Ankur and Aditi Daga, married co -founders of DTC Fine Jewelry Company Angra“Clicked immediately” when their families introduced them at the age of twenty-two. The passion for colourful precious stones was only one of the common things.
Picture credit: due to the kindness of Angar. Aditi and Ankur Daga.
On either side associated with the jewelry industry in India, the couple became appreciated the level of adaptation, which so often went to each song and that colorless diamonds popularized by the De Beers campaign from 1947 weren’t default. They desired to order an approach to the USA, where retail stores normally sold jewelry straight from the shelf.
Dagas thought that buyers were ready for a greater color in their lives, but they are fearful that investors may think in another way. So, after the post -graduate studies at Harvard, they launched Angara in 2006, focusing on diamonds. However, the competition on the saturated diamond market was difficult and “with revenues, but not profitability”, co -founders returned to their original idea in 2011: configurable colourful precious stones.
Dagas intended to make use of technology to make sure large -scale personalization. Angara offered the options “good”, “better”, “best” and “souvenirs” and a compressing process that may take six months in the end of 24 to 72 hours. It took about seven years to finish their method, but it was a breakthrough of games.
“Then it all began to try,” says Ankur. “Our conversion rate increased because whatever the client wanted, there was a permutation that would work. Within three months we went positive to cash flows. “
Image loan: Courtesy of Angara
Now Angara offers 350 employees, 10 global offices, about $ 100 million in annual revenues and is on the right track to the company value a billion dollars in five years.
Entrepreneur They sat down with co-founders to learn more about how they built a successful partnership and strong sales-and the role of “30-minute” and “USD” rules.
30-minute principle
When Dagas began their business, that they had a recent child and a lack of business -related duties. One of their professors on Harvard actually really useful marriages that never work together because of the potential strain caused by the blur of private and skilled lines.
Of course, juggling as many tasks as parents, spouses and co-founders meant that business could possibly be a continuous topic of conversation-finally there was all the time more to do or solve. That is why Dagas decided to implement a “30-minute rule”: apart from working hours, they might not discuss the company for over half an hour.
“It’s another 30 minutes,” explains Ankur. “So during the day we only talk about work for a maximum of 30 minutes, and now sometimes much less. All other hours [we] He can talk about everything that is much healthier. “
The rule “really maintained mental health at home,” says Aditi – and helped them be with them when they were out of the clock.
“If we are together and think about work, it really forbids our presence [and enjoying] What we are together, “explains Aditi.” “We could talk about work all the time, but there are so many other elements of life.”
Image loan: Courtesy of Angara
$ 10,000 rule
Good ideas are a necessity for corporations that wish to introduce innovation and develop, but assigning financial resources for their implementation will be burdened, especially when there is a difference of sentences.
That is why in the early days of Angara Dagas developed a “$ 10,000 principle”: the maximum sum of money that testing any idea could spend.
“Each company could determine any budget,” says Aditi – (*1*)
Removing the emotional load from the decision makes it easier to alter the course if vital and set priorities, adds Ankur.
“Degersonal decisions,” he explains. “We [might] Try something, and it doesn’t work, but everything is an attempt and a mistake for us. The advantage of E -commerce is that you can rotate very quickly. So you can do a small test. If it works, you can scale it very quickly. And if it doesn’t work, put it off. “
It is also essential not guilty yourself or themselves for an concept that does not break down, the couple notes.
Image loan: Courtesy of Angara
Leaning into complementary skill sets
At the starting, the co-founders “put six hats”, and their each day wins and disappointments helped them understand the perspective of the other person-they had the same context.
Image loan: Courtesy of Angara
However, knowledge, when to divide duties and play unique strengths, also contributes to Angara’s consistent success, said Dagas.
Aditi manages merchandising and design and focuses on contact points and customer experiences. For example, she is involved in providing clients with beautiful packaging, learning from his own “weak” experiences from high -class jewelry sellers who save on the presentation. Delivery from Angar has a branded shopping bag and a lit box – and even emits the smell that changes with the season.
Ankur takes over the leading variety of analyzes and numbers, ensuring that the company will achieve its goals.
“Staying away from each other is very crucial,” says Aditi. “Because otherwise, if I get a greater contribution from another department, which is not so concentrated [customer experience]This makes me question my own decisions compared to the intestines. And vice versa. “
Now, when the couple looks at Angara’s vibrant future, they are excited to strengthen their community and AI’s colours and the progress of AI, which is able to result in an even greater variety of possibilities of improved personalization: Imagine a client describing a unique nice design and a system and the system that revives him, Aesthetically and technically, in a product supplied straight to their door.