#BreakStereotypes
True Diamond : Saumya Gupta - Turning disappointment into distinction, fashionably
13:04:00
For your consideration, here’s a story...
A young woman with dreams of
touching the sky, loses her way, thanks to the global recession. Having sunk a
significant amount of money on her pilot training, she’s quick to be branded a
‘failure’ by all and sundry. She takes up a job in order to contribute to the
family’s income.
One night, contemplating her
journey, the young woman is disappointed with the place she is currently in.
She refuses to make peace with her lot and starts looking for ways and means to
better her (and her family’s) lot in life.
A unique opportunity presents
itself in the form of casually retailing fashion, when she purchases a few
items of clothing and sells them for a decent margin to friends and
acquaintances. Convinced that this is what she wants to do, she exits her job,
struggles hard and eventually ends up as the face of her own clothing brand.
Sounds like the story to an
inspirational Bollywood film, doesn’t it?
Meet Saumya Gupta, most people
today know her as the jetsetting face of the popular fashion brand ‘Ten on
Ten’, but in 2008, when the global recession crippled the economy, Saumya had
just sunk close to Rs. 50 lakh into a pilot’s training programme in the States,
hoping to become a high flying aviator.
When the global airline crunch
hit, she was left stranded, without a job. But the restlessness of a beautiful
mind is what spurred her on. She first accepted a job in a call centre and
began making a lot less than what she was ‘trained’ for. When one day she was
reflecting on her life’s journey, she couldn’t help but break down. But like a
phoenix rising from the ashes, the Bombay born and raised youngster, chose to
show her mettle and began exploring her options.
In an interview to YourStory, Saumya
expounds on her journey, “Luckily,
the day I decided to change my field and officially throw a potential Rs. 50
lac career out of the window, my parents said they believed I would still go
far and that they wanted to see me happy even if it meant changing my career.
Even though they clarified that they may not have the funds to invest in my
business, their approval would suffice for now, I thought. So, I started my
business with the simple goal of being able to pay bills and rotate the money.”
It began with an exhibition at her home, of export surplus branded
garments. Slowly but surely it expanded to more and more such events, and
finally to a full fledged e-commerce store which is one of the most successful
startup stories, you will ever hear. A true testament of what a restless,
untiring desire can achieve! We at Eves24, salute the passion, relentlessness
and true grit of Saumya Gupta, a veritable #TrueDiamond, if there ever was one!
