I Love Running A Business: Alia Bhatt's Entrepreneurship Story

Alia Bhatt was all set for her launch into entrepreneurship in April 2020 and just then the pandemic hit. Her best-laid plans now faced a massive roadblock. It was her first venture outside of the film and production business and things looked tough. Some quick thinking and the determination to take some risks led to the birth of a sustainable clothing brand for kids - Edamamma. Alia Bhatt speaks with Shaili Chopra, Founder of Gytree.com and SheThePeople on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Is it enough for a business to be run by a celebrity?

Why entrepreneurship?

Alia: Why not. Sometimes it's alarming to people why I started a kids' wear clothing brand. I started Edamamma in 2021, when I didn't even have kids. It happened very organically. I am a creative person but I also want to be a creator.

I always want to start a brand. There was always chatter about a fashion brand for women my age but it just felt like a crowded market to me. There were too many such brands already, why do another. We looked at understanding the gap in the market. There was a genuine dearth of homegrown kids wear, a sustainable and affordable brand. I put in the money, put together a team of ninjas and got going. It's a tiny team but passionate one. Once this was in place we were all set to launch in April 2020 and then the pandemic hit. How they say break a leg, we truly broke a leg as this was just not what we expected.

So we sat on the spring-summer inventory for about four months and then launched with the summer collection in the winter of 2020. We went live and did an exclusive launch plan. We didn't do any of that launch with me at the helm, we simply put it out as the name of the brand. But it was a hit.

It became clear to us if you have a good brand and it fits the gap in the market then you are good to go.

What was your learning curve like as an entrepreneur?

Alia: I think every day is a new learning. I am not sitting in the Edamamma office and working on the inventory on a daily basis but aware of all the big things planned there. No big strokes happen with out me. I know business creation but I have not studied business. I keep asking basic questions to the team and tell them to treat me like a child and explain things to me. I believe if I cannot understand something then no one will. At the end of the day you have to put your money where your mouth is. We were filling a gap, and you have a good product and we are not just saying for the sake of saying it, we are good.

I have to give it to my business head Ikat who ensures there are no loose ends. We are using only sustainable products, and we pay a lot of attention to that. We make sure the sourcing is bang on and that's why we can make it more affordable. There is an impression that sustainable clothing is not affordable. But we are changing that and I have been clear about the fact we are not building a premium luxury children's brand. We also spend time listening to the consumer.

Alia Bhatt Edamamma journey is one of finding the market gap, taking a risk and making a good product

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Why was it important for you to be an entrepreneur? Was it planning it as something as a post-acting plan of action?

Alia: It's a little bit of security and a little bit of safety and a little bit of passion. I am the kind of person who always wants to sort of - I don't want to be a jack of all, master of none - have her foot in the door in many different sectors and apartments.

Like turning producer seemed to be a natural progression for me. I will always be an actor and that's my priority. For me it's also been about, look I have made a certain amount of money and I can put that money into an investment, where I can grow something of my own and see it turn into a brand.

It's also about having curiosity. But fundamentally it's about my entrepreneurial mindset, which I have always had - and it's about what all I can do.

Like I remember a few years ago when apps were suddenly coming out to be the big thing, I was constantly thinking of app ideas and I was like I can do this, or that. I have to say I am not good at naming or claiming these but some of the ideas for apps I had were pretty good and went on to become something commendable.

So when I got that one idea, I was like we will go with this. It was a risk, no doubt about that, and it could have gone all horrible but it didn't.

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