“So why did you study from MDI if you wanted to be a Phoolwala in the first place?”
Many more such questions were tossed at Shrey Sehgal when he talked to his family the first time about starting FlowerAura. The idea of FlowerAura was born of a an incomplete love gesture owing to the recklessness of an online florist that failed to deliver flowers to Shrey’s girlfriend (and now his wife)
Coming from technology background, they both had a clear understanding of how the internet worked and what tools would be required to start an online company. All they needed now was to understand the world of florists.
FlowerAura journey
After an intensive research on the industry, now was the time to break the news to their respective families which, of course would have been quite a task trying to convince them on why they’d let go of their placements for something that may or may not work out.
Where on one hand, Himanshu’s family finally allowed him to take the plunge, Shrey faced a lot of frowns and expressions of uncertainty from his family.
The second hurdle was to manage the Finances. With less than Rs. 1 lac in their accounts, and a decision to rule out bank loans, it was only their clarity of mind and their sheer determination that could help them go ahead with that sum of money.
Not only it were the finances, but travelling he entire night in bus to different cities to make contacts, and then attend classes the next morning was yet another challenge for Shrey, while Himanshu handled the web development and affiliates.
So they had a nod from their families, less than Rs. 1 lac, knowledge about florists, an internet portal and a basement office. Now they needed people who would like to work in such an office. Nevertheless, battling many obstacles, they steered into the vast ocean of an estimated Rs. 8000 crore industry to make a place of their own.
Started as online florists, they realised that there is a huge potential in the gifting segment. In addition to that, they also found that their customers positively responded to the cake deliveries, which motivated them to explore the possibilities further.
But then, they didn’t want to restrict themselves to online florists. They wanted FlowerAura to be that one stop destination for all those who wish to express their love in ways more than words. That is when they decided to transcend into cakes and gifting.
