

On

27 February 2015

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, AHMEDABAD

Meet Nitisha Sethia from Kolkata. There is much more to this spunky twenty three year old than

meets the eye. A national level squash player with a master’s degree in psychology, she is an ABG

scholar at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She is also the founder of Urban Junkie,

which is aimed at filling the demand-supply gap for inexpensive yet fashionable clothing among the

Indian youth.

Genesis of the idea

When asked how she came up with the idea to set up Urban Junkie, Nitisha said that when she moved

to Delhi from Kolkata to do her Bachelor of Arts in Lady Shri Ram College, she was exposed to the

wonders of Sarojini Nagar market. This haven for street shoppers is where all the rejected export

clothing and export surplus garments land up at extremely low prices. The discerning shopper can

pick up reputed brands at prices many times cheaper than even the biggest sale at a retail store. 

Scenes from Sarojini Nagar market

Nitisha was excited by this discovery and when she told her friends in Kolkata about it, they were

equally excited. This was the genesis of Urban Junkie. Considering that she would go home every

three to four months anyway, she started picking up clothes from Sarojini Nagar and taking them back

to Kolkata where she would sell them at higher prices.

Mentorship and guidance

During Nitisha’s second year at college, she participated in a six month long programme called

‘Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow’ (EoT), a voluntary programme along with her regular studies. EoT is

conducted by an NGO, ‘Dhritti’ in several Delhi University colleges. Dhritti aims to create

experiential learning opportunities to build entrepreneurship skills and attitude. Their programs focus

on the financial, social and ecological (FSE) impact of the individual and enterprise. EoT is designed

with an emphasis on building entrepreneurial traits such as innovation, risk taking and leadership,

among others. Nitisha says, “The course taught me to believe in the power of an idea, the power of

being different, the power of innovation, and most importantly, the power of my dreams. It

empowered me to start my own small-scale enterprise."

Nitisha found mentors in this program who encouraged her to pursue her idea. After her initial

exhibition which was not a huge hit, she quickly learnt the tricks of the trade and used learnings from

this programme to improve her business. Her family supported her throughout which gave her the

confidence to further continue her idea.

Funding and promotionNitisha rented an exhibition hall in Kolkata to sell the merchandise that she would bring from Delhi,

handpicked by herself over the last few months. Hence, she did not need too much funding as the

costs were low. The initial exhibition required her own funding but soon she was earning enough to

fund the next exhibition from the earnings of the previous one, while also earning a profit.

Nitisha decided to leverage the power of social media to promote her business. Considering that her

target segment was young, college going students, this was the perfect platform to reach out to them.

She started using Facebook to advertise her exhibitions. She set up an ‘Urban Junkie’ page and posted

updates of the exhibitions along with sample photos which showed exactly what would be up for

grabs at these events. She created events and shared it with her friends who would then invite their

friends and it became much bigger than even Nitisha could anticipate.

Screenshot of the Urban Junkie Facebook page

SuccessNitisha expanded from simply clothing to fashion accessories like bags, jewellery, etc. once Urban

Junkie really took off. In the first two exhibitions, she made sales worth Rs. 50,000. She continued the

venture for three years along with her studies till she joined IIM-A, earning around Rs. 5 lakhs in the

process through 5 exhibitions.

Scenes from an ‘Urban Junkie’ exhibition

Handmade poster for the exhibition

DilemmaWhen asked if she would restart Urban Junkie after IIM-A, Nitisha was not optimistic. For her, the

business does not seem scalable as her supply source, Sarojini Nagar, is both unreliable and unique.

She also found it to be monotonous after a point where she could not infuse any new ideas and it

became more of a routine, transactional act.

Role model

Richard Branson is Nitisha’s role model – she hopes to match his entrepreneurial spirit someday. The

way he retains that adventurous spirit in all his businesses and continues to expand ‘Virgin’ – from

the original music records to airlines – with success, is something she hopes to emulate herself in the

future in whatever she takes up. He is also an adventure sports enthusiast, just like her!

Advice for others

“If you have an idea, jump in,” Nitisha says to all those who are considering setting up their own

ventures. If you start waiting for things to fall into place, it will never happen. Nitisha believes that

there should be more programmes like ‘Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow’, not just for the guidance that

they themselves provide but because they provide a platform to meet like-minded people who can act

as an accelerator or a support system to those who are enthusiastic to start up. More people should get

involved in such programmes as well, only if there is a demand will there be a supply. Even if

someone does not consider themselves an entrepreneur, the skills that one can learn from platforms

like these are extremely useful wherever they may choose to work.

Future plansOnce an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur. While Nitisha is currently immersed in her studies at

IIM-A and is looking forward to an internship in McKinsey and Company, she knows that in the long

term, she will strike out on her own. She loved the experience of running her own show. In her own

words, “the kick is too good”. She hopes IIM-A, the people she meets here and the facilities she can

avail of will help her develop an idea for her future venture.

Lessons learnt

For entrepreneurs

It is never too early to start.

Nitisha managed to carry on her own venture along with her studies – don’t put off what you

can do today by making excuses.

Make use of resources around you – you never know what can inspire you.

The ‘Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow’ program was not compulsory and Nitisha took it up

voluntarily. It helped shape the future of her venture.

Your needs and the needs of those around you can be the genesis of the next big idea.

Nitisha was fascinated by Sarojini Nagar and realized that it would be the dream come true

for many others like her who would not be able to physically shop there themselves.

You don’t need a lot of money or funding to start up.

Nitisha did not require huge fixed costs to set up her venture. Starting small, she saved money

by renting space and scaling up only when she had the required funds available.

For policy makers

Include courses on creativity and entrepreneurship in the curriculum of schools and colleges.

The spirit of risk taking and freedom to explore new options and develop solutions for

pressing problems can be inculcated in students from an early stage itself.

For support organizations

Mentoring is the most crucial support budding entrepreneurs need.

Often it is not funding but a mentor or guide who can help the entrepreneur through the many

intricacies of starting their own business that is most crucial.

Catch them young – programmes in schools and colleges can go a long way in promoting the

spirit of starting up in today’s youth.

Organizations should identify promising youth in schools and colleges and provide them

every support to pursue a path of entrepreneurship.