humans of leap - shamika haldipurkar
shamika is a lawyer turned entrepreneur, the founder of d’you, a leap.club member, and this is her story:
“i grew up in the outskirts of navi mumbai, a front bencher at school, a bit of a geek, and a believer in keeping things simple - 'no talking to boys, marks come first.'
my family was all about medicine, so even though a future as a doctor was ingrained in me early on, thankfully, my elder sister took that path, giving me a way out. yet, as the younger one, i often felt i wasn't doing enough.
the notion that my identity depended on my ‘professional success’ was a heavy burden to carry. my dad was a fairly well-known eye surgeon so i always had this need for validation, and linked professional excellence to personal worth - a perspective i now consider unhealthy.
all these factors (in their own way) led to defining who i am today. i opted for law, which not only allowed me to leave home but eventually took me around the country, and then the world - a big leap for a konkani like me!
one day, reflecting on my return to india in 2018 fresh from australia, where i had access to great skincare options, a realisation struck me. there was a real lack of effective & superior skincare solutions in india and i wasn’t alone in feeling this void. to be honest, i didn’t think much of it back then.
but in february 2019, i found myself at my lowest points in life, personal and professional. i was at crossroads of choosing my next career step, do i take on a new job in the legal field or should i take the leap in entrepreneurship and do what my heart’s been after for so long? sometimes being at your lowest, gives you an irrational sense of limitless courage. because at your lowest, you can’t go any lower. so the only way is upward, right? this irrational sense of courage, gave me the push to finally decide that i will take a stab at entrepreneurship, and start my own skincare brand.
the void i was seeing in the skincare industry in india, and the endless thoughts of market gaps were already floating in my head, and i felt a surge of passion for solving this pain point. i blindly took the bold decision of booking a one way ticket to korea and decided to just put one step in front of the other and figure this out. landed in korea with no language understanding, with no contacts, or understanding of the beauty landscape - i made a fake business card and started knocking on doors.
what followed is a 4 years long journey to what is today d’you.
bootstrapped and profitable in a year, d'you was born out of a clear vision. the initial capital was wisely invested in product development, with a small team where i wore multiple hats – from ceo to peon, ensuring a frugal yet efficient operation. this allowed us to focus on creating a product that spoke for itself.
it took us sixteen months to get the formulation right for our first product (hustle). that’s the thing with a clear vision - you don’t mind the hard things to do right by the vision.
soon we were all set for the big launch in march 2020, and bam! covid-19 crashed the party. everything went haywire. borders started closing down, and i found myself in a state of complete paralysis. the realisation that i had nothing to do hit me hard!
admittingly, i didn't handle it well initially and struggled to cope. all the preparations we had made were put on hold, and to make matters worse, there was no clear timeline for when things would get back on track. it was a tough period of uncertainty and waiting.
but i sailed through, despite how isolating it got and the sacrifices it demanded. there were multiple moments of self-doubt, especially when comparing our approach to brands that launch multiple sku’s annually.
but you know how they say “when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place”? this turning point not only opened doors for d'you, but also brought the right people into my life, including my then boyfriend and now husband :)
as a founder in the midst of uncertainty, seeing other entrepreneurs effortlessly manage their time with family, friends, and even dogs, i tried to address the self-doubt & comparison by reminding myself of the essence of why i started d'you – not to contribute to market clutter but to provide superior formulations.
of course, all of that got much easier when d’you experienced the ‘alia moment’. it was a culmination of recognition and motivation, and ngl, truly a surreal experience. it significantly reaffirmed our faith that we as a team are on the right track. and obviously the sudden increase in demand and traction followed.
luckily, our manufacturing could keep up, but we had to carefully manage our stock. it started in february 2023, and by mid-may, we were briefly out of stock for about 10-15 days. it was hard to believe that we went from failed launch plans to trying to keep up with demand.
with every good thing, a little bit of bad also comes along. after getting a lot of attention in the market, haters and naysayers show up, especially with celebrities. anti-fan clubs and customer hate also happens, with people saying, "oh, you're just banking on alia's brand popularity."
this wasn't a “marketing strategy” by us, it was real love for our product by someone with a strong voice. a product the team spent blood, sweat and tears building.
young female founders need to know one thing: even when you don't find a single person who believes in you, never stop believing in yourself. etch this truth in your hearts because the only person who will consistently have your back is yourself, and self-help is a real thing. believe in yourself so ferociously and blindly that you help yourself achieve your dreams, especially when stepping into new ventures like entrepreneurship.
when you're at the vision stage, it's very hard to sell it to anyone else; you have it in your head, but it's not taken a tangible form yet. do not stop cheering for yourself, even for a second, as that really pays off. it lights a fire in your belly, propelling you into action mode, and that's when things get done.
i was naive enough to never think d'you could have been a failure. that's the kind of blind faith you need to have in yourself, so back yourself up and just see the kind of magic that follows.”
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