Tag: The Perfect Black founder

‘The Perfect Black’ Story: How the obsession for BLACK became a startup journey

Anurag Kanoongo along with his wife Shikha started the startup ‘The Perfect Black’ where they only sell premium black clothing and accessories.

Napolean Hill believed that “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle” and ‘The Perfect Black’ is an example of just that.

As the name suggests, The Perfect Black sells all things Black. Anurag Kanoongo after struggling to get premium black t-shirts and shirts without breaking a bank decided to take matter into his own hands. He along with his wife Shikha started the startup ‘The Perfect Black’ where they only sell premium black clothing and accessories.

They believe that for many people out there, black is their go-to colour and instead of searching through several stores or sites for that one black attire, customers would rather come to their website every time they need one – a basic Black Tee or a casual Black shirt and more.

The idea of The Perfect Black is to help people focus on what exactly matters to them, simplifying people’s lives in the smallest way possible.

Why Black?

Well, Anurag & Shikha believe that BLACK is a Color of Comfort, Convenience, and Power. Black is the only color that makes each body-type look beautiful as it appeals to any skin tone, height & age and gives confidence to the person who wears it. It is a colour which you can wear on almost any occasion. As Anurag says, “When in Doubt, Wear BLACK.”

Challenges faced during the initial phase of a startup?

When asked about the challenges that they faced, Anurag mentions that right from the ideation stage, the challenges were staring both him and Shikha in the face. While the idea of creating only BLACK color lifestyle products was exciting but both of them had no experience of creating clothes and accessories. Anurag mentions the top challenges:

  • Defining the technical specs of your product

“When we decided to start with creating a premium quality solid black t-shirt the first challenge was to define “Premium” What should be the fabric like in terms of its composition, GSM, treatment, etc. What should be the measurement chart? What should be branding and packaging like? Figuring out answers to all of these with no technical expertise available was tricky.”

  • Finding the right manufacturing partner

“This was the most challenging and crucial part. Finding the right manufacturing partners was not easy. When you are looking to create premium quality products, you need to partner with setups who have the know-how, skillset, and technology to create premium quality. The first few meetings were very difficult, and seeking time as well as the attention of the promoters of big manufacturing companies was a task. The discussions in the initial meetings were difficult to comprehend since they would speak in a lingo which was loaded with a lot of technical terms of that industry.”

  • Meeting the MOQ requirements

“Bigger and better manufacturing units are only willing to work with you when you can commit big numbers, the challenge was to negotiate the MOQ or Minimum Order Quantity. When you are bootstrapped, you are always short on funds and it is difficult to risk your money with a large amount of inventories. Also, the per-unit cost goes higher if the quantities are less, making it difficult to launch your products at an attractive price point”

  • Performance Pressure

“While our families were largely supportive of our decision to quit a double-digit salary and get into unknown waters, their worries started to build when months passed by and still there was no product in hand. Since we were obsessed with the idea of creating premium quality products, we were not willing to cut corners on anything, even if that resulted in a longer duration of product engineering & manufacturing. We witnessed, days when there were heated arguments, disappointment and doubts on what we were doing and if we were doing it right”

  • Low on Marketing Budgets

“Once the products were ready and inventory was received in our warehouse marketing ourselves online was a challenge in terms of our capacity to spend on Branding & Advertising. The Customer Acquisition Cost or CAC is very high in the initial days and it can exhaust your wallet really fast”

While they were surrounded by a lot of challenges, for them it was like delivering a baby! You take care of the child no matter what and bring them to the real world!

Anurag and Shikha Kanoongo, Founders, The Perfect Black

What are the hurdles in front of you on a daily basis when you run a startup?

“Since we are self-funded, thankfully we are not answerable to anyone else on a daily basis. However, the real challenge lies in being self-motivated to do better every single day. The beauty of being a start-up founder is that you have got to find a solution to a new problem every single day. For us, time management is the trickiest bit. You have to make time for handling production issues, speaking to your vendors and partners, writing content for a website, social media marketing, making cold calls for business development, follow-up with your team members and agencies, etc., maintaining accounts, and yes cleaning up your office on days when your maid is absent and much more…”

If given a chance to go for another startup what are the learnings that you will take from the mistakes of your previous venture?

Anurag recalls what they would have done differently. Here are a few things:

  • Followups

“I have learned it the hard way that even though you are paying people for their services you need to do constant follow-ups to ensure your work happens on schedule.”

  • Meeting More & More People

“Meeting people and engaging yourself in meaningful discussions and deliberations helps a lot to come up with solutions. I would like to do this much more.”

  • Keeping Track of Compliances

“I will be honest here, I have paid a late fee for missing out on ROC related compliances. No matter how much you may dislike investing time into maintaining records, accounts, and filing up, these need to be done on time and the penalties on missing out deadlines are heavy. So the next time, I would not let my hard-earned money get wasted in paying penalties, although I really wish that the compliances are reduced for startups so that they can focus more on creating great products and services.”

Where do you think you and your startup is going to be in the coming future?

“We started THE PERFECT BLACK with 3 products in the men’s category and then added another 2 products last year. In the next 2 years, we aim to expand our product range rapidly. We are working on launching the women category followed by accessories. The idea is to complete the list of essentials for both men and women.

Our Vision is to become a brand which is everyone’s first choice to buy BLACK color clothing and accessories from. We want to create products that truly deliver the right value for the time & money invested by the end-user. Check out www.theperfectblack.in.

To read about the founders of The Perfect Black and their stories in detail, click here.

How BLACK brought colours in the world of Anurag and Shikha, founders of retail start-up ‘The Perfect Black’

Kanoongo and his wife Shikha are as they’d like to call themselves, “Black Addicts.” The idea for their start-up The Perfect Black came in primarily from one simple need, the need to buy premium quality black t-shirts as well as shirts.

Christian Dior once said, “You can wear black at any time, any age & almost any occasion.” Well, that’s what Anurag & Shikha believe in too. Their love for black clothing is so deep that they decided to make a living out of selling black clothing & accessories to the ones who share a similar love for BLACK.

Anurag Kanoongo and his wife Shikha Khandelwal are as they’d like to call themselves, “Black Addicts”. The idea for their start-up The Perfect Black came in primarily from one simple need, the need to buy premium quality black t-shirts. Both the partners in crime and permanent roommates have several things in common – their love for travel, exploring different cuisines & cultures, and most importantly, their love for the colour BLACK.

Both of them before jumping into the black sea they created for themselves, worked in the corporate sector for more than twelve years. In fact, the whole corporate exposure helped them learn the nuances of every possible business function.

One day, after a long heated argument before leaving for work, they intensely discussed as to how they were stuck in the corporate cycle and how badly did they want out. They decided to give themselves a break and invest about three months to come up with an action plan. Anurag left his job first and after serving a month-long notice period, here he was with a small amount of savings in his bank account and cluelessness as to what would be the next step.

They took a few days of break, travelled and breathed into the time they got. Then began the phase of googling, reading and ideating for ideas but to their disappointment nothing came up and then as Anurag mentions, it was a Eureka moment for them.

The idea of their start-up was not a direct result of their hours and months of thinking. It was as coincidental and extemporized as it can get. When Anurag was organizing his wardrobe, he looked at his worned out Black t-shirt and said to Shikha “I will again need to hunt for a solid black tee, I really wish if there was a brand I knew where I could just buy good quality staples in Black” – BINGO! He looked at Shikha and even without saying a word to one another, they knew what the look was all about. They discussed and deliberated on this thought for days and reached a point where they now had a potential idea to work upon.

High on idea orientation & risk-taking Anurag has a very interesting & varied experience. A B.E., MBA he has worked with leading brands across Telecom, IT, Education, and Internet & Digital Media domain. In his last stint with Times Internet he was leading pre-sales, business operations & marketing for some of the best brands which include MensXP, iDiva, Indiatimes, itimes, and WhatsHot. Continuing to work in one of these brands would have sent him on top of the corporate map any day, however, both life and Anurag had different plans, that too pitch black ones that would bring in enough light in his career.

Talking about the woman behind it all, Shikha had always been inclined towards business, and being an entrepreneur was her natural calling. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Shikha has over 15 years of rich corporate experience. During her stint, she has worn many hats including one of Marketing, HR & IT, and of course Finance. In fact, she was the founding member of the team that has built and established a leading retail eyewear brand that has over 50 stores across India. She is blessed with analytical skills and is high on thoroughness.

Initiating a startup has been a herculean task for them like any other, however, their passion and togetherness kept them going! Their working style is inspired by the Indian way of doing business (as they call it). For them, business is not all about generating income but also about engaging themselves in doing something meaningful which helps them to grow materially, intellectually, and emotionally.

When asked about his lessons, harsh realities and dos & don’ts for the young generation budding entrepreneurs, here is what Anurag had to say:

  1. There is no right way of doing business

“During my MBA days, I had learned many theories and frameworks for solving different kind of problems and the best practices to do business, but I have come to realize that the best way is your own way of doing it! The way your business shapes up is a reflection of your personality and value system. So don’t let people tell you what’s right and wrong for you. Trust your gut and make your own decisions.”

  1. Product/Service has to be the Hero

“Get your product right! Invest a disproportionate amount of time in working out the minutest detail of your product/service. Your product should give you the confidence that it is the best thing available in that category.”

  1. Be ready to become ‘Jack of All Trades’

“When you are about to start on your own, most of you will not have the luxury to spend your dollars on everything, so be ready to learn new skills and do things which you haven’t in past. For eg. I believe I have a fair sense of design and so I decided to build my own website using readily available online tools and saved money which I invested in hiring a professional agency for creating our brand identity including brand logo, brand elements etc.”

  1. Don’t expect Glamour and Flamboyance

“We hear success stories of startups and perceive that the journey is going to be full of glamour. Well the reality is that you have to work in the trenches and it’s a lot of hard work and perseverance. The glamour comes only when you reach a stage where you can narrate your story and inspire others!”

To read about their startup The Perfect Black in detail, click here.