Creative Visionary: Aditi Murarka & Anurag Agarwal, Co- Founders, Nestasia
Creative Visionary: Aditi Murarka & Anurag Agarwal, Co- Founders, Nestasia
While picking home decor with her mother during festive season, Aditi Murarka, co-founder, Nestasia developed interest in the sector. Influencing her mother's choice during shopping trips, she realized what she wanted to do in life. With this thought, Aditi moved through South East Asia with her husband and Co-founder Anurag Agarwal, where she set up three homes from scratch in just two years.
"We soon realized our true passion for the category and set up our home together to call it our own. We thoroughly enjoyed the process of picking the right products that were unique and had a design element to them so that we could showcase who we were through our home. The process was invigorating but we also felt the need to have more unique home décor options in one place to choose from. We decided to build an exciting destination for all things home, and that is how Nestasia was born. And, it made me realize later that given my childhood passion for experimenting, I probably was destined to do this," Aditi said.
She explains, that in the pursuit of a creative breakthrough, a multifaceted, so to say a three-pronged approach is key. By integrating offline sources such as designer networks and lookbooks with online trends gleaned from design blogs spanning various sectors including home, lifestyle, and fashion, coupled with the power of social media, one can foster a fertile ground for innovation.
She draws inspiration from trends within the home space as well as from other domains like fashion.
Speaking about identifying customer needs, she said, "We understand just how our customers' needs are paramount to our success. We've learned that the best way to cater to these needs is through active listening and engagement. We prioritize creating opportunities for direct communication with our customers."
Aditi believes that creativity and business might seem separate worlds, but they're actually closely intertwined, and when they work together, they can achieve remarkable things.
"Think of creativity as the spark that ignites new ideas. In business, these ideas grow into innovative products, services, and ways of doing things. This innovation is what sets successful businesses apart from the rest," she added. Surround yourself with complementary skills and perspectives and don't be afraid to experiment and say no to things that don't work. "These are the three things I live by," she added.
Nestasia has four stores across India and the company has four more in the pipeline which will be opened before the festive season this year. It plans to have a total of 15 stores in malls and high streets in FY25.