Whatever the progress of women, many women in India still find it difficult to discuss something as private as undergarments in public. Women still find it strange to buy innerwear from physical stores. The situation is even worse for women when they have to explain their needs to salesmen in the lingerie department of retail stores. When Richa Kar realized that women had a problem buying lingerie, she decided to start an online store that would deliver lingerie to women’s doorsteps. And with that, he launched his pet project Zivame, which is now a multi-crore company.
However, life has not been a bed of roses for Richa Kar. The founder of Zivame has had to overcome many challenges in her entrepreneurial journey to lead India’s online lingerie industry and control her multi-crore empire.
Early life and work of Zivame founder Richa Kar
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Richa Kar was born in a middle-class family in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Kar graduated with an MBA from NMIMS in 2007. She later joined SAP, a German supplier of enterprise software solutions. Richa worked on a Victoria’s Secret project where she discovered the difficulties women face in finding innerwear and came up with the idea of starting an online lingerie store.
Zivame founder Richa Kar’s mother opposes sale of lingerie
When Richa first started her online lingerie business, she faced many challenges. Even though he decided to start his own innerwear business, his family disapproved of the move. Richa’s mother, who strongly opposed the concept of her daughter selling innerwear online, posed a significant hurdle in her entrepreneurial journey. According to several media reports, Richa’s mother was appalled by the idea of her daughter selling lingerie. He asked what she would tell her friends about her daughter’s online lingerie business. Richa’s father was not clear about what exactly she wanted to do. Richa still persisted. He did not budge from his choice and started his own business.
Jivame founder Richa Kar is facing opposition from the society
When Richa first started her business, she faced opposition from the society. When people came to know about his business, they used to make fun of him. He also initially struggled to find stores for the firm. Even when she was renting a room, she told the landlord that she sells clothes online.
Birth of Richa Kar’s Zivame
A mother is a child’s nurturer, provider and support system. Only Richa’s mother can confirm how much truth is there in this matter. Richa’s mother, who initially objected to her plan to sell intimate apparel, later realized that her daughter was indeed running the right business. Richa’s mother also offered her savings to start Richa’s company. After this, Richa raised Rs 35 lakh from her near and dear ones to start her company. Richa founded Zivame in 2011 to give women the freedom to buy lingerie without worrying about being watched or criticized.
Zivame is a multi-crore business today. Apart from its online store, Zivame also operates physical locations across India. The online lingerie company carries out collaborations with reputed brands as well as in-house brands.