“From December 2015, about 20 artisans from a village near Kolkata started to make all terracotta products for The Postbox, and 1,000 pieces per week are sold even now,” Nikhil claims. So far, The Postbox has had over 27,000 orders. The Postbox worked with them to turn their work into a contemporary product line. About 80 women, all tsunami victims, were skilled with lamps. Nikhil and Madhuvanthi also interacted with craftsmen in Auroville. When we launched our product line including laptop bags in September 2015, it became Rs 9 lakh per month,” Madhuvanthi recollects. “Our revenue was Rs 40,000 per month in April 2015. People want something unique in design and yet affordable,” Nikhil recollects.įrom May 2015, The Postbox started selling their own products manufactured in Puducherry, Pochampally, Kolkata, and Jaipur. I found out that there is a gap for niche product design. “For months after launching, I travelled to understand the market - Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Jaipur, and Gurgaon - working with artisans and weavers. The Postbox went live as a platform for upcoming artists and designers on a curated level in September 2014. She says, “My mother helped us out for the longest time at the packaging unit until we got a core team in place, and my father, with his HR skills, offered us his network of people and expertise.” “A first-generation entrepreneur, my dad had stressed on The Postbox being a sustainable business, and made sure we abide by the legal and financial framework set by the government.”Įven Madhuvanthi’s grandparents stepped in for resources and supply chain set-up. Nikhil comes from a family of entrepreneurs in Kerala. Starting out, both co-founders luckily had family support. So entrepreneurship was a by-product of my desire to reach out to people through design,” she says. “Designers are not artists we inherently become entrepreneurs when we set out on our own.
Having studied fashion design at Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and fashion management at Milan’s Istituto Marangoni, Madhuvanthi brings in the design expertise whereas ex-Facebook employee Nikhil takes care of strategy, technology, and marketing.įor Madhuvanthi, design comes first. Nikhil and Madhuvanthi met through common friends. Although they expect to be profitable this year, the journey has been a long one. The two-year-old startup now has Rs 20–22 lakh revenue per month, with a profit margin of about 45 percent. Their catalogue has art and lifestyle sections while there are postcards and wall art in the former, cushion covers, ceramic mugs, and the like make up the latter. “Ensuring utility and aesthetic sensibility, we design and create products for the Indian audience,” says Nikhil.
The Postbox’s philosophy in design and product development is influenced by the cultures and subcultures of India. Nikhil Joseph and Madhuvanthi Senthil Kumar
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