SuperCouples

By Prachi Garg

In an era booming with the 'Startup' trend and loving this new
attitude of breaking boundaries and conventions of a career,
one also faces the challenge of being able to partner up with the right
people. In lieu of reliable and trustworthy partners, real life couples in
relationships have started exploring the idea of partnering up in
business too!
Speaking to various couple-preneurs, one realizes that the myth
about mixing work and home is just as misty as the one about needing
a stable and conventional job for an ambitious career. These dynamic
startups break stereotypes and cover a varied range of services: ecommerce,
innovative gifts, eco-friendly products, health care
solutions, social responsibility ventures, event management, digital
solutions and many others.
SuperCouples brings out such lovely stories of enterprising couples.
After all, when great minds come together to produce something
built on conjoined dreams, the result is eminently successful.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Srishti Publishers
• Release date: Feb 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9789382665892

Book preview

SuperCouples

By the same author

Superwomen: Inspiring stories of 20 women entrepreneurs

SuperCouples

Inspiring Stories of Couple-preneurs

Prachi Garg

Srishti Publishers & Distributors

Registered Office: N-16, C.R. Park

New Delhi – 110 019

Corporate Office: 212A, Peacock Lane

Shahpur Jat, New Delhi – 110 049

[e-mail]

First published by

Srishti Publishers & Distributors in 2017

Copyright © Prachi Garg, 2017

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.

Disclaimer: This is a work of non-fiction, charting the stories of nineteen couple-entrepreneurs and their startups. All the stories and pictures herein have been narrated and given to the author by the persons concerned and have been reproduced herein with their due permission. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Printed and bound in India

Dedicated to

my father Brejesh Garg,

and mother Neeru Garg.

Contents

Acknowledgements

A note from the author

1. Colours of Life

Artologue by Meenakshi & Jey

2. Partners in Art

ArtZolo by Preeti & Vishal

3. The Specifics of a Partnership

Aubergine Solutions by Sarthak & Bhakti

4. Partnering through Life

Boring Brands by Aakriti & Anshul

5. The Best Deal from the Best Partners

CashKaro.com by Swati & Rohan

6. A Blooming Journey

Florista by Smriti & Sameer

7. A Green and Good Business

GreenNGood by Aparna & Vinay

8. Playtime at Work

Imagimake by Disha & Ravi

9. An Enterprising Affair Indiabizforsale by Bhavin & Priya

10. Interesting Innovation

iView Labs by Siddhartha & Meena

11. Changing the Game of Life

Kitki by Pramod & Rohini

12. All Work is All Play

MadRat Games by Rajat & Madhumita

13. The Wild Life

MYvets by Madhurita & Yuvraj

14. A Matter of Well-being

Oomph Nutrition by Mitalee & Saurabh

15. A Sure and Short Circuit

Shortcircuit.in by Richa & Vipul

16. An Aromatic Experience

Soulflower by Amit & Natasha

17. A Sweet Love Story

Sweets InBox by Radhika & Abhinav

18. A Creative Compliment

Wearmates by Udai & Shruti

19. A Wedding beyond the Marriage

Wedmegood by Mehak & Anand

Acknowledgements

This book has been possible due to the enormous love and support that people have given to me. It was their constant support that kept me going and ensured that I should be able to deliver it on time. I would like to thank everyone for making the journey smooth for me.

Family members play a great role to make such accomplishments possible. In my case as well, this holds true. Each of them has been instrumental and has been there when required.

Mr. Arup Bose from Srishti Publishers for his faith in my concept and agreeing to publish the same.

Stuti Sharma, my editor, who undertook the tedious task of going through my manuscript, editing it and coming out with exciting ideas.

All my friends who provided me with constant moral support to make this happen.

All the readers of Superwomen, whose love inspired me to pen down SuperCouples.

And finally, all the lovely couples who took out time and shared their brilliant stories with me, so that I could share them with you all.

I hope all of you get inspired with their journeys and contribute to the progress of the nation.

A note from the author

Running a successful business with your soulmate has always been idyllic and intriguing for me. I always used to wonder how couples strike a balance between their personal and professional lives, especially when they are together all the time. In fact, working together helps determine your mutual career destinies, instead of spending many hours apart, working for someone else. This inspired me to speak to these wonderful couples across India, who planned to be partners in crime in everything, and decided to build a meaningful life together by co-creating something that brings them joy and fulfillment. However, this interaction about their journeys brought some key takeaways for me.

Be on the same page.

Keen alignment and shared vision are the keys to success for any business. Though couples share a level of intimacy and friendship, it is important that they are aligned on their career vision and their life goals too. Because only then will both of them be able to do justice with the enterprise.

Define your roles and responsibilities.

Since with couple-preneurs, the line between personal and business gets very blurred, it is very important to define their roles and responsibilities. In most of the interactions, I realised that division of roles had a great impact in making their partnership a successful one. If one of them is managing operations, then the better half would manage marketing. This not only avoids day to day conflicts, but also empowers both of their decision-making power. This has brought out the best in them, and also saved them from stepping into the other’s shoes.

Maintain work-life (and love) balance.

It is very important to keep a check on how your business decisions are impacting your personal life. Either it can do wonders, or wreck everything. I came across many such examples during these interactions. So my two cents here would be to keep experimenting to see what works well for you as a couple, and how a decision can reinforce your love for each other.

Be kind, understanding and respectful.

It is very important to make sure that both of you respect each other. Since here lives are way too inter-wined, conflicts are bound to happen. It is important to handle them respectfully and keeping each other’s priorities in mind. 

For me, it is more like being married to your work, and at the same time getting the chance to spend quality time with your spouse. And I am sure most of the couple-preneurs I interacted with would agree to this. Most of them have been able to explore the other side of their spouse, which would not have been possible in the absence of this plunge. Their journey is definitely different, but as they always say: No risk, no gain.

Happy reading and get inspired. :-)

Couple-preneurship: Balancing the act of business & love.

The journey of SuperCouples begins...

Meenakshi & Jey founded Artologue: Art for all to keep their passion for art going, but have gone on to inspire people to see art in everything around them. They travel across the country to paint their messages of love, peace and elevation of humanity.

Colours of Life –

ARTOLOGUE

By Meenakshi & Jey

In this fast-paced life, we can still find people who dedicate themselves to their passion. These are the kind of people who dare to dream, and more importantly, dare to follow those dreams, no matter what. Such extraordinary men and women create magic wherever they go, in whatever they do. When you are around them, you can feel their energy, their creativity, and the beauty in their spirit that is both inspiring and humbling, all at once. When such people come together, one can expect nothing short of a spectacle. This might not necessarily be the blinding, glamorous, on-your­television kind of spectacle, but one that elevates its beholders in big ways and small. They enrich you and make you want to become a part of it. Such is the story of two artists, travellers and partners, and fundamentally, two fantastic humans who have been creating their own share of magic together.

Meenakshi had always been an admirer of art. Her liberating education and daring passion pushed her into being involved with various forms of art, and eventually made her into a learned connoisseur. Jey, on the other hand, is a writer and committed traveller who has a hunger for art and its appreciation. When the two met as family friends, their common interests brought them closer. From a cordial friendship between a school girl and a boy pursuing his Master’s degree way back in 2001, this relationship evolved through years, growing in mutual admiration. With growing affection between them, coupled with common interests, this equation flowered into unsaid love. Eventually, with a ripened understanding and trust in each other, they tied the knot in 2010.

Apart from having common interests, Meenakshi and Jey had also participated in organizing several group and solo exhibitions. Understanding each other’s interests, style and strengths is another aspect that encouraged them to explore different dimensions of life. Jey, in all these years, has continued his love for writing as a journalist, while Meenakshi has continued her pursuit of different forms of art. From afar, it would seem they’re a a couple that leads an ordinary life and cultivates art as a form of a parallel hobby. But anyone who knows them well would know that they live a life many would not be able to comprehend. With an unusual modus operandi, Meenakshi and Jey have two unique members in their family – Hari Bhari and Kesariya – their companions-in­arms, quite literally. Amalgamating their love for art and travel, this couple has changed their style of vacations and made it into a movement – colouring different parts of the country.

We used to travel to new places for vacations every year. We would also dedicate our time to painting over the weekends. So we thought why not combine these two ideas together! recalls Jey. The idea started with the concept of bringing the joy of art to the common people.

I find it ridiculous when people say that for art to be understood or adopted, you need a special taste, education or even acumen. I think everyone can be an artist; rather everyone is an artist – whether he or she is a cook, a teacher, a carpenter or even a doctor, Meenakshi explains candidly. With this basic motivation, the duo set out to spread art in the lives of people. With this motto at heart, they formulated their own concoction called Artologue – a story of art and travel.

What has art got to do with travelling, one might wonder. A simple explanation is that art is present wherever one goes – in the distant villages, in valleys, schools, houses by the shore or even in the doodles of dark alleys. Very often, they can be used to depict stories, to create harmony, to bring people together, or simply to beautify a space, creating a special ambience. That is exactly what Meenakshi and Jey endeavour to achieve. Spreading love, joy and colours everywhere they go, this couple steals time between Jey’s job and Meenakshi’s plans, catering to different kinds of audience across the country.

This started as an experiment with some of our friends in Mumbai and Goa. The initial response was very encouraging and supportive, marking what later became a well-received journey of us as ‘artwalle’ (people of art), Meenakshi speaks in retrospection. With over a hundred and twenty-five days of travel in the last four years, the couple has set an example of a different kind of travelling experience. Having spent less than a lakh rupees in the process, they have gone to different cities, towns and even villages across geographies, painting their messages of love, peace and the elevation of humanity.

We are often invited by people to come and paint a message for them; sometimes they give us an idea of what they would like, while at other times, they just leave it up to us to engage them. It always turns into a beautiful experience in the end. Jey smiles knowingly.

Painting murals for friends and strangers, the twosome have earned many friends and well-wishers through their journey. There are many stories that the two can narrate that begin with strangers and end with friendships made for life. The two are known to form exemplary connections with people of all ages and backgrounds.

So is this their profession or their hobby? Meenakshi laughs mischievously at this question and teases with questions asking what the definitions of a profession or a hobby are. Taking things on a serious note, Jey explains how Artologue really functions. Generally, the duo is invited over by individuals or organizations. Depending on the nature of the hosts and the scale of work, and as per their desire, the couple leaves it up to the people to pay them. This way, the liberty and authority of work still lies with Artologue, at the same time, not making it a burden for both ends to accomplish the project.

There are times when people sponsor our travel, provide accommodation and hospitality, and open their doors and hearts for us. That counts for a lot of value, especially in sync with everything that Jey and I have set out to accomplish through the language of art, Meenakshi speaks emotionally, That alone is more than what a pay cheque can buy.

But if you thought everything is smooth in