The Game Changer Of Fine Jewellery: Ishendra Agarwal, Co-founder, Giva The company, which recently opened its 100th exclusive outlet, has also made inroads into overseas markets with its first international store in Sri Lanka

From starting off as an online platform for fine silver jewellery in 2019 to collaborating with Shoppers Stop for augmenting its offline presence (in 2021) and further expanding its portfolio into categories like gold and lab grown diamonds, the journey of the jewellery brand Giva is quite a remarkable one.

"We have always believed in making jewellery accessible for all. And for many jewellery lovers that would include gold and diamonds too. We made our gold dream a reality in the year 2023. In the world of fastmoving fashion, we wanted to establish ourselves as a sustainable brand. And lab-grown diamond is the obvious, ecoconscious choice. Our brand has always been consistent in that front. It is also evident in our free lifetime plating service for gold plated and silver products," says Ishendra Agarwal, Co-founder, Giva.

For jewellery designs, the company relies on its qualified team of designers from premium design institutes. "We always ask our team members for their feedback. They are our biggest critics and inspiration. The diversity in our workplace also helps in the crossflow of ideas. It's clearly our biggest strength," says this IIT-Kanpur Alumnus.

Agarwal says the company analyses metrics such as page views, click-through rates, and conversion rates to gain deeper insights into what customers really want. "Through social media we are also able to add another level of realtime feedback."

Elaborating on how creativity and business go hand in hand, Agrawal says, "We have a team of curious minds working together, and creativity is just bound to happen. For us, business is the means of realising those creative thoughts. They go hand-in-hand and cannot and should not be looked apart."

His three point advice to people who are creative but can't think scale is: "First, Start Small, Dream Big: Break down your big idea into smaller, achievable steps. However, while focusing on the immediate steps, don't lose sight of the "big picture". Hold on to it, let it guide your smaller actions. Second, Embrace Adaptability: When brainstorming, consider how your idea could be replicated or adapted to reach a wider audience or market. Imagine variations, franchises, or product lines. Third, Focus on Finding Solutions: Creative individuals need to shift their focus from purely creative expression to problem-solving.

The company, which recently opened its 100th exclusive outlet, has also made inroads into overseas markets with its first international store in Sri Lanka. "Over the first five years our focus has been to champion omnichannel business and scale at a good pace. We don't want to lose momentum now. We hope to delight more customers abroad and setting up in Colombo is just the beginning," concludes Agrawal.

Factsheet:

Amount of external funding received: INR 74.5 cr in a Series A, INR 270 cr in Series B.

No. of people employed: 1000+

Year of Inception GIVA: 2019.