How this Women-led Jewellery Brand Landed $1 Mn Funding For Pipa + Bella, the idea of promoting financial independence among Indian women, worked in grabbing investors' attention.

The influx of jewellery brands seems to be growing progressively in India. The inflow has aggravated online retailers into designing powerful strategies that enables to achieve market supremacy.

Following in the footsteps of other players, Mumbai-based Fashion Accessories Company "Pipa + Bella" is using social media to tap the millennial market.

Founded by Shuchi Pandya and Komal Goel in 2013, the company currently offers custom-made and ready-made fashion jewelry at affordable prices to over 40,000+ customers across India through an innovative online platform and aims to reach to 1.5 lakh customers over the next twelve months.

Tapping Into The Power Of Social Media :

The company has understood that capturing the millennials' attention is better with content that humanizes the brand. Hence, social media is an incredibly important part of their marketing strategy.

"This typically means engaging with influential people or brands that are relevant to your brand. This is most likely to capture attention of the users that will follow your brand and engage with your content too," shared Pandya.

The brand also has a UGC (user-generated content) section on its website that allows the loyal customers to post pictures on social media using specific hashtags and get exclusively featured on their website. This has helped Pipa + Bella increase engagement and also allow shoppers to see the versatility in styling their jewellery.

Encouraging Women with Financial Independence:

Pipa + Bella has recently secured USD 1 million funding, led by Bangalore-based Fireside Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing ventures. The startup will use the funds for hiring and expanding on newer and innovative distribution channels. The funding will also enable Pipa + Bella to expand internationally as well as develop a robust offline distribution model.

When asked what worked in getting people to invest in the brand, Pandya replied the idea of promoting financial independence among Indian women, worked in grabbing investors' attention.

"I researched business models that could combine this underlying philosophy as well as my passion for jewellery. The concept was an instant success and women were excited about the idea of becoming stylists and hosting trunk shows in return for free jewellery. Once I returned to India after completing my MBA from Wharton School, I fleshed out the idea to better suit the Indian market and build the intricacies of the business model," said Pandya

What Worked in Pipa+Bella 's Favour?

The company has been in association with FireSide for a long time now.Pandya has always been drawn to their acute focus to brands and their interest in brand building.

"Kanwaljit and Team Fireside are the best partners for us, as they truly understand the process of brand building, and have supported us through their deep expertise in marketing and distribution. I have a strong partnership with them where I share strategies, discuss ideas about my brand before making decisions. This has really worked in the favour for me and Pipa+Bella," she said.

While choosing the right investors, it was really important for Pandya to work with someone who has faith in her commitment towards the growth of the business.

"Raising funds as a 20-something woman in India can be a challenge, especially because inevitably you are faced with some dogmatic questions from investors such as 'What's going to happen to your business once you get married or have children?' That's when I know the investor is not right for me," added Pandya.