Have curls, need straight hair! After all, the grass is all the time greener on the opposite aspect. So it was for Ahalya Ram, who like many others with curls, dealt together with her hair by combating its pure texture. As quickly as she acquired a job within the US, she invested in a straightener and used it religiously on daily basis for 3 years. Getting prepared for the day included an hour-long means of straightening her curly hair. However, the injury confirmed when she gave delivery to her daughter and couldn’t sustain with straightening her hair day by day. “I used to be actually quick on time and began to see the injury it was doing to my hair,” she mentioned.Feeling annoyed, Ahalya started on the lookout for different merchandise for curly hair and stumbled upon the Curly Girl (CG) methodology that African-American folks within the US had innovated. The CG methodology entails discovering one’s curl kind and hair traits, and buying and selling damaging habits resembling warmth styling for a wholesome hair routine by avoiding dangerous chemical compounds and shampoo. Using the merchandise obtainable there made a world of distinction to each Ahalya and her husband, Mithun Chakkaravarthy, who found that he had curly hair solely at 27. “He used to have very dry hair and keep a buzz lower. He simply used shampoo, however that is the alternative of what needs to be carried out. People with curls ought to use extra conditioner and fewer shampoo. As he additionally began utilizing the merchandise and grew his hair a bit, we noticed the pure texture of his hair,” she tells HerStory. Their expertise led to the realisation that regardless that many Indians have curly and textured hair, there have been no particular merchandise catering to the Indian ethnicity.A handful of the inhabitants who knew the right way to handle curly hair typically relied on worldwide merchandise not made for the Indian local weather or hair texture.Noting this market hole and alternative that struck a persona chord, the couple determined to stop their jobs within the US and returned to India for good in 2018.The startingThe duo hung out on analysis, attended many conferences, and spoke to formulators and professionals within the beauty business earlier than flying to India. They then began the bottom work from Bengaluru, developed an in-house formulation for Indian hair, and formally launched Curl Up in 2019. Curl Up entered the market with a fundamental bundle package of three merchandise (shampoo, conditioner, and curl-defining cream) – all CG method-friendly.The thought behind providing a fundamental set of merchandise was to maintain it easy because the shoppers are already overwhelmed and unaware because of the presence of many merchandise available in the market. Now working with a staff of 20 folks, the haircare startup has a complete of six totally different merchandise priced between Rs 595 and Rs 750. The couple is dedicated to preserving the merchandise accessible, and they’re bought by means of their web site and ecommerce platforms like Nykaa, Flipkart, and Amazon.Curl Up’s social media presence has helped it keep linked to the client base, and listen to their wants and needs publicly and by way of direct messages. This helps them with the pipeline of merchandise they innovate. The model is now engaged on its subsequent set of merchandise, which was delayed because of the pandemic-induced lockdown and logistics difficulties. Ahalya says numerous the preliminary efforts and painstaking processes have “gone out of the window”. The entrepreneur declined to share preliminary investments and different funds as Curl Up is “a fledgling firm for the time being”. The model’s USP is its focus – helping folks embrace their curly and textured hair. They share the market house with haircare and beauty manufacturers that provide a variety of merchandise, together with these for curly hairs as effectively. The method aheadAhalya says their primary problem is creating consciousness amongst potential clients. “As a rustic, we’re very unaware of how curly hair needs to be taken care of. In reality, the most typical query we acquired was if our merchandise would make straight hair curly. We needed to inform that this product was meant for naturally curly hair.”Curl Up amplifies its motto “embracing your self” by leveraging its social media presence. Instagram has been a blessing for the younger model as many customers, together with influencers, have shared their unfiltered expertise with out the necessity for paid collaborations. For now, the top aim is to succeed in as many shoppers as attainable and assist them perceive their pure hair texture. “That could be our success metric as a result of India is such a various nation. I do not suppose now we have even touched the tip of the iceberg but. There are so many individuals on the market who’re nonetheless not conscious of caring for their hair; they injury it with so many chemical remedies,” she provides.In the long term, Curl Up goals to be the one-stop store for curly-haired folks. Ahalya advises aspiring and budding entrepreneurs “to not take criticisms to coronary heart, drown out the background noise, imagine in your self, and work for it”. After all, their perception in a product that might clear up a novel Indian downside acquired them by means of the occasions when their household and pals thought they have been loopy to desert a well-settled life within the US to take an entrepreneurial danger.Edited by Teja Lele Desai
https://yourstory.com/herstory/2021/11/entrepreneur-couple-d2c-startup-curl-up/amp
