An entrepreneur grows out of clay

If you are a Telugu movie buff, you would have surely heard of the famous dialogue “indu galadu andu ledani sandehamu valadu” (there is no reason to think that god is here and not there and that he is omnipresent) from yesteryears Telugu film Bhakta Prahalada. Similarly, for an entrepreneur, a business idea can come virtually from anywhere from thin air, or the sky or sand and clay.

For Deepali Jhawar, the founder of toys maker Alpaks Kids Worlds, which has Rs 1-crore turnover, the inspiration for business came for a few pieces of humble clay moulds.

“The idea to set up my own business had come in 1998 when my sister-in-law brought non-toxic clay for my two year old son to play with. Though non-toxic clay is readily available in the market today, it was a rarity in the Indian market at that point of time.

So the opportunity to provide something that was not readily available became my business idea,” explained Deepali, a home maker-turned businesswoman.Though she has decided to take a plunge into untested waters of business, she remained cautious in terms of investment. “In the initial years, I made a very nominal investment in getting the mixture right for the making of non toxic clay which was Alpaks first product.”

Deepali, who was a home maker before getting into entrepreneurship, does not have any formal training in design. “I should just my own creativity and my understanding of what a child needs to design toys.”Alpaks started business with wooden products though there are products available in other materials as well. As on today, the company boasts of 2,000 different kinds of products for children, which are manufactured all over India.

Plastic crayons, building blocks, colours and shapes, puzzles, giant maze chase and bead traveller are just a few teaching aids for children. The company’s specialty, however, is the Giant 3-feet tall abacus, where the children stand and play with.In 2011, it has started manufacturing teaching aids for children with special needs. These educational kits are made to order depen-ding on the need and requi-rement of each child or to help the parents and teachers tutor the child.

Various associations have approached Alpaks and are continuously looking into research and development of play-ware learning methodologies. According to Deepali, client acquisition was her biggest challenge. “It is difficult for people to understand my products without explanation. Alpaks has 50 different products for alphabets only; you can pick whatever you want depending on the teaching methods.”

Funding was obviously another problem, which Deepali as other entrepreneurs, had faced during the formative years. “My products are not saleable in toy stores as people do not understand them. We need to market every product explaining its uses and benefits,” said Deepali, adding that her burden with respect marketing lessened after her husband Tarun Jhawar joined her eight years ago.

(In association with jobsdialog.com of TMI e2E Academy)