Just a couple of years ago when the pandemic hit the whole world I was three months into motherhood. The postpartum blues and the pandemic fear together got me excessively worried. I knew I had to pursue something I was passionate about to decompress.

My friends and my close network started sharing their lockdown hobbies and creative works. It was then, an idea sparked. I wanted to share my innovative design ideas and market their products. This would also monetize their hobby.

I shared this idea through whatsApp to a few people and I called them,”Artpreneurs”, who would be willing to convert their hobbies into a part time business. Surprisingly, I received a lot of calls and messages from outside of my network. It made me realize that I was not alone, and a lot of people wanted to pursue their artistic dreams. My team was formed. Thus I began my business and named it ,” Surabhi Craftsvilla”, my beautiful three month old daughter’s name.

We designed the products and shared them on social media platforms. The response was good for the creative product range. While it looked effortless on the outside, we had to put in a lot of hard work which in turn resulted in converting each and every enquirer into a valuable customer. This effort rewarded us. We achieved the milestone of one hundred customers in a short span. The work I had put in brought out my hidden sales and operation skills.

Unfortunately I could not take it further and had to get back to my previous occupation. Even though I was no longer into the business, I still kept getting enquiries regarding our work. That is when I discovered the core of my business. People needed support in finding the best gift and needed a mechanism for it to reach their loved ones.

My end to end gifting service thus came into existence. Let me introduce you to my new initiative, “Happy Genie”.

I took the risk of moving away from my regular job to pursue a new and hopeful dream this time with a bigger vision and purpose. Our vision is to provide an impeccable gifting journey where budget, time or distance would never be a hindrance. Together we strive to make a difference and create a happy environment.

- Sowmya, Founder at Happy Genie