How often have you walked past an amazing looking pair of shoes in a branded store and turned away wistfully because you know you cannot afford it.
How often have you just shelled out a sizeable amount of money to buy a pair of shoes but came across a similar but better-looking pair a few days later and became dejected.
In what could come as a solution to all these issues, two college graduates — Aditya N and Adarsh Soni — from the city have started a company that lets you subscribe for shoes and rent them for around a month. You can pay for three months, six months or a year and opt for the lite, VIP and premium category, and rent shoes from even brands like Gucci or Nike worth more than Rs 20,000. “We are currently bootstrapping our startup with an investment of just Rs 20,000 and no other funding. We are working with interns and everything else ourselves,” said Aditya.
Most of the startups in the district are opting for the bootstrapping of their businesses. While the startup scene in the district is vibrant, many choose to keep their investments minimal.
“Almost 90% of them start off with very small investments. Only a few even opt for bank loans and even that is a relatively small amount,” said Rohini Sharma, who runs the entrepreneurship development cell at PSG Arts and Science College. “Many of them are scared to take out a big loan or invest a huge chunk of capital,” she added.
Difficulty in acquiring bank loans and Coimbatore’s history of family-run businesses have also led to this trend, said Aravind, who runs Headstart, a startup enabler in the city.
“Bank loans are difficult to come by. They only loan manufacturing startups, so if it goes bust, the machinery can be sold, and a part of the loan can be recovered,” he added.
“With Coimbatore having a history of family-run businesses, today’s youth hesitate to give control of their business to outsiders, which is why they do not aggressively hunt for funding,” he said.
Though there are drawbacks to bootstrapping businesses, most successful Coimbatore startups have no regrets. Deepa Muthukumarasamy, 37, started Some More Foods in 2013 from her savings after taking tuitions for children and conducting clothes exhibitions. “I took no financial help from my family or loans and started it with just my savings. Today, I have expanded my range to around 10 products, get export offers and have my products listed on amazon,” Muthukumarasamy said.
“Cash flow is becoming better. I am rebranding all my products, increasing sales and production. The growth has been gradual but consistent,” she said. “I have no regrets. I am meeting my demand and simultaneously growing it,” she added.
However, Muthukumarasamy said the startup scene in Coimbatore is yet to catch up with Chennai. “The entrepreneurs there seem to have more guidance and mentorship, and are a lot more confident about marketing themselves,” she said. “They have more exposure, awareness and so are more successful in getting external funding,” she added.
Tech-based startups who are into inventing or innovating a product are eligible for grants under the department of science and technology’s Nidhi Prayas (Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Technology Entrepreneurs) programme. They can avail grants of anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh, which does not need to be paid back by the startup. They have tied up with a few colleges like PSG College of Technology and Kongunadu College, which have startup incubators. It is open to companies with no significant revenues and less than two years old. Companies into manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, clean-tech, energy, water and internet of things (IOT) are eligible.
