It's A Guy's Job. Why I Started A Wall-Putty Business As A Woman

There are very few women in the manufacturing world. Even fewer in construction businesses. Starting a business is not a cakewalk you need a very strong will to overcome obstacles. Here is how I broke barriers in the construction business and I set up my wall putty manufacturing unit: Akriti Verma 

My desire to excel in business was always strong. Hence, I chose to pursue an MBA and learn some fundamentals of business. Doing an MBA in Singapore was great exposure, and it gave me an opportunity to meet different people from different industries. The domain that most attracted me was real estate. But real estate generally is a very capital-intensive industry. Fortunately, a boom in the real estate industry also creates demand for ancillary products. I focused on an opportunity in paints and pigments. The seeds were sown in 2015 but it was finally in 2018 when it got off the ground. I saved around rupees 10 lakh in years post my MBA. I invested half of that in setting up machinery and the rest in startup operational expenses. And thus, AKV wall putty was born.

 It was tough in the beginning

 Getting a manufacturing unit going is a lot of work and a lot of attention to detail is required. At the same time, we were working on a very tight budget. So, the margin for error was virtually non-existent. It was a challenge to efficiently allocate the meagre marketing budget. Moreover, why should someone trust a fledgling startup when they can easily buy brands that are tried and tested? We ourselves struggled to define our niche to compete meaningfully in this market. It took us a few iterations to get our marketing message right and identify our brand positioning. It also took us time to figure out how we can produce wall putty of consistent quality each time we start a new batch. After all, consistent quality is one of the requirements of ISO standards.

Why should someone trust a fledgling startup when they can easily buy brands that are tried and tested? We ourselves struggled to define our niche to compete meaningfully in this market.

Setting up on my own 

 I am generally not known for my patience. But when running a business, you are putting many moving parts together. Starting a business has been a lesson in patience for me. You need to patiently stack them to see the outcome – a working business model. Ups and downs are part and parcel of any entrepreneur’s journey, but it is not necessary that you must navigate them alone. Finding people who believed in me and supported my vision was so much helpful to keep going when the chips were down. I have a greater appreciation for community and entrepreneur networks supporting each other. It is quite true that it takes a village to raise a baby.

 Your attitude is the key determinant of your success. Enthusiasm is infectious. And enthusiasm you exude is instrumental to motivating others to join your enterprise. But it is challenging to keep your morale up at all times. I had friends with a background in business who boosted my morale. Having gone through the experience, I would strongly recommend finding a co-founder.

 COVID lockdowns certainly impacted our business operations and overall morale. Thankfully it seems the economic activity is picking up and builders are eager to finish their projects on time or with minimal impact on timelines. This bodes well for our future too.

 How after two years I am vindicated

 Sometimes, there is comfort in numbers. One number I particularly find comfort in is that we have shipped over 150 tons of wall putty so far. I feel that we are just getting started. Thanks to our emphasis on quality and competitive prices, we have won a very loyal customer base. Every prospective customer would ask us why they should buy from us? We knew that we are producing quality cement-based wall putty at a very competitive price point but to convince buyers of that is an entirely different ball game. We started by offering to send free samples to all our leads. This way they could test the quality of our products and be assured of our credentials as manufacturers. With one such customer, we have gone from 0 to 2000 SKUs over time. We were also successful in getting ISO certification. I am also very proud to be a net employment generator for 11 people.

 Stereotypes I faced along the journey

 Being a first-time women entrepreneur is like having a double handicap. The ratio of women founders in the manufacturing industry is very dismal. There are not that many role models as well. It came as a shock to our customers that they were dealing with a young woman. There was a fair amount of apprehension if we can deliver on our promise.

 My home state is Bihar – not exactly known as the startup hub. Setting up a plant in Bihar does not automatically scream quality or value-added products. We resorted to sending free samples to our prospective customers. Gradually we established our reputation and created a loyal customer base all over eastern India.

 My biggest support system

 My father has been my biggest champion and source of strength. He has been there for me to guide and talk me through many challenges. And for the last year or so, my brother, Aditya, has played the role of my cheerleader. He has also promised to bring his data skills to the wall putty industry. It made the COVID period slightly easier and bearable.

The views expressed are the author's own.